Earlier this week we reported that the Chinese government was considering lifting a 13-year ban on game consoles in the country. While there's plenty of black market devices and software for Chinese consumers, there's no way to legally buy a PS3, Xbox 360, or Nintendo device in the country. The story from a few days ago was based on a China Daily report that quoted an anonymous source inside the Ministry of Culture.

Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division raked in $3.8 billion in revenue during the last three months of 2012, the company announced today. That number represented an 11 percent decline compared to the same period a year ago. The division is responsible for Windows Phone, Xbox and other devices. While revenues were down, so were marketing cost which made it easy for the Entertainment and Devices division to record a pre-tax profit of $596 million - a 15 percent increase over the same period a year ago.

According to an announcement from 343 Industries community manager Jessica Shea posted on Halo Waypoint, multiplayer servers for the PC windows version of Halo 2 will go dark on February 15. So why would 343 Industries shut down those servers? Because, as Shea points out, nobody seems to be using them anymore:

"We're sad to report that the service end-date for Halo 2 PC Multiplayer will be February 15, 2013," reads the post.

Life is filled with uncertainty but there remain various bits and bobs you can count on: death, taxes, and the fact that I'll pass out if I don't get something to eat soon.

If you don't care too much for those ads on Xbox Live.. well too bad, because more are coming, according to Microsoft. Apparently taking a page from Hulu Plus where subscribers who pay a monthly subscription are still forced to watch ads, Microsoft says that the first wave of NUads (or "natural user-interface ads"), which were deployed in the fourth quarter of 2012, were "highly successful" and that it plans to put additional investment in the space.

As expected, Google has backed off of its International Trade Commission complaint against Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, which uses one of its video compression patents. The company had sought to stop the sale of the system in the United States while Microsoft and its subsidiary Motorola duked it out in court over royalty payments related to FRAND patents. But earlier in the week the Federal Trade Commission stepped into the fight, ordering Google to take a more reasonable approach to "essential patents."

On Friday after the Federal Trade Commission issued an order on Google's Motorola patents and how the subsidiary needed to stop charging high royalties on FRAND patents it holds, Microsoft went into action.

The Federal Trade Commission issued a Consent Order (PDF) this week forbidding Google from charging a lot of money for certain critical patents it gained when it bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in May 2012. This is good news for both Apple and Microsoft, but particularly for Microsoft because (according to Microsoft) Motorola Mobility wanted to charge $4 billion a year in royalties for patents Motorola holds on Wi-Fi and video technology.

Alex Garden, General Manager of Xbox Live at Microsoft, announced that people who were adversely affected by recent problems with saving their games via the Xbox Live cloud will get some hefty compensation. In a message delivered through Major Nelson's Blog, Garden thanked everyone who were impacted by problems with the Cloud Saved Games service for their patience. Anyone who lost access to game saves for a "couple of hours" or a "couple of days" will be compensated in the following way:

The results are in, the votes have been tallied and the sole light in my mom's windowless, basement bathroom burnt out while I was taking a shower this morning.  It's time to reveal which of the current consoles GamePolitics poll participants think has the dumbest name!

A particularly light and fluffy question for this week's poll, GP faithful:

Which of the current crop of video game consoles do you think has the dumbest name?

Is it the Wii?  It's the Wii, isn't it?

Yeah, it's probably the Wii.

This week Microsoft changed its policy on selling games on its Windows 8 Marketplace in regions under the PEGI ratings system that carried an adult rating of 18. Before the change users couldn't get their hands on any games rated 18 like Mass Effect 3.

According to new data from MediaCreate on sales in Japan for the week of Dec. 3 - 9, the Nintendo 3DS has sold more units to-date than the PlayStation 3. The 3-D enabled hand-held system managed to do this in the region in less than two years to boot.

Lifetime sales of the 3DS came in at 8,799,378, beating out the PS3 which came in at lifetime sales of 8,716,260 units in Japan. The PS3 has been on the market in Japan for six years. In terms of sales in Japan for the week, the Wii U came in on top at 308,142, followed by the 3DS at 211,499, and the PS3 at 36,994.

Microsoft has indicated to the Xbox 360 community that it is aware of problems with Halo 4 season pass holders not being able to download the Crimson Map Pack that was released today. The company says that it is investigating the cause of this and working on a solution. Instead of being able to simply download the Crimson Map Pack, season pass holders are being asked to pay 800 MS Points prior to download. The season pass costs a flat fee enabling purchasers to grab all the downloadable content upon release for free.

Paul Johnson from UK-based developer Rubicon has deleted a scathing rant posted earlier today aimed at Windows RT and Microsoft claiming that his game Great Big War Game made just £52 from the Windows RT marketplace in its first week on sale. Johnson claims that the Windows RT port cost his company an estimated £10,000.

Google-owned Motorola has failed to ban sales of the Xbox 360 in both Germany and the United States related to patents the system uses. Motorola and Microsoft have been in a very public court battle over royalty payments related to patents owned by Motorola that Microsoft is using for the Xbox 360 system. Motorola claims that the patents being used by Microsoft are worth $4 billion a year in royalty payments, while Microsoft says that those patents are worth only $1 million a year. U.S.

If you are looking to buy Fable II on Xbox Live, then you might be out of luck - at least for a little while. Apparently Microsoft has pulled the game from its Xbox Live marketplace. The game is no longer available through the Games on Demand service on Xbox Live or via Xbox.com.

Microsoft announced today that its Surface Pro tablets will cost up to $999 when they are officially launched at retail in January. The price point for the Pro versions of the tablet are almost double what the first Surface devices cost. Those devices, launched last month, use the Windows RT operating system. The Pro tablet will run Windows 8 and will come with a Surface pen with Palm Block technology. The 64GB version will cost $899, while the 128GB version will cost $999.

In Episode 28 of the Super Podcast Action Committee hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight discuss the importance of voting, Microsoft's bad Xbox 360 press event in Israel, and a dumb patent designed to count how many people are watching licensed content from a console (so they can charge more money, we assume). Download it now: SuperPAC Episode 28 (1 hour, 18 minutes) 72 MB.

We know when Nintendo is releasing its next console: November 18th (NA).  Yep, that's this Sunday.

But when will Sony and Microsoft's next consoles see release?

Hey kids!  Do you have absolutely nothing better to do this month than play Halo 4 every day for hours on end?

If so, Xbox Live's "Halo 4 Combat Tour Offer" might be right up your alley!

This month, you can earn Microsoft points by playing Halo 4 in multiplayer mode.

Last week, GameSpot reported that Halo 4 executive producer Kiki Wolfkill and 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross had said "there is zero tolerance for Xbox Live players who are found to be making sexist or discriminatory comments against others, with a lifetime ban from the network as penalty."

According to Destructoid, that's not exactly the case.

Election Day is finally upon us and you know what that means!

Yep, Halo 4 is now available at retail!  Of course, as a Nintendo fanboy, I don’t give a toss but some people are excited.  So excited in fact that Fox News suggests some may forego the polls and instead elect to stay home and play Master Chief’s latest adventure.

The evidence?  Halo 4 came out today.

Yeah, that’s it.

Microsoft has apparently filed for a patent that uses a camera device to determine how many people are watching a given piece of entertainment to make sure the consumer isn't abusing the license they purchased... The patent the company has filed for is titled "Content Distribution Regulation by Viewing User" and allows content providers to "regulate the presentation of content on a per-user-view basis."

Here is a deeper, more alarming description of the patent:

Microsoft is building its own 7-inch gaming tablet, according to "multiple sources familiar with plans within Redmond" who have confirmed the details to The Verge. According to that report, the initial hardware planning for the Xbox Surface device is underway. The Verge describes it as a mini Xbox platform.

No doubt you have already heard that Valve co-founder and top executive Gabe Newell and Mojang co-founder Markus Persson think that Windows 8 is horrible for PC gamers and game developers because it uses a closed app store approach to presenting software to customers. Now Croteam's chief technical offer Alen Ladavac has added his two cents to the discussion. The CTO for the company behind the Serious Sam series said in a recent Steam Community forum post that Gabe Newell was right.

The Xbox 360 will finally launch in Israel on Nov. 21, according to an announcement made by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in Tel Aviv. Ballmer was there to promote the new Windows 8 operating system. Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 almost seven years ago in North America, Japan and Europe in 2005 before releasing to the rest of the world between 2006 - 2008. Microsoft made the decision to not release the console in parts of the Middle East.

American Express and Xbox have teamed up to offer "automatic real-time rewards" for playing Halo 4, according to this GamesBeat report. Players will be able to play Halo 4, complete levels and win rewards like cash back, coupons, and - if they are extra lucky - a trip to the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

New sales figures from Microsoft reveal that its ultra popular Halo franchise has generated nearly $3 billion in revenue since launch, with more than 46 million Halo games sold. Halo: Reach was responsible for around $200 million of that revenue in just 24 hours across Europe and the US, with Halo 3 managing to bring $170 million in the US on day one. Halo 2 was no slouch either; it raked in $125 million.

343 Industries studio head Bonnie Ross and Halo 4 executive producer Kiki Wolfkill say that sexist and other anti-social behavior on Xbox Live is unacceptable and that they have a responsibility to tamp down or eliminate sexism in the industry. They also said that Microsoft does its best to monitor and ban players who abuse other players over Xbox Live. Ross and Wolfkill made their comments to GameSpot this week to promote Halo 4.