Microsoft expected to reveal next-generation Xbox (Update)

Microsoft expected to reveal next-generation Xbox
In this June 5, 2012 file photo, show attendees walk past Microsoft XBox booth at E3 2012 in Los Angeles. With the next Xbox expected to finally be revealed Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., anticipation for what the company is planning for the next iteration of its gaming console is higher than Master Chief's last spaceship. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Will Xbox mark the spot once again for Microsoft? The company is set to reveal the next generation of its Xbox entertainment console during a presentation Tuesday at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

It's been eight years since the launch of the Xbox 360. The original Xbox debuted in 2001, and its high-definition successor premiered in 2005.

For the past two years, Microsoft has led the gaming industry in console sales with the Xbox 360. In April alone, consumers spent $208 million on Xbox hardware, software and accessories, more than rival consoles from Nintendo and Sony, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Nintendo kicked off the next generation of gaming last November with the launch of the Wii U, the successor to the popular Wii system featuring an innovative tablet-like controller yet graphics on par with the Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Yet Nintendo said the console sold just 3.45 million units by the end of March, well below expectations.

Sony was next, teasing plans for its upcoming PlayStation 4 at an event last February in New York. The reaction to that console, which featured richer graphics and more social features, was mixed.

Microsoft expected to reveal next-generation Xbox
In this product image released by Microsoft, a Project Natal sensor for the XBOX 360 is shown. The sensor tracks a player's full body movement while responding to commands, directions and a shift of emotion in voice without the need for a controller. With the next Xbox expected to finally be revealed Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., anticipation for what the company is planning for the next iteration of its gaming console is higher than Master Chief's last spaceship. (AP Photo/Microsoft, File) ** NO SALES **

Microsoft hasn't said what games will be on display Tuesday, but Activison-Blizzard Inc. previously announced that "Call of Duty: Ghosts," the next chapter in its popular military shooter franchise, would make an appearance at the event.

Xbox has been the exclusive home to such popular gaming franchises as sci-fi first-person shooter "Halo," racing simulator "Forza" and alien shoot-'em-up "Gears of War." In recent years, Microsoft expanded the scope of the Xbox 360 beyond just games, adding streaming media apps and the family-friendly Kinect system.

"They need to show good games," said Stephen Totilo, editor of gaming site Kotaku.com. "There's been anxiety among Xbox fans that Microsoft has forgotten or doesn't value the core gamer as much. We saw this when Microsoft introduced the Kinect and went after families and kids."

Microsoft expected to reveal next-generation Xbox
In this June 18, 2012 photo, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer comments on Microsoft Xbox before unveiling its new Surface, a tablet computer to compete with Apple's iPad at Hollywood's Milk Studios in Los Angeles. With the next Xbox expected to finally be revealed Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., anticipation for what the company is planning for the next iteration of its gaming console is higher than Master Chief's last spaceship. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Tuesday's event will give Microsoft the opportunity to address several questions about the rumored hardware, including what it will cost, whether it can play used games or Blu-ray discs and if it will require a constant connection to the Internet.

Microsoft likely won't showcase all aspects of the new Xbox. The company has another presentation scheduled three weeks later during E3, the gaming industry's annual convention in Los Angeles.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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