172w ago - Today Microsoft's Major Nelson has announced that XBox LIVE is being discontinued for Original XBox consoles and games as of April 15, 2010.

To quote: I wanted to let you know that on April 15, 2010 Microsoft will discontinue Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox 1 games playable on Xbox 360.

Our first step in this process will be to turn off auto-renewals for those members who only use Xbox LIVE on a v1 Xbox. While I can't comment on the specifics, this change will allow us to continue evolving the LIVE service with new features and experiences that fully harness the power of Xbox 360 and the Xbox LIVE community.

We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realize that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features.

Xbox LIVE general manager Marc Whitten has posted this letter to the community which provides additional context.

A Letter from Marc Whitten: Discontinuation of Xbox LIVE for Original Xbox Games

Dear Xbox LIVE Members,

On April 15 we will discontinue the Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox v1 games playable...

198w ago - Today caliblue15 of BlueRayCenter Forums (linked above) has received some alleged retail pics of the XBox 360 Arcade/Elite from an anonymous Best Buy insider.

They beg the question if Microsoft is indeed discontinuing their XBox 360 Pro SKU for just the XBox 360 Arcade and Elite console versions.

However, some speculate the XBox 360 Pro won't be gone as it's still listed as '2013' with the XBox 360 Elite as 'out of stock' at Best Buy by August 30th.

That being said, according to caliblue15's source the new XBox 360 Elite is supposed to hit store shelves by August 30, 2009.

Based on the pics (below), it also appears as though the Audio/Video cable provided with the XBox 360 Elite will no longer be an HD cable. Instead, just a standard definition composite cable may be supplied... only time will tell for sure.

198w ago - I think this is another sign of new PS3 coming into town...

According to Kotaku (linked above), the Japanese stores have started to get a notice to discontinue selling the 80GB as of August 9th, which is about right before the new PS3 Slim is supposed to be announced.

To quote: The 20GB, 40GB and 60GB versions of the PS3 have been discontinued. According to this, it looks like the 80GB PlayStation 3 is next.

This notice is apparently from retailer 7-Eleven (7-Eleven sells video games in Japan) and stats that pre-orders for the Black, White and Silver 80GB PS3 will cease on Sunday, August 9 at 10am.

The reason listed is literally "For the manufacturer" -- or at the maker's request.

The notice also notes that all in-store displays for the 80GB model are to be taken down. If this is true, then Japan would be left with only the 160GB PlayStation... Or perhaps there is an upgrade in store.

268w ago - In a not-so-surprising statement, a Sony representative confirmed today that SIXAXIS controller will officially be on its way out with the release of the force-feedback enabled DualShock 3 later this month.

Sixaxis will no longer be offered after it's completely sold through at retail (likely by the summer timeframe).

So if you absolutely don't care about rumble support, take this as a cue to stay on the lookout for clearance deals on the old SIXAXIS controller.

295w ago - GameStop should just go ahead and put our tips email in their distribution list, because as soon as something interesting pops up on their POS system, we get a good four or five emails regarding it.

The latest? Apparently an email has come down informing store managers to pull down any signage regarding the Xbox 360 core system, because once their current stock is gone there isn't going to be anymore. Seems like stores are preparing for the rumored new Core system, that comes with the 256MB memory card and wireless controllers. There are rumors upon rumors, but this one rings true.