We just heard back from Microsoft about the rumor that the company has stopped manufacturing the original console.

In a nutshell, their official response is that they do not provide details on manfacturing for their console. Here's the longer version, which sorta dances around the question.

Our plans for the Xbox version 1 platform remain unchanged from what we discussed last year at E3. We expect to continue to sell Xbox V1 consoles well into CY2006. We have more than 800 Xbox games in the portfolio today with many more being added in the coming years. Xbox V1 is a great value for consumers and we expect to continue to see good demand for the platform in CY2006. We don t provide details on our console manufacturing plans for either the Xbox version 1 or the Xbox 360.

The question is, what does support mean. We've heard that Microsoft isn't making in-house Xbox games anymore (though third parties will end up making tons for the year), and now there's rumors of no more manufactured Xboxen. You could argue that support just means that they are supporting the third party development of games.

It would be nice if Msoft went the route of Sony and come out with a XboxOne or some such, but I just don't see it happening.

The Xbox Is Dead? [Kotaku]

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