‘Angry Birds Space’ coming March 22

Yesterday, Rovio unveiled the next title in the Angry Birds series, dubbed "Angry Birds Space."  The game will be the next in the already incredibly popular Angry Birds series and will be available on March 22 for several different platforms. At this time, not much is known regarding Angry Birds Space, but as the name implies, levels will be played in space. This would allow Rovio to create levels that mess with gravity, and possibly new power-ups.

Check out the teaser embedded below, and more information will be coming in early March.

Microsoft releases Xbox 360 update to address color issues with recent Dashboard overhaul

Announced via the Major Nelson blog, Microsoft has begun rolling out an update to Xbox 360 consoles that attempts to address a nasty color issue that has been plaguing a number of gamers since the company overhauled the Xbox 360 Dashboard late last year. The software giant says that the update is mandatory and that users who were affected by the issue should notice immediate improvements.

This update will increase performance and is part of our continued effort to provide the best possible Xbox LIVE experience. In this update, we are providing a fix to a color issue that some were experiencing, and it will be immediately notable in the dashboard. The fix is also being applied by partners to their apps on Xbox LIVE, which we expect to roll out over the coming months.

Microsoft released an update to the Xbox 360 in December of last year that overhauled the game console's Dashboard with a user interface similar to Windows Phone. The update also introduced the Apps Marketplace, which allows gamers to download apps that can then be used on the console.

Angry Birds soar onto Facebook – popular game can now be played on world’s largest social network

Today, February 14, 2012, Angry Birds, the incredibly popular and multi-platform game, launched on Facebook for the first time. The game is similar to what you've seen on other platforms - namely iOS, Android, and PC - but also integrates special social features, Facebook-exclusive levels, and new power-ups.

Angry Birds can be played on Facebook by clicking here.

The trailer for Angry Birds on Facebook is embedded below:

‘Temple Run’ surpasses 36 million downloads

Natalia Luckyanova, one of the co-founders of Imangi Studios, announced via her Twitter account that the insanely popular iOS game "Temple Run" has surpassed 36 million downloads. Temple Run was initially released back in August of 2011 and costed $0.99 to download. Following less than expected sales, the developers elected to make the game free and lo and behold, Temple Run shot up the charts.

It is currently the third top free app on the App Store, and it held first place for quite some time. An Android version of the game is expected sometime this month as well.

If you're not one of the 36 million who have already played Temple Run, we definitely recommend giving it shot.

Infinity Ward adds Prestige levels 11-15 to Modern Warfare 3

Following rumors from earlier this afternoon, Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling officially announced via his Twitter account that four hundred (400) new ranks, making up five new Prestige levels (11-15), have been added to the PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

In addition, Bowling notes that the new Prestige levels will be added to consoles (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) "soon," but no official release date has been provided at this time.

For comparison, Call of Duty: Black Ops, the previous title in the popular first-person shooter title that was released in 2010, had fifteen Prestige levels as well.

Deal of the Day: Xbox LIVE 12-month Gold membership for $36

Normally costing $59.99, Microsoft is now offering up a twelve-month Gold subscription to Xbox LIVE for $35.99, which saves you a sweet $24. The offer is available online only via the Microsoft Store website and gives you all of the features of a Gold subscription, which includes multiplayer capabilities, chatting with friends, and more, for a cheaper price than normal.

This is a pretty good deal, so we recommend picking it up if you're a serious gamer. Let us know if you do in the comments below!

Microsoft: 270,000 Xbox 360 units sold in January 2012

Microsoft yesterday announced that over 270,000 Xbox 360 units were sold in January, marking the thirteenth (13) straight month that the Xbox 360 has been the top-selling game console in the United States. The company also says that the Xbox 360, which is currently in its seventh (7) year of existence, made retail stores $301 million last month between console, accessories, and game sales.

Last week, Xbox 360 was revealed as the number-one selling console worldwide in 2011, according to publicly disclosed financial data from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Historically, after several years in a console’s lifecycle, demand softens, but Xbox 360 continues to defy that convention.

Next Modern Warfare 3 DLC map revealed – dubbed “Overwatch”

Robert Bowling, Creative Strategist at Infinity Ward, has posted a picture to his Twitter account of the next downloadable content map that will be available for Call of Duty Elite subscribers on the Xbox 360 beginning February 21, 2012. The map, dubbed "Overwatch," seems to be very similar to Modern Warfare 2's "Highrise" map in the sense that it takes place on a rooftop construction site. 

The map seems to be filled with shipping crates, cranes, and other construction tools that gamers will be able to utilize for cover. 

It's unclear at this time when the map will be available for PlayStation 3 Call of Duty Elite subscribers, nor when it will be available for the general community to download. 

Infinity Award announces Infected public game mode for Modern Warfare 3

Today, Infinity Ward revealed its plans to launch the widely popular "Infected" game mode on Modern Warfare 3 as a community playlist, meaning it can be played outside of private match. The plan is to launch Infected this Sunday, February 5 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. 

When you join a game of INFECTED, 10 seconds after the match begins you will either be chosen as the Infected or placed on the side of the surivors. Each side will be restricted to a specific selection of weapons.

...

The game ends when either all players have been turned into infected or the game timer ends. A Survivor's goal is to stay alive until the game ends, however, if you're turned Infected, your goal is to turn all other survivors into infected by killing them.

You will receive 100 points per kill (whether you're a survivor or infected)

Survivors receive an additional 100 points each time an infected kills another survivor.

The rest of the announcement discusses possible weapon + perk configurations that will appear throughout the lobbies (chosen randomly). 

Microsoft France: No new Xbox coming this year

According to French website Le Point, Microsoft's French marketing director, Cedrick Delma, has stated that he is "certain" the company will not be releasing a next-generation Xbox game console to consumers anytime this year. This news doesn't come as a surprise to many, but it's always nice to have some confirmation, right?

Despite this news, gamers should not completely rule out seeing a preview of the next-generation Xbox (whatever it may be called) sometime this year, possibly at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June. 

A recent report claimed that the future Xbox model will feature six times the processing power of the current Xbox 360 model. The same rumor claimed a late 2013 release for the game console. 

“Nintendo Network” announced as a competitor to Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network

Earlier today, Nintendo officially unveiled the "Nintendo Network," a service that combines user accounts on the upcoming Wii U, downloadable content on the Wii U and 3DS, and digital distribution of retail products. The Nintendo Network will be replacing the older, incredibly outdated Wi-Fi Connection service and will be a direct competitor to Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. 

The service will allow gamers to make a user account on their console, which will alleviate some headaches when multiple people are playing on the same station. In addition, the Network will handle online game competitions and communications between Wii U and 3DS gamers. 

Finally, Nintendo briefly outlined possible plans to include distribution of full retail games through the Network, but its not sure on how this will work. Both the Wii U and 3DS are apparently capable of this feature, but integration would be somewhat challenging. 

More information should be revealed regarding the Nintendo Network at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June. 

Next-generation Xbox scheduled to ship in late 2013 with 6x the processing power of Xbox 360

According to a report from IGN, the next-generation Xbox model will begin shipping to customers in late October or early November of 2013 with about six times the processing power of the current-generation Xbox 360. 

The game console's graphics processing unit (GPU) will reportedly begin being produced in late 2012, and will be based off of AMD's 6000 GPU series. "In real terms, the Xbox 720's raw graphics processing power is expected to be six times that of the Xbox 360 and will yield 20-percent greater performance than Nintendo's forthcoming console, the Wii U."

Game developers will receive development kits based on the console's final specifications in August 2012, according to the report.  

Call of Duty Elite Android app finally released, but with a slew of bugs

As expected, the official Call of Duty Elite app was released to the Android Market earlier today, one week after the iOS version of the app was released. Call of Duty Elite on an Android device allows gamers to manage their Modern Warfare 3 classes on-the-go (and immediately push any changes made to the game), as well as view a wide array of statistics. It is free to download from the Market.

The Call of Duty Elite service was initially expected to begin operations around the same time Modern Warfare 3 launched to the public this past November, but several technical issues delayed the launch until December. Mobile apps had been planned for release around the same time as well, but they were also delayed because of issues.

A number of early downloaders of the Call of Duty ELITE app for Android have been complaining of many different issues with the app, including denied login and issues with display formatting. At the time of writing, the app has a 2.9 star average rating on the Android Market, with 128 one-star rating (out of five stars).

Microsoft: More than 1.7 million Xbox 360 units sold in December 2011 in U.S.

Microsoft announced via a blog post earlier today that it sold a market-leading 1.7 million units of the Xbox 360 in December of 2011 in the United States. In 2011 as a whole, the Xbox 360 captured $6.7 billion in sales - $2.1 billion in console sales and $4.6 billion in games, accessories, etc. - and 49% of consumer retail spending. 

Microsoft also announced that it currently has more than 40 million Xbox LIVE subscribers worldwide, but didn't go into how many are actually paying for the service as oppose to those using the free LIVE Silver edition. 

The strong December capped an impressive year during which Xbox 360 was the fastest-growing console. It also captured 49 percent of consumer retail spending, with an industry-leading $6.7 billion in sales in the U.S. for the calendar year—more than $2.1 billion on consoles and $4.6 billion on games and accessories, NPD data shows.

Xbox 360 was the must-have gift this holiday season with about half of December’s retail spend on games, consoles and accessories going toward Xbox 360 products, totaling more than $1.5 billion, NPD data shows. According to internal Microsoft figures, the company has now sold more than 66 million Xbox 360 consoles and more than 18 million Kinect sensors worldwide, and has nearly 40 million Xbox LIVE members. 

The Xbox 360 now holds a commanding 46% market share in current-generation game consoles. 

First DLC maps for Modern Warfare 3 announced

Earlier today, Infinity Ward officially unveiled the first two DLC (downloadable content) maps that will be making their way to Call of Duty Elite subscribers on January 24, 2012. The two maps, entitled "Liberation" and "Piazza," will be coming to Xbox LIVE Elite subscribers first, followed by PlayStation and other platforms. 

The Modern Warfare 3 Content Collection pack, which will include all new maps to release date, will be available for purchase sometime in March by the entire Modern Warfare 3 gaming community. 

Summary of the two new maps is below:

• "Liberation" - takes place in Manhattan; has iconic battle spots; "sniper sight lines"
• "Piazza" - "vertical, chaotic" type map; great for gamers who like close gameplay; "fast and challenging; stick with teammates" 

Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software all will be working on the coming DLC content. 

In general, new content will be available for gamers during a nine (9) month season, until September. This will include new weapons, Spec Ops missions, story extensions, and more. 

AT&T to offer 3G data plans for PlayStation Vita starting at $14.99/month

AT&T today announced the different data plan options that PlayStation Vita gamers will be able to choose from if they purchased a 3G-enabled model of the portable gaming system from Sony. The carrier plans to offer a $14.99/month plan that includes 250 MB and a $25/month plan that includes 2 GB. No long-term contracts will be required for the PS Vita, according to AT&T's press release.

The Wi-Fi + 3G-enabled model of the PlayStation Vita will be available in the United States beginning on February 22 for $299, not including the price of data. AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the game console and users will be given a list of free games to download from the PlayStation Store upon purchasing a data plan.

Call of Duty Elite app comes to iOS tomorrow, Android next week

According to Joystiq, the official Call of Duty Elite application will be making its way to the iOS App Store tomorrow, January 10, 2012. Android users will be seeing their release one week later, says the report. The Call of Duty Elite apps have been delayed for several months now following several technical issues regarding server load that the Elite service saw shortly after launch. 

The mobile apps will be free to download and allow anyone with an Elite account to do the following:

• Career summary: Just like Elite main, check stats and general player information on yourself and others you've played
• Recent matches: After-action report on the past 10 matches, including scores, kill/death ratios, map information for yourself and others in the match
• Challenge Tracker: Tracks your progress through specific challenges
• Customize classes: Modify your loadout -- weapons, perks, attachments -- and push custom classes directly to game

Microsoft and Sony to both unveil next-generation game consoles at this year’s E3 conference?

According to a report from MCV, both Microsoft and Sony are preparing to unveil their next-generation game consoles at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (a.k.a. "E3"). With Nintendo also scheduled to reveal the final details regarding its next game console, dubbed the "Wii U," E3 2012 is shaping up to be the "biggest ever" it seems. If these rumors and dates hold to be true, it will be the first time in the conference's seventeen-year history that "three fresh, rival console formats will be so directly comparable."

The Xbox 360 was originally released in December of 2005, while the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii were both unveiled in 2006. Microsoft and Sony have long been rumored to be working on next-generation game consoles, but exactly when these consoles will be released to the world is still unknown. The latest rumor claims that the next Xbox could be released sometime in Winter of 2013.

All three consoles have seen both major and minor updates to keep the design and performance up to date.

Wii was still Nintendo’s big seller in 2011

The Nintendo Wii console continued to be a big seller for Nintendo in 2011 as it sold more than 4.5 million units, more than the Nintendo 3DS and DS.

Altogether Nintendo sold over 12 million hardware units in the U.S. last year, the fifth year in a row they've hit that mark. The Nintendo 3DS also impressed with more than 4 million units sold. More than 3.4 million Nintendo DS units also were sold last year. The company notes that with an impressive 2011 they have a base of users at 39 million and 51 million for the Wii and Nintendo DS lineups, respectively. 

Along with hardware statistics Nintendo also released sales numbers for many of its games, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 became the fastest selling titles in the history of their franchises while each selling over one-million units in the Unites States. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword also sold more than one-million units for the Wii in the U.S.. In addition, older titles also reach big marks. Mario Kart Wii reached over 11 million units sold just as the year closed. 

Sony PlayStation Vita sales plummet in days after initial availability

During its first two days of availability in Japan, the PlayStation Vita sold 321,000 units, leading consumers and the mobile gaming market to believe that Sony may have a winner on their hands, even before the United States launch of the portable gaming system. However, recent sales numbers for the week of December 19 to December 25 show otherwise. Sales numbers for the Vita plummeted to a little over 72,000 units. 

Nintendo saw a similar "issue" with its launch of the 3DS, but it quickly resolved the dilemma by reducing the price. As a result, sale numbers quickly rose once again. Sony may have to do something similar soon, especially considering that it plans to offer the Vita in the U.S. beginning in February for $250. That's $50 higher than an entry-level iPod touch. 

"All good things must come to an end" might just be the appropriate saying here.