The Xbox 360 is keeping those third party devices at bay and those who intend to make any would literally need Microsoft's seal of approval. X-Gaming does not have such a seal. So instead of knocking on Steve Ballmer's door to get a "yes" and later find Major Nelson clarifying it as a "no", X-Gaming found a way to bypass security to enable the use of their X-Arcade stick for the Xbox 360. The irony of it all? It uses a PS2 adapter.

Xbox Live director of programming Major Nelson (also known as Larry Hryb) has clarified Steve Ballmer's statement yesterday regarding the apparent confirmation of a Blu-ray drive accessory for the Xbox 360.

After being defeated in the format wars last year, it looks like Microsoft is finally adopting Blu-ray. In an interview published today by tech site Gizmodo, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed that Blu-ray will eventually come to Xbox 360 as an add-on drive.

Microsoft has not given out a specific launch date for Natal, and yet here we have Brian Farrell of THQ proclaiming that the motion-sensing unit will be out by "late next year." Can he back up this talk with the walk?

Hands down, the biggest news for this week coming from Microsoft would be the flub by their CEO, Steve Ballmer, at a conference, saying that a "new Xbox 360" will be released in 2010. Only to have his VPs and Directors come rushing forth to do some damage control before all hell breaks loose from disappointed fans who have been waiting and wishing and praying for a new console. It was a dark cloud that hung above the Xbox 360 state of affairs, casting heavy shadows on other news that came out, though not necessarily miniscule by themselves. See what  I mean after the jump in this week's Warrior recap.

After making his "new Xbox 360" announcement at The Executive's Club of Chicago, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer personally makes the clarification for his confusing statements, complete with an apology. Even after Aaron Greenberg's quick rescue, it seems that the clarification must come from the guy who made the faulty comments. Speaking to IGN, Ballmer admitted his poor choice of words and apologizes for what it caused. More in the full article.

Oh that was certainly quite a ruckus Steve Ballmer stirred up this week for Microsoft, wasn't it? Even after Aaron Greenberg came rushing to the rescue to clarify that there will be NO new console by 2010, even Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson) has spoken out to express that a new console is out of the question cos the Xbox 360 is all set with the company's support "long into the next decade."

Well, whadd'ya know? Aaron Greenberg did step up to clarify a few things about Steve Ballmer's big announcement earlier today, and he didn't wait a day to do so. Greenberg, who is the director of product management for the Xbox 360, was quick to clarify: "There will be no new console."

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the floor at The Executive's Club of Chicago earlier today, discussing the role and importance of innovation in changing economic times. His case in point? A new Xbox 360 will hit store shelves in 2010.

Microsoft is hyping up their presence at the upcoming E3 event in SanFran next month, with boss Steve Ballmer proclaiming at the Dallas Regional Chamber that we better "Pay attention to the stuff we're announcing in the next month on Xbox."