There has been a growing buzz that Microsoft will make a big announcement next week at CES in regards to the Xbox 360 and via The Escapist, it looks like Microsoft may license the platform  to other companies.  According to the article: 

According to a Joystiq report, Seattle Times columnist Brier Dudley has suggested Gates may announce that Microsoft “may be preparing to license the Xbox gaming platform to consumer electronics companies.” If true, outside manufacturers such as Toshiba could build Xbox 360-based gaming consoles that would also integrate other technologies, such as DVR capabilities and an HD-DVD drive. Toshiba is tied closely to the speculation due to previous rumors that the company was already at work on a new and more advanced Xbox system.

This could be a great move by Microsoft which has been struggling on the XBox hardware front with many hardware failures. While now the XBox brand is only associated with gaming, it has become more of a powerhouse for video playback including full support as an MCE extender, as well as a UPnP media streamer.

Next week will be interesting.