Microsoft have apparently been showing key developer and publisher partners their next Xbox in London over the last week or so, with the console supposedly launching in 2013. A Crytek developer tweeted the game away, giving the Xbox the codename "Durango". And now, according to sources speaking to trade magazine MCV, there is confirmation that the next Xbox won't feature a disc drive.  Here are what we see as the issues, if this is even true...

Apple's third iPad - the "new iPad" - releases on 16 March for from £399. It features a stunning "Retina Display" screen four times the resolution of an iPad 2 - that's a higher resolution than a 1080p Full HD bigscreen, flat TV (and any home console). And it's got dual-core processing power and quad-core graphics power to match the increased screen. That has prompted Epic Games to announce Infinity Blade: Dungeons, a Diablo-style hack-n-slash role-playing game with a version specifically taking advantage of the new iPad power.

GAME (and its subsidiary GameStation) stores will not stock Mass Effect 3 or any other Electronic Arts game past SSX in March, until new terms can be agreed between the ailing chain and the publishing giant. The news follows GAME's inability to stock several other recent key titles. But, as the chain struggles to survive, what would it mean for gamers if the stores closed down?

We need a new generation of Code Heroes, according to Ian Livingstone and the review of the way ICT, IT etc. is taught in schools today. The current generation is being taught how to use computer programs, not how to create computer programs - according to the conclusions of the review. But how to make "10 Print 'MSN Gaming Zone is great' 20 Goto 10" seem exciting? Code Hero, the game, might be the answer...

Will the PS Vita get off to a better European start than it managed in Japan? It looks possible. On launch day, hundreds turned up for midnight store openings and Amazon UK has announced that Vita pre-orders are dominating the retailer's videogame charts. "14 of the top 20 positions in our chart are held by the console, games and accessories, which illustrates the excitement we are seeing around the product,” Amazon UK’s video games manager Liz Hosmer told MCV. And 32 per cent of PS3 owners surveyed by games trading site PlayR2 said they were "seriously" considering buying a console.