There have been some interesting updates for those interested in news on Microsoft‘s next gaming console.

A report on IGN tells us the next Xbox’s graphics processing power to be 6 times more than the Xbox 360′s. This new power will be as a result of the graphics card provided by AMD similar to the the Radeon HD 6670.

Kotaku quotes “sources” as stating that Microsoft will be replacing the DVD drives that it ships with Xbox 360s with Blu-Ray drives for the next release of the Xbox.

The disc drive update will mean Xbox games will hold 25GB data as opposed to the 9GB data that DVDs can hold.

Kotaku further goes on to claim from a “reliable industry source”  that “Microsoft intends to incorporate some sort of anti-used game system as part of their so-called Xbox 720.”
It isn’t clear at the moment how Microsoft plans on achieving this. It could be a case of a game being tied to an Xbox Live account, but an easy workaround for this will be to avoid Xbox Live altogether.

Another source talks about a new version of Kinect that will be released with the new console. Perhaps there is some truth to the Kinect rumours after all. Another source also claims Microsoft is interested in making a smaller controller for the new console.

True to form, Microsoft refused to comment on the rumours:

“As an innovator we’re always thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect. We believe the key to extending the lifespan of a console is not just about the console hardware, but about the games and entertainment experiences being delivered to consumers. Beyond that we don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”

[Kotaku | IGN]

During the downtime, users will be unable to access the following services:

• PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP, and Media Go.
• PlayStation Network Account Management.
• PlayStation Network Account Registration.
• PlayStation Home
• Music Unlimited & Video Unlimited services

Users already signed in on PSN before maintenance starts will still be able to continue gaming online although access to the features listed above will be restricted. Users already signed in before maintenance starts will have any unlocked Trophies updated unto their profiles once the scheduled maintenance is over.

[Playstation Blog]

In the process on its “expansive catalog of movies, sports, television and music” for the Xbox 360, Microsoft has released a new wave of apps on Xbox Live.

The new wave of the apps include 4 on Demand, Demand 5 and Dailymotion for the UK, as well as other services globally:

· 4 on Demand (C4). United Kingdom
· ABC iView (Australian Broadcasting Corp.). Australia
· Dailymotion. Available in 34 countries globally**
· Demand 5 (Five). United Kingdom
· M6. France
· MSN Video. France
· UFC on Xbox LIVE (UFC). Canada, United States
· VUDU (Wal-Mart). United State

** Dailymotion will be available in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa.

It has to be said the streaming quality of 40D and Demand  isn’t necessarily the greatest. It barely streams in standard quality although that may not be a fault of Microsoft.

[Major Nelson]

Sony has announced a Limited Edition gold Playstation 3 slim that will be available exclusively in Japan in March 2012.

The PS3 will be matte gold and will have the main character of the One Piece manga, Luffy, etched on it. The 320GB console bundle will also include a Dualshock 3 controller, the One Piece: Pirate Warriors game and a custom One Piece theme to match.

The console will be available on March 1st in Japan for ¥38,170 (about £316 or $490 US), and the game will also be available separately for ¥8,190 (about £67 or $105 US).

[Sony Japan | via The Verge]

First we had the updated dashboard for Xbox 360 owners, albeit arriving a little late. Now Microsoft has released a YouTube app to go with it.

The app should be available for download on Xbox Live now and even has Kinect support. It is available for over 24 countries (listed below). The YouTube app wasn’t the only thing that Microsoft released today. All the released services listed below can be found in the apps Marketplace:

• blinkbox (Blinkbox). United Kingdom
• iHeartRadio (Clear Channel). United States
• MSN Video. Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom
• MSNBC.com. United States
• MUZU.TV. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
• Rogers On Demand (Rogers Media). Canada
• SBS ON DEMAND. Australia
• TMZ (Warner Bros.). Canada, United States
• RTVE (RTVE.es). Spain
• Verizon FiOS TV. United States
• YouTube. Available in 24 countries globally (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany , Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa.)

[via The Verge]

update: After a day’s delay, Major Nelson announced via his Twitter that the updates should now be rolling out.

The fall update for the Xbox 360 is not far off now. Two weeks away to be exact. Right now, the dashboard is available to beta testers and will be pushed to all Xbox 360 consoles on December 6th.

The dashboard update makes use of the Metro UI that those familiar with Windows Phone 7 devices will know. The update will also enable cloud storage options for saves and game profiles, as well as many other features.

As previously posted, Battlefield 3 for the Xbox 360 will come with 2 discs. “Battlefield 3 for Xbox 360 ships on two disks with endless hours of spectacular high-definition gameplay; disk one features the stunning multiplayer, co-op levels and HD installation content, and disk two features the superb single-player campaign.”

“It’s the same thing we do for PC and PS3, so there’s nothing extra. I think the controversy about this is that we actually let you do it on 360 for once. So what it does is it gives you the same abilities, kind of, as the PC and PS3. You can actually stream information from the hard drive. That’s new for Xbox 360, but it’s not a new idea for the gaming industry as a whole. No one has really tried to do it properly, so us doing it will create question marks.”

The texture pack installation will require 1.5GB of hard drive space. It is currently unclear how much hard drive space the texture pack installation will require but executive producer Patrick Bach recommends installing the texture pack.

“It does make a difference, yes, absolutely. The whole engine is based around streaming textures, streaming terrain and a lot of other content. The thing with the 360 is that you need to be able to give consumers a game where you don’t have to install it on a hard drive, because there are 360s without a hard drive. So we need to give you the option of installing it, rather than just demanding it. You could call it a ‘standard-def’ version for the 360 if you don’t have a hard-drive.”

Battlefield 3 was released in the US today (25th October) and will be available in Australia on 27th October and in Europe on 28th October.

[IGN]

The beta for Battlefield 3 is out today on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The early access beta testers would have received an email from Microsoft two days ago, detailing how the beta could be obtained earlier on their respective consoles. The beta is available until October 10th. So head over to your gaming devices and start downloading the beta.

PlayStation 3 (U.S.)
From storefront, click on View All By Title
Click on B
Click on Battlefield 3
Locate the Battlefield 3 Beta

PlayStation 3 (Europe)
From storefront, click on Demos
Click on A-C
Locate the Battlefield 3 Open Beta

Xbox 360
The Battlefield 3 Open Beta will be visible in the Xbox Live Marketplace under Demos, or you can go to Xbox.com via this link and add the Open Beta to your Xbox 360download queue automatically.

PC
If you have already installed our new download service Origin, go to the section “Free games”, where the Battlefield 3 Open Beta will appear for download. You can also head to this product page via the web. If you have not installed Origin yet (PC Gamers), it will ask you to do so before proceeding with the download of the Open Beta itself.

And just in case you don’t already know, Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Demo goes live on September 29th.