There have been some rumblings over at bloomberg.com that Microsoft, along with previous News Corp. President Peter Chernin, is considering adding a subscription based TV channel to Xbox Live that would feature reruns of original television programs for a $1 to $2 subscription premium on top of the Live's annual fee.

Microsoft has refused to comment on the proposition but the idea is being discussed internally according to an insider who broke the news to Bloomberg. Chernin has also approached popular entertainment icon Conan O'Brien before he was picked up by Time Warner's TBS. Whether or not this new channel would fill a niche that Netflix or Microsoft's current media offerings couldn't already fill is arguable, especially with internet sites like Hulu already providing essentially free programming. Provide the service sans any type of advertising and wemight turn our heads a little.

Microsoft launched their virtual game room service today on Xbox 360 and Games for Windows. The service launched early this morning and had a very nice loading screen and not much else due to a technical glitch that kept the service from loading properly on both platforms. Luckily, the issue was later resolved and now a few handfuls worth of 70's and 80's arcade classics are available for your nostalgic pleasure... for a few of your money dollars cash.

Within the game room you can choose to play some arcade classics for the equivalent of $.50 a game, that is to say you pay $.50 for one round on a single game. You can also purchase full games for about $3.00 worth of Microsoft points if microtransactions, arcade style, aren't really your thing. 

Microsoft is promising that around 1,000 classic arcade titles will eventually make it to the service in the future. Not much by way of official word has been given if more modern arcade games will ever make it to the virtual arcade, but rumors are out there that Dreamcast games could be added at a future point. Total speculation sure, but its nice to dream.

Although the PS3 had a bit of a rocky start, 2009 was a big year for the console with the release of the Slim model. SCEA senior VP of publisher relations Rob Dyer believes the PS3 is "better for publishers than 360," and the price cut had a "huge impact" on Sony's sales. With that, Dyer took some shots at Microsoft and its Xbox 360.

"They had a year's head start against us, so we've been playing catch-up ball," he explained. "Before the price cut, they had a two-to-one advantage; if you were a third-party publisher looking at the index, you should have been selling twice the number of units on the 360 as you would on the PS3."

Dyer also criticized Microsoft's first-party labels, saying they don't have enough strong labels or an internal development studio.

"They have very few first-party studios at Microsoft. Bungie's next Halo is the last one, Rare rarely puts out anything, you've got Peter Molyneux with his Fable stuff...but they don't have first-party development studios inside at Redmond or anywhere for that matter," he added.

"We do," he countered. "So rather than putting their money behind that, they've been going to Epic or Valve or BioWare to do what they did with Mass Effect, and that's where they throw their dollars.

He concluded by saying, "Candidly, we're not going to compete with Microsoft on that front, but what we have is a global business here. Our global business is bigger than 360's and will continue to get bigger than 360, and people are seeing that. We passed them in Europe and they don't even exist in Japan, and we're going to catch them and pass them here in the U.S. as well."

[via Industry Gamers]

In a recent job posting noticed by CVG, it was revealed that Microsoft is currently working on bringing a "large franchise" to Project Natal.

"MGS is looking for a talented, motivated and experienced Sr. Level Designer who can create innovative game-play solutions for a large franchise," the listing reads. "The Sr. Level Designer is expected to implement major gameplay features to high quality, focusing on creating and implementing level designs. Qualified individuals are expected to be organized, with excellent communication skills, both verbally and written, and have a proven track record in AAA game design."

Any ideas on what it might be?

Microsoft announced its Windows Phone 7 Series today, which ties together Xbox Live games and Zune media onto a mobile device. Manufacturers are already building phones according to the software company, and the first line will be available this holiday.

"This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer's avatar, Achievements and gamer profile," the company said. "With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series."

We've heard it before, and now we've heard it again. At X10 yesterday, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg reiterated to Kotaku that 2010 will be "the biggest year in the history of Xbox," and indeed, the lineup of games shown off at the event was impressive. Crackdown 2, Halo: Reach, Alan Wake, Fable III, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Dead Rising 2 and Lost Planet 2 were all in attendance.

"To be this early in the year and able to have an E3-quality line-up with triple-A blockbuster titles, that really speaks to how big a year this will be for us," Greenberg said excitedly. "This is just a glimpse of the quality of products we're going to bring throughout the full year.

'If you're a core gamer we've never ever had a lineup like this all in one year, plus Natal, plus everything we're doing around Xbox Live innovation. Last year, we saved a lot of our big news for E3. This year, we absolutely have a lot of big news for E3, but we have so much that we are starting early.

"It's going to be a big year...it's going to be the biggest year in the history of Xbox," he concluded.

In 2006, the US Army approached Microsoft with an offer to buy a massive amount of Xbox 360s to train soldiers. Microsoft declined the lucrative deal citing some pretty ridiculous reasons. The report comes from a recent Wired article in which Roger Smith, the man responsible for the Army's training equipment, explains why Microsoft made the decision. According to Smith, it came down to three reasons:

• Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn’t make much money off of the games.

• A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.

• If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?"

How could these three reasons be valid enough to force Microsoft to turn down a boatload of upfront cash (after all, this was a contract deal)? Does this make any sense at all? To me, it seems like Microsoft made a huge mistake here.

Speaking with NowGamer, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter gave his thoughts on the console war, specifically with regards to Sony and Microsoft's motion-control devices. According to him, there's a few factors that will determine the "winner."

"The key to success with a retrofitted motion controller is penetration," said Pachter. "If price points are high, it is unlikely that Natal or Sony's motion controller will sell many units; if they are very low, they will sell a lot more. Without a meaningful installed base of consoles with the new motion controllers, developers will not be able to cost justify development of games that require motion control.  Therefore, it’s a chicken and egg problem."

Pachter expects Microsoft's Natal to outsell Arc because it will likely have a lower price tag, meaning greater accessibility to a wider audience.

"My uninformed opinion is that Microsoft will price relatively low (around $50), and Sony will price higher (around $100), and that suggests that Microsoft will have greater success," he added.

Microsoft announced yesterday that it would be flipping the proverbial switch off for the original Xbox Live service, effectively boning any gamers out there still playing Halo 2 and the likes on their big black box. Bungie has responded to this move, saying that it's "saddened" to see the era come to an end.

"Halo 2 fans take note – you have ten weeks left to play multiplayer games over Xbox Live before the service will be discontinued," they wrote in a statement.

"We're all saddened at the realization that an era is coming to an end but looking back, we're incredibly fortunate to have had such a great run and such strong support from our fans," continues Bungie. "Halo 2 has been at or near the top of the Xbox Live charts for original games since it launched over five years ago.

"That said, mark your calendars now - on April 14th let's all rally to go online for one last hoorah. One final farewell and one final opportunity for all of you to kick our asses at Halo 2."