June 27 - 12:40pm EDT   The PlayStation 3 is already using some 65nm manufacturing, says Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai. The technology has actually been used in the PS3's Cell processor since the last holiday season, Hirai confirms, and the full switch from 90 to 65nm should be complete by the fall, when the RSX graphics processor will make the leap. Manufacturing of new RSX chips has already begun, but the company is waiting until later this year to install them. [full story]

June 27 - 10:50am EDT   Microsoft is poised to lead off E3 by cutting the price on its Xbox 360 Pro console, according to a flyer spotted by a forum user. A Kmart ad for the week of July 6th claims the 20GB console will sell for $300, or $50 less than its current asking price; the drop doesn't indicate a sale or any other form of temporary discount. The feature set appears to remain the same as for the existing console. [full story]

June 26 - 5:35pm EDT   After several years of Xbox 360 owners having to remain signed into Live to access purchased content on exchanged or repaired consoles, Microsoft on Thursday finally unveiled a DRM Transfer Tool allowing users to play content without a Live connection. Gamerscore writes that the tool provides users with the ability to re-register their games and downloaded content once per year to a new console. The process will not work on movie files, since Microsoft does not consider the content to be "owned' by the user. [full story]

June 26 - 10:15am EDT   Sony will expand its PlayStation 3 system with a video download service in the summer, the company has confirmed both through an official document on its company strategy as well as statements made by Sony Computer Enteraintment chief Kaz Hirai. The electronics giant's PlayStation Network will be one of its first services to start offering downloadable video and should start with a US-based service for the PS3 in the summer; the PSP will also have access to a service available later this year. [full story]

June 16 - 11:35am EDT   Microsoft's heavily rumored 60GB Xbox 360 Pro could make its appearance at the company's E3 keynote next month, claims a source for TrustedReviews. The upgrade would allegedly be announced at the start of the show and would at least replace the existing 20GB console when it ships in early August, providing a heavily requested boost to the storage of the default console without pushing users to the Elite model. [full story]

June 13 - 2:25pm EDT   EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich today said that an Xbox 360 price cut or model change is very likely to take place by the E3 gaming expo next month. The researcher doesn't point to specific sources but is confident that Microsoft will either drop prices on the consoles at the event, introduce at least one new version, or combine the two in a single update. It's unknown whether Sony will follow suit with the PlayStation 3, though the company is predicted to respond to any Microsoft cuts with one of its own within two months. [full story]

June 11 - 1:15pm EDT   Widespread failures of launch-model Xbox 360s are mainly due to Microsoft efforts at cost-cutting, a Gartner analyst claims. Bryan Lewis, the latter company's VP of research, says that when Microsoft was originally designing its game console, it wanted to omit third-party ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) vendors from its graphics hardware, saving tens of millions of dollars. In designing its own graphics technology, however, it produced chips which regularly overheated, forcing recalls that cost the company over $1 billion. [full story]

May 23 - 10:00am EDT   Nokia will allow users to transfer their N-Gage games from phone to phone after all, the company confirmed on Friday. The company has caused controversy by tying each game purchase to a specific phone, forcing customers to repurchase each game if they upgrade, but now says it has a means for users to port their game libraries without raising piracy concerns. The solution will at first involve contacting Nokia's support service but will ultimately include an unspecified "long-term" solution that allows users to make the switch much more easily. [full story]

May 14 - 1:20pm EDT   A forthcoming system update for the Xbox 360 should make some fundamental improvements, according to an alleged internal source at Microsoft. Due later this spring, the update is expected to carry some 80 changes or additions, among which one is listed as "Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading." Unlike Sony's PlayStation 3, the 360 does not currently allow installation of game data to a hard drive; this is because Microsoft offers a basic 360 without any default storage, and it has insisted that all titles should support all 360s. [full story]

May 13 - 7:50pm EDT   Microsoft may be readying a new slimmer version of its popular Xbox 360 gaming console. According to a report, Microsoft is bringing a skinnier, faster and less-costly Xbox 360 to market by the fall of 2009. In its quest to make the console quieter, cooler and faster, Microsoft has already begun updating its components, with an interim update due by this August. If true, the thorough redesign would likely involve an "all-in-one" Valhalla chip and manufacturing of the necessary components would begin early next year, the report said. The updated machine would not only be slimmer, but may be also re-branded with a newer, unique name. [full story]

May 12 - 5:20pm EDT   Microsoft is launching a mystery device nicknamed "Lips" as part of a gaming event tomorrow, says a rumor reportedly confirmed by 8Bit Joystick. Nicknamed "Lips," the device is expected to be a voice communication add-on for the Xbox 360 but is unlikely to be a typical headset, which is either packed into higher-end Xbox models as a wired headset or sold separately for wireless versions. Speculation has the device offering some level of voice recognition or else a dedicated microphone for music games. [full story]

May 8 - 12:50pm EDT   An improved Xbox 360 platform should arrive late this year, according to a Taiwanese publication. Industry news source CENS says that Microsoft has already begun contracting out the production of 65nm chips, which should form a part of the console's Jasper revision, said to be due in August. The timing is also said to be related to the depletion of chips for the current 360 design, dubbed Falcon. The Falcon's main processor uses 65nm technology, but most other components -- notably the graphics processor -- are built using 90nm manufacturing. A still superior design called the Valhalla is expected in fall of 2009. [full story]

May 5 - 4:55pm EDT   Microsoft today repeated its past denials that the company is developing a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. Following a report on Friday which said Microsoft had contacted ASUS for drives to be used as add-ons for the game system by the fall, Microsoft has echoed its past approach and says that it has "no plans" to launch a Blu-ray reader add-on in the near future. The company prefers to focus on the core gaming of the Xbox, according to a statement. [full story]

May 2 - 12:35pm EDT   Microsoft is turning to Pegatron Technology, a subsidiary of ASUS, to produce Xbox 360 consoles with integrated Blu-ray drives, according to reports. Exactly one month ago, Microsoft denied rumors of Lite-On producing a Blu-ray drive for its popular game console, but chose words carefully to avoid excluding other suppliers. The new account claims that Blu-ray Xboxes will ship in the third quarter, but at this stage it is not known exactly which markets will get the HD-capable consoles, nor at what price, or even if the launch is guaranteed. [full story]

April 29 - 4:40pm EDT   After last month's price drop in Europe, Microsoft announced on Tuesday it is slashing prices on its Xbox 360 gaming console again, this time in four Asian markets. In order to bolster sales and bring its Xbox "to an even wider user base," the software giant says it has cut prices of its Xbox 360 Premium model with its 20GB hard drive by as much as nearly 20 percent in Singapore, with a 17 percent decrease in Taiwan, 11 percent drop in Hong Kong and 5 percent reduction in South Korea. [full story]