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When Microsoft was coming up with a name for its next generation console, it was hesitant to name it Xbox 2 because it would be going up against the Playstation 3 and as we all know (well, most of us, at least) 3>2. So Microsoft did what any male would do when faced with a situation where their product doesn’t quite measure up — overcompensate. Sure, they may have went a bit overboard by calling it the Xbox 360 — where I’m sure some gamers will expect it to be 120 times better than the PS3 — but they weren’t the only ones. Ginormous game retailer Gamestop has announced their Xbox 360 Ultimate bundle which includes the premium console, 11 games, and an assortment of accessories. Final cost: $1200. Ouch.

Today, the Video Game Ombudsman highlighted a great news story about Steve Ballmer’s comments about XBox 2. The article speaks for itself, but I was amazed at how un-hyped he was while hyping his baby. What follows is my interpretation of the events. Please note that some of the quotes are fake.

Treat as rumour, but the latest leak from Microsoft's camp appears to be the specifications for both the Xbox 2 and its associated, revamped Live service. And it makes for interesting reading...

Two varieties of Xbox Live are proposed, Gold and Silver, with Gold requiring a subscription.

Not only will the Xbox 2 be backwards compatible with the Xbox, so you can play your old games on your new console, but according to the latest rumour, Xbox and Xbox 2 owners will be able to play each other across Xbox Live on certain games. The rumour, sweeping the Internet, comes quoting an online questionnaire supposedly from Microsoft, saying: "Xbox Live is an online gaming service that works across both the current Xbox system and the future Xbox 2. You will be able to play online and compete against others across both consoles. If you...

M$ is planning to launch the Xbox 2 right on the heals of when Sony launches their PS3. According to the article Sony's PlayStation 2 had a 20-month jump on Microsoft's Xbox, which launched in November, 2001, and rode that lead to a 69% market share. M$ is not about to let that happen again.

The digital home is looming, with Xbox 2 as the central hub … for now it’s just media and entertainment … what about adding home automation as well … hybrids can do many things, and enable new business models … e.g. by adding and offering additional services … business models that must still be designed and/or evaluated …

I don't know If this is the real new logo of the XBOX 2 but it looks very similar to a the logo of a dutch baby strallers company called Bugaboo.

Why call the Xbox 360 and not Xbox 2 i here you say? Well its probably due to the fact they dont want to sound outdated. I mean Microsoft are revolutionary right? So why limit themselves to linear arithmatic increases 1 , 2 , 3 why not skip 359 straight to 360. I think the name rocks and the console will be awesome. Playstation will once again be dominated simply by the power of the Xbox machines.

Xbox Live is an online gaming service that works across both the current Xbox system and the future Xbox 2. You will be able to play online and compete against others across both consoles. If you are playing an Xbox game on Live you will be able to compete against people playing that same game on Xbox 2.

Yup, the LONG delayed former GameCube title, then Xbox title, is now rumored to be an exclusive for Xbox 360. The game is rumored to be a launch title for Xbox 360’s this fall (although, it’s Rare), which could happen since the game has been in development since Rare showcased the younger Joanna Dark at GameCube’s unvailing at Space World 2000 (August 2000).

Yes it is true the Xbox 2 or Xbox 360 has been revealed on the internet , this leaked picture showed up on www.teamxbox.com

As well as the standard console, an additional $100 will bag you a hard drive (which is said to fit into a port near the top of the machine), WebTV and, intriguingly, backwards compatibility - meaning that the basic Xbox 360 won’t be able to play current-gen Xbox games.

Microsoft Game Studios - whose stable includes Bioware, Bizarre Creations, Bungie, Epic, FASA, Lionhead and Rare - will produce exclusive titles for Xbox 2. As will legendary Japanese developers Yoshiki Okamoto (Resident Evil, Street Fighter), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Lumines) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy), all of whom have recently announced their commitment to the platform.

With Microsoft gearing up to reveal its successor to Xbox on 12 May in an exclusive MTV special, Xbox 2 game-makers have already begun teasing us with snapshots of what we can expect graphically from Microsoft�s next-gen giant.

Rumors of the Xbox 2 have really stepped up as the console gets closer and closer to its unveiling. So according to their sources, Eurogamer has confirmed that the next Xbox will indeed be called the Xbox 360. The logo will also be just a simple round nexus and the console may go iPod white with its color. If that last part is true that would certainly go with the white Xbox 360 controllers. Were these just intelligent guesses based on the rumors...

Microsoft has announced that the grand unveiling of its next console will not take place at E3, in Los Angeles in May, as widely expected, but via MTV on May 12. In a move that sees Microsoft talking much more directly to gamers, rather than to the gaming press, the youth channel will broadcast a half-hour show featuring hot band The Killers and Lord Of The Rings actor Elijah Wood. The show, "MTV Presents: The Next Generation Xbox Revealed" airs in the UK Friday, May 13, at 8pm.

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting a leak in the UK XBox team. As other rumors have suspected the XBox 2 will be the "XBox 360". The console stands upright like the PS2 and has a concave middle. The new info is now pointing to white as the color of the unit (instead of silver). There is still no word on the much speculated hard drive unit and there was no other info gleaned on any sort of data storage.

Team Xbox posted it's comments on the leaked Xbox 2 hardware specs. While they won't guarantee that the specs are final, at least we can get a peek at what's planned:

Microsoft it all set to release a bunch of new info about the XBox 2 on MTV. Usually this type of thing is done at E3 but Microsoft decided to break from that tradition. Probably because Sony and Nintendo will be unveling their next-gen consoles at E3. Actually, I’m not sure about Nintendo, but I’m positive about...

More stunning however is this image comparison of the Xbox 2 Ferarri to a real one - [http://image.com.com/gamespot…]

Lots of Xbox 2 news coming out. Or should I just start calling it Xbox 360. The nForce HQ guys seem to think they spotted a clue of why Xbox 360 is it.

MS seems to be readying the media blitz for Xbox 2/360/Next/Whatever.

So, the Internet is rife with Xbox 2 speculation. I know that, because Gamer Centric, an Internet news site, is speculating about the origin of Xbox 2 speculations, and reporting on the speculation, adding fuel to the speculative fire and, most importantly, another entry into NewsNow from which other journalists can draw additional speculation.

What do you reckon the Xbox 2 will be like?