CVG is reporting that sources close to Microsoft are claiming that the new controller for the Xbox 720 will “be a matt-black media hub with a mission to bring games to life in your living room with augmented reality, directional sound, and a four-player, finger-tracking Kinect.”

The sources claim that Microsoft is experimenting with a tablet-like controller that’s more comparable in size to the PlayStation Vita than the Wii U’s current tablet controller. It describes it as being “an HD screen surrounded by the traditional 360 buttons and sticks.”

“That touchcreen will be second only to Kinect in how you operate your console,” the source said. “It could be a remote control when you’re watching TV, a browser when you’re on the internet, extra buttons and information when you’re playing a game or a portable display when you want to take your game with you.”

Such a move would be costly as having a tablet controller is already causing speculation that the Wii U is going to be expensive despite it’s cheap internal hardware. To answer that question, the sources claim that the new Xbox would keep internal hardware costs low by going with a cheap CPU and GPU. If you already want to set aside money for the new Xbox, even though it’s two years out at best, you’ll have to pony up about $600.

The new Xbox rumors just keep pouring in which makes it plausible that an E3 2012 reveal is in the works. We’ll keep you updated on all the rumors that, if true, could make a huge splash at E3 this June.

Kotaku is reporting that their sources have told them that the next Xbox, dubbed the 720 for obvious reasons, is updating everything about the console for a release in 2013.

The sources are claiming first and foremost that the next Xbox will do away with the DVD format opting for Sony’s industry standard Blu-ray format. A Blu-ray disc can hold either 25 or 50 GB and easily best the DVD’s paltry 9 GB.

The sources also claim that the next Xbox will ship with an improved Kinect sensor that would further Microsoft’s plans of having Kinect invade every living room around the world. They say that the new Kinect would feature an on-board processor, a feature cute from the original Kinect. This would allow the Kinect to detect motion more effectively while freeing up the resources of the actual console to do the heavy lifting when it comes to games.

The most interesting rumor to come out all of this though is the potential for Microsoft to equip the console with some kind of software that would prevent the playing of used games. This could either be done through tying each game to a person’s account or through something hardware related. It’s too early to tell and don’t take it as fact just yet. A move like that would be drastic and anger a large portion of the gaming community who rely on stores like GameStop to obtain cheap used copies of games.

Reports from IGN also indicate that Microsoft will be using AMD’s Radeon 6000 series of graphics cards to power their console. This would put the next Xbox at about six to eight times more powerful than the current Xbox 360 and two times more powerful than Nintendo’s Wii U console expected to launch later this year.

Fudzilla is also reporting that the CPU for the Xbox 720′s development kits are already going into production for a late 2013 release. Those within the industry are saying that Microsoft is on track to deliver Xbox 720 dev kits to developers as early as March of this year.

As with all rumors, especially the anti-used game system, take them with a grain of salt. If any of this is true, we should hear more about it in the months leading up to E3 in June.

Microsoft may be speeding up the time it takes patches to hit games on the Xbox 360 if Paddy Burns of 4J Studios is to be believed. Speaking to EDGE Magazine, he said that the initial Xbox release will be a conversion of the PC version’s beta 1.6.6 beta.

The plan is to create constant updates to get Minecraft on the Xbox up to official release 1.0, the final version Notch launched at Minecon last November. The thing is, Microsoft is notoriously slow about approving updates to games on their platform. Burns claims the company is changing that.

“Microsoft knows that to do a similar thing that’s on PC where they constantly update it, that’s a very difficult thing to do on Xbox because you have to go through the full tests,” he told EDGE. “But they are quite keen to move towards that – they do see it as the future, so I think we might be the first to do constant updates.”

He does stress that the Xbox will never see constant updates like on the PC though. Microsoft will always require a testing period for their title updates. If developers were allowed to release updates on their own terms like they are on PC, you run into the potential for problems like TOR did earlier this week.

Burns says that with the new authentication system; they may be able to get an update out every two months. If that’s true, that’s a huge increase in speed for updates. As EDGE rightly points out, with PCs and mobile gaming offering constant updates, consoles are falling behind in the times.

For those who are anxiously waiting for Minecraft to hit the Xbox 360, the wait won’t be much longer. Burns says that the game should be ready by late winter or early spring.

Irrational Games revealed a new mode for BioShock Infinite today – the fittingly titled “1999 mode.”

The new mode is for those of us who remember how difficult, but rewarding, older games were. This mode is especially designed for those who fondly remember games like System Shock 2 that challenged the player with a harder difficulty and more stats to keep track of.

“We want to give our oldest and most committed fans an option to go back to our roots,” Ken Levine, Creative Director of Irrational Games, said. “In 1999 Mode, gamers face more of the permanent consequences of their gameplay decisions. In BioShock Infinite, gamers will have to sweat out the results of their actions. In addition, 1999 Mode will demand that players pick specializations, and focus on them.

The mode came about when the team at Irrational asked players about their individual play styles. They came back with results that said 94.6 percent of players indicated that they used and enjoyed the upgrade choices in BioShock, but they were not permanent either. Those who felt that upgrades, however, should remain permanent constituted 56.8 of respondents.

In addition to the permanent decisions, 1999 mode will demand that players manage their weapon, power and health more closely. It also takes a harder stance on player respawns by sending the player directly to the “Game over” screen if they lack the resources to be brought back to life.

While 1999 mode is cleverly titled, it’s not the first time that game developers have realized that many gamers want a challenge that is reminiscent of days gone by. Fallout: New Vegas from Bethesda and Obsidian featured a hardcore mode that forced players to eat and drink to surive as well as other realism factors.

The game will release for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC later this year.

For an idea of what they’re going for with the new 1999 mode, check out the main inspiration for this new mode: Irrational’s System Shock 2 which coincidentally released in 1999.

That is what was hinted at CES this week when Nanea Reeves, CPO of Gaikai, predicted that one of the current console makers would be making a next generation device. Gaikai is a cloud-based gaming company that streams full games to web browsers.

At a panel titled, “The State of the Games Industry” panelists were asked about current and future trends that will affect the games industry. During this panel, Reeves was quoted by Industry Gamers as saying, “I think some will have one more cycle and I think others will not. I think that will be the big news at E3. That’s just my prediction.”

She declined to say which one she thought would drop out, but she remained adamant that one of the three console manufacturers would.

To add fuel to the fire, Mike Vorhaus of Magid Advisors, said that he thinks Nintendo would announce their dropping out of next gen hardware.

The only thing wrong with that is that the Wii U is their next console that debuted last year at E3 and is still being shown at trade events like CES.

The other two, Sony and Microsoft, present other theories. Sony has already confirmed that there won’t be a showing of their next generation of hardware at E3 and Microsoft has said nothing. There have been unconfirmed reports though of the next Xbox being a tablet-based Windows 8 experience.

My personal opinion is that it’s too early to tell. As E3 in June draws closer and more details are revealed, it might be easier to make a conclusion. It could have just been wishful thinking on the part of Reeves as her company is focused on cloud gaming, which is in direct competition with the convenience of physical media-based consoles.

Either way, it’s an interesting way to start the year and to get the speculation rolling. The last major player to drop out of the console race was Sega in 2001. If it were to happen again, it would be the biggest news of the year.

Reuters is reporting that inside sources have told them that Microsoft has put their long talked about Web TV program on hold. The program would essentially be Netflix but also give viewers access to live programming and currently airing television series. They reported that Microsoft pulled out after realizing that the licensing costs were too high.

“They built Microsoft TV, they demoed it for us, they asked for rate cards but then said ‘ooh ah, that’s expensive,’” one senior media executive who had been involved in the talks said.

Early versions of the service featured Kinect-like functionality that let users change channels with voice and motion control.

Microsoft is still bringing video and news content through their Xbox 360 console. They announced at CES that News Corp would be bringing Fox Broadcast, Fox News, IGN and The Wall Street Journal to their Xbox Live service.

Media company sources are hoping that Microsoft will come back to negotiate content deals later as the proposed service would be a money maker for all parties involved, especially the studios.

In a statement to Joystiq, Microsoft had this to say on the supposed deal breakdown:

“We don’t comment on rumors and speculation. Microsoft is committed to working with the world’s leading TV and entertainment providers to bring their offerings to Xbox and transform the TV experience with the power of Kinect. We are continuing to launch the more than 40 new entertainment partners we have already announced, including a wide range of live and on-demand TV on Xbox. Moving forward, you can expect to see more of the world’s leading entertainment providers coming to Xbox.”

Consoles were the biggest troublemakers overall, accounting for more than 60% of the total questions posted on the website. In fact, of the top 7 problematic products consoles took the first three spots. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the most troublesome console, with 5,000 more questions reported than Sony’s PlayStation 3, which in turn had over 30,000 more complaints than Nintendo’s Wii. The biggest problem for Xbox 360 users was the dreaded Red Ring of Death, which signals massive failure of the console’s hardware (usually due to overheating), and was responsible for 45% of reported issues.

Meanwhile, the iPhone topped the list of troublesome smartphones by a wide margin. There were nearly 100,000 complaints about the iPhone, compared to just shy of 40,000 for the second place Samsung Galaxy S. Forty percent of the iPhone complaints dealt with battery life, while a further 15% were concerned with dropped calls.

Apple fared far better in the tablet department, however. The iPad WiFi was at the bottom of the list of tablets, and had less than a third the complaints of the leader, the Coby Kyros. The iPad also got fewer complants than the Samsung Galaxy and the Amazon Kindle, again by a considerable margin.

Did you have any of these problems over the holiday break? Let us know in the comments.

[Source: FixYa]

Kotaku is reporting that on January 2, over 300 employees at a Foxconn plant in Wuhan, China threatened to throw themselves off the roof of the building in a mass suicide. The workers manufacture the Xbox 360 console.

According to the Chinese anti-government Web site China Jasmine Revolution, the workers were denied compensation they were promised.

On January 2, the workers reportedly asked for a raise. They were told they could either keep their job with no pay raise or quit and get compensation. Obviously, many quit to get the compensation. The agreement was supposedly terminated and the workers never received their payments.

The mayor of Wuhan was called to the scene to talk the group down. On January 3, the group decided not to jump which ended the whole affair.

Suicides were a major problem in 2010 with Foxconn installing nets to prevent suicides at some of its facilities.

This story brings Foxconn and overworked factory employees in China to the forefront again. In our mad dash to get the latest gadgets and have a steady supply of them, we forget to think about those in other parts of the world that make these devices. Hopefully, better employee treatment practices will soon be implemented so everybody can be happy.

Now, I’m going to file this one under all but confirmed because it’s not actually confirmed yet, but a fan on twitter asked if Diablo III was coming to consoles. Community manager “Bashiok” confirmed the console port and said that Josh Mosqueira was the project lead on it.

Now it’s rather uncommon for a community manager to confirm a game’s existence before the company makes the official announcement, but it seems legit for now.

Ars Technica did some digging in Mosqueira’s LinkedIn profile and found that he has been a lead game designer at Blizzard since last May. Beforehand, he had worked on Far Cry 3 for Ubisoft and a few games for Relic such as Company of Heroes.

If this is indeed true. It makes perfect sense. While Blizzard’s other games such as Starcraft II and World of Warcraft don’t make sense on consoles, Diablo III is a perfect fit. Torchlight’s release on Xbox Live Arcade last year proved that a loot heavy dungeon crawler could work wonders on a console.

The only doubt is Diablo III’s auction house that allows players to sell and buy equipment for real world money. Microsoft and Sony both have tight control over their platforms to make sure they get a little piece of the pie through any transactions made through their service. An open service like Blizzard’s auction house would have to be axed or monitored heavily if it were to be released on consoles.

Now if only we can get Blizzard to make a new Lost Vikings for consoles, the entire world would be at peace.

As an extra bonus, here’s the incriminating twitter conversation that started it all:

The line consists of three controllers – two assault rifles and a sniper rifle – and a range of peripherals. The two assault rifles are designed to work just like the PS3’s DualShock controllers, with buttons positioned in such a way as to be comfortable for both right and left-handed players. The sniper rifle is only compatible with PlayStation Move and its corresponding games. Other accessories include a universal gaming backpack designed to accommodate any of the three major consoles – Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii – with a padded main compartment and multiple pockets. The line also includes three headsets: a Universal Gaming Headset with 3D Effect that appears to be compatible with pretty much anything with a 3.5 mm headphone jack (including Xbox 360, most computers, and even iOS devices), a bluetooth Throat Mic Headset compatible with the PS3 and any bluetooth-equipped computer, and a wired Throad Mic Headset with a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

CTA’s announcement does not give any pricing or release date information on any of these items, saying only that they “will soon be available at major retailers.” Given the criticism that has been leveled at violent video games in the past, it will be interesting to see what kind of reception these accessories receive. Rest assured that there will be at least a few accusations of the Army using these controllers to try and sway impressionable young gamers into enlisting. Personally, all I really want to know is whether that bluetooth throat mic will work with my iPhone.

What do you think of these controllers? Will you buy them? Should the Army be in the business of making video game controllers? Sound off in the comments.

[Source: CTA Digital]