Microsoft believes there will be over 1 billion lifetime sales of next-generation consoles, and is also hoping to break the 100 million sales mark for Xbox 360s in the next five years. In an interview with OXM, the company's senior vice president of Interactive Entertainment Business Yusuf Mehdi explained that the consoles' broad multimedia focus would help them transcend the sales figures traditionally seen by consoles. "Every generation, as you’ve probably heard, has grown approximately 30%. So this generation is about 300 million units," he shared. "Most industry experts think the next generation will get upwards of about 400 million units. That’s if it’s a game console, over the next decade.

Everything about the Xbox One's new and improved Kinect camera sounds amazing. It has a larger field of view, which means it will work in smaller rooms. It can detect the most subtle motions, like the rotation of your wrist. It can even tell you your heart rate by reading the color changes in your face.

Microsoft's policy concerning used Xbox One games has proven a bit confusing, but a new report may have spilled more concrete details. Citing information from "retail sources," gaming news site MCV claims that Microsoft and gaming publishers will take a bite out of the sale of each used Xbox One game. In the process of selling a used game, original owners would also see the game wiped from their online accounts so they no longer can play it. Microsoft has already confirmed that Xbox One users who install a game on the console's hard drive will no longer need the disc as the game is then tied to their online accounts.

Earlier this week, Soluto, a PC management firm, reported that Windows 8 users have little use for Modern UI apps, and that desktop and laptop users are particularly unengaged. The findings were, to a degree, unsurprising; to many users, the Win8's Live Tile-dominated Start screen hasn't been, despite what Windows chief Julie Larson-Green insists, an improvement over Windows 7. It will be up to Windows 8.1, expected to debut as a public preview this summer before becoming commercially available in the fall, to address this problem. In the meantime, Microsoft has extended two small olive branches to users disillusioned by touchscreens, unfamiliar shortcuts and hidden Charms menus: new, Windows 8-optimized mice.

My, how quickly the tables can turn in the fickle world of consumer technology. When Microsoft’s designers and engineers took to the drawing board to dream up Windows 8, the 9.7-inch iPad was the 800-pound gorilla of the tablet market, gobbling an insane amount of market share and laughing at Android’s attempts to break Apple’s stranglehold on slates. The future, it seemed, lay in big screens. Then the Kindle Fire, the Nook tablet, and Google’s Nexus 7 appeared. Consumers fell in love with smaller, cheaper tablets overnight, and on October 23, 2012, Apple capitulated to popular demand and released an iPad mini of its own.

The NFL will receive $400 million from Microsoft over the next five years, according to an Associated Press source. The partnership was announced during Microsoft's Xbox One unveiling yesterday and will see NFL content coming to Microsoft's next-generation console. As for the NFL side, fans will see Microsoft branding on-field during live games starting this upcoming season. Coaches and other team officials will be provided Microsoft Surface tablets, with the possibility of further technological innovations coming from Microsoft throughout the longevity of the deal.

Recently leaked copies of Windows 8.1, which includes Internet Explorer 11, have suggested that Microsoft will support WebGL shortly, a specification that lets webpages render 3D graphics. The software giant is dropping a big hint towards that support today with a teaser on Vine. After a set of entertaining Vine ads for IE recently, the latest asks "what's next? WebGL?"

On Tuesday, before a roomful of panting games journalists and sore-thumbed enthusiasts, Microsoft unveiled its latest games console. The curtain was pulled, and the Xbox One was revealed. As gamers ruminated on the implications of the ’box (not hardcore enough? Better than the forthcoming PlayStation 4?), some of us were left confused. Why, we thought, is this console called One? I mean, the last one was called Xbox 360, and the one before was, well, an Xbox. You don’t have to be a card-carrying numerist to be confused. Does it represent a collective failure of creativity? Had they spent every ounce of ingenuity they possessed on the construction of this whizz-bang contraption and then thought: “Bugger it, let’s go the pub – we’ll just call it, errr... One.”

As a core gamer, it's difficult not to be frustrated by the manner of yesterday's Xbox reveal. Microsoft set out to champion its innovative platform, its vision for multimedia and a renewed focus on making Kinect relevant again as a convincing alternative to the traditional remote. But we wanted to know about the new generation of gaming and the approach in revealing Xbox One titles via trailers with no single identifiable example of actual live gameplay was an enormous error in judgement. The problem is that next-gen trailers look no different to current-gen trailers - so there was no groundbreaking innovation, no authenticity and therefore no buzz. Even the promising Call of Duty: Ghosts reveal - perhaps the closest thing we had to actual gameplay - was in-engine footage apparently running on Xbox One hardware. Yet there were no assurances that this was actually real-time, or that this would be the actual quality of the game we will be playing in November.

After coming out swinging a few days back with a Surface ad that focused on Office, Microsoft has a new ad that confronts the iPad head-on. And here’s the crazy part: it’s surprisingly amusing. The commercial is a takeoff of Apple’s iPad Mini piano commercial. In the Microsoft version—entitled “Windows 8: Less talking, more doing”—the company pokes fun at Apple’s personal digital assistant Siri, all the while showing off the advantages of a Windows 8 tablet over the iPad.

Phil Harrison was once head of worldwide development for Sony’s PlayStation brand, leading that platform for years. But now he is a corporate vice president at Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) and took a prominent role in this week’s Xbox One video game console announcement — including being part of the company’s confusing messaging about used games.

All games for Microsoft's Xbox One must first be installed onto the console's HDD before they can be played, according to a report from Wired. Wired reports that game discs must first be installed onto the Xbox One and, if owners want to use the disc with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc. This suggests that, once installed, games may no longer require their discs.

The new Xbox One WILL NOT require a constant internet connection. But it WILL block pre-owned.

The other day, unable to take it anymore, we sucked it up and ordered HBO. We needed our Game of Thrones fix immediately. When the order went through and we were ready to binge-watch, it wasn’t our cable box we turned on, but our Xbox. This news, I am sure, would be music to Microsoft’s ears. It may have launched the Xbox 360 in 2005 as a gaming machine filled with games for gamers, but somewhere in the middle of that long lifecycle it decided to focus what seemed to be the majority of its efforts on making Xbox your all-in-one entertainment box. Today, in announcing the Xbox One, Microsoft takes the next big step in introducing a console designed from the ground up to do far more than just games.

The Xbox One is a big deal for consoles, but Microsoft just made a massive content announcement at today's reveal event - a live-action Halo TV series. As if the existence of such a television show weren't enough, it turns out that 343 Industries is teaming up with renowned moviemaker Steven Spielberg to bring the world of Master Chief to life in serial form. Spielberg will be the executive producer and the show will provide "exclusive interactive Xbox One content," whatever that means. Unfortunately, neither Microsoft nor Mr. Spielberg are telling when the show will actually be available for your eyeballs to view, but it is, most assuredly an actual thing. And just knowing that the follow up to Halo: Forward Unto Dawn is coming is enough, right?

Now representing Microsoft in the next round of the video game battle: Xbox One. The software giant introduced the successor to the Xbox 360 at an industry event at its headquarters here Tuesday. While it didn't mention a price or exact release date, the Xbox One is expected to join the Sony PlayStation 4 in stores this holiday season. A renewal of the Microsoft and Sony rivalry will energize the global $27 billion console game industry, says Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. "Gamers have become fatigued, and they are ready for something different. Publishers have been reluctant to launch new (intellectual properties) late in the cycle, so there is a lot of fresh content ready for the next generation," he says.

Today a 3p ET/12n PT/190:00 GMT join me and the following special guests to discuss the Architecture of Xbox One. Here you’ll hear more about the design decisions behind the ultimate all in one gaming and entertainment box.

Microsoft has unveiled the new Xbox, and it's called Xbox One. It's Microsoft's first new console in over seven years. Yes, we've had many expectations for this console, especially since Sony and Nintendo have already taken their first steps in the next-gen landscape. Here's what you need to know that was announced at Microsoft's event in Redmond. The original Xbox debuted in the fall of 2005, which feels like a million years ago...even if it’s only seven and a half. It’s high time for a new console, even if some tech pundits are questioning the value of gaming hardware platforms in the current age.

Last week during Google I/O, Google sent Microsoft a cease and desist letter demanding that the company remove its YouTube app from its Windows Phone Store by May 22. The letter stated that the Microsoft-made app violated YouTube’s terms of service by stripping out ads and letting people download videos.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian's live blog of the Xbox reveal in Redmond, Washington. The as-yet unnamed console will be the first major revamp of the popular Xbox since Xbox 360 debuted in 2005. Microsoft's announcement comes two months after its rival Sony released some details on its forthcoming Playstation 4 console. The two systems are expected to have similar technical specifications and a key focus of today's announcement will be how Microsoft plans to differentiate itself from its competitor. One way Microsoft might be able to do this is with updates to the motion-sensing Kinect device. Kinect 2.0 is rumored to have advanced capabilities that can track four separate players and allow people to log in with facial recognition. It's possible Microsoft will save some announcements for its E3 conference in June and the company will likely keep quiet on a release date or price for the new console.

Microsoft Corp. will unveil its new Xbox on Tuesday. What's underneath the hood of the latest videogame console represents a multiyear odyssey of trying to figure out how to keep the machine "cool" in the age of smartphones and tablets. Since the last Xbox debuted in 2005, Microsoft has produced multiple prototypes for a new console and experimented with different technologies for it, said people familiar with the matter. The company has looked at streaming games from far-away servers to the latest Xbox; sending recorded videos of game exploits on the Web from the console; and including various television technologies, these people said.

The video-game industry’s health meter is blinking red, and its ammo belt is nearly depleted. Industry players are crawling through the darkness, frantically looking for first-aid kits and new weapons to get back into the action. Down one path a pulsing green light beckons, promising resuscitation, new capabilities and another round of fun. The light is coming from Redmond, where on Tuesday Microsoft will “reveal” the third version of its Xbox in a high-voltage news conference that will broadcast around the world.

Hewlett-Packard rolled out another Android device this week. This could become a pattern as PC makers hedge against a world that's less about Microsoft and more about Google. On Tuesday, the largest PC maker in the world - a dubious distinction these days - added a laptop-tablet hybrid to its growing stable of products based on Google operating systems. The $479 HP SlateBook x2 is an Android first for HP. It's "powered by Android, the world's most popular mobile operating system...100 percent tablet, 100 percent notebook, 100 percent Android," according to the company's ad copy.

Microsoft Internal Google Chrome Bouncing Ball Now Everywhere Parody.

Please play a game with me. Who dislikes whom more? Google or Microsoft? I only ask because at Wednesday's I/O conference Google's chief preacher, Larry Page, bemoaned what he believes is Microsoft's reluctance to do what Google wants. No, he didn't quite phrase it like that. It was more berating Redmond for allegedly milking Google for its own profits. Yes, just like Google milks you.

Google would like to endow Chrome with Microsoft's technology for letting Web applications deal with input from mice, pens, and touch screens. Developers of the Google browser said at the company's Google I/O show here Thursday that Microsoft's Pointer Events approach - built into IE10, Windows 8, and Windows Phone 8, and being standardized at the World Wide Web Consortium - has some real advantages. "We're going to start landing some experimental support in Blink for Pointer Events," said Chrome programmer Rick Byers. Blink is the open-source browser engine at the heart of Chrome. "Hopefully, we'll see it in Chrome at some point in the future."

Speaking at Microsoft's Security Development Conference in San Francisco this week, Scott Charney, corporate vice president for Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft, detailed Microsoft's journey from just issuing patches when problems occurred to following its own SDL (Security Development Lifecycle) processes, which made security intrinsic to development. "Back in the early days, it was all about whack-a-mole. Problems would occur, patches would issue," said Charney, a former prosecutor.

Earlier this week, Google sent a cease-and-desist letter to Microsoft, saying that it must remove the YouTube application from the Windows Phone marketplace. That app, which Microsoft updated to make it look like those on other mobile platforms, was criticized by Google for allegedly violating its terms of service. The company specifically took aim at Microsoft over the application's lack of ad support.

The new Microsoft Surface Pro will be released in one week in the UK. Microsoft's tablet/laptop gadget is finally going to be released in the UK on May 23, months after its US release. It is the company's most powerful tablet to-date, boasting 4GB RAM, an Intel Core i5 third-generation processor, and a large HD 10.6in screen. One major boon for this tablet is (unlike most Microsoft tablets), the computers runs a full version of Windows 8 rather than Windows RT. However, the UK retail version does not come included with the iconic keyboard that clips on to the device, rather that is sold separately for an additional £110 (approximately $168). The computer does, however, come with the "pen digitizer and pen" stylus for accurate writing or drawing.

In the light of yesterday’s well-received unveiling of the new Nokia Lumia 925 flagship phone, we grabbed 15 minutes with Nokia’s VP of European Sales and Marketing, Chris Weber, and asked him where Nokia’s future lies. His response? Unequivocally in “the Windows Phone camp”. But why has the Finnish mobile giant so recklessly thrown all its eggs into a basket lined with the most derided of operating systems when its very survival is in question? Simply it seems because everyone at Nokia, from developers to execs, is convinced the Windows ecosystem offers the most coherent and future proof service for customers.

Lots of rumors and speculation circulating today that Microsoft has a smaller variant of the Surface – let's call it the Surface Mini until further notice – in the pipeline, and there's been a lot of focus on what screen size this mythical device will have. But it's not screen size that will determine whether the Surface Mini sinks or swims. The general chit-chat hints that the Surface Mini will have a screen size of between 7.5- and 8-inches, putting it in the same ball park as Apple's iPad mini, and a smidgen bigger than Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD.

It’s not that long since Microsoft and Windows defined all aspects of computing. In the days when every computer was a functional, beige box sitting underneath a bulky monitor, what this Seattle-based company wanted was what consumers and businesses got the world over. When Microsoft decided that the best way to access software was via a mouse, even though they hadn’t invented it, that was what the world got. When the same company decided that a menu called “Start” was the place to go to find anything on your PC, and also, oddly, the place to go to shut down your computer, that was that.

Microsoft and Google have been locked in a war of words over a YouTube Windows Phone app, but in the midst of the arguments a new Scroogled ad has emerged. Designed to be an internal-only video, a copy has somehow managed to find its way onto the web right in the middle of Google's I/O developer conference.

Unlike Microsoft's previous attempts, this directly parodies Google's own Chrome ads with a bouncing ball tracking how Google allegedly targets you with ads. It's identical to Google's own Chrome "Now Everywhere" ad, set to the same music and style. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that the ad is genuine, stating it's "an internal video that was leaked."

Google CEO Larry Page zinged Microsoft for its "sad" behavior during his remarks at Google I/O, complaining about the company's us-versus-them mentality. Yet only a few days earlier, Google had served Microsoft with a cease-and-desist letter to pull a Windows Phone YouTube app. Whose behavior is really sad here? During a talk at Google I/O, Page decried tech industry competition, saying that it impedes progress. Cooperation, not competition, is the way that the world will improve, he said. CNet quotes him as saying: "Every story I read about Google is us versus some other company or some stupid thing. Being negative is not how we make progress. The most important things are not zero sum. There is a lot of opportunity out there."

Google and Microsoft are in the middle of a scuffle over the updated YouTube app in Windows Phone, but the software giant is apparently willing to compromise. Earlier this week, Google sent a cease-and-desist letter to Microsoft, saying that it must remove the YouTube application from the Windows Phone marketplace. That app, which Microsoft updated to make it look like those on other mobile platforms, was criticized by Google for allegedly violating its terms of service. The company specifically took aim at Microsoft over the application's lack of ad support.