Xbox is a great console, but let’s face it—it’s also an expensive one. Even after you purchase your Xbox in order to experience the full value of your console you still have to pay for Xbox Live membership and Microsoft Points. Thankfully, you can save some money on an Xbox Live 12 month gold membership and Microsoft Points by visiting the website prepaidgamecards.com. On this site you can purchase points or a 12-month membership at a substantial discount.

You’ll have to start out by creating a member account on Xbox Live (unless you already have one, in which case you can just skip this step). After you open an account on Xbox Live, you can purchase the membership and the points from the prepaidgamecards.com website. Then you can sign into your new Live account and navigate to the Marketplace tab where you can redeem your coupon codes for the products you’ve purchased.

What can you enjoy on Microsoft Live? You’ll be able to instantly stream popular television shows and HD films from Netflix and other networks, and you will be able to play online multiplayer games with no limit. You’ll get access to HD sports on ESPN along with access to plenty of other exclusive Xbox Live content including games and other entertainment which aren’t available to non-paid members. You can also chat with your friends face-to-face using Kinect and listen to personalized radio using iHeartRadio and Zune Music Pass.

Now that Xbox is moving in the direction of becoming a full entertainment center and not just a gaming platform, there is more quality entertainment to enjoy than ever, but you can only get it all by purchasing a gold membership and points. Now is the time to save money and get the most out of your Xbox!

If you think that the Xbox 720 may be coming out this year, there’s yet another reason to hold off on celebrating. Microsoft has recently conveyed that it believes that this year the Xbox 360 will enjoy its biggest year ever. As Microsoft has mentioned repeatedly on past occasions, the Xbox 360 still has a lot of life in it—and Microsoft is hesitant to release the next generation Xbox just yet when there is still a lot of development to do on the 360.

“2011 was our biggest year—the biggest year in Xbox history. So we’re feeling fantastic. We want to continue to build on that momentum,” says Steve Beinner, Microsoft’s director of global marketing first party games. “Without a doubt, I can tell you that 2012 can be a bigger year, and will be a bigger year, than 2011.”

During the last year, the Xbox 360 represented 40% of all of Microsoft’s new physical retail sales in all categories. At the recent Spring Showcase, Microsoft discussed its plans to continue improving the Xbox 360, and once again emphasized that the console has a lot of life in it. What they didn’t indicate was whether or not the rumored price drop may go into effect—or how long they plan to use the Xbox 360 as their main driving force. The company did state that it plans to continue to implement improvements to Xbox Live as well.

While we’re probably not going to see the Xbox 720 this year, we will likely see an overlap between the generations as we did previously when the 360 was introduced into the market. We can also assume that all the changes which Microsoft is implementing with the 360 are developments which will go straight into the 720—the 360 gives Microsoft a platform to experiment and to profit.

It’s easy to get let down by rumors about the Xbox 720, especially with Microsoft being less than forthcoming about the release date. This is to be expected though—while the rumor mill does serve to generate excitement and buzz about Microsoft’s products, Microsoft doesn’t want to contribute to those rumors more than necessary. It’s in their best interest to develop the product on their own timeline without worrying too much about speculation by fans.

Recently Cedrick Delmas, the marketing manager for Microsoft France, stated that he was “not convinced that things will happen this year,” and that “there will be nothing new in 2012. Afterward, what will happen at E3, it’s still too early to say.” The comment was in French and translated by Eurogamer. Microsoft has previously announced that it doesn’t plan to make any announcements at E3. So it does seem that Microsoft doesn’t plan to unveil anything at E3, despite the rumors that the company plans to show off the Xbox 720.

That doesn’t mean we’ll be waiting till 2014 for the next console, though. It’s true the Xbox 360 still has a lot of life left in it, but there is no reason to assume that the next console won’t overlap with the previous generation, as sometimes happens with console releases. The first official Xbox 720 ad has already appeared in a trailer for the film Real Steel. We could still end up seeing the console next year—perhaps late next year, but we shouldn’t assume that 2013 is out as a release date.

Meanwhile the Xbox 360 does continue to evolve in the entertainment center direction. Two new services have been introduced for the 360: CinemaNow (streaming film and TV rentals and sales) and Crackle (downloads of older films and shows for free). Crackle interestingly enough is owned by Sony (and therefore will probably figure into the PlayStation as well at some point). Microsoft has already stated officially that the Xbox 720 will function as an entertainment center and not just another gaming platform. This seems to be the direction that all consoles are heading in.

These days the shape of home entertainment is changing at a startling rate. With changes accelerating in other sectors of technology, companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are being forced to evolve in order to keep up. All indications from Microsoft and the other major console developers point toward the next generation of consoles functioning not just as gaming platforms but as home entertainment centers. While this represents a leap forward in console technology, it also will pose a marketing challenge.

Microsoft has stated publicly already that they plan to integrate television, radio, and other media functionality into the next Xbox. The Xbox 720 will be capable of streaming music, movies, and games, and may even replace the need for a television. It’s the evolution of digital TV which has pushed Microsoft in this direction to begin with. Digital TV is now starting to offer games to customers—although those games are nothing fancy yet. They don’t comprise console titles like Call of Duty for example. It’s there where Microsoft is still ahead of the game, and that’s where they should be able to come out ahead.

In order for Microsoft to succeed, though, they will need to find a way to market the Xbox 720 to the public. It’s great to offer customers increased functionality, and the idea of merging all this technology may seem like one of increasing simplification on the surface; but in reality, customers are likely to be confused by the change in marketing at first. When customers hear the term “console,” they think of a gaming platform—not an entertainment center. As such, it seems increasingly likely that Microsoft will market the Xbox 720 as an entertainment center and not just a console—but since that term is still new to the public it may take some time to take hold.

The Xbox 720 is likely to double as a TV; Sony already makes televisions and is certain to see the logic in combining the television with the PlayStation 4. Some industry analysts have speculated that Microsoft really has no choice in the matter and that their competition has made their choice for them. After all, we’ve seen how Nintendo has fallen behind with the Wii since the Wii doesn’t include all the streaming cloud technology and diverse capabilities of the other current generation consoles. Wii U will have to incorporate that technology to compete—as will Sony, and as will Microsoft.

Lately the rumor mill for the Xbox 720 has been on overdrive. Let’s take a look at a couple of those rumors more closely—the rumor that the next generation of console will include a Blu-Ray player, and the rumor that the next generation of console won’t play used games. We can’t determine whether there is any truth to either rumor—which is very important to remember before we go getting terribly angry about anything. On the other hand, we can look at why Microsoft would benefit or lose out from both decisions. Hopefully the company is doing the same.

Let’s start with Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray discs can store up to 50 gigs of data, which is far superior to the 9 gigs which DVDs can store. Considering that, Blu-Ray technology would seem like a good thing to implement. On the other hand, streaming data and cloud storage are becoming more and more the norm in a society which relies on services like Steam and NetFlix for movies and games. So why not go with a download-only solution? One reason might be that not all gamers have great bandwidth. Some gamers like to have hard copies of their games, and not everyone can actually wait around on slow downloads if they can’t afford high speed internet. Considering this, going with downloads only could alienate a large segment of Microsoft’s customer base. So Blu-Ray would be a sensible middle ground.

Not so sensible would be the rumored inclusion of technology to prevent customers from playing used games on their Xbox 720. The motive for a move like this would be obvious—Microsoft doesn’t appear to profit off of resold games. Nonetheless, this would be a pretty narrow view of the issue. Lots of gamers can’t afford to pay full price for brand new games. That being the case, if Microsoft did prevent them from playing used games, a lot of them simply wouldn’t play any. Microsoft would lose customers. The remaining customers would purchase fewer games, which would force Microsoft to cater to what it knows works—we’d see a lot of formulaic games and a lot less experimental games. This would harm Microsoft even more. Since Microsoft claims that it is trying to cater to a broader audience with the Xbox 720, we hope that the company realizes that preventing customers from playing used games would actually narrow its customer base and damage its bottom line.

Sony and Microsoft may be insistent that they have no plans to exhibit their next generation consoles at this year’s E3 convention, but should we believe them? Maybe, maybe not; in an era when consoles are in danger of falling by the wayside thanks to the development of multimedia television sets, it’s understandable that they should want to keep their developments to themselves. On the other hand, Nintendo is getting ready to release the Wii U later this year. The Wii U will be more powerful than the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, so it’s difficult to believe that Sony and Microsoft will just sit back and watch. Instead it seems more than likely they will want to dive in and steal the scene by giving us a taste of what’s to come.

The main reason the console race is picking up pace, though, isn’t Nintendo’s comeback, it’s actually what’s been going on with televisions. Digital televisions are becoming increasingly capable of multimedia functions. Not only can people download movies and films on their digital TVs, but they can also download and play music on them as well—and games. True, not the kinds of magnificent games we see on consoles, but games nonetheless, and it’s only a matter of time before those games become very sophisticated. With the television set increasingly becoming the center of household entertainment, console developers are thrown into an interesting predicament. They’re going to have to offer everything that digital TVs offer in order to keep up and keep from being overrun by television sets in the near future.

Microsoft and Sony have both alluded to plans to do just that. Indeed, they will probably be marketing their next generation consoles differently from previous models. They will likely be calling them something along the lines of “entertainment centers” instead of just “gaming platforms.” While games will still be their central focus, there will be an expanding focus on other multimedia functions, and also an expanding focus on a wider range of users. They will be working harder to appeal to family demographics and target all age groups.

Why is this a predicament? In the past, gaming consoles were simple. When a customer bought a gaming console, that customer knew what the device was capable of and what use it was intended for. Installation was simple as well. Indeed, as David Perry, head of cloud gaming company Gaikai explains, “For me, the definition of a console is a gaming device for the mass market. They plug in a cartridge, they flick a switch and a game appears on the screen.”

Of course, this definition is already changing—which may make marketing easier in the future, particularly if Microsoft and Sony take their time. Microsoft’s new Kinect feature, for example, which is already in use for the Xbox 360, has taken the Xbox to a new level and offered all sorts of innovative functionality which goes far beyond gaming. As customers get to know the new evolution of the Xbox through the 360 upgrades, they are more likely to understand what is being marketed to them when Microsoft does finally decide to release the Xbox 720. Similarly, Sony may do well to slowly introduce additional functionality into the PlayStation 3—and then unveil the PlayStation 4.

So perhaps that’s one of the reasons that Microsoft and Sony seem to be holding back. Even though the console race is heating up, it may be to their strategic advantage to take a little extra time getting people used to the idea that a gaming console can be more than just a gaming console.

Lately we’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about the capabilities of the Xbox 720, dubbed “Loop” by Microsoft. Some of these rumors are fairly detailed. The consensus seems to be that the Xbox 720 could be up to six times as powerful as its predecessor. According to Fudzilla, the Xbox 720 will include a modified AMD Radeon 7000 series GPU and a PowerPC CPU combined into one integrated System on a Chip (SoC). SemiAccurate confirms that they also believe the Xbox 720 will contain a 7000 series GPU.

Meanwhile, IGN reports a different theory, which is that the Xbox 720 will be using a modified 6000 series GPU, not a 7000 series GPU. In particular, IGN believes that Microsoft will be going with the Radeon HD 6670. This particular chip can support DirectX 11 capabilities, 3D graphics and high quality 1080p HD output on more than one screen. If IGN is correct about their assertion, then the Xbox 720 would already be at least six times as powerful as the current generation of Xbox.

Which rumors about the Xbox 720 are true? Which are false? There is no way to know—they are based on speculation and not on actual information from the company itself. Whenever there is real information from Microsoft, you’ll hear it here first! Nonetheless these are industry analysts and enthusiasts making these projections about the Xbox 720, and they do have some basis in the existing technology and technological trends. We have reason to think, though, that Microsoft will want to go with the most advanced technology it can since it will be competing not only with other consoles but also with PCs, which are becoming more sophisticated at an accelerated rate these days. Microsoft can draw on its experience with PCs in order to further enhance the capabilities of its future generation console.

Since we also won’t see the Xbox until probably 2013 or 2014, the technology at Microsoft’s disposal could improve significantly in that timeframe. On the other hand, we also know that Microsoft has problems cooling its systems down (from our experiences with the Xbox 360). So that’s another hurdle for Microsoft to overcome before it considers really supercharging its console with a powerful CPU and GPU. This cooling problem shouldn’t be insurmountable, so hopefully Microsoft will manage to resolve it and include the very best new technology in the Xbox 720.

There are a lot of reasons to look forward to the next generation of Xbox—but maybe also a few reasons not to get so excited. We are excited about a graphics processor which is six times as powerful as the Xbox 360 processor, the new Oban chip being produced, and of course the amazing Kinect—but we’re not too thrilled about the latest rumor from a “reliable industry source.”

What’s the rumor? Apparently, Microsoft will be implementing “some sort of anti-used game system” into the Xbox 720. That would mean you wouldn’t be able to walk into a GameStop, purchase a used game, and play it anymore. Every game you play would have to be brand new and purchased at full price. This feature would be horrible—a lot of people can only afford top lay games which they purchase used, and Microsoft would alienate a huge segment of the gaming populace with this decision. The decision would also result in a lot of waste; instead of giving up their unwanted games so that other players can enjoy them, players who are tired of their old games will simply throw them away. It could even result in a loss of business for Microsoft—all out of greed.

Fortunately the “reliable industry source” didn’t seem to know how Microsoft was planning on implementing this new technology. Indeed, the comment was so vague that we can still hope that this rumor is only that—a rumor and nothing more. If Microsoft really is considering making this move, we hope they will reconsider for their own good as well as everyone else’s. Otherwise Xbox really will become something which only the middle class can afford. The rest of us working class gamers will have to find some other console to keep us entertained without draining our wallets.

Recently a lot of rumors have been flying around concerning this June’s E3 convention.  Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but we were really starting to think we might be able to preview a couple of next generation consoles at the trade show.  Instead, Sony and Microsoft have both dashed our hopes.  Just as Sony announced that it has no intention to unveil any details about the PlayStation 4 at the E3 convention, Microsoft echoed this same sentiment regarding its own next generation console.

According to Microsoft’s senior marketing direction, Jose Pinero, “At the moment, we have nothing to announced.  What we have seen with the Xbox 360 is that the Kinect has extended the life of the console.  Historically in the 6th or 7th year console sales start flattening or going down because it’s kind of the end of life.  With us launching Kinect a little bit over a year ago, what we saw was a resurgence with Xbox 360. It makes 360 a brand new console if you think about Kinect and you think about the new dashboard and the new UI that we launched this past November. It’s like having a brand new console.”

We do see their point … sort of.  Frankly we’re excited to see the next evolution in Kinect as part of the Xbox 720.  We’re also excited to see what Pinero calls “the ultimate entertainment device.”  Pinero hints that we may see more evolution with the Xbox 360 in this direction as well—but it’s all leading to the creation of the Xbox 720, which will incorporate more multimedia features than ever before.  The next console will be directed at a larger, more general audience, in particular families.  It looks like Microsoft still has a lot of work to do before they’re ready to unveil the product—let’s try and look at the bright side, though.  It may be longer before we see the console, but it’ll be all the more impressive for the long wait!

Lately Sony and Microsoft seem to be in a mood to dissuade us from expecting their next generation consoles anytime soon.  Sony and Microsoft for example recently dispelled the rumors that they were planning to show off the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 at the E3 convention in June.  Despite all this, we’ve received a hint from Infinity Ward of all sources that the Xbox 720 may be coming out sooner than we think.  This seems to fall in line with the first official Xbox 720 advertisement which we recently spotted in the movie trailer for Real Steel.

Recently Infinity Ward posted a job advertisement seeking a Senior Environment Artist for the next Call of Duty game.  The reason this is relevant to the Xbox 720 is that the phrasing of the ad specifies that Infinity Ward wants someone with “experience in game development and an interest in working with next-generation technologies.”  The ad also specifies that the new artist will be working with “next gen shaders” and “next gen textures.”  This job posting echoes one from Treyarch back in October looking for a senior software engineer to work on a game for a next generation console.  It’s also possible that the Infinity Ward ad is actually referring to the Nintendo Wii U.  We probably won’t be seeing any of this until late in 2013 though.

Do we know anything else about the next Call of Duty game?  We don’t know what Infinity Ward is up to, but we’ve noticed that Activision recently registered a domain name for Black Ops 2.  While this could just be proprietary action to protect the Black Ops brand, it could also indicate that Activision intends to make a Black Ops 2.  As always, we’ll just have to wait and see—and meanwhile continue to enjoy the brilliant fast-paced action of Modern Warfare 3!