With the next Xbox reveal just ten days away, it's as good a time as ever to revisit a report that dates back to November 2012: Microsoft's reported interest in developing a set-top box, or "Xbox TV." Anonymous sources recently told the Wall Street Journal that Microsoft has come as far as producing working prototypes of said media device. Those prototypes reportedly work with Kinect, and are built to provide streaming services for viewers.

The Wall Street Journal also noted that it's unclear whether Microsoft will introduce the as-yet-unannounced device at all. We've contacted Microsoft for comment and will update as we learn more. In the meantime, we recommend that you take a ten-day nap, because the rampant speculation leading up to the Xbox reveal on May 21 probably won't go away.

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Microsoft has booked its usual LA haunt, the Galen Center, for an event on June 10. Neowin contacted the venue and discovered the booking, which suggests that Microsoft will hold a pre-E3 press conference the day before the show begins.

This isn't a surprise – Microsoft always holds a pre-E3 event at the Galen Center – but the company has yet to announce this year's iteration. This event follows very shortly after the May 21 event at which Microsoft will reveal the next Xbox. Presumably we'll get more detail on that system and new game announcements at the E3 event. Or we'll be tricked into some avant-garde circus performance.

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A free CW app on Xbox 360 allows Gold subscribers to stream full episodes of network shows and other content through their console. Episodes of Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and other select CW shows will be available the day after airing.

The Vampire Diaries supports Xbox SmartGlass functionality, enabling content like an interactive map, character biographies and show lore. The CW app is the third to make its debut recently on Xbox 360, following yesterday's amazing/horrible Pizza Hut app and last week's addition of Flixster.

While Kinect integration isn't all that new for EA Sports, as both Madden 13 and FIFA 13 included support for the device last year, the Xbox 360 cover art for NCAA Football 14 includes the "Better with Kinect" banner at the top. EA Sports told Joystiq that Kinect support will be for offline play only, and will be "similar to what we've done in Madden, focused on pre-play voice commands."

Check out the hi-res versions of the game's box art, which features speedy-looking Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, in the gallery below. NCAA 14 will sprint to Xbox 360 and PS3 on July 9.

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The Warner Bros.-owned movie destination app Flixster has come to Xbox 360 with a new Kinect-enabled application available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Flixster on Xbox allows users to buy and rent films, access "the latest" film review scores from the critic aggregator source Rotten Tomatoes and look up local showtimes in the most clunky way possible ... on your television!

As part of the Warner Family, Flixster on Xbox 360 also allows users access their existing UltraViolet movie collection. The app is available to download in select regions and only to those with a continued appreciation of DRM.

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Forza Horizon will get a free infusion of new content tomorrow. Entitled the 1000 Club, the DLC adds over 1000 challenges to complete, along with some new Achievements. The DLC will automatically suggest challenges based on whatever cars a player owns. Based on the trailer, the challenges offer more than racing, tasking players with everything from making huge jumps to just crashing into things. The 1000 Club will also include two new cars, the 1956 Ford F100 and the 1995 RUF CTR2.

Microsoft tells Joystiq that the pack will feature unique challenges for every single car in the game, including the cars from the standard game and those that have been released as DLC.

Folks trying to sign into Xbox Live right now may encounter some issues, specifically that they, well, can't. Microsoft is aware of the situation, however, and is working to resolve it. No ETA has been given for a fix, so we recommend doing what we always do whenever there's some sort of ongoing service outage: Watch Girls' Generation videos on YouTube and wait for everything to blow over.

Update: Limited connectivity appears to have returned, although Microsoft warns that users may still encounter errors while managing their friends lists and/or while attempting to send text or voice messages over Xbox Live.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

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Not all of us want chocolate for Easter. Some of us just want moar video games, and in particular ones involving Lego pieces, Disney characters, Simstuff, Skylanders goodies, and, er, Dance Central 3. You may say we're weird, fussy, and worryingly specific. But, as if by some holiday miracle, Amazon is here for us.

The retailer's Easter sale brings savings across a ton of Lego, Disney, Skylanders, and Sims content - and yes, Dance Central 3. Harmonix's third moves-buster is down to just $19.99, while the Kinect Sports Ultimate Collection bundle is at $28.46.

Meanwhile, Epic Mickey 2 falls to $19.99 on Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U, Lego Batman 2 on 360, PS3, Vita and Wii is $14.99, and SimCity is already down to $39.99 - or $19.99 if you buy it alongside some clean-sounding stuff. You know what: there are a lot of Easter deals which you can check out on Amazon, and we'd love to tell you about every single one of them but chocolate here now so no*.

*turns out we also want chocolate

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An updated version of Kinect for Window's software development kit will be available from the device's official site on Monday, March 18, Microsoft's Bob Heddle announced today during Engadget's ongoing Expand event in San Francisco.

Perhaps most importantly, SDK version 1.7 will include "Kinect Fusion," Microsoft's at-home 3D modeling solution that allows the Kinect to capture and fabricate real-time 3D models of people and objects. We first saw this technology in action way back in August of 2011, when the concept surfaced as a Microsoft Research project.

Additionally, the new SDK also includes "Kinect Interactions," which adds support for new gestures such as "push-to-press" and "grip-to-pan," as well as "support for smart ways to accommodate multiple users and two-person interactions," according to Engadget.

Microsoft and Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi are still working on Crimson Dragon, the Kinect rail shooter revealed in 2010 and since hit with a delay and a year-long silence. In fact, Futatsugi tells Eurogamer that Crimson Dragon is "not far off" from completion.

"Well, the game has been delayed and I know people are waiting for it, but it is definitely moving ahead," Futatsugi says. "Microsoft will announce it when they're ready."

A demo for Crimson Dragon launched briefly – and accidentally – on the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace in January 2012, demonstrating the game's early mechanics and design. We're not saying the gameplay looks like doing the Hokey Pokey in front of a Kinect, but it looks like doing the Hokey Pokey in front of a Kinect. With dragons.

"When we started working on it I realized that a rail shooter is perfect for Kinect," Futatsugi says. "Kinect can't handle too much movement – you can't move totally freely. Also, it's better to keep the number of recognized movements simple so as not to confuse the Kinect system, and these things make a rail shooter the ideal choice."

PC developers looking to fiddle around with Microsoft's Kinect peripheral just got a big gimme. Microsoft has released 22 different samples of Kinect for Windows code under an open source licensing agreement, meaning you're free to tinker away to your heart's content – just don't try to pass it off as your own.

What makes this different than the previously widely available software development kit? Microsoft says it has issued these samples for the sake of convenience, allowing fledgling flailers access to bite-sized segments designed for specific functionality and lessons that don't require a lengthy download of the full SDK. Convenient.

Kinect for Windows officially launched on February 1, available now for a suggested retail price of $250 – though some retailers like Amazon and Newegg have it listed on the lower side of $200.

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This month marks the last time that we'll see downloadable content for Dance Central 3 anytime soon, Harmonix has announced. "As Harmonix moves forward with several new titles currently in development, the talented developers who make this content are needed on other projects," reads the Dance Central blog. The studio doesn't completely shut the door on more content, however, stating that March is the last month of new DLC "for the near future." Live challenges and leaderboards will continue to be supported, and all DLC tracks will remain available.

This is the second time Harmonix has made such an announcement this year. Last month, the developer revealed that Rock Band 3 will receive no more DLC after April 2. The Rock Band franchise as a whole has had weekly DLC since the original game debuted in 2007.

That raises the question: Just what is studio working on now? Dance Central has consistently been one of the best-received products for Microsoft's Kinect, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a new Dance Central debut on the next Xbox, which is believed to have a more advanced Kinect sensor. The PS4 Eye is capable of motion-track as well, so a multiplatform title is also possible. Or who knows, maybe we'll see something entirely new.