Electronic Arts chief creative officer Rich Hilleman is one of many people who anticipate this current generation to drag on and on. He believes that incremental updates will extend the lives of the PS3 and Xbox 360, and that a new line of systems won’t happen until we see notable upgrades to the current machines.

“I anticipate we’ll see a PlayStation 3.5 before we see a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox 560 before we see an Xbox 720,” he states.

With the popularity of MMOs on PCs and the comparative lack of alternatives on home consoles, Microsoft should be jumping at the opportunity to get more massively-multiplayer fun on the Xbox 360. However, the company is more concerned with hemming and hawing over how such games would conflict with Xbox Live rather than getting a slice of the action, and Cryptic CCO Jack Emmert is baffled by it.

“Microsoft’s a huge company, and they’ve to work out all the various issues related to MMOs,” explains Emmert. “It just takes time for the huge beast known as Microsoft to get moving. I really have no explanation other than that, because it’s as baffling to developers as it is to everyone else.”

An Xbox 360 version of Champions On the internet is all ready to go, but Microsoft’s insistence on dragging its heels means that Cryptic has no clue when it will hit the system.

First off, Amazon Germany had a 250GB Xbox 360 listed. It’s not there anymore, but the folks at Edge and Kotaku saw it while it was still up. The bundle contained two wireless controllers and Forza Motorsport 3, all for about $400. Not bad. This could have been an error, but Edge reminds that Amazon Germany listed the PS3 Slim as early as July, and that turned out to be a real thing. We’ll ask around to see if this bundle is a real thing.

As for things you can actually get now, Amazon has the three SKUs of the Xbox 360 available with their new price drop. For those that missed the memo, that’s $299 for the Elite and $249 for the Pro. As a promotion, they are offering a $50 credit toward a 12+1 Xbox Live subscription card if you buy an Elite before September 1st. For those buying the Pro or the $199 Arcade unit, you’ll get one of a selection of free games for your new console. Titles like Halo 3, Fable 2, Lost Odyssey and Halo Wars are offered with this deal.

Way to go, Amazon. If you were looking to get a new (or another) Xbox 360, it looks like Amazon is the way to go right now.

[Update: Joystiq points to the 250GB also being spotted in South Africa. Same package and contents. Something's up.]

Via Destructoid