Sounds like Xbox Live Video Marketplace is getting a major facelift as Zune Video Marketplace, with 1080p videos being instantly streamed. Look for the new feature coming to 18 countries this fall.

Goodbye Xbox Live Video Marketplace, we'll always have a special place in our heart for you.

The good news: Zune Video, the expanded version of the Zune Marketplace that combines the current Zune download shop and the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, is coming to Europe. The bad news: according to The Guardian, there won't be any Zune HDs on which to play the stuff bought with Zune Video. At least, there aren't any plans to release the device outside of the US yet.

The other bad news: In a correction at the top of the post, Keith Stuart clarifies that "the service coming to Xbox Live is Zune Video NOT Zune Marketplace. Music is not part of the Xbox Live offering." This is still wonderful for European Xbox 360 owners hoping for expanded video offerings -- but less great for those hoping for expanded music offerings, or those hoping for expanded Zune offerings.

How this will work exactly won't be fully revealed until E3, where Microsoft promises that attendees will learn "how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE creating a game-changing entertainment experience." This integration could very well be related to the hinted-at 360-Zune team-up we posted about last December.

Still, the announcement does bring up some interesting questions in the meantime. Chiefly among them: Will video content purchased on one device be playable on the other and vice-versa? Microsoft isn't saying, although that would make perfect sense. Also, the Zune marketplace offers an extensive catalog of downloadable songs -- could this be an indication of an iTunes-like music service debuting for 360? Microsoft's press conference has just become more unpredictable.

Update: The Guardian reports that Microsoft told it to expect movie, TV and music downloads via the Zune marketplace on 360. In addition, a subscription service like (or one and the same to) Zune Pass will likely be offered to Live users, allowing them unlimited song playback and 10 song downloads a month for a set fee. Final details are expected to be announced at next week's E3.

TeamXbox has posted a story about the Zune HD, written this past January, using information going back to August 2008. The lengthy piece makes the Zune HD sound like an integration marvel -- something we're not exactly used to seeing from Redmond.

The Zune HD will allegedly be "a portable game console and media player," with the ability to link Microsoft's Skybox and integrate the current Zune and Xbox marketplaces. Something similar to the NXE will apparently function as the interface on the handheld. Zune HD will also allow users to play Xbox Live Arcade games either on their Xbox or on the handheld.

It all sounds so magical, Toto. When can we go to OZ?

[Via Engadget]

In economic times this tough, the only businesses thriving are the ones that make apple-selling carts and the Hobo Name Registry (sorry, Cleats Onionpocket is already taken). So, it should come as little surprise that Fudzilla is reporting on Microsoft's plan to lay off 15,000 of its 90,000 workers, or around 17 percent of its staff. If you'd like to know more about the reasoning behind and causes of the cuts, we'd recommend this recent Marketwatch article.

The site says it doesn't know where the hits will come, but assumes that the well-performing Xbox division will likely be spared. Sadly, the first casualty of the layoffs is apparently the guy who pushes the button everyday to make Zunes work.

If there is one harsh reality we've learned at X3F, it has to be that more people own a Zune (and care about Album Art) than we thought. While both on a market for quite some time, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Zune do not offer any special functionality when working together but MS is taking steps to introduce both devices to each other -- if a recent job posting is to be believed.

According to CNET, Microsoft is looking to add a "User experience designer" to its Zune group who will focus on the Zune user interface, Zune PC application -- used to access the Zune Marketplace -- and a Zune Xbox application. No details are listed but speculation is it could be that Microsoft is developing an application that will allow users to download, manage and transfer content from one device to another. Anything is possible with the NXE and what Microsoft calls, a much easier interface to roll out extension services to. At this point we'd settle for a little "Xbox Live Anywhere" love we were promised years ago.

[Via Engadget]

The rumor comes from the latest Zune newsletter that posts a link to this survey. After click "Yes" to the first question, question number two asks "Have you ever connected your Zune to your Xbox to do any of the following?" Not newsworthy, except for the fact that one of the possible answers is "Use my Zune hard drive for extra Xbox storage". Interesting ...

Just don't get too excited, because survey answer could have dual meanings. It could be referring to a Zune being used as official Xbox 360 storage allowing game saves and Marketplace downloads, which would be BIG news. Or the survey answer could be referring to the Zune being a portable media device and used as music and picture storage for use on the 360. If that's the case, this isn't news.

[Thanks, John O.]

Much like the Haloz before it, Gears of War 2 will receive a special edition Zune 120. The glossy black media player has the Gears logo laser-etched on the back and comes with 244 pieces of GoW bric-a-brac -- all for $280. The unit is available to pre-order now at Walmart.com and Amazon.com, and will ship on November 7. Same day as the game ... fancy that! No word yet if the military will get its own (sexier) version of the Gears Zune like they did with Halo 3.

[Via X3F]

When a company has the luxury of owning the rights to two of the industry's hottest franchises (read that, not the hottest but two of the hottest) you try a little thing called Aggressive Marketing. Aggressive Marketing is a wonderfully terrible thing. It has spawned the likes of Halo branded Mountain Dew, don't kid yourself it was terrible. It makes rotating ads for summer movies a consideration in the map design process (Sup, Rainbox Six Vegas?) and it adds a logo to expensive electronics in hopes of catching the hardcore of guard.

In the market for a Zune? Microsoft has revealed that a limited edition Gears of War 2 Zune bundle will begin shipping on November 7 for $280. The laser-etched "Crimson Omen" plastered 120GB media player comes pre-loaded with 244 pieces of Gears of War media - the soundtrack, concept art, behind-the-scenes videos and other content you've probably already seen here at X3F for free.

[via Engadget]

The Xbox brand's shaved head daddy has just been graced with a corporate title change, one that's eXtra, eXtreme, eXciting!

Mr. J Allard is now being referred to as Microsoft's CXO or Chief Experience Officer in charge of "technical architecture and user experiences related to products and services of the Entertainment and Devices (E&D) division" where he "oversees an incubation team that scouts new opportunities for the division." What that means exactly, we aren't sure. Though, we do know Allard's new CXO title has come in the wake of a the Zune brand getting a new corporate VP of which Allard used to be a part of. Now, the obvious question is whether or not Allard will use his experience and new CXO title to head up the Xbox 720 division. That said ... Bill Gates needs a replacement too.

Microsoft is not yet ready to unveil a handheld gaming device, and it may not for quite some time looking at the performance of the PSP. While Sony has met moderate success with the PSP, it has struggled against Nintendo in the sector, and in spite of better hardware, has been unable to beat the Nintendo juggernaut.

Zune, Microsoft's current music player, can play both music and video -- but will it ever play games? Perhaps. Microsoft's Robbie Bach spoke with Dean Takahashi on VentureBeat, and had a few things to say about what they're learning from the PSP. "The PSP is a reasonably successful product at the profit-and-loss level. But as a product concept, there are cautionary tales to learn from it. While it is good at producing audio, it's not a good music player because it doesn't have local storage (except for flash memory slots). You can't keep your music there. It has a beautiful screen, but you can only get the video under the Universal Media Disc format. That format hasn't been successful. On a game level, it has done well. But even there, it is mostly PlayStation 2 ports. There isn't much original content."

Bach's comments ring of some truth, but they seem to based on the image set by Sony during the PSP launch. Since then, PSP can run full-resolution video off Memory Stick (although there are still a number of arbitrary restrictions on video playback). PSP has gained a number of original non-ported games, but it must still fend off the image that it doesn't have original content. "When you do these devices, they can't be pretty good at a lot of things. They need to be great at what they do. Zune is a great music player. We have local storage, a marketplace, the social network. We didn't do video right out of the gate because you want to do those things in a high-quality way. Same thing in the gaming space. It is technically possible to do games on there. But you aren't going to see a broad gaming effort from us until we sort that through and have it figured out."

[Via GameDaily]