Occassionally villified Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has made another revelation bound to spark some interesting conversation, admitting that "the goal that I had [at Activision]...about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games."

The comment came during a Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference attended by GameSpot, during which Kotick spoke rather frankly regarding the company's culture, future and focus on profit.

The head of Activision Blizzard--one of, if not the, largest game publishers, known for such hits as Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft--noted that the company's incentive program "really rewards profit and nothing else," adding that "skepticism, pessimism, and fear" are used to keep employees "focused on the deep... Read more

Following the furor that emerged over Steve Ballmer's apparent declaration that a new Xbox 360 would arrive next year, the Microsoft CEO has issued an apology through outlet IGN:

"I confused the issue with my poorly chosen words. There is no news in my comments. Things are as reported after E3. Sorry."

Following Ballmer's mention of a new Xbox 360 in 2010 with a "natural interface," Microsoft product manager Aaron Greenberg chimed in, saying "there will be no new console" and "I really believe [Ballmer] was speaking about Project Natal."

Revealed at E3, Project Natal is an Xbox 360 add-on that packs voice recognition technology and a camera for motion-sensitive gaming. Microsoft has yet to offer a release window for the add-on, though Ballmer reportedly suggested a 2010 release.

Update: Microsoft has flat-out denied that it will release an all-new Xbox 360 console in 2010. "There will be no new console," Microsoft product manager Aaron Greenberg informed Kotaku. "We're not going to be launching a new console any time soon."

Greenberg cited a belief that Ballmer was referring to the upcoming Project Natal add-on for Xbox 360 yesterday, stressing that "we're barely halfway through this generation...we're happy with the Xbox 360, so there are no changes from that standpoint."

"What we're doing that's unique is, instead of asking you to invest in a new generation of hardware, a generation that's already well established, extending the experience even longer by adding this whole new category of experiences with Project Natal."

He further noted that there is no announced release window for Project Natal, but admitted that Microsoft has "looked at" bundling Natal with Xbox 360s in the future.

Original: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today said that a new Xbox 360 will arrive in 2010, according to a TG Daily report citing a speech at the Executive's Club of Chicago.

Ballmer described the device as having a "natural interface" thanks to a built-in camera and voice recognition capabilities, leaving it unclear as to if he was referencing the previously undated Project Natal add-on for Xbox 360 or an entirely new... Read more

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Assassin's Creed and Imagine: Party Babyz publisher Ubisoft, today revealed his belief that Apple will continue to expand into the console market.

"There's also a new entrant in the business...Apple, with the iPhone" he said in a conference call, according to Kotaku. "And we don't think they will stop there."

Guillemot suggested that Apple might not be the only new contender in the market, as he noted a belief that more powerful set-top boxes will bring "more customers" and "more consoles on which we will be able to put products" to the gaming industry.

The CEO also touched on "next generation consoles," which he previously estimated would hit in 2012. Now, however, Guillemot said "we can't give you a date [for next-gen] but from what we see there is a lot of energy to improve [current] consoles," adding that Ubisoft is "working on some of the elements that will appeal in the next generation."

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, the crystal ball of gaming, now predicts that the next generation of consoles will debut no sooner than 2013.

"We do not expect the 'next' generation to begin before 2013, if at all," said Pachter in a newsletter today.

Specifically, Pachter said to not expect any new hardware in 2010 other than "the long-rumoured high definition Wii, which is likely to upgrade the Wii to current console technology."

"We remain convinced that the publishers will resist the introduction of any video game hardware technology that requires a refresh of software, as the publishers have as yet to capitalise on the immense investments made in being competitive in the current cycle," elaborated Pacther.

"We therefore think it is likely that the 'next' generation will begin after 2013, meaning that software sales are likely to grow by a compounded annual rate of 6-10 percent for another five years."

Famed World of Warcraft developer Blizzard has denied that it's in talks with Microsoft regarding the inevitable Xbox 360 successor, often referred to as the Xbox 720.

Word that Blizzard and Microsoft were in Xbox 720 talks emerged last week via GamesIndustry.biz, which claimed that Blizzard executive Rob Pardo dropped the tidbit during a "Lunch with Luminaries" discussion at Game Developers Conference.

"We aren't in discussions with Microsoft regarding any future consoles," Blizzard, also responsible for the popular Diablo and StarCraft series, told GameSpot today.

According to Blizzard, Pardo merely noted that "Microsoft occasionally bounces ideas off of us, with no specific reference to any possible future consoles."

The company, which is also working on a next-gen MMO, added that "this [consultation] should come as no surprise, as our games run on Microsoft's PC operating system."

Blizzard executive Rob Pardo has revealed that the World of Warcraft developer is in active talks with Microsoft regarding the successor to the Xbox 360, reports GamesIndustry.biz.

Pardo said this during the Luminaries Lunch at the Game Developers Conference. Other industry figures lunching--including Sims creator Will Wright, Deus Ex creator Warren Spector and Acclaim's David Perry--said they'd yet to be approached about the unannounced console, lovingly dubbed the Xbox 720 by many.

This is perhaps surprising considering Blizzard's last game to see a console release was the Nintendo 64 port of StarCraft way back in 2000 but that's the point--Blizzard's titles absolutely dominate the PC platform yet never reach consoles... Read more

Publisher Ubisoft is expecting the next generation of consoles to start shipping by 2012, according to statements made by CEO Yves Guillemot.

"We have now enough to help us to grow the company for not only next year, but to get ready for the coming of the next generation consoles that are probably going to happen 2011, 2012," said Guillemot, according to GamesIndustry.biz.

Ubisoft has already begun readying for the new hardware, increasing its workforce to meet the demands of fresh technology.

"We have to be ready for [the next generation of hardware]. We are already hiring people and buying some technology and looking at some brands as well," he added, noting that Ubisoft will soon announce the acquisition of a new sports property.

Xbox fansite Xbox Evolved claims that Microsoft is "testing the waters" with "forward-compatible" games for the next generation of Xbox hardware, commonly referred to as the Xbox 720.

The report states that in addition to being backwards compatible with all Xbox 360 games, the Xbox 720 will enhance select Xbox 360 releases with improved draw distance, better speed, additional functionality with the new controller, and possibly new features, such as Xbox 720-only downloadable content.

Xbox Evolved compares the jump to playing Crysis on a mid-range PC, then updating the video card for better performance. The site adds that it has a solid history of reporting on new Xbox hardware, as it was the first to report that... Read more

Update: Gearbox has confirmed Yu's departure with Shacknews, adding that she served as director of platform technology, not technology director.

To clarify, Gearbox stressed that Sean Reardon has served as its technology director for many years, and that the confusion between the two's titles in recent media reports is said to have created challenges for them both.

Original Story: Amidst rumors and speculation that Brothers in Arms creator Gearbox has been tasked with developing Halo 4 for the Xbox 720, Kotaku reports that Gearbox technology director Corrinne Yu will soon depart to lead Halo technology development at Microsoft.

"I accepted the offer to lead the team to build the engines and games for future Halo's on Xbox'es and PC's at Microsoft," reads a message supposedly penned by Yu. "I assure you I will continue to help Gearbox."

The message further stated that Yu, pictured above, will begin her new role as "Principle (Lead) Engine Architect of Halo Franchise Team" beginning September 15, 2008.

id art director Kenneth Scott, Yu's husband, appears to have joined his wife in her move to Microsoft's Washington headquarters, as he is no longer listed among id Software's staff and is now a member of the Microsoft Facebook group.

Microsoft has been beefing up its internal Halo team in recent months, with former Bungie content designer Frank O'Connor leaving the studio to work more closely Microsoft on Halo projects.

Rumors that Gearbox was handling Halo 4 emerged earlier this week... Read more

Update: Gearbox Software has been approached by Microsoft to make a new Halo game, according to Variety.

"Gearbox has definitely had conversations with Microsoft about doing a new 'Halo' game and is very excited at the prospect," says writer Ben Fritz, relaying a conversation with an anonymous source "close to Gearbox."

Original Story: Halo 4 is in development at Gearbox Software and will launch alongside the Xbox 720, going by a rumor in the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, as relayed by Joystiq.

Gearbox, which helmed the PC port of the first Halo and is wrapping up the WWII shooter Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (PC, PS3, 360) and the maraca-shaking music game Samba de Amigo (Wii), recently teased it was working on a "big" project.

"It's big. It's, like, look-at-our-line-up-and-imagine-something-even-bigger kind of big," Gearbox president Randy Pitchford wrote on the company's forum back in February. "When you find out what this is, you'll likely agree that I can't oversell this ... Read more

While technology developers such as Epic Games and Crytek believe the next generation of consoles will appear in 2012, WildTangent CEO Alex St. John believes that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii represent "the last generation of consoles."

"There's not going to be an Xbox 720 or a PS4, I'll make that bet, not going to happen," St. John told UK newspaper Telegraph. "The era of consoles defined by graphics and high-production values is over."

He explained that consoles are a "game-disabling experience" designed "to prevent you [from] playing games you didn't pay for," a technique he believes is rendered obsolete by games that require players to be online, such as Blizzard's World of Warcraft (PC).

"The principal reason that Sony and Microsoft get a cut of everybody's games is because they prevent piracy," he said. "This allows the publishers to invest more money in a game because they can be confident that it won't get stolen and will have to be paid for at a premium."

As for the Wii and its incredibly popular interface, St. John likened the Wii's focus on a motion controls to the peripheral-centric arcade games that signaled the arcade's demise. "The only arcade machines you can find left today are ones... Read more

Following Epic's statement that the next iteration of its popular Unreal Engine development tools will target the PlayStation 4 and next Xbox first, president Mike Capps has roughly estimated that the next generation will run from 2012 to 2018.

"We've got Unreal [Engine] 4 in production right now," Capps said at GamesFest, according to Gamasutra "It's going to be in the next console generation--our rough guess is 2012 [to] 2018."

In its early years, Epic was primarily focused on PC software and technology with titles such as Jazz Jackrabbit and Unreal Tournament. Like many other formerly PC-centric companies, such as Microsoft, the studio has since become a major player in the console market.

"Version 4 [of Unreal Engine] will exclusively target the next console generation," founder Tim Sweeney said earlier this year. "Microsoft's successor for the Xbox 360, Sony's successor for the Playstation 3--and if Nintendo ships a machine with similar hardware specs, then that also...PCs will follow after that."

The current version of Epic's Unreal technology, Unreal Engine 3, has proven to be a popular choice for numerous PC and consoles developers as they craft titles for multiple platforms while attempting to take advantage of each platform's strengths.