For the current generation of gaming consoles, the Xbox 360 has several reputations. On the positive side, the Xbox 360 is the undisputed leader of online service and multiplayer, but on the negative side, it also holds a track record of being fairly unreliable. At one point, up to one-third of all Xbox 360 consoles experienced the hardware failure popularly known as the Red Ring of Death, which rendered the console unusable. While many from Microsoft's entertainment and devices division have spoken on the Xbox 360's reliability record, Bill Gates was mostly removed from commenting on the issue - until now. Speaking in a BBC Video interview, Gates revealed that it's now Microsoft's goal to make the Xbox 360 "the most reliable" console on the market.

Consumers report that Xbox Live is being pushed to the limits, presumably due to the high number of gamers playing Halo 3 online. Various Xbox Live users have experienced inaccurate game stats, performance slowdown, inability to access friend lists, and an inability to perform system updates. After experiencing trouble on Tuesday night, one gamer reputedly called Microsoft's help line in which a representative responded by saying that Xbox Live was experiencing network difficulties. The issue appears to be intermittent, however, as several gamers reported no problems outside of inaccurate stat data such as number of players online. Hundreds of thousands of Halo 3 owners have flocked to Xbox Live in an effort to play online since the game launched on Tuesday.

While Americans have been able to purchase a black Xbox 360 for around six months, Europeans are lucky if they can find one on Ebay. Fortunately, this will change on August 24th. On August 24th, Microsoft will have given retailers all across Europe access to the Xbox 360 Elite, and will let said retailers sell the console. The cost of this, according to a Nordic retailer, is €479/£349. The main differences between the Xbox 360 and the Xbox 360 Elite are obvious. The Elite version is black, and has HDMI/a 120GB hard drive.

After months of unofficial information, Microsoft today has finally announced the Xbox 360 Elite game console. Corroborating on all previous information, the Xbox 360 Elite will feature a 120GB hard disk drive, up from 20GB in the 'Premium' console and an HDMI output for connection to high-definition televisions. The new upgraded Microsoft system will be easily distinguishable from the current Xbox 360 consoles by its color- the Xbox 360 Elite will come in a premium black finish for the console, wireless controller and Xbox Live headset. Additional Xbox 360 Elite accessories, such as the black Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit and the Xbox 360 rechargeable battery, will be available separately. Xbox 360 Elite will have an estimated retail price of $479.99 and is expected to begin arriving in U.S. stores on April 29. For existing Xbox 360 owners who simply want to upgrade their hard drives, the detachable accessory will be sold separately for an estimated retail price of $179.99.

We were already bringing you the latest facts about an upcoming 'Elite' XBox version. This time we found some pictures out of the production pipeline of the bespoken gaming console.