Check out the following new screens from Microsoft's X06 2006 lineup:

• Alan Wake (X360/PC) - 10 New Screens
• Crackdown (X360) - 9 New Screens
• Flight Simulator X - 10 New Screens
• Forza Motorsport 2 (X360) - 11 New Screens
• Fuzion Frenzy 2 (X360) - 15 New Screens
• Gears of War (X360) - 6 New Screens
• Halo 2 Vista - 12 New Screens
• Mass Effect (X360) - 6 New Screens
• Shadowrun (X360/PC) - 8 New Screens
• Viva Pinata (X360) - 15 New Screens
• Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania - 9 New Screens

Flight Simulator X will present players with a wide array of new aircraft to fly in a beautifully rich and believable world which will contain greater detail than past entries in the franchise.

Limelight Networks today announced it has renewed its alliance with Microsoft as the Content Delivery Network to continue to deliver content and downloads from Microsoft and game developers directly via the Xbox 360's Xbox Live network.

Check out the following new screens from Microsoft's TGS 2006 lineup:

• Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs - Screens
• Blue Dragon (X360) - Screens & Trailer
• Crackdown (X360) - Screens
• Flight Simulator X - Screens
• Lost Odyssey (X360) - Screens & Trailer
• Infinite Undiscovery (X360) - Game Details
• Viva Pinata (X360) - Screens
• Forza Motorsport 2 (X360) - Screens
• Gears of War (X360)

If you bought an Xbox 360 at launch or shortly thereafter, and it has recently died, you are in luck. Microsoft finally acknowledges that their units manufactured in 2005 have a higher failure rate than ones purchased after January 1, 2006. Microsoft is now fixing them for free, or if it cannot be addressed within two days, will send you a replacement at no extra charge. If you have the three rings of death and your systems predate 2006, then call 1-800-4MY-XBOX.

At the start of the Tokyo Game Show Microsoft revealed its lineup of nearly 110 high-definition games by years end in Japan, as well as availability date details and pricing for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, and an update that will allow the Xbox 360 console to output full 1080p games and video.

Microsoft announced today that Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom will hit store shelves in Q2 2007. The Xbox 360 exclusive will take the franchise in a new direction as developer BLUESIDE and series director Henry Lee plan to create a truly next-generation Action-RPG, departing from their well-known Action-RTS formula.

Microsoft's Zune, a 30 gig digital media player, features a built-in FM tuner that displays the name of the song being played, a 3-inch screen, preloaded content from various record labels, and wireless Zune to Zune file sharing. Microsoft Zune Marketplace also allows you to download as many tracks as they want for a flat fee.

Microsoft today announced that it will release a cheaper, basic version of its Xbox 360 in Japan on November 2 to boost sluggish sales of the video game console there.

With the news of the European PS3 launch delay, certain competitors might be eager to seize on the opportunity to push extra units over the holidays. Nintendo was rather subdued in its comments, while Microsoft was a bit more forthcoming, while industry analysts say the delay won't affect things too much, except for European stores who might be in a jam, and predict Nintendo might have the most to gain. Read more for details ...

While leaked earlier through Microsoft Canada's website, it has now been confirmed. Vista Ultimate will set you back $399, while Vista Business will cost $299; Windows Vista Home Premium, $239; and Windows Vista Home Basic, $199. If you currently have Win XP, then you can get an upgrade to Ultimate for $259; Vista Business, $199; Vista Home Premium, $159; and Vista Home Basic for $99. Microsoft recently issued RC1, a near-final test version of the operating system, and will soon be expanding its Vista customer preview program allowing customers to obtain early code for testing.

At the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, Microsoft unveiled several new products to enhance its gaming line, the Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0, Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows, Habu mouse in alliance with Razer USA, and Xbox Live Vision camera, Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, headset and more ...

Microsoft confirmed today its plans to release a new portable music and entertainment player called Zune. In fact there are plans for several products, the first one scheduled for later this year. Zune will compete with Apple's iPod, and aims to do so with various technological advances, such as the ability to transfer music and video wirelessly through wi-fi, and probably an online music store through its partnership with MTV. No pricing or details on its gaming capabilities were revealed.

Microsoft today released its Q4 fiscal results, and while overall revenue increased, the profit dropped almost 24%. Most interesting, of course, are the games-related numbers, where Microsoft is happy to announce sales of its Xbox 360 are going steady, and it has now reached an install base of 5 million. Unfortunately, since the next-gen console is sold at a loss, that resulted in a 106% loss increase, even though revenue increased 94%. Microsoft hopes to achieve a positive margin over the Xbox 360 console life cycle, although so far, the original Xbox is still turning a profit.

In 2004, the EU ordered Microsoft to share program code with rivals as part of a ruling in its antitrust lawsuit. Now the EU believes Microsoft did not fully comply and imposed a $357 million fine, and threatened new penalties of $3.82 million a day beginning July 31. Microsoft of course immediately said it would appeal the fine in court, saying the unprecedented fine is not justified. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes says after two years, she feels Microsoft has still not put an end to its illegal conduct, justifying the penalty payments.

Originally planned to end in 2003, Microsoft announced that as of today, it will no longer provide customer support or issue security updates for Windows 98/SE and WinME. Analyst firm IDC speculates that currently more than 70 million users are still using the older OS and will thus be affected by this policy change.

Blue Fang Games, known for the Zoo Tycoon titles, today announced it has extended their partnership with its publisher Microsoft Game Studios, extending its multiple development projects contract through 2009.

Penny Arcade announced that exhibit space is now sold out for its upcoming PAX gaming fest. PAX '06 attendees can expect to get hands on with yet-to-be-released games and products from Microsoft, Nintendo, Nvidia, ArenaNet, America's Army, Turbine, NCSoft, Ubisoft, Mythic, Sabertooth Games, Foundation 9, Rockstar, Flying Lab, Creative Labs, The Behemoth, Garage Games and Red Octane among others.

Microsoft is currently looking for a software design engineer to join its Direct Physics team, working closely with the Direct3D team, helping to define, develop and map optimized simulation and collision algorithms onto data structures that are optimized for the GPU. Extensive experience with graphics shading languages such as HLSL is expected as well as a good understanding of modern graphics hardware and associated algorithms.

Microsoft today announced the appointment of Jeff Bell as the new corporate VP of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business, reporting directly to Peter Moore, corporate VP for the overall Interactive Entertainment Business, effective June 12, 2006.

Microsoft and Bizarre Creations today announced the availability of the PGR 3 Cadillac V-Series Collection, now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Gamers can add all three Cadillac V-Series vehicles to their virtual garage and race for an opportunity to bring home a new and exclusive award.

While the official release for Microsoft's next OS is still a ways off (early 2007), today the first details were revealed what it will take to actually run the beast. A 800mhz CPU with 512mb RAM will do the trick (1Ghz and 1 Gig RAM recommended), although graphically you will need a DX9-compatible card that supports Pixel Shader 2.0 with RAM ranging from 64mb up to 256mb, depending on your configuration.

Microsoft has filed a countersuit against Lucent Technologies, contending that Lucent infringes upon several Microsoft patents. Lucent originally filed suit against Microsoft this March, alleging that Microsoft was misusing Lucent's patented technology for decoding MPEG-2 video files in the Xbox 360.

GestureTek today announced that Microsoft has licensed its video gesture control technology for use with the Xbox Live Vision camera for the Xbox 360. A library of dev tools will be made available to all X360 developers.

Check out the following new screens from Microsoft's E3 2006 lineup:

• Shadowrun (X360/PC) - Screens & Trailer
• Gears of War (X360) - Screens
• Fable 2 (X360/PC) - Trailer
• Alan Wake (X360/PC) - Screens & Trailer
• Mass Effect (X360) - Screens
• Crackdown (X360) - Screens & Trailer
• Ninety-Nine Nights (X360) - Screens
• Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs - Features & Screens
• Viva Piñata (X360) - Features & Screens
• Flight Simulator X - Features & Screens
• Forza Motorsport 2 (X360) - Features & Screens