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Last night’s edition of Comedy Central’s fake news program had cranky commentator Lewis Black ranting about new and upcoming technology. Along with Google Glass, Black takes aim at the Xbox One and its always-watching/listening Kinect camera. It’s pretty funny stuff. (Except that Black doesn’t mention that you’ll have a bit of control over what the upgraded Kinect is able to do.) The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

The old Kinect was notorious for needing a fairly large space in which to play, so the camera could accurately capture your movements. I mean, I live in a house, and my living room setup wasn't big enough. The new Kinect, packing a wide-angle lens, is supposed to alleviate that problem, but it's not like it's perfect. You'll still need to clear an optimal amount of space. How much? Here's the official word from Microsoft: Single player about 4 ft. 7 in. (1.4 m) from sensor. Two players about 6 ft. (1.8m) from sensor. Play space will vary by game, application, sensor placement, and other factors. That's a big improvement over the original, which needed 6-8ft just for singleplayer.

Outside of its E3 press briefing, Microsoft had two McLaren MP4-12C cars emblazoned with Forza Motorsport 5 logos. We've been made to understand that these are very impressive cars. We went to Jordan Mallory, Joystiq's resident car lover, for some expert commentary.

When shown the photograph above, a single tear rolled down Mr. Mallory's cheek, at which point he looked away from the screen, staring wistfully into the distance. He has not spoken since.

Update: These are MP4 12Cs, not P1s.

Outside of its E3 press briefing, Microsoft had two McLaren MP4 12Cs cars emblazoned with Forza Motorsport 5 logos. We've been made to understand that these are very impressive cars. We went to Jordan Mallory, Joystiq's resident car lover, for some expert commentary.

When shown the photograph above, a single tear rolled down Mr. Mallory's cheek, at which point he looked away from the screen, staring wistfully into the distance. He has not spoken since.

Outside of its E3 press briefing, Microsoft had two McLaren P1 cars emblazoned with Forza Motorsport 5 logos. We've been made to understand that these are very impressive cars. We went to Jordan Mallory, Joystiq's resident car lover, for some expert commentary.

When shown the photograph above, a single tear rolled down Mr. Mallory's cheek, at which point he looked away from the screen, staring wistfully into the distance. He has not spoken since.

Today's glitzy gauntlet of E3 media briefings kicks off with Microsoft at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The event starts at 12PM EDT (9AM PDT, 5PM GMT) and should wrap up within 24 hours, which is roughly how long Microsoft employees can exist outside of Redmond before turning to stone.

Once the event starts, we'll switch this post over to liveblog mode and share descriptions and commentary on the event, which Microsoft says will be focused on games, games and games.

The second great leak of E3 2013 and it's a megat... minorto... okay, so we all figured it was probably going to happen. Just Dance 2014, which will apparently now see the franchise numbered by year, has been revealed on the Xbox Marketplace.

"This new opus will be even more social as you will be able to connect and dance with players from all over the world and share a unique dancing experience with them," reads the marketplace description. The only song we can pretty clearly guess is included in the game is the theme to the movie Ghostbusters (pictured).

We're sure to hear more about this multi-million sellling franchise during tomorrow's, er, today's Ubisoft E3 press conference.

E3 kicks off tomorrow, June 10, with four press conferences. Four! We'll be at all of them and we hope you join us for all the gasps, heartbreak, triumph and screaming. Here are the start times and feel free to bookmark these links:

• Microsoft at 12PM (9AM Pacific, 5PM UK)
• EA 3:30PM (12:30PM Pacific, 8:30PM UK)
• Ubisoft 6:00PM (3PM Pacific, 11PM UK)
• Sony 9PM (6PM Pacific, 2AM (June 11) UK)

It's going to be a full day, so drink your Ovaltine. Don't be surprised if the decoder message is that you'll never rent a game again. [Image: Stephanie Frey via Shutterstock]

Responding to worries that an always-on Kinect sensor recording camera and audio information would be a threat to user privacy, Microsoft offers a simple solution: the ability to turn the Kinect off. You are in control of the Kinect, not the other way around. That's the message Microsoft is trying to get across in "Privacy by Design: How Xbox One and the New Kinect Sensor Put You in Control." The damage-controlling article explains that while the Xbox One functions better with Kinect enabled, it doesn't have to be that way. Unless utilizing a game or feature that requires the sensor, Kinect can be paused. When not using your Xbox One, it can be turned off with a simple "Xbox Off" voice command. In off mode, the system listens for "Xbox On", and that's it — and even that functionality can be disabled. And hey, just because using the Kinect is incredibly convenient and fun and awesome and you should totally do it, you can use your stupid old controller or a remote instead. I don't know about you guys, but my fears are assuaged. Here are all the soothing bullet points. You are in control of what Kinect can see and hear: By design, you will determine how responsive and personalized your Xbox One is to you and your family during setup. The system will navigate you through key privacy options, like automatic or manual sign in, privacy settings, and clear notifications about how data is used. When Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded. You are in control of when Kinect sensing is On, Off or Paused: If you don’t want the Kinect sensor on while playing games or enjoying your entertainment, you can pause Kinect. To turn off your Xbox One, just say “Xbox Off.” When the system is off, it’s only listening for the single voice command — “Xbox On,” and you can even turn that feature off too. Some apps and games may require Kinect functionality to operate, so you’ll need to turn it back on for these experiences.You are in control of your personal data: You can play games or enjoy applications that use data, such as videos, photos, facial expressions, heart rate and more, but this data will not leave your Xbox One without your explicit permission. Here are a few examples of potential future scenarios: A fitness game could measure heart rate data to provide you with improved feedback on your workout, allow you to track your progress, or even measure calories burned.A card game could allow you to bluff your virtual opponent using your facial expressions. You can use other inputs to control your games, TV and entertainment experiences: While it’s faster to find what you’re looking for using your voice and gesture commands with Kinect, you can use a controller, your remote controls or your smart devices instead. And you can use all of these devices when Kinect is paused.

We’ve already gotten a good look at some new features of the Xbox One controller, like the improved analog sticks, difference in grip texture and new trigger feedback. There’s even more info in a new post on the Xbox news site. But the thing that excites me the most is the fact that you won’t have to sync the damn thing up every time you walk away from it: Low Power State – If you’re watching a movie or need to step away from the TV, the controller enters a low power state that conserves your battery. The moment you pick it up again, it will be ready for use without having to resynch with the console. The post also discusses how Kinect will be used to pair controllers to the Xbox One console and sense who’s using a game pad: Seamless Connectivity – Each controller uses a combination of invisible reflective technology and LEDs to send a patterned infrared signal to your console and Kinect sensor. Not only does this make pairing the devices seamless, but it enables Kinect to associate the controller with whoever is holding it. This introduces innovative experiences, such as player switching, where a split screen display can swap positions on the TV if users change seats on the couch. Like all features in new hardware, this stuff will only reach its most intriguing state after developers start messing around with it. But I, for one, will be glad to never have to to press a Synch button again.

The Xbox One will always be watching, waiting—and GrittyReboots rolls with that premise with this video, where the new Kinect is terrifyingly like Hal 9000. Of course, while this take on the Xbox One is funny, the Xbone experience will be nothing like this....hopefully! Xbox One: A Space Odyssey [GrittyReboots]

It's been two years since Lima Sky announced it would be bringing mobile sensation Doodle Jump to the Xbox 360 as a Kinect-powered downloadable game, and the thought tickles me just as much today as it did back then, only now there are pretty screens to temper my amusement. They're pretty sharp screens as well, more akin to an animated cartoon than the simple doodles jumping of games' past. Developer Smoking Gun Interactive has done a fine job capturing the look of Doodle Jump, and it's sure to be incredibly pretty on a large HDTV. I just hope there's an option to forego Kinect for traditional controls. As wonderful as three exclusive new worlds' worth of Doodle Jump goodness sounds, any excitement is negated by the idea of moving left and right to maneuver the character, flapping my arms to fly and shooting with hand gestures.

Doodle Jump for Kinect on Xbox Live Arcade will launch for 400 MS Points ($5) this summer.

Smoking Gun Interactive will adapt Lima Sky's popular vertical platformer to Kinect, adding "three brand-new worlds, treacherous bosses, challenging achievements, engaging power-ups and intuitive gesture controls." Those gestures include lateral full-body movement and "a flap of the arms" to control flying, just as you would in real life.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is planning major changes within company management, AllThingsD reports. The changes would focus on making Microsoft a "devices and services" company, a focus Ballmer outlined in his shareholder letter in October.

"This is a significant shift, both in what we do and how we see ourselves - as a devices and services company," Ballmer wrote. "It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses."

This restructuring could impact Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment (Xbox) division, giving President Don Mattrick a larger role, the report says. Other top executives may see expanded responsibilities, including Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft's Servers and Tools division, and Tony Bates, president of the Skype communications division.

Last week, Nomura Equity Research analyst Rich Sherlund suggested Microsoft sell off its Xbox and Bing divisions, noting that shareholders may demand more influence in the company as they seek larger returns on their investments.

Sony, Microsoft's major console competitor, is currently considering an IPO of its entertainment division, following a proposition from Third Point LLC's Daniel Loeb.

When you think of Japanese music games, you probably think of people doing elaborate dance routines. If you want to rack up a high score, you need to move. Or do you? Above, you can see YouTube user Aicecream777 dancing her heart out while playing Dance Evolution Arcade, the Japanese arcade version of the Kinect original. But, as YouTube user Ugougogon2 shows, you don't need to dance your heart out. Heck, you don't even need to dance. You can kinda just stand there and get a perfect score. Apparently, this works on the song "Magic Love 1000%" and you need to strike the same pose that Ugougogon2 does—not an easy pose at that! Be sure to watch his video all the way to the end. ダンエボ初心者におすすめ？ [Ugougogon2@YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

If you're searching for beauty and a beat, the entire Dance Central 3 downloadable content catalog is on sale through June 3. The routines are 50 percent off at 160 Microsoft Points ($2) apiece, with over 80 tracks featuring original choreography available - don't worry, Gangnam Style still features the horsey move.

Developer Harmonix is also offering dance packs for particular tastes. You know, if you only want Fergie, Rihanna or the Biebs at an even greater discount. Some of those tracks are listed after the break, the full list can be found on Harmonix's DC3 site.

So Microsoft suggested it in an exceedingly casual, nonspecific manner, so shall it be. Xbox One’s infinitely more sensitive (it cries during movies and everything) Kinect is headed to PC as well, and it’ll come with a new SDK in tow. One caveat, though: Microsoft really isn’t expecting you to use it for gaming. Case in point: “Just as the new Kinect sensor will bring opportunities for revolutionizing gaming and entertainment, the new Kinect for Windows sensor will revolutionize computing experiences.” This one, then, will be targeted toward businesses and touch-free apps. Honestly, though, that’s not a huge change from Kinect’s first go-’round in our icy cool land of cybertronic future monoliths. What I’m worried about is the “next-gen” edition’s ability to be keenly aware of, well, everything. If the console version’s a useless heap of Orwellian scrap when not plugged into an Xbox, what’s to stop the PC one from pitching a fit unless it’s hooked up to a Windows 8 machine?

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The International Trade Commission has decided not to review the decision made last March by the administrative law judge presiding over Motorola's patent infringement case against Microsoft, thereby validating the judge's findings - which were in favor of Microsoft - and closing the case, Engadget reports.

The initial scuffle, first filed in 2010, claimed that Microsoft had infringed upon five of Motorola Mobility's patents. Four patents were dropped from the case during the course of the proceedings, the last remaining patent covering peer-to-peer communication between wireless devices.

Originally, ITC judge David Shaw ruled in favor of Motorola and subsequently recommended a ban on Xbox imports into the US. Then, in June of last year, the ITC remanded the decision back to the administrative law judge and asked him to take another look, effectively starting the process all over again. His second ruling, this time in favor of Microsoft, was delivered last March and will be the final word on the subject, now that the ITC has declined the opportunity to review his decision.

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has confirmed that the Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Ghosts will have some form of Kinect voice commands. Speaking to VentureBeat, Hirshberg said, "I made a passing comment that you're going to see voice integration, voice commands via Kinect, which is something that we haven't done in the past with Call of Duty." He added that the improvements made to Kinect for Xbox One "really excite" the publisher.

Hirshberg also reassured fans that Kinect support won't be careless. "We've always made sure that we don't just use new technology for novelty's sake, he said. "We always make sure that it makes the gameplay better. In this case, we think it will."

He didn't elaborate on what the voice commands might be, but we imagine they will be something along the lines of, "Come here! Who's a good boy? Are you a good boy? Yes, you are. Yes, you are!"

GameStop's stock concluded the trading week down 19 percent, attributable to continuing investor concerns over Xbox One's used games market solution. The most volatile decline occurred after a report out of the UK this morning claimed GameStop's margins in the pre-owned market would be affected by others taking a cut.

Microsoft sent out the following statement a half hour before trading closed today: "The ability to trade in and resell games is important to gamers and to Xbox. Xbox One is designed to support the trade in and resale of games. Reports about our policies for trade in and resale are inaccurate and incomplete. We will disclose more information in the near future."

GameStop's stock dropped nearly 11 percent today, down $3.90/share to $32.11. At its worst, the company's stock was down to $31/share today. GameStop concluded its previous fiscal year with pre-owned video game products representing $2.4 billion in sales (27.4 percent for the year). If you want a public answer to Microsoft's used game plans, you got nothing on the company that's losing hundreds of millions in value off the situation. [Image: nuttapol yupothong via Shutterstock]

This week's live Super Joystiq Podcast is all about the Xbox One. This is our second show on the topic, but a lot more info has trickled out in the last two days. We'll also get to hear the straight dope straight from our own Ludwig Kietzmann and Alexander Sliwinski, who both attended Microsoft's Xbox Reveal event in Washington.

And since we're on the subject of Xbox, we'll be giving away a very limited edition Xbox 360 controller - there's only one of them - featuring the Joystiq logo and long-lasting, built-in lithium-ion battery. Tune it to see how you can win.

The show goes live at 3:45 ET!

Yesterday’s Xbox One reveal may have prompted long sighs and tweets of derision from everyone not also watching ESPN and drinking beer from a hat at that very moment, but one portion of it at least sounded pretty impressive. Apparently Kinect One (which is actually Kinect Two, which I guess makes the original Kinect A, Kinect Prime, Kinect Route Zero or some other confusing designation) is quite a technological step up from its predecessor, allegedly able to track facial features, joints, fingers, and even the number of calories you’re burning while moving around. It’s also always watching as long as it’s plugged in, which – privacy promises from Microsoft or not – is basically terrifying. Intrigued? Researching the logistics of living among the animals in some far-off wilderness? Well regardless, Microsoft’s even more all-seeing eye will eventually end up on PC.

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In preparing the big reveal for the next Xbox, it seems Microsoft forgot all about how the current one works, because reports from Twitter show that a lot of people ran into problems today when they tried to watch the show on their Xbox 360. It seems that for some folks, every time an executive said something like "Xbox" or "Xbox Live", those with a Kinect experienced issues like having the stream paused or being kicked out of it altogether, because they're the same terms the peripheral uses for its voice commands. Some examples: Whenever he uses Kinect commands my connect listens and turns off the stream. #xboxreveal Go home Kinect, you're drunk. — Katy Goodman (@KatGoodman7) May 21, 2013 @scottlowe I watched the live stream on my XBOX 360 and my Kinect paused the video every time a presenter said "XBOX ..." which is ironic. — Jamie Dalton (@VGMasterD) May 21, 2013 When the guy on the #XboxReveal stream said "Xbox Live" it activated my Kinect and killed the stream. Good thinking guys. — Jason Chen (@diskopo) May 21, 2013 Whoops. Xbox 360’s Kinect causes trouble for users during next-gen livestream reveal [Polygon]

The new Kinect is kind of awesome. Just by the numbers, it's a huge upgrade. You can (most of) the full walkthrough we saw just a bit ago here at Microsoft's Redmond campus in the video above. Parts are jaw-dropping. Right from the start, you can see the improved depth sensor. It's three times as sensitive, and can pick out bits as small as your t-shirt wrinkling or adjusting on your chest. The 60-degree-larger field of view helps here as well (up to six people can be on screen at once), and it has a deeper field of (accurate view, too).

Xbox's UK marketing director Harvey Eagle has said that the console will not function without Kinect connected.

Go ahead and take a look: the new pieces of hardware that form the hub of Microsoft’s upcoming gaming experiences aren't exactly cute and cuddly. They’re kinda foreboding, the way they float and squint at you, all one-eyed and unknowable. But these shots are the best visuals yet we have of the new Xbox One components. You’ll see some of the design language from the Xbox 360 Slim hardware refresh in there, with slanted vent s slashing across the console and Kinect camera. And the texturing on the controller’s analog sticks might mean improved grip. What jumps out at you from these shots?

Your Kinect will need to be connected in order for the Xbox One to function, Microsoft announced at an event today in London. "Kinect does require to be connected to Xbox One in all cases, yes," Microsoft's Harvey Eagle told press (as reported by IGN). This may sound familiar. That's because Kotaku reported it back in February, along with the system's specs and the fact that Xbox One will require game installations. So clear out your shelf. You'll need extra space for Microsoft's motion-controlled accessory, which seems to be an integral part of Xbox One and will ship with every unit. Microsoft also noted today that the new Kinect will work in smaller rooms than the old one did. We'll share more details as we hear them.

Microsoft unveiled the successor to the Xbox 360's Kinect add-on, and revealed it'll be paired with "every" Xbox One. It features a 1080P HD RGB camera which can be used with Skype, 30 FPS color, and an increased field-of-view. Among other voice commands, which let you instantly switch between playing a game, live TV, wathing movies, playing music, or browsing the web, Kinect's mic lets you turn on the new system by saying "Xbox On."

At today’s Xbox reveal event, Microsoft showed how their new console will change how you’ll interact with your TV. Snap Mode lets users run multiple functions simultaneously and switch between them with voice commands without having to shut them down individually.

Microsoft's new Xbox has been officially unveiled at the company's Redmond campus in a big, giant tent in the middle of the complex (so much for the console sharing its birth story with friends as a teenager).

For a sense of symmetry with our PlayStation 4 reveal post, the announcement of the new Xbox console comes seven years and six months (2,737 days) after the launch of the Xbox 360, marking one of the longest distances of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff between one console and its next regeneration.

The distance in time between this console and the last certainly makes up for the original Xbox's lifespan, which was one of the shortest, at a mere four years and one day.