Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi has taken to the company's official blog to further outline the future of Xbox. If there was any doubt that the Zune brand is dead, then Microsoft settled that today. "This year, Xbox becomes the premium entertainment service for Microsoft," says Mehdi, revealing that the company has sold 67 million consoles and generated more than $56 billion at retail. The Xbox 360 has bucked the trend, or as Microsoft puts it "defying gravity", to see continued success in its seventh year of sales.

Much of this success is down to Kinect and Xbox Live, which are both pushing console sales for access to entertainment services such as music, TV, and movies. The promise of Xbox as the entertainment service for Microsoft will come in different ways according to Medhi. "Xbox will go beyond the box to reach all new families of devices," he says. "Whether on your PC, tablet, TV or phone, Xbox will be a gateway to the best in music and video, your favorite games and instant access to your friends." Mehdi points to Windows 8 as an additional way for Xbox content to reach consumers, but he also admits that Microsoft understands entertainment is a multi-screen experience and has ideas for making entertainment more personal, interactive, and social "across the devices you love."

Whether this "multi-screen experience" will translate to a true cross-platform music and movie service remains to be seen. We've heard that the company is planning to preview its "Woodstock" Xbox music service at E3 next week, designed to work in the browser and across platforms. Mehdi says Microsoft will "show new ways to enjoy the entertainment you love" at E3 alongside a "few surprises to share."