Microsoft

Microsoft console online services are failing globally

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If you were planning to end the afternoon by turning on the Xbox and disconnecting for a while, today may not be the best time. Microsoft online services are going through a fall which is already leaving players from different places facing errors and screens that should not be there. The episode also arrives a few days after the problems we saw on the PlayStation Network. A new interruption that reminds us how much a console already depends on everything that happens far from our living room. The scope of the incident is reflected in Xbox Statuswhere the company maintains four areas under the “major disruption” label: Account & Profile, Store & Subscriptions, Games, and Apps & Mobile. At the same time, multiplayer, cloud gaming, and devices and networks are all up and running. The official photograph, therefore, does not show a complete blackout of the ecosystem, but rather problems concentrated in especially sensitive services, although other functions continue to be available. Click to see the status of services on the official Xbox page In development. Images | Xbox + Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | Microsoft wants to preserve Xbox games and has chosen an unexpected path: officially emulate them on Windows

Microsoft wants to preserve Xbox games and has chosen an unexpected path: officially emulate them on Windows

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The video game industry advances with a speed that does not always leave room to look back. New consoles arrive, stores are renewed and the physical format loses ground, while a part of the old catalog remains linked to systems, accounts and services that do not last forever. Who have tried return to a game from decades ago We know that keeping it does not necessarily mean being able to execute it. That is the point at which preservation stops being just a concern of archives and museums. In that context, Microsoft has chosen an unusual formula to recover part of its history: bring games from the first Xbox to Windows 11 without converting them into remakes or native versions for PC. The American firm assures that this launch marks the beginning of a broader preservation effort, although, as we will see, this is a limited test. There is also another detail that changes the magnitude of the announcement: the technical means by which these games can work on current hardware. Let’s see. For now, the program does not open the entire Xbox historical catalog nor does it allow you to run any old games on Windows. The starting point is not a broad collection, but four specific games with which Microsoft begins to convey a part of history from Xbox to Windows. The company has not yet detailed which titles will arrive next or at what rate the catalog will grow. For now, these are the ones chosen: ‘BLiNX: The Time Sweeper’ ‘Conker: Live and Reloaded’ ‘Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge’ ‘Fuzion Frenzy’ As we say, what comes to Windows are not conventional remasters or adaptations remade game by game. As confirmed by Microsoft to PC GamerXbox uses emulation to reproduce on a modern computer the environment necessary to run software designed for its first console. This solution maintains the original gameplay, but allows improvements to be added such as VSyncup to four times resolution rescaling, anisotropic filtering and enhanced antialiasing. Users can also choose between full screen and windowed modes, as well as configure language and audio. The initiative is not limited to the desktop computer either. Titles can be installed on Windows 11 compatible portable devices, including ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally Xwithout necessarily depending on cloud gaming. Minimum requirements are modest for current hardware: 8 GB of RAM, a Core i3-8100, Ryzen 3 1200 or Ryzen Z2 A, and graphics equivalent to a GTX 950, Radeon RX 550, Intel UHD 770 or Arc A310. From a favorable perspective, the progress is difficult to ignore. Microsoft is prolonging the useful life of works that until now remained linked to Xbox hardware and its backward compatibility system on later consoles, and bringing them closer to players who may never have had those machines. The problem appears when we go from retaining access to retaining a copy. Microsoft has not announced standalone installers or versions without DRM, the system used to control and verify digital licenses. Nor has it detailed what checks these four games will require, how long they will be able to work offline or whether they will still be available for download in, say, ten years. We do know that your access depends on Windows 11, the Xbox app and a license linked to our account. It is an important difference compared to GOG, which allows you to download DRM-free backup installers and save the files to install without using your application. All of this occurs while the industry reduces independent avenues of access to its catalogs. Nintendo closed in March 2023 digital purchases of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, although for now it maintains the possibility of redownloading the purchased content. Sony, for its part, has announced that he will leave to produce discs for all new PlayStation games from January 2028. These are two different decisions, but both remember that the availability of a digital work ultimately depends on the continuity of a platform and the conditions established by its owner. Images | Xbox In Xataka | Video game preservation has already been mortally wounded with Sony. The next blow comes from an entire country: Germany

Microsoft set a climate goal for 2030. Becoming an AI company has blown up the plan

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Microsoft is one of the companies that, a few years ago, set out to be less polluting. There were two goals, the first being to become a company.”carbon negative” by 2030. They began to investigate to create more sustainable buildings and to make better use of water and heat from the Azure hubs to pollute less, but then came the final boss of climate goals. Artificial intelligence. The figures. In it last environmental report, the American company indicates that its total emissions went from about 16 million tons of CO2 to about 20 million net tons in the last fiscal year. As we see in The Vergethat implies that, during 2025, they were 25% more than in the previous period. That “net” thing is explained because they really emitted 34 million, but then you have to subtract the carbon that they paid to remove from the atmosphere, which gives us those 20 million tons. As we see in GeekWirethat places Microsoft emitting as much CO2 as Panama or Lithuania. According to Melanie Nakagawa, director of sustainability at the company, Microsoft continues to focus on the 2030 goal. And what has caused this situation is the push for data centers and artificial intelligence. Scope 3. The report itself points out that the main cause of the increase is investments in new data centers for AI and cloud computing, including integrated OpenAI systems in Microsoft products. And where this carbon footprint accumulates the most is in what they qualify as Scope 3, which encompasses the construction materials of data centers (steel and cement, which we already know are highly polluting), as well as the purchased goods and services, which skyrocket with the massive deployment of AI infrastructure. That Scope 3 concentrates around 96% of Microsoft’s entire footprint, far above the direct emissions from its operations. Electricity. But it is not only due to the construction of the buildings, since these facilities must be maintained. Emissions linked to electricity have increased almost ten times between 2024 and 2025 and, although they pride themselves on reducing direct emissions, they recognize that electricity demand has skyrocketed and it is difficult to cover everything with renewable energy alone. There are already independent analyzes that highlight that Microsoft’s electricity consumption went from 23.6 TWh to 29.8 TWh, 26%, in 2024, and we have to wait to see the independent figures for 2025. If with emissions we have that they are higher than those of Panama, with consumption Microsoft ‘swallows’ the same as Ireland. and it is expected that AI consumption will skyrocket by 2030. braking. Due to this boom and fever for artificial intelligence, Microsoft is deviating from the goal set in 2020, exemplifying the tension between being an AI company and being a company with environmental objectives. But let’s not think that it is the only one because the carbon footprint of amazon increased by 16% last year and that of Google 18%. They remain committed, of course, but right now we are talking about non-terrestrial computing, space but. And for that, many rockets have to be sent into space, with their corresponding emissions. Although the end is good, according to Jeff Bezos: sending all pollution away from Earth to return to the state prior to the Industrial Revolution. Something is something. In Xataka | There is a thing called “Ornn price index”, it is out of control and it is bad news for everyone

Meta, Google and Microsoft will be able to continue tracking your messages until 2028. Despite the fact that the majority of the European Parliament voted against

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The European Parliament has once again given the green light for companies like Meta, Google or Microsoft to voluntarily track private conversations of its users looking for child sexual abuse material. The striking thing is that the decision is going to go ahead despite the fact that more MEPs have voted against it than in favor. What has happened? The European Chamber voted this Thursday on the extension of the so-called “ePrivacy exception”, a temporary rule that allows (but does not require) messaging platforms to scan chats, emails and social networks to detect already identified child abuse content. Although more deputies voted against this extension than in favor, the absolute majority of 361 votes necessary to overturn it has not been reached, so the rule remains in place until April 2028. Without absolute majority. Since this is a second reading, it is not enough for the “no” to win. It is necessary for 361 of the 720 MEPs to expressly vote against to block the regulations. If that number is not reached, the proposal goes ahead by default, even if the votes in favor are fewer than the votes against. It’s just what has happened. In detail. The original text, approved in 2021, had expired on April 3 after the European Parliament refused to extend it by 311 votes to 228, with 92 abstentions, according to collect Brussels Signal. To revive the proposal, the European People’s Party (EPP) resorted to an unusual emergency procedure, also promoted by the President of Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and by national governments. This shortcut has allowed the text to be voted on again in the last session before the summer, precisely when many parliamentarians are no longer present during these dates, according to explains the German medium Heise. The rejection proposal was 47 votes short of the necessary absolute majority. Before that final vote, MEPs have managed to approve two amendments that expressly exclude services with end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp or Signal, from being traced, as confirm Euronews. These amendments passed with 369 and 362 votes respectively. Between the lines. A good part of the social democratic group, including German MEP Birgit Sippel (the rapporteur on the file), voted in favor of limiting the scope of the rule, according to Euronews. However, that same group had previously facilitated the approval of the emergency procedure that made the entire maneuver possible, something that Heise describelike a previous transfer that has ended up playing against its own intentions. The European Commission has also actively lobbied, as four commissioners sent a last-minute letter warning of a legal loophole if the mechanism was not extended, according to collect Heise. The vice president of the EPP, Tomas Tobé, has defended that summer could not be reached “without tools to protect minors.” The critical voices. Simeon de Brouwer, advisor to the digital rights organization European Digital Rights, countedWired that the standard opens the door for companies to review, if they so choose, any message, email or image that a user shares. On the other hand, activist and former MEP Patrick Breyer has described the result as a “farce” that damages democracy, and has pointed out in a statement collected by Brussels Signal that the real losers of this process are the minors themselves. Breyer points to the European Commission’s own figures, indicating that mass scanning of private chats has only accounted for 36% of abuse reports in 2024. The majority came from public posts and cloud storage services. On the other hand, the German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) warns that 48% of the alerts generated lack criminal relevance, and that 40% of the resulting investigations end up pointing to minors. Furthermore, according to they point From Brussels Signal, 99% of the reports that Meta sends under this mechanism correspond to material already known previously, which provides little value in the face of cases of active abuse. From Heise they mention also to cybersecurity researchers who have warned in open letters of the high error rates of automated scanning systems based on AI, which would put the privacy of users at risk without any connection with crimes. And now what. This vote only extends the current system, which is temporary and not mandatory, since companies can scan messages if they want, but they do not have to do so by law. The permanent and much stricter regulations (known as Chat Control 2.0and which would require a widespread scan) is still being negotiated separately and has not yet been approved. Meanwhile, companies like Meta, Google or Microsoft will be able to continue scanning messages, emails and photos of their users until 2028, with the only exception of end-to-end encrypted conversations, such as those on WhatsApp or Signal. Cover image | Wikipedia, Pexels In Xataka | The camera that watches you while you drive is already mandatory in new cars. And no one guarantees what happens with that data.

“Microsoft built the concept of office work because they wanted to sell more software”

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For many, the office work and spending eight hours a day in front of a screen is little less than a unnatural torture for the human being. In fact, this type of “knowledge work” is a relatively recent inventionwhich has been evolving as an adaptation of technology to the world of work. Aravind SrinivasCEO of Perplexity has gone a little further by ensuring that office work is an invention by Bill Gates to carry out his plan to bring a PC to every desk. Srinivas developed his hypothesis during his interview at the Joe Rogan Podcast and even left the presenter confused. “Microsoft built the concept of office work because they wanted to sell more software.” Gates’ dream Srinivas links the creation of office jobs directly to the Microsoft founder’s historical obsession with putting a computer in every house and on every desk. “That idea of ​​putting a PC on every desk and making you glued to it was Bill Gates’ vision,” explained the Perplexity CEO. It’s no secret. Gates himself has repeated that same idea for decades: he wanted a computer in every house and on every desk. In fact, his vision of the future of computers was published in the specialized press of the time even before Microsoft sold its first BASIC. Rogan, in his direct style, summed up the merit of Gates’ plan with a powerful phrase: “Wow, genius. What an achievement, because they certainly nailed it.” The truth is that it is difficult to contradict him. Few business strategies have changed the daily routine of billions of people as much as the arrival of computers and office automation in the world of work. A masterstroke from Microsoft Srinivas’s thesis is that the 9 to 5 job in front of a screen was not a natural evolution of employment, but a Microsoft business plan so that people used computers all day. The more hours and more people worked in front of a screen, the more software licenses were sold. According to the manager, the office routine was designed to create a daily dependence on Word and Excel, starting in schools, so that companies would then pay for these licenses. The juiciest part of the interview is the contrast between the two founders. According to Srinivas, Microsoft’s goal was never design. “It was not about making computing beautiful, as Steve Jobs conceived it,” he said verbatim, marking the difference with Apple. Jobs was pursuing something else: machines almost obsessive in their aesthetic care, which he himself defined as ‘insanely great‘. Microsoft, on the other hand, sold hardware to put software on top of. The more time you spent in front of the screen, the more licenses you needed. Microsoft’s business was not about creating a beautiful product, it was about generating dependency of your tools to sell licenses. Microsoft invented Office, not the office Despite Srinivas’ shocking statements, Bill Gates did not invent the eight-hour day nor office work. Its history comes from long before, from workers’ struggles of the 19th century and laws like Fair Labor Standards 1938 in the United States. What is true is that, as Rogan pointed out, “this type of lifestyle is something very recent that we have come to accept as normal.” The scientific evidence testifies that, with the arrival of computers and technology, the productivity at work skyrocketed. That Microsoft won that game by contributing to the increase in that productivity It is undeniable. Word, Excel or PowerPoint have been training entire generations since school. When these students arrive at their first job, they already know how to use those tools and companies pay for the license without thinking twice. In Xataka | Companies have returned to the office to improve productivity: a McKinsey study is not so clear Image | Unsplash (Jan Baborak), Flickr (European Parliament), Xataka

Microsoft bet 80 billion that you would play hundreds of titles. It failed because you just wanted to play the same old game.

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I have dozens of games in my library. Do you know how many I play? to two: from time to time I play a FIFA (I’ll always continue to call it that, I’m afraid) and if I get around to it I’ll hit the old ‘Battlefield 1’ that still has me conquered. In recent years I have enjoyed ‘Ghost of Tushima’, ‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ or ‘Sifu’, for example, but while I was spending hours on those half a dozen titles, many others that I have in my library are simply collecting dust. Surely many of you play many more games and invest much more time in this, and Microsoft was surely thinking of you when it configured its future strategy. Xbox’s ambition was great until it wasn’t The idea in 2020 was clear, and those responsible for Microsoft said that There were 2.8 billion gamers in the world and they wanted to conquer them all. As? Well, with two great projects: Spend a million in buying video game development studios to constantly grow the catalog, and, of course, Create the ‘Netflix of video games’ with Xbox Game Pass Both ideas seemed to make a lot of sense and many gamers, especially those of us who were from Xbox, felt excited by that ambition. Xbox Game Pass seemed to be really exceptional for gamers and a nightmare for Sony, and although the operation to buy Activision Blizzard and franchises like ‘Call of Duty’ It was exceptionally expensive.the play again seemed like a fantastic bet for players of all types. But lo and behold, it wasn’t. These days we have known that Microsoft has spent close to $80 billion on agreements that would give it access to titles such as the aforementioned ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Skyrim’, so that these video games could be available from day 1 or almost from the first moment on Xbox Game Pass. They wanted to create a catalog that would allow gamers to play hundreds of titles, including the most recent “triple A” titles, as part of the subscription to that service. They were wrong. And we also thought that the idea made sense. less is more The truth is that the strategy has not worked out well for them. The company has announced that will lay off 3,200 employees in its Xbox division20% of its staff, and will also allow five development studios to leave the company to follow their own path again. Maybe the answer wasn’t having more games. Steam already gave a strong clue at the beginning of 2025 when it pointed out that its platform It had become a video game dump.: Of 19,000 titles in 2024, almost no one played 80% of them. As in many other areas, the long tail theory prevails: interest is concentrated in a handful of contents that, on their own merits (perhaps seasoned with some luck) become absolute successes. The reality for the vast majority of gamers is the same: there are too many games on the market and people simply don’t have time to play all of them. Let’s be handsome or uglyWe insist, there is no time for so many video games. My colleague Jose García wrote in 2021 his particular reflection on how many we have become new digital Diogenes When it comes to video games: we get countless new games (most of them free) on Epic Games, Steam or GOG, but we have them collecting virtual dust in our library because we will never play many of them. My situation was also reflected in another text by Isra Fernández: Being a gamer after having children is complicated. The Netflix of video games was a utopia The picture that this situation paints for us is one that we intuited and made sense, but that we deceived ourselves by rejecting. Creating the Netflix of video games was impossible because video games are radically different to series or movies. While one consumes series or movies once and abandons them probably forever, gamers return to the video games we like again and again. We don’t spend an hour or two on them, but dozens and even hundreds of hours both in solo games and in games against other players on the internet. The way of consuming both content is precisely what destroys the illusion that a Netflix of video games makes sense. Xbox Game Pass offers us hundreds of titles so we can try them (and buy them) if we want, but we rarely do. I myself enjoyed Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for three years, and although I tried around twenty titles during that time, I always ended up returning to my classics. The options were wonderful, but I just didn’t have time for them. because when I wanted to play, I wanted to go back to my FIFA or my ‘Battlefield 1’. Microsoft itself already accused the problem when it gave us the worst news two years ago by raising the price of Xbox Game Pass. That was not enough, because a few months later he uploaded it again. The service was becoming more exclusive than ever, and it was doing so for one simple reason: they weren’t making enough money with it. But there is another problem that It is not just about consuming, but about producing. The “Netflix rhythm” is also unviable: there four scriptwriters start writing and in six months the platform releases a series that people devour in a weekend. In video games things are different, with increasingly longer and obscenely expensive developments. The famous availability of games available on “day 1” does not help either. That AAA video games worth 70 or 80 euros are available for free to subscribers was wonderful for us, but a shot in the foot for the company’s accounts. Building loyalty was important, but that was killing income for developments like these in which a lot of time and money is invested. The conclusion is clear in retrospect: Microsoft’s strategy was fantastic for … Read more

Microsoft just delayed its end with a silent extension

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Windows 10 It had been marked on the calendar for some time as a system with an exit date. Microsoft ended its official support on October 14, 2025 and the message seemed clear: the time had come to turn the page and look ahead. Windows 11. But it is one thing to close a stage on paper and quite another to do it when there are still millions of computers using that system every day. What we are seeing now is precisely that: Microsoft wanted to accelerate the farewell, but Windows 10 refuses to become the past. An extension until 2027. The change is in the Extended Security Updates program, the path that Microsoft offers to Windows 10 users who need to continue receiving security patches during the transition. According to the company’s official websitea, registration for the consumer ESU will be open until October 12, 2027. It should be noted that the program was initially planned until October 12, 2026 and that Microsoft has updated the date. Security, not a second life. It is important to specify what Microsoft is offering, because ESU is not equivalent to maintaining Windows 10 as if nothing had changed. The company defines the program as an option to reduce the risk of malware and cyberattacks on computers with Windows 10, version 22H2, through critical and important security updates. Other types of fixes, product improvements, new features and technical support are excluded. The system that is still too heavy. The explanation is in the scale. Windows 10 still runs on around 26% of PCs, while Windows 11 is around 72%, according to StatCounter. The difference already clearly favors the most recent system, but the percentage that Windows 10 retains is still enormous in such a widespread market. In other words, Microsoft is not extending the ESU for a few stragglers, but for an installed base that still numbers in the hundreds of millions. The migration that got stuck. If Windows 10 retains so much ground, it is because for many users changing has not been as simple as accepting an update: CPU and TPM requirements that left out still valid equipment, more expensive components due to the shortage of memory and storage linked to the rise of AI, and a certain misgiving about the growing prominence of AI in Windows 11. What changes for Spain and Europe. For those reading this from Spain, the important detail is in the conditions of the European Economic Area. Microsoft indicates that the way at no additional cost is to register with a Microsoft account and continue logging into Windows with that same account to receive updates until October 12, 2027. If the user stops doing so, the company warns that the updates will be interrupted after a period of time, which can reach up to 60 days. Local account and payment. Anyone who prefers to continue using a local account is not left out, but has another way. Microsoft says those users can make a one-time purchase of $30, or the local equivalent plus tax, to keep the updates extended through October 12, 2027 without permanently signing in with a Microsoft account. The license, however, is associated with the Microsoft account used to sign up for the program. Once activated, it can be applied to a maximum of 10 compatible devices. Windows 10 is not leaving yet. The business side leaves another clue as to how gradual the withdrawal will be. Companies pay per device and the commercial program will remain available until 2028. Microsoft already experienced a similar situation with Windows XP, whose support had to be extended several times during the 2010s because millions of computers did not make the leap. The story is not identical, but it does leave a clear reading: Windows 10 seemed doomed, and yet Microsoft has just quietly delayed its end. Images | Joachim Pressl In Xataka | Your Passwords Won’t Resist the “Quantum Apocalypse”: How to Protect Your Files with Post-Quantum Encryption Today

Microsoft promised a quantum computer by 2029. Nature publishes a review that questions its promise

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Microsoft has been trying to demonstrate for almost two decades the existence of Majorana modes: quasiparticles that emerge in certain topological superconducting materials and that behave as if they were Majorana fermions. The Italian physicist Ettore Majorana mathematically described the existence of these fermions in 1937, and since then many researchers have become obsessed with them because they have a characteristic that makes them unique: They are both a particle and their own antiparticle. However, the Majorana modes that Microsoft works with are not fundamental particles; They are emerging phenomena in the field of condensed matter. Its appeal lies in the fact that if it manages to master them, it could manufacture qubits that are intrinsically more stable than those of its rivals and capable of resisting the external noise that weighs everyone down today. quantum computers. About that bet Majorana 2 arrived earlier this June, a new topological quantum processor that incorporates new materials to create a more stable topological phase. Its scientific basis comes from an article published in February 2025 in Naturecentral to all subsequent developments of this company. Regarding that work, Chetan Nayak, the technical director of quantum hardware, announced that Microsoft had cut its schedule in half: the goal of having a fully functional quantum computer is now set for 2029. Shadow looms over Microsoft’s quantum research The scientific community is being extraordinarily demanding with that article and with the research program surrounding it. In fact, this ability to exercise criticism and analysis is one of the strengths of the scientific method. Last Wednesday, Nature posted a review peer-reviewed and signed by Henry Legg, professor of quantum physics at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), which raises new doubts about the foundations of that work. Not about a peripheral detail. On its foundations. And the background of those from Redmond does not help. Two scientific articles supported by Microsoft have already been removed from Nature. On those occasions, the editors also pointed out several alerts about possible problems in two other texts: one from Nature and the other from Science. Microsoft explained that the recalled items were produced outside of its laboratories and that did not review the data before publication. Be that as it may, the February 2025 work questioned by Legg is the fifth under scrutiny and, unlike the previous ones, it is not being withdrawn. “It’s almost like debating whether flight is possible or not, and then you find yourself next to a plane. Well, come on, get on and take a spin” Microsoft’s response has been overwhelming. According to Reutersthis company assures that it supports its research and that its program is making practical advances despite the doubts it is raising. Nayak has illustrated it with a metaphor: “It’s almost like debating whether flight is possible or not, and then you find yourself next to an airplane. Well, come on, get on and take a spin.” The response has been equally resounding. Sergey Frolov, a physicist at the University of Pittsburgh, points to a fundamental problem: Microsoft lacks the accumulated evidence that supports IBM or Quantinuum, rivals that do not depend on the existence of Majorana modes. “Neither Microsoft nor anyone else has laid the groundwork to make it clear that these advances based on Majorana modes are plausible through a series of reliable experiments,” Frolov declared. “On the contrary, we have several articles that continue to be questioned at the most basic level by different people.” The geopolitical context adds additional pressure. The Trump Administration has invested $2 billion in quantum computing and this week has set the goal to have a functional system by 2028, a year ahead of Microsoft’s deadline. The race is real. The question is whether the science that supports it is also. Image | Microsoft More information | Reuters In Xataka | 38% of AI experts in the US have been trained in China. They are essential to sustain your leadership

Microsoft has just announced a global increase in its Xbox consoles and gives its reasons

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If we thought that the rise of PS5the announced price for the Steam Machine or the increase in the price of several Apple products They were isolated episodes, the answer is beginning to be quite clear: they were not. What we are seeing is a cost pressure that no longer remains within the data centers or in the internal accounts of the manufacturers. It’s coming to devices we know well, from computers to consoles. And now it’s Xbox’s turn. Microsoft has set a date to the next move: the adjustment will take effect on August 1, 2026 and will have global scope. According to the company, 512 GB Xbox consoles will increase by $100, while 1 TB models will become more expensive by $150. The other relevant decision is that Microsoft will stop selling its 2 TB model, a recall that affects the Xbox Series X Galaxy Black Special Edition. The clearest way to read the rise is to separate markets. In USA We can now take the complete photo, because we have the current price and the result of applying the increase announced by Microsoft. In Europe, however, there is still no new official table in euros for August. What is confirmed is that the adjustment will be global, so it will also reach Spain. United States, current price and price since August 1, 2026 Xbox Series S 512 GB: $399.99 to $499.99 Xbox Series S 1TB: $449.99 to $599.99 Xbox Series X Digital 1TB: $599.99 to $749.99 Xbox Series X 1TB: $649.99 to $799.99 Xbox Series X 2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: Microsoft will stop selling this model Europe and Spain, official prices valid from May 2025 Xbox Series S 512 GB: 349.99 euros Xbox Series S 1 TB: 399.99 euros Xbox Series X Digital 1 TB: 549.99 euros Xbox Series X 1 TB: 599.99 euros Xbox Series X 2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: 699.99 euros, although the model will disappear from the catalog Microsoft does not present the increase as a decision taken lightly. In its statement, the company recalls that in October 2025 it already raised the price of Xboxes in the United States between $20 and $70, and states that “We hoped it wasn’t necessary.“apply another increase. The problem, according to their version, is in the costs of memory and storage, which have become more than 2.5 times more expensive and could double again by autumn 2027. The company frames the movement within a component crisis that affects consumer electronics, but that hits consoles hardest because, according to Microsoft, they tend to be sold below what it costs to manufacture them. Memory has become the new bottleneck Microsoft doesn’t directly mention artificial intelligence in its statement, but the market context helps explain why memory and storage have become a bigger issue. The Wall Street Journal has described the massive deployment of data centers as a new engine of inflationary pressurewith impact on components, electricity and consumer products. TrendForce has also noted that demand linked to AI is absorbing memory and storage capacity. Now, the Redmond firm is trying to accompany the rise with several ways to soften the blow to the buyer. They talk about deferred payment options in the Microsoft Store, interest-free financing for up to 12 months on eligible purchases through Amazon, buyback programs with retail partners and more availability of certified refurbished consoles. It also mentions that refurbished Xboxes can be found in the Microsoft Store with up to $100 off the recommended price. The fine print matters: These options vary by region, depend on third parties, and are subject to eligibility conditions. The bottom line is that the old cheap console logicsold with little margin to recover later in games and services, is colliding with a different reality. If memory, storage and other components become more expensive due to a demand that does not depend only on the video game, the manufacturer has less room to absorb the blow. At the end of the day, we consumers are the ones who end up paying the price. We have to wait to see what other movements of this type will occur in the industry. Images | Microsoft In Xataka | “If you tell them no, they won’t talk to you again”: Valve blames RAM manufacturers for the price of the Steam Machine

Microsoft Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12, specifications, technical sheet, images, price

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Microsoft just presented the new generation of Surface Laptop and Surface Pro, which now come equipped with Qualcomm processors Snapdragon X2. With a really solid technical proposal and real improvements compared to the last generation, the problem comes from the price and, above all, who they are aimed at. Below these lines we tell you all the details. Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12, technical sheet Surface Pro 12 (12th Edition) Surface Laptop 8 (8th Edition) 13.8-inch Surface Laptop 8 (8th Edition) 15-inch processor Snapdragon X2 Plus (10 cores) / Snapdragon X2 Elite (12 cores) NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon with 80 TOPS Snapdragon X2 Plus (10 cores) / Snapdragon X2 Elite (12 cores) NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon with 80 TOPS Snapdragon X2 Plus (10 cores) / Snapdragon X2 Elite (12 cores) NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon with 80 TOPS graphics Qualcomm Adreno GPU Qualcomm Adreno GPU Qualcomm Adreno GPU RAM memory 16, 24, 32 or 64 GB LPDDR5x 16, 24, 32 or 64 GB LPDDR5x 16, 24, 32 or 64 GB LPDDR5x storage Removable SSD 4th generation: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB Removable SSD 4th generation: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB Removable SSD 4th generation: 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB screen 13-inch PixelSense Flow touchscreen Resolution: 2880 × 1920 (267 dpi) Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast: 1M:1 (OLED) / 1300:1 (LCD) Dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz Brightness: 600 nits SDR / 900 nits HDR peak (OLED) 10-point multi-touch Dolby Vision IQ reinforced glass 13.8-inch PixelSense Flow touchscreen Resolution: 2304 × 1536 (201 dpi) Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast: 1300:1 Dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz Brightness: 600 nits 15-inch PixelSense Flow touchscreen Resolution: 3270 × 2180 (262 dpi) Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast: 1300:1 Dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz Brightness: 600 nits camera Front: Surface Studio Camera QHD (1440p) wide angle Rear: 10 MP Ultra HD Surface Studio front camera Surface Studio front camera battery Up to 15.5 hours of local video playback Up to 20 hours of local video playback Up to 19 hours of local video playback ports 2 × USB-C / USB4 (charging, data and DisplayPort 1.4a up to three 4K monitors at 60 Hz) — Surface Connect port — Surface Pro keyboard port 2 × USB-C / USB4 — 1 × USB-A — Surface Connect port — 3.5 mm audio jack 2 × USB-C / USB4 — 1 × USB-A — Surface Connect port — 3.5 mm audio jack Connectivity dimensions Length: 287mm Width: 209mm Height: 9.3mm Length: 301mm Width: 220mm Height: 17.5mm Length: 329mm Width: 239mm Height: 18.3mm weight 895g (without keyboard) 1.36kg 1.66kg SW Windows 11 Windows 11 Windows 11 price From 1,599 euros From 1,699 euros From 1,799 euros Microsoft Surface Pro | 13″ LCD | Snapdragon® X2 Plus (10 Core) | 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD | Platinum | Windows 11 Home | Latest Model (12th edition) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links More powerful, more expensive, almost the same design The new Surface Pro (12th edition) and Surface Laptop (8th edition) arrive with 10-core Snapdragon X2 Plus and 12-core X2 Elite chips, replacing the X1 that they equipped 2024 models. Microsoft claims that Graphics performance improves up to 53% in the case of the Surface Pro and up to 58% in the Surface Laptop, according to tests carried out by the company itself. In terms of autonomy, the company promises up to 15.5 hours of local video playback on the Surface Pro and up to 20 hours on the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop. Figures that, if confirmed in real use, are very competitive in the Windows market. The Surface Pro starts at 1,599 euros and the Surface Laptop at 1,699 euros, both with 16 GB of RAM. There are also new features in terms of colors, as the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop debuts in the Jade color (a very pretty light green), and the Surface Pro arrives in Dune (something like bronze) with a matching keyboard. The problem is that, at the moment, through the Microsoft website we can only choose black and silver colors. On the other hand, the 15-inch model makes the jump from 201 to 262 pixels per inch on its screen. In addition, haptic feedback is added to the trackpad, a 24 GB RAM option which did not exist before, and the Surface Pro maintains the OLED screen as a premium option. Other than that, the design is essentially identical to the previous generation, with the same ports, same form factor, same 3:2 aspect ratio, and the Surface Laptop remains LCD-only, while the Pro offers OLED as an option. The price hit The Surface Laptop 7 was sold in 2024 for 1,199 euros in its entry configuration; The new Surface Laptop 8 starts 500 euros more expensive. The same happens with the new Surface Pro 12, which represents an increase of 400 euros compared to the Pro 11 at the time of its launch. Part of that rise has to do with the current component crisisespecially RAM shortage which has made the production chain of the entire industry more expensive (a situation to which Microsoft has partly contributed by putting its foot on the accelerator to build more AI data centers). To this we must add that the previous generation models had already suffered a price increase in April of this year, which means that the new generation comes out with an even higher starting point on that already corrected bar. To try to soften the blow, Microsoft is offering temporary promotions, such as a free keyboard with the Surface Pro, Arc Mouse with the Surface Laptop, and up to 250 euros off per device in exchange for an old computer. They are reasonable incentives, but in Spain, for example, we do not have them available, so they are subject to specific markets. And we must not forget that the 65 W charger is paid separately (+89.99 euros). What Microsoft has decided not to do Over all these years, Microsoft has oriented the … Read more

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