As details are being revealed from the unveiling of the Xbox One, it appears Microsoft is going to be changing what it means to "own a game."  The changes could have a drastic affect on the used and rental market for games while also making it easier for co-op gamers in a single household. How are they going to do that? Every game for the Xbox One will be installed to the hard drive, and if you want to install a game to another Xbox Live Account you'll need to pay a fee. Perhaps this is the end to having to buy multiple copies of games to play co-op in one house?

Microsoft has officially unveiled their next generation console which will launch later this year. It's called the Xbox One  - bucking the trend of sequential numbering or the rumored Xbox 720, Xbox Infinity, and everything else. The one hour presentation focused on the console itself and the entertainment, architecture and partnerships around it. Perhaps we are seeing the end of the term "videogame console" as there wasn't a single game to be found until 32 minutes into the presentation.

The following Xbox update comes straight from Major Nelson himself. Among the upcoming content for the Xbox Live Marketplace are sales on select cooperative games. These titles include Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale, and The Simpson's Arcade Game. When the games go on sale, if you don't already own them, it might be a good time to grab some buddies and gobble them up. For a complete list of the planned Xbox Live content, take a look below:

If you are a fan of cooperative games (and you should be, you are visiting Co-Optimus), then chances are you have heard about Guardian Heroes HD. Originally released for the Sega Saturn, Guardian Heroes HD was the remixed version of the Treasure classic. The game is a unique and timeless beat em' up that has stood as a solid game to this day. It is a golden standard by which to measure other games in the genre. This has as much to do with the amazing graphics, music, and animations as it has to do with the underlying game mechanics. This is a thinking man's brawler, particularly on hard mode. It features experience and stat point distribution which can come into play in a large way. Best of all, it sports some very fine cooperative play both online and locally.

Is the “Upper Echelon Edition” of Splinter Cell: Blacklist not enough for your uber fandom?  Get ready to dig deep into your wallet, for the whopping “Paladin Collector’s Edition” has arrived.

One of the fall's more anticipated AAA titles was the third, and final (for this story line, at least), entry in the Assassin's Creed series. At long last everything would be revealed/resolved. The whole sordid purpose behind the Templar's schemes. Why Desmond's ancestors were so important. Why Desmond has father issues. Why there was this whole futuristic doomsday plot in the first place. Ok, so not everything was clear. At least it ended, right? Even if you weren't all that into the game's story/premise, there was still plenty there to enjoy. Like the newly added "Wolfpack" co-op mode, which was one of the highlights for us. Good news arrives today as new maps and new playable characters will be available via the "Battle Hardened" DLC pack, slated to hit the Xbox tomorrow, Jan. 8. PS3 owner's can pick up the new content Wednesday, Jan. 9 and, last but not least, it will go up for PC players next Tuesday, Jan. 15.

In 2002 Microsoft launched an ambitious service to bring multiplayer online gaming to the console masses.  Requiring a broadband connection, which at the time seemed like a bad decision, Xbox Live launched with built in voice chat across every game.  This ladies and gentlemen was the best possible decision and clearly it had a large effect on how Xbox grew in the years to come.  

Ever wanted to know what happened to the TimeSplitters series? After waiting years for additional news on the TimeSplitters 4 development, we discovered that the game’s long awaited return might be sooner than we thought.

Sega knows that nothing says "Happy Valentines Day" like a good two player zombie killfest.  The House of the Dead 3 hits the PSN today.  If you've got a PS Move, and you like light gun games, this is something you and your special someone may want to look into.  We've got some new screens in the gallery below.  Don't Lisa and G make a cute couple?  This HD remake seems to be a marked improvement over the Wii re-release, 2008's The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return.   A demo is currently available through the PSN, if you want to take it for a spin.

This past week marks the tenth anniversary of the release of two co-op consoles. On November 15, 2001, Microsoft entered the video game hardware market with the original Xbox. Just three days later, the veterans at Nintendo released their offering, the GameCube. Besides very similar names, the two systems shared at least one more attribute. They both brought new innovations to our favorite aspect of video gaming: cooperative play. This week, we'll cover the first of these systems, the Xbox.

Ten years ago today Microsoft changed the console war from a battle between two, to a battle between three.  The Xbox, a big black box loaded with a "duke" controller became a staple of hardcore gamers.  It contained a hard drive and a network connection, and it was the beginning of a big change for consoles.  The system saw many great co-op games over it's life span, though none may be more iconic than the one it launched with in Halo.

It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today, Microsoft launched the Xbox console.  At the time I was a college student and I remember thinking - there's no way Microsoft can compete with Sony or Nintendo.  Yet, there I was on launch day with my college roomate picking up the big black and green box with a copy of Halo.  That weekend we spent the entire time playing through the game in co-op.

    Good news, for those of you who competitively play Brink.  You can now follow your stats online.  Just enter that little code you see on the in-game menu called "Online Stats" at the Brink website.  There are plenty of numbers to crunch.  You can see your average XP per match, which abilit...

In a recent interview with NowGamer.com Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford alluded to even more content for the 4 player shoot-and-loot Borderlands franchise.  Whether or not the new content is even more DLC or a proper sequel remains to be determined.  In the interview, Pitchford acknowledges that the Borderlands team originally planned for the The Secret Armory of General Knoxx to be the last piece of DLC, which was then followed up by last September's Claptrap's New Robot Revolution.