Electronic Arts has been there at the launch of countless game consoles throughout its prolific years, and it is going to be no different even this time around.

Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on its big Xbox reveal on Tuesday, and as part of the company’s vast hype machine, one of its big Xbox executives took time out to speak to Major Nelson on his podcast this past Friday. During the chat, Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business Chief of Staff spoke about where the Xbox brand is going next, as well as more generally about what we can expect from his company at this year’s E3.

Hitherto, the world has commonly referred to Microsoft’s next-gen console as the Xbox 720, and although it does make some degree of sense, it has never seemed particularly likely that the software maker would actually opt for this moniker. And now according to an image circulating throughout Twitter and Reddit, the next-gen console may in fact be called “Xbox Infinity,” featuring the tagline “Infinite entertainment. Infinite possibilities.” As convincing as the image may be, many have already stepped out to refute these claims, notably Forbes, whose source suggests the Redmond company may simply ‘do an Apple’ and call it “Xbox.”

As you will probably have heard by now, Microsoft yesterday began sending invitations for its Xbox launch event on May 21st, but one person who wasn’t surprised was Paul Thurrott. He initially said the announcement would be coming on April 24th, but later went on to note that plans had changed, and it would instead be unveiled on May 21st. As it transpired, the original date turned out to be the day the invitations were sent, and his revised information about the announcement proved to be right on the money.

With Sony having gotten in ahead of Microsoft in announcing its next-gen PlayStation 4 console all the way back in February, it was only going to be a matter of time before the Redmond company responded with a significant announcement of its own. Today, the software maker has sent out media invitations to an event on May 21st, 2013 at the Redmond HQ, and as you’ll see from an image of the invitation posted below, there’s little doubt as to what the main topic of conversation will be.

If you’ve been keeping abreast of the brewing console battle between Sony and Microsoft, then it’s likely that you are on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what the Redmond company will introduce with their next-generation Xbox. Sony has already let the cat out of the bag with the introduction of the PlayStation 4 back in February, and it looks like the Xbox unveiling isn’t too far away with the originally planned April event being pushed back a few weeks to take place next month.

Back in early February, it was speculated that Microsoft’s next-gen console, dubbed the “Xbox 720,” would incorporate a system preventing the use of second-hand games. It’s no secret that game developers see the practice of trading used titles as detrimental to revenue, and it has long since been presumed that measures would be in place to combat this. Further to that earlier report, yet another leak has surfaced in the form of screenshots of the XDK via VGLeaks, which only but corroborate the claims of an anti-used title infrastructure.

Sony may have beaten Microsoft to the punch with the well-documented announcement of the PlayStation 4 earlier this week, but it would seem as though the Redmond company won’t be waiting around too long before detailing its own next-gen offering. According to a report over at CVG, the Windows maker is planning a special press event to be held at some point in April – a notion backed up by several sources, who’ve received reliable Intel to substantiate such claims.

Blake Jorgensen, CFO of Electronic Arts, has given his take on the next-generation consoles of Microsoft and Sony, noting that he believes neither the Xbox 720 or PlayStation 4 will offer backwards-compatibility. Although this has long since been presumed to be the case among gaming circles, this is the first time a genuine insider has stepped out with all-but confirmation that neither of the hotly-anticipated next-gen consoles will offer any kind of support for pre-existing titles.

We are only days away from the organized event that will introduce to the world Sony’s next-generation gaming console, but while Sony may be keen to reveal what they have been working on with Orbis; Microsoft on the other hand are remaining tight lipped. The lack of public information from the Redmond company shouldn’t come as any great surprise, but we do have a plethora of leaked information to wade through in the meantime, starting with a source who is already familiar to the community.

According to a report over at TheVerge, Microsoft may be planning to implement some kind of voice-recognition technology into its upcoming home entertainment system, dubbed unofficially the ‘Xbox 720’. The current direction of the Xbox 360 implies the next-gen console will serve as more than a mere gaming portal, and with the 720 also said to be expanding on the current array of set-top box-like features, it looks as though the power of the voice will also be significantly entrenched into the next-generation offering.

This year has been huge for the game console market, with Microsoft gearing up for a long-awaited release of a next-generation Xbox, known in the gaming community as the Xbox 720, which is meant to replace the Xbox 360. While details on the new console have been scarce, a new report suggests that Microsoft will be cracking down on the resale of used games, requiring game copies to be validated online every time that they are launched, in addition for an always-on connection for the console to function at all.