Xbox 360 to be Banned in the US?

Xbox manufacturer Microsoft has rejected a settlement offer from Motorola in an ongoing patent dispute between the two hardware giants. Had Microsoft accepted, the settlement would have resolved a long-running court case that affects the future of both Android phones and Xbox 360s in the United States.

The dispute started when Motorolla sued Microsoft due to 4 patent infringements. A judge agreed upon 4 out of 5 accused infringements. A decision against Microsoft could lead to  the Xbox 360 system to be banned from reaching the U.S., due to the fact that Xbox 360s are made in china. This has already happened in Germany, which makes this a very possible scenario.

Neither side has been able to compromise with the other. Due to this, the sales of the Xbox 360 would be banned, which would deeply hurt the company.

Post by Jerome Weiswasser

Microsoft Unveils Windows 8 Tablet: Surface

Microsoft has just announced their new Windows 8 tablet called “Surface”. It will come in two different versions the Windows RT version and Windows 8 Pro. The tablet will be 9.3mm for the RT and 13.5 mm for the Pro. Both will have 10.6″ ClearType HD displays. The case has a permanent scratch and wear resistant surface. The specs page says 32/64GB for the RT version, 64/128GB for the Pro.

There is no layer between cover glass and screen, only .7mm between screen and glass. This is the closest distance of any tablet on the market today. The Pro version uses an Intel Core i5, is thicker and heavier then the RT version. The RT version will be under 1.5 pounds (676 grams) and the PRO version will be around 2 pounds (903 grams). The latest iPad is 662 grams and 9.4mm

Microsoft Press Conference Coverage

The Microsoft Press Conference started E3 2012 like normal. Kicking off with a live action trailer for Halo4 and seamlessly going into a gameplay demo. The gameplay showed off new things like the heat vision and even a Forunner gun. After Sam Fisher snuck into a terrorist camp in Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Microsoft went into the plans they had for their system such as Internet Explorer 8 that will be useable on Xbox with kinect. Xbox Smart Glass will allow you to watch videos that you started on your tablet on the xbox and vise versa and even control your Xbox. Nike came out to introduce their fitness game based off the way they train pro athletes. For media NBA, NHL and more ESPN channels will make their way to the Xbox as well as Nickelodeon and Paramount movies. Dance Central 3 took the stage by storm as we got a small surprise Usher contest. Gears of War: Judgment was announced with fan favorite Baird as the main character for this prequel. Resident Evil 6 and Tomb Raider showed off a demo with promise of Timed exclusive DLC being on the Xbox first. They showed off some new arcade games as well as Forza: Horizon which seems to take the idea of Burnout: Paradise in an open world racing game. Surprisingly we didn’t see any child actors or a huge focus on Kinect so people upset with last year’s press conference should not be upset now. Microsoft finished off with a demo of Call of Duty: Black ops 2 showing off the explosive title with awe. Future weapons and the ability to even fly a plane. The Microsoft Press Conference went with a good turn out even if the middle got a little boring. Check back with UGR as we update on everything E3 and even look back at the articles from the Microsoft Press Conference.

Post by Jeremy Kratka

Microsoft XBLA Marketplace Sale

Microsoft has revealed a huge sale of many of the products that are published by Microsoft themselves. Below is a complete list of discounted items and their new prices.

Xbox LIVE Arcade
Castle Crashers – 600 MSP
Fusion: Genesis –  400 MSP
Iron Brigade –  600 MSP
Magic: The Gathering – DotP 2012 – 400 MSP
Orcs Must Die! – 600 MSP
Trials HD – 600 MSP
Worms: Ultimate Mayhem –  600 MSP

Game Add-ons
Arcade
Iron Brigade
“Rise of the Martian Bear”  – 200 MSP

Magic: The Gathering – DotP 2012
“Magic 2012 Expansion – 200 MSP

Trials HD
“Big Thrills Pack- 200 MSP

Worms: Ultimate Mayhem
“Single Player Pack”- 200 MSP

Retail
Forza Motorsport 4
“January Jalopnik Pack” – 280 MSP
“December IGN Pack”-280 MSP
“February American Le Mans Series Pack” –  280 MSP
“Launch Bonus Pack” -280 MSP
“November Speed Pack” -280 MSP

Gears of War 3
“Horde Command Pack” -400 MSP
“RAAM’s Shadow” – 600 MSP

The Gunstringer
“Real Big Shootin'” -120 MSP

Halo: Reach
“Anniversary Map Pack” -600 MSP
“Defiant Map Pack”- 400 MSP
“Noble Map Pack” -400 MSP

Kinect Sports: Season Two
“Maple Leaf Golf Pack”- 200 MSP
“Midnight Mountain Pack”- 200 MSP

There are some really nice deals here! What will you be picking up? Let us know!

Post by @xG4M3R4LYF3x

Microsoft Allowing the Viewing of Their E3 Press Conference

Today, Microsoft has revealed that you will be able to view their Xbox 360 press conference at E3 via Spike TV. Also, for the first time ever you will be able to watch the press conference through Xbox Live. If you aren’t going to be able to watch, no worries! We will be doing live coverage of all the E3 press conferences. The conference takes place June 4, at 12:30 eastern time.

Post by: @xG4M3R4LYF3x