Xbox LIVE on Windows 8 Video

Today Microsoft dove into detail about the Xbox LIVE service integration with Windows 8. The addition of Xbox LIVE on Windows 8 will bring general and advanced gamers a similar experience as their console to the desktop.

Microsoft showed off some demonstration about how the Xbox LIVE integration works by showing off leaderboards, achievements and even full 60fps gameplay.  

Microsoft is looking to give users a similar experience across all platforms for Xbox LIVE. Xbox 360 will receive a dashboard update later this year that will feature a new Metro-style layout. Xbox.com will also undergo a minor update to stretch the Xbox Metro theme across all platforms, even the web.

Games will be able to unlock achievements & gamerscore, get ranked on leaderboards, unlock avatar awards, use friends and community, set beacons and play multiplayer games with friends. Users will also be able to view profiles, friends gamerscore and even compare your games with your friends.

The biggest feature is that Microsoft is bringing Async to Windows 8, so users on the PC can play with other PC users, Windows Phone 7 users and even Xbox 360 users. The power of Async will connect gamers on all platforms, no matter where in the world you are.

If you've ever wanted to setup a game with friends, you can set up a ‘beacon' that will alert your friends that you will be playing a specific game at a specific time. This will help manage clan matches and connect you with friends.

Developers will have a sigh of relief knowing that Microsoft is introducing enhanced security measures with their Windows 8 games.  Pirated games will not be able to unlock achievements, use leaderboards, play online with friends or any other service that Xbox LIVE offers when a game has been detected as illegitimate.

Microsoft announced that there are currently 35 million subscribers on Xbox LIVE, with over 2.1 billion hours played per month - that is roughly 60 hours per user, per month. To date, users have unlocked 176 trillion gamer score, yes, trillion.

Windows 8 Xbox LIVE integration definitely has a lot of potential to become a huge success with not only advanced gamers, but tablet users who just want to play a simple card game.

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Sony cuts PlayStation 3 price by $50

(CNN) -- Sony is reducing the price of the PlayStation 3 game console, hoping to help the 5-year-old system reach a larger audience, the company said on Tuesday.

The base model now costs $250, and another system with twice the storage space is $300. Sony cut $50 from each, which is nearly the price of a new game.

"While others in the space are losing steam, PlayStation 3 is gaining momentum," Jack Tretton, the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said in a statement. "The new price will make the PS3 more accessible than ever before."

Sony last cut prices on the PlayStation 3 in 2009, when it released a slimmer model. Microsoft has not reduced the Xbox 360's price since 2009, and analysts are split on whether it will do so this year as a response to Sony. The entry-level Xbox 360 costs $200.

Sony's move is seen by analysts as a usual part of a game system's life cycle. Game console generations typically last four to six years, but some predict that motion-detection peripherals like Microsoft's Kinect for the Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation Move could prolong the current cycle.

Nintendo announced last month that the successor to the Wii, a tablet-controlled device called the Wii U, will hit the market next year. The news comes as the Wii, this generation's top-selling console, is experiencing a sales slump. Nintendo reduced the price of the Wii from $200 to $150 in May.

Last month, Nintendo cut the price of the 3DS, its handheld game console that displays 3-D graphics without needing special glasses. The 3DS now costs $170, a 40% reduction for a console that's less than five months old. Sales of the 3DS tumbled quickly after a promising launch, and analysts have attributed the proliferation of inexpensive, quick-hit games for Facebook and smartphones as a hindrance to growth in the market for hand-held game systems.

Sony is gearing up for the release of the PlayStation Vita, a portable game console that follows the PlayStation Portable. To compete with smartphones, it will have downloadable games, a touchscreen and 3G cellular data connectivity. The version with 3G will cost $300, and the one without will cost $250.

Sony is still recovering from a nearly monthlong outage that affected its online game networks. The cyberattack, which resulted in stolen personal and financial information, did not seem to harm sales of the console, according to reports. Sony, which has sold more than 50 million PlayStation 3 systems, compensated customers with free game downloads.

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