Yesterday Microsoft took the wraps off two new initiatives for Xbox Live that - it hopes - will make it a better community to be in. One is called One is Enforcement United, which lets XBL subscribers weigh in on if particular content violates Microsoft’s terms of service. The second is Xbox Community Level, which lets players "gain levels" and earn prizes by making positive contributions to Xbox Live.

According to this Eurogamer report, the next free games to be released on Xbox Live as part of Microsoft's Games with Gold Promotion will be the open-world future-leaning action game Crackdown, and the zombie survival game sequel Dead Rising 2.

According to a tip sent over by Foss Patents, Google has appealed Motorola's loss to Microsoft in its ITC patent case which sought to have the sale of its Xbox 360 banned in the United States.

A new research report from ABI Research claims that new technologies like cloud-based streaming will not be a game changer for new consoles coming out this fall. In fact the research firm predicts that new console numbers will not be on par with the previous generation's retail sales number in the first five years. ABI Research says that the push to "market online video access in the new consoles is undermined by the availability of cheaper streaming devices from Roku, Netgear, WD, Apple and Seagate, among others."

According to an announcement on Microsoft's Xbox Live Rewards website, the incentive program for Xbox Live is going to be revamped in September. Most of the changes have to do with the program doling out MS Points. With MS Points going the way of the dinosaur soon in favor of real-world currency, this is not an unexpected announcement.

Microsoft encourages Xbox Live Rewards members to return to the website on September 1 for more details on the revamped program.

You can find the full statement below:

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer detailed a sweeping restructuring plan in an internal email to employees. In the memo Ballmer said that Microsoft will be organized by function within four groups: OS, Apps, Cloud and Devices.

Update: Microsoft tells Kotaku that UK dashboard beta testers will receive refunds for any money lost related to the exchange of MS Points into real cash. Microsoft calls the pricing changes an "error."

Polytron's Phil Fish announced via Twitter recently that he will finally patch a long standing bug on his Xbox Live Arcade title FEZ. Last week it came to light that - earlier in the year - Microsoft had ditched its policy of charging developer tens of thousands of dollars to do title updates beyond the one free title update they would get after publishing a game on XBLA. Fish lashed out last week at Microsoft because that same policy kept him from providing fans with a fix for a nasty bug. Now all that seems to be water under the bridge.

An interesting report from Ars Technica compares the pricing of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with consoles released in America all the way back to 1977 with the release of the Atari 2600. At E3 Sony announced that the PS4 would retail for $399, while Microsoft announced that the Xbox One would cost $499.

Speaking to the Reddit community, Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb said that he was sorry that fans were disappointed that the first free game for July in Microsoft's Games for Gold program was Defense Grid. Fans expected to receive Halo 3 or Assassin's Creed 2 - which were announced as games being given away free as part of the program during E3.

Update #2: It looks like no one will replace Mattrick, according to a memo obtained by Kotaku attributed to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Instead of replacing Mattrick, all of Mattrick's subordinates in the division will now report directly to Ballmer.

Larry Hryb announced via his blog this morning that Defense Grid: The Awakening will be given away for free this month as part of Microsoft's “Games With Gold” program. Beginning today until July 15 Xbox Live Gold subscribers can download the game for free to their Xbox 360's. The Games for Gold program will give away two free games a month until the launch of the Xbox One. Other upcoming games include Assassin's creed 2 and Halo 3.

Fez creator Phil Fish has criticized former co-publishing partner Microsoft for doing what he considers "nothing" to help sell his game on Xbox Live Arcade. Fish took to Twitter yesterday to complain about Microsoft's lack of support for him and his game and gave no quarter in his harsh criticism:

Microsoft is no longer charging developers and publishers a fee for updates according to multiple sources speaking to Eurogamer. Apparently, Microsoft made the change to its policy on updates earlier in the year. Prior to that change any updates after the one free update publishers were entitled to cost developers "tens of thousands of dollars."

Microsoft will spend $700 million on a new data center in West Des Moines, Iowa - according to the Des Moines Register. The data center is the result of a deal with the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board, which has approved through the state $20 million in tax credits for the computing giant for what has been named ‘Project Mountain’.

In Episode 57 of the Super Podcast Action Committee, hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about several GamePolitics polls, Microsoft's decision to pull a 180 on its various Xbox One policies, Cliff Bleszinski's public comments about the whole thing, and a whole lot more. Download Episode 57 now: SuperPAC Episode 57 (1 hour, 16 minutes) 69.5 MB.

Borut Pfeifer and developer 17-bit Studios signed an exclusivity deal with Microsoft for its game Skulls of the Shogun. The game was released in January on Surface, Windows Phone and Xbox Live Arcade in January. Now that that window of exclusivity is almost over, Borut Pfeifer is relieved.

The official Xbox Live website reveals that on the 1st and 16th of every month Xbox Live gold subscribers can expect a new game. While Microsoft has not said why it suddenly started handing out free games to Gold members, some believe it is the company's way of competing with Sony's PlayStation Plus subscription model which hands out freebies every month. Whatever the reason for these free giveaways, it's tough to badmouth a promotion where people get full free games - even if they are slightly dated...

If you missed our live broadcast on Saturday, we have an audio file of the live show available for you to download right now. During the (over) three hour live show Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight discussed all the interesting things that came out of the Electronic Entertainment Expo last week - with an emphasis on the top three console makers - Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. They also answered questions and responded to comments from the live audience and read listener email. It was a good time had by all!

Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! won't come out on Xbox 360 or Xbox One according to Oddworld Inhabitants boss Lorne Lanning. Lanning used to be a big fan of the Xbox platform - back in 2001 he helped launch the first Xbox with the exclusive Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee - but Microsoft's new policies rub him the wrong way. Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! will be coming to PlayStation 3, PS Vita, PlayStation 4, Wii U, PC, Mac and Linux.

Microsoft's Don Mattrick seems to live in an alternate universe where throwing gasoline on a fire puts it out. It doesn't in this one. Speaking to GameTrailers, Mattrick said that consumers who are concerned about connectivity issues - for example soldiers that might deployed overseas or someone deployed on a submarine - have an option for this generation: buy an Xbox 360.

More details have been revealed on the new Xbox 360 consoles that have been released to retail outlets today. The newly redesigned console comes in three SKUs: a 4GB model, a 4GB model with Kinect included, and a 250GB model.

The 4GB vanilla option will cost $200, a 4GB with Kinect included will cost $300 and the 350 GB Xbox 360 will cost $300. We assume that these newly designed models will eventually replace older models on the market now.

Microsoft held its Electronic Entertainment Exp Xbox One press conference today, finally showing off some of the games that will ultimately make or break its system as it goes head-to-head with Sony's PlayStation 4 later this year. The most notable news coming out of the event is when the console will be released and how much it will cost consumers when it hits retail.

Blizzard announced this morning that Diablo III will be released on the PlayStation 3 on September 3, 2013. The company also revealed that an Xbox 360 version of the game has been in the works for quite some time and will release on the same date. Both games will be released simultaneously in the U.S., Canada, Spanish-speaking Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

A 19-year-old man has asked police to lock him up for the remainder of his sentence in jail because he is tired of playing Xbox 360 games under house arrest. While the 19-year-old man in Whangarei, New Zealand was on easy street - confined to his home and placed under electronic surveillance - he begged to serve the last month of his 11 month sentence in jail because he ran out of Xbox games to play. He is now serving out the rest of his sentence in the Northland Region Corrections Facility, which houses 548 minimum to high security prisoners.

Electronic Arts has cut the price of online passes for dozens of its games - and in some cases - has made them free of charge, according to Eurogamer. Earlier in the month EA announced that it was discontinuing the use of its online pass system.

Microsoft tells OXM that it can sell 25 million more Xbox 360s even after it rolls out the Xbox One. The Xbox 360 has sold an estimated 77.2 million units since it launched in 2005. Speaking to the UK's Official Xbox Magazine, Interactive Entertainment Business Senior VP Yusuf Mehdi said that Microsoft plans to sell these 25 million additional consoles over the next five years.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled on Thursday that Microsoft did not infringe upon any of Motorola Mobility's patents related to its Xbox 360 console. This latest decision from the ITC puts an end to an investigation that stretches as far back as 2010.

While some may be worried that the PS3 and Xbox 360 would be abandoned as soon as the PS4 and Xbox One is released to retail at the end of this year, EA says that it plans to continue to support both platforms with new games for at least another four years. Chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen revealed the company's commitment to the current generation during his recent keynote address at the Stifel 2013 Technology Conference in New York. Games already widely known to be in development for the current generation systems include Battlefield 4, FIFA 14 and the next Need For Speed.

People hoping to hear that Xbox 360 games would be backward compatible with the freshly announced Xbox One will be upset to hear that Microsoft has not suddenly changed its position on the matter. Speaking to Microsoft's Marc Whitten today, The Verge asked if it would do something similar to what Sony promised with PS3 games on PS4 - to eventually make them playable (somehow) through the cloud.