OK - das ist jetzt reine Spekulation...
Reached for comment today, Microsoft reiterated that they have been saying since January that they will have new hardware and software for the Zune this year, but that they're not giving out any details yet.
The device, codenamed xYz, is said to offer both gaming and media playback as well as internet connectivity, but no phone.
"Although the Microsoft handheld is definitely a converged device, this is not a Zune Phone." The source added: "Microsoft won't compete with its Windows Mobile customers."
Rumors of Microsoft expanding their Zune device to be more competitive with the iPhone and portable gaming devices have been circling for quite awhile. And Microsoft is certainly still working on Live Anywhere.
When I spoke with Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb during PAX last year he said it was still being worked on and Microsoft mentioned it at last year's Electronic Gaming Summit, very briefly.
Maybe this is the hold up? It would certainly give Microsoft something else to talk about at E3 later this month
--The all-but-confirmed motion-sensing camera controller for the Xbox 360, titled "Xbox Fluid."
--Metal Gear Solid 4 + Oxide, the long-rumored Xbox 360 port of the best-selling PlayStation 3 stealth actioner and GameSpot's 2008 Game of the Year. The announcement will be the finale of the presentation, apparently, although the game may the subject of Kojima Productions' May 18 mystery announcement.
--The second Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV, subtitled "Blood and a Four Leaf Clover." The title may be a reference to the GTAIV mission Three Leaf Clover,where protagonist Niko Bellic helps Irish mobster Packie McReary and his brothers pull off a bank robbery straight out of the film Heat. It's apparently due "this Christmas."
--The official unveiling of the long-known-about Forza Motorsport 3, which will apparently be playable on the show floor.
Finnish developer Remedy began work on psychological thriller Alan Wake in 2005. It's 2009, and some are starting to peg the title as vaporware. A new announcement indicates otherwise.
Remedy has joined forces with Imagination Studios, who is supplying the Finnish dev with "motion-capture and animations" to enhance Alan Wake. Remedy exec Lasse Seppänen stated, "It is with great pleasure that we can recommend Imagination Studios. Remedy has been extremely pleased with their co-operation and devotion in bringing the characters of Alan Wake to life."
The developer is also best know for churning out the first two Max Payne titles for Rockstar Games. Max Payne 3 is being created by Rockstar's Vancouver studio — a sign that Remedy could be working full capacity on Alan Wake.
Speaking with IGN, Rockstar's Dan Houser has revealed that, unlike the first game, this title will have a lot more in common with the Grand Theft Auto series, as it takes place in an open, sprawling world split across three territories: traditional Western turf, northern Mexico and then a "modern" town (the game being set at the turn of the 20th century).
Indeed, it seems the only thing carrying over from the original will (it's got no story links to the first game, and stars a new "hero") be its greatest gameplay asset, the "deadeye" quickdraw mechanic, though how this will be tweaked and/or modified for the sequel remains to be seen.
Houser reserves some of his most glowing praise for the scope of the game world, though. "The sense of scale, and the sense of riding across these big areas and exploring these weird corners of the map, that is part of the experience, just as much as having the shootouts and part of the story and adventure. The act of seeing these beautiful views and discovering them for yourself and feeling like it's enormous and I can go over there and see what's up that hill and see for miles in the distance, that is part of the beauty and fun of the game."
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