Microsoft's rumored Wii Remote-esque Xbox 360 controller could be unveiled Tuesday morning, according to the lastest round of rumors. Reportedly code-named Newton, the motion-sensitive device is said to have four face buttons, an analog stick, a speaker and a microphone.

Keeping in line with previous murmurs that Microsoft subsidiary Rare was playing a key part in the device's development, Kotaku claims that the device and its integration into Rare's Xbox 360 platformer Banjo Kazooie could be demonstrated at an event next Tuesday.

Further evidence that Microsoft will make some type announcement comes from the unusual timing of the event's press embargo, as Microsoft will be allowing coverage before any media is allowed to enter the showcase.

Check back next week for more information, as Shacknews will be attending the Microsoft Spring Showcase and will provide full details on Banjo Kazooie and any other titles shown or announced at the event.

Long-time Nintendo programmer Colin Reed has left Nintendo for a position at Microsoft, Shacknews has learned.

During his 11 years at Nintendo, Reed served in many key programming roles, including technical lead on NST's Metroid Prime: Hunters (NDS) and main system programmer on Nintendo EAD's Pikmin (GCN).

Reed will be joining the team at Microsoft responsible for the racing-sim series Forza Motorsport, which is headed up by internal studio Turn 10. Prior to his departure, he was working with NST on an undisclosed project.

His resignation marks the latest high-profile departure from Nintendo. In late April, Metroid Prime series developer and wholly-owned Nintendo subsidiary Retro Studios lost three pivotal staff members.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves said that Sony's PlayStation 3 has outsold Microsoft's Xbox 360 in Europe, having moved more than 5 million consoles since launch, Eurogamer reports.

Speaking at the PlayStation Day event today, Reeves added that the PlayStation 3 managed to surpass the Xbox 360 despite the rival console's 16 month head start, and outselling its competitor on a month-by-month basis since October of 2007.

"We are particularly proud of this as it has been achieved in a similar time frame as PlayStation 2 which retailed, if you remember, at a significantly lower price," Reeves noted.

Among other sales figures divulged in the press conference were a total of 12 million PSPs and 48 million PlayStation 2s units moved in lifetime sales in the European territory.

Console maker Microsoft has once again denied rumors that it is preparing to integrate Blu-ray movie playback functionality into the Xbox 360 hardware

"We have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360," the company told GamePro. "Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."

Much like the competing HD DVD or any other optical media, the Sony-backed Blu-ray format requires specialized equipment to operate. As Microsoft produced, and subsequently axed, an Xbox 360 add-on to enable HD DVD playback, many have speculated that the Blu-ray format will eventually make its way to the Xbox 360.

This speculation has led to countless Blu-ray Xbox 360 reports from many supposedly credible sources, all of which have been squashed by Microsoft on a number of occasions.

Game peripheral developer Qmotions today announced that it has signed a North American licensing agreement with Microsoft to create a new line of wireless "full motion game controllers," starting with a full size skateboard controller.

The company licensed Microsoft's Xbox 360 wireless technology for use in the Qmotions-Big Air skateboard controller, which is said to be compatible with a number of current skateboarding titles. Under the terms of the agreement, the peripheral—along with future Qmotions products on the Xbox 360—will bear an official Microsoft endorsement.

"Our aim with the Xbox 360 system is to broaden the consumer videogame experience and ensure a perfect match between the console, the peripherals and the game," says Xbox third party peripheral manager Scott Loomis. "Qmotions has proven their commitment to providing a variety of innovative and high quality peripherals to enhance the video gaming adventure."

The California-based Qmotions has previously developed a range of motion-based sports peripherals for use with the PC, including a golf swing and baseball simulator.

The Xbox 360 hardware has sold over 19 million units worldwide since its 2005 release, according to the latest financials from console maker Microsoft.

Rival console manufacturer Nintendo revealed yesterday that its cheaper Wii hardware has sold over 24 million units since late 2006. PlayStation creator Sony Computer Entertainment has not released any recent worldwide sales figures of its hardware.

Across the fiscal quarter that spanned January 1 to March 31, 2008, Microsoft as a whole reported a revenue of $14.45 billion. Of that, $1.56 billion came from the Entertainment and Devices division, the branch responsible for the... Read more

Update: Microsoft has confirmed to MTV Multiplayer that the job listings are indeed for Peter Jackon's Halo project, with the company stating that it has been hard at work in developing the title since its announcement in September of 2006.

"At this time, it's necessary to grow the internal team to keep pace with development," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "Bungie will continue to remain involved in multiple aspects of the Halo Universe with [Microsoft Game Studios]."

Original Story: New job listings have appeared on Microsoft's careers website seeking a Creative Director, Producer, Game Engineers and others for a "new experience in the Halo universe," MTV Multiplayer reports.

The postings advertise Microsoft Game Studios position available at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters. No mention of series creator Bungie nor strategy offshoot Halo Wars (X360) developer Ensemble Studios is made... Read more

Console manufacturer Microsoft and non-profit organization Companions in Courage have partnered to provide children's hospitals nationwide with customized Xbox 360 kiosks, the two announced today.

Said to be "hospital-friendly," the kiosks will come pre-loaded with a number of child-appropriate games, movies and television programs. Equipped with microphones and cameras, the hardware will provide online communication and multiplayer via a special version of Xbox Live that is only accessible from the custom kiosks.

"These gaming stations are a perfect complement to the interactive playrooms [Companions in Courage creates]," said founder and NHL Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine.

The first wave of kiosks will be installed at three hospitals today: Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, Children's Hospital... Read more

Xbox group product manager Aaron Greenberg said Thursday that Microsoft's Xbox 360 console has picked up the core gamer demographic, citing the Xbox 360's year head start over Sony's PlayStation 3.

"I think the battle for the core user is sort of over," Greenberg told Next-Gen. "We're heading now well beyond 20 million in console sales. I feel we've secured that core buyer, and that gives us quite a bit of an advantage versus PS3, which is lateto the game and still at a price disadvantage relative to the Xbox."

Speaking on the NPD's March hardware sales data released yesterday, Greenberg suggested that the rise of the Blu-ray format over Microsoft-backed HD DVD has little to do with current hardware sales trends.

"It seems pretty clear that while Blu-ray may have won, consumers don't care. PS3 sales have actually declined week over week and month to month since the format war has ended," Greenberg added. "Games are what sell systems, and we ... Read more

Speaking on the subject of user-created mods for retail games, Microsoft XNA general manager Chris Satchell cited security concerns as the source of Microsoft's apprehension in allowing custom game content on the Xbox 360.

"If you're not running in [a limited] sandbox, how do you guarantee security?" Satchell told Eurogamer. "That's really where we've got stuck--making sure that nothing will hurt the user's system...it seems like some other platforms don't seem to care quite as much."

Microsoft's XNA programming platform currently allows enthusiast-level developers to create custom Xbox 360 and Windows games using managed code and Microsoft Visual Studio, though it restricts access to much of the higher-level functionality of the console. Beginning later this year, XNA users will be able to distribute their efforts via Xbox Live.

"I think [the democratized XNA] pipeline really is an incredible piece of innovation that will definitely enable other scenarios, and what's important about it is it's really addressing some of the problems with user-generated content," Satchell said.

While Microsoft is against any sort of unsecured game-modifying content appearing on Xbox Live, Sony has no such restrictions. The PlayStation 3 version... Read more

A Wii-like remote is indeed in development for the Xbox 360, according to 8Bit JoyStick, which cites internal sources at Microsoft.

The remote is said to be in development under the code name "Newton," and could be ready for market as early as the end of this year. The report claims that while the hardware is still in the prototype phase, software developer kits and prototype remote units have been distributed.

The report cites rumors that Microsoft had licensed motion-sensing patents from Gyration, which aided in the development of the Wii remote, as further evidence of Newton's development.

Speculation of an Xbox remote was kick-started by a report from MTV News which claimed that Microsoft had been working on the device since last summer, citing an unnamed developer.

Though rumors have been circulating around the internet at a blistering pace, 8Bit Joystick had previously broken the news of Bungie's split with Microsoft, lending a fair amount of credence to the site's "internal sources."

According to MTV News, Microsoft has been working on a Wii Remote-like motion sensitive controller for its Xbox 360 console since last summer, citing an unnamed developer who had been briefed on the controller.

The source provided MTV News with a decidedly lo-fi sketch of the controller (pictured left), and claims that the controller isn't very different in functionality from Nintendo's Wii remote. It incorporates four face buttons, an analog stick, a speaker and a microphone. The source added that there are plans for the controller to interact with the Xbox Live Vision Camera.

The controller is supposedly part of a much more ambitious plan than a simple response to Nintendo's waggle-centric casual lineup.

"They want the usual assortment of Halo, Gears, Forza, whatever, just in waggle form," the source told MTV News. "[Microsoft] marketing just want it so they can match the Wii point for point. The biggest parts of their marketing materials outline ... Read more

Microsoft has denied rumors that Taiwan-based hardware manufacturer Lite-On is supplying a Blu-ray drive for use in a future Xbox 360 hardware revision, TechRadar reports.

The rumors were initially sparked by reports from DigiTimes, which, citing industry sources, claimed that Lite-On was supplying Microsoft with Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360. Microsoft quickly responded to the speculation, issuing a statement that denied the claims.

"Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360," a company spokesperson said. "As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available.

"For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available and the ability to play back DVDs in high definition," the representative added.

The software giant has repeatedly dismissed rumors of Blu-ray functionality following the HD DVD format's defeat, with heavyweight HD DVD supporters pulling out and Microsoft itself axing the HD DVD player add-on for its Xbox 360.

As every company is apparently afraid of making an actual announcement today, Xbox 360 maker Microsoft has chimed in with its contributions to April Fools' Day.

False products advertised over at Xbox.com include the wood paneled Vintage Edition Xbox 360, a monstrous wireless headset, an Xbox 360 console designed for outdoor use, and a board game that is both based on and connects to Xbox Live.

Furthering its celebration of April Fools', Microsoft is currently offering a selection of new gamer pictures via the 2008 April Fools' Day picture pack, which is available as a free download in the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace.

Recently released documents from Microsoft reveal that drivers for Nvidia PC graphics cards were the cause of roughly 29% of logged crashes in Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, Ars Technica reports.

The documentation details that Nvidia drivers caused 479,000 crashes out of a total of 1,663,748 logged by Microsoft across an unspecified period in 2007. Microsoft's own drivers followed at roughly 18%. Rival video card manufacturer ATI clocked in at fourth with 9.3%, and Intel at fifth with 8.8%.

The information was found within 158 pages of internal emails made public as part of an ongoing lawsuit against Microsoft for their hand in alleged artificial inflation of computer prices during the 2006 holiday season.

Numerous reports of users experiencing difficulties with Nvidia drivers on Vista had surfaced at the time of its debut, leading many to label the operating system as a buggy or unstable system. The revealed statistics represent the first publicly available hard data on the root cause of Windows Vista instability.

Microsoft recently released Vista Service Pack 1, which reportedly boosts gaming performance on the platform.

Online movie rental house Netflix has issued a survey to subscribers gauging interest in streaming movies via Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, Reuters reports.

Netflix would not say if the survey signaled any plans for a partnership with Microsoft to deliver streaming movie content to the console, but noted that it wanted to deliver content by as many means as possible.

Speculation of such a deal had previously ramped up at last month's Game Developer's Conference, with rumors of an announcement surfacing after the distribution of a similar survey a week before. Microsoft would not comment on the rumor, asking press to simply "stay tuned."

The incorporation of Netflix into Microsoft's movie download service would fit the company's claims that digital downloads, rather than disc-based media, are the future of multimedia content for gaming consoles.

Microsoft subsidiary Massive Inc extended a previously-inked deal to provide in-game advertising for Electronic Arts titles, the company announced today.

The two-year extension of the deal will expand the roster of titles set to feature in-game advertising for products in various EA titles. Massive's advertising technology allows for dynamic updates of in-game advertising by streaming ads from a server whenever a game is played.

"EA strongly believes that dynamic in-game advertising is an important growth area for our business," said EA Casual president Kathy Vrabeck. "We selected Massive because they are the industry leader in this space with a global sales footprint, solid brand recognition and in-depth experience in video game advertising."

Massive currently provides in-game advertisements for the PC and Xbox 360 versions of several titles in EA's Need for Speed series. As part of the extension, the company plans to add a number of EA Sports franchises to its in-game ad service including Madden NFL, NBA Live, NHL and NASCAR.

Citing digital movie downloads as the future of Xbox 360 media playback, Microsoft today ruled out the possibility of a Blu-ray add-on player for the system.

Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Europe VP Chris Lewis was the latest voice from the company to refute rumors of a Blu-ray add-on player. "We have no plans to do anything at all in terms of further or additional movie playback peripherals," Lewis told MCV.

Lewis also stated his belief that consumer choice is turning towards digital media distribution. “My own view is very clear and I know it's shared by other people in Microsoft is that the future's digital downloads now. The broadband proliferation is amazing—people’s appetite to download movies through Video Marketplace is testament to that.

"Online is the future. And we're very well placed to take advantage of that," Lewis added.

The VP's comments add further weight to a statement made by Xbox product manager Aaron Greenburg Wednesday in which he dismissed reports that Microsoft and Sony were in talks concerning Blu-ray movie functionality on the Xbox 360.

Following hardware manufacturer Toshiba's announcement that it would cease production of HD DVD players and recorders of the format, Microsoft axed its Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on peripheral, with comments from the company prompting many to speculate that a Blu-ray player add-on was in the works.

Microsoft is not in talks with Sony to bring Blu-ray movie functionality to the Xbox 360, Xbox product manager Aaron Greenberg has revealed.

"Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience," Greenberg told Reuters.

Greenberg's comment clarifies a statement made by Sony Electronics US president Stan Glasgow earlier this month, in which the executive said that the company was in talks with Microsoft concerning an adoption of the Blu-ray format.

However, Greenberg's denial of talks to bring Blu-ray movie playback functionality to the Xbox 360 does not rule out use of the format on Windows-based PCs.

The Blu-ray format, which was developed by Sony as well as several other companies, was crowned the victor of the "HD format wars" when hardware manufacturer Toshiba ceased production of HD DVD players and recorders.

Microsoft soon followed suit, axing production of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player add-on, with rumors suggesting that an Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on player could arrive as early as May.

There is still room for improvement in the marketing and management of the Games for Windows platform, Microsoft Games for Windows director Kevin Unangst has said.

Unangst addressed complaints that Games for Windows Live doesn't offer enough incentive for those who pay for the service, noting that many gamers were confused that Games for Windows Live-branded titles required paid subscriptions for online play.

"Going out of the gate, we weren't as clear as we should have been that Games for Windows Live on the PC is free," Unangst told Eurogamer. "If you want to play cross-platform games, that's when you need a Gold subscription. Our challenge is to be clear on the message we're not charging for Games for Windows Live.

"People assumed we were trying to bring the Xbox model over to the PC, which we were not," Unangst added.

When asked for comment on the PC Gaming Alliance—a consortium of PC gaming developers in which Microsoft is a key figure—Unangst reaffirmed... Read more