Blog Posts by Chris Morris

(Credit: Microsoft)There were a lot of fancy features showcased in Tuesday's unveiling of the Xbox One, but there were plenty of unanswered questions as well.

That was to be expected, of course. With E3 looming and months left before the system releases, Microsoft had to keep some of its powder dry. But the company also dodged some pressing questions and gave conflicting answers on others -- and that's infuriating some gamers.

The instant backlash against the Xbox One, in fact, has been rather astonishing. To help understand it, here's a list of some of the things we don't know that we probably should, as well as areas where Microsoft just made things more confusing by constantly flip-flopping.

Xbox One, mysteriously defying gravity (Credit: Microsoft)Since the rumormongers starting whispering about Microsoft's next-generation console over a year ago, one of the most controversial topics has been the fate of used games.

Some reports said the system would make it impossible to play them. Analysts scoffed at this, saying Microsoft wasn't stupid enough to alienate a substantial portion of its audience with such a sweeping move -- not to mention anger its biggest retail partner, GameStop, who sees significant revenue from used game sales.

Today, Microsoft itself finally weighed in on the matter, though if you were hoping for crystal clarity, you're likely going to be a bit disappointed.

Master Chief and the master storyteller (Credit: 343 Industries/Getty Images)Halo may not have made it to the big screen, but it's getting its own TV show.

And one helluva producer.

As part of the Xbox One reveal Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled plans for Halo: The Television Series, which will air exclusively on Xbox Live. To assuage any fan fears about the show's quality, the Redmond-based company has partnered with legendary movie-maker Steven Spielberg to create it.

(Credit: Sony)

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox will dominate headlines tomorrow, but Sony couldn't resist stealing one more news cycle for the PlayStation 4 today.

The company has released a teaser video showing off its upcoming console, which was conspicuously absent at Sony's own event in February.

Well, showing off is probably overstating it. The video strives to build on the suspense of the PS4's appearance with lots of blurred shots, quick cuts and extreme close-ups of things that appear to be the backs of fans and corners of the machine. See for yourself:

Madden NFL 25 Anniversary Edition (Credit: EA)Madden, the go-to franchise for NFL fans, is upping its game.

EA has unveiled a limited ‘Anniversary Edition’ edition of the upcoming Madden NFL 25 that will come with a free Sunday Ticket subscription, letting owners not only play simulations of the entire NFL season, but watch it live, too, whether they're in-market or not.

The special version of the game, which is only available via Amazon, has been marked up to $100, but there is something of a caveat. The subscription included will only cover NFL Sunday Ticket on computers, tablets and mobile services.

(Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Nintendo has seen its share of rough patches over the years, but the past 12 months have been a doozy.

After revolutionizing the video game industry with the Wii, the company's follow-up console has consistently failed to connect with core gamers, casual gamers and, perhaps most worrying of all, game creators themselves.

Even the DC universe's mightiest superheroes couldn't fight off yet another month of poor retail sales for the video game industry.

(Credit: Warner Bros. Interactive)

April was the latest in a long string of sales disappointments, with brick and mortar sales of video game software falling 17 percent as compared to the same period in 2012. Hardware sales, predictably, were drastically lower as consumers start to save their money for the looming next-generation systems.

Sales of game consoles, in fact, were down 42 percent to $109.5 million, while game sales dipped to $254.3 million. Overall, the industry was down 25 percent compared to a year ago.

Electronic Arts was the first company to institute the online pass. It was, at the time, a revolutionary idea that allowed the publisher to make money from used game sales.

Now, it's walking away from the practice -- and players are celebrating.