990°

Rumour: Xbox 720 “Aligned” With PS4, Controller Almost Entirely Unchanged

The advantage of letting Sony go first with its PS4 announcement is that Microsoft now has time to tweak the Xbox 720 to ensure it matches up with Sony's console.
And that's just what it is doing, according to Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat, who told Eurogamer that it's been a long five-year wait for the game maker - "much longer than we were anticipating".
Without letting any actual detail slip, Mallat said that the next Xbox would be "aligned with what Sony announced".

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gizmodo.co.uk
iGAM3R-VIII4037d ago

Can E3 just come already so that there will be no more rumours. Anyway, if this is true the hardware race could be pretty close.

LOGICWINS4036d ago

Hopefully. Competition breeds excellence.

Xaphy4036d ago

Competition equals happy gamers

jimbobwahey4036d ago

Hopefully competition leads to Microsoft implementing backwards compatibility as an advantage over the PS4. It's one of the most important features for me at the start of a new console generation, and the next Xbox having it would be enough to sway me over to investing in Microsoft's console come launch day.

LOGICWINS4036d ago

^^The PS4 will have backwards compatibility. We just don't know to what extent yet.

Ron_Danger4036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

@jimbo

One of the unannounced features of the last PS3 firmware was that they removed the programming code that would make your PS3 explode once the PS4 comes out so you should still be able to play all of your PS3 games.

/s

1nsaint4036d ago

It wont be backward compatible with discs, psn content and save data..
The only thing sony said was that they might offer some psn content via streaming

Godmars2904036d ago

It will have BC through Gaikai. Most suspect, and aren't happy about, this will be at cost and through PS+.

And even then we don't what will actually be available because of licensing restrictions or even how.

darthv724036d ago

this reminds me of saturn and Ps1. Sega added a 2nd processor at the last minute to try and beef up the saturn's 3d processing power. Up to that point, the saturn was (and is) a 2d power house.

so while PS1 went on to rule the 3d world, saturn still holds the distinction of having some of the best 2d shmups and fighters this side of the arcade.

PS1 did an 'okay' job at 2d but we all know that when it came to 3d, it just couldnt be beat. So to think Ms is taking the time to 'tweak' the 720 is akin to sega 'tweaking' the saturn to try and be more like the PS1.

too bad many on this site dont go back that far. Many have said their interest in games was around the PS2 but the generations prior to that...oh what great memories.

Diver4036d ago

Peeps are misinterpreting the Ubi comments. The dude wasn't talking about horsepower.

The Ubi dude was talking about things like social features an such. A console is born with a certain amount of power an you can tweak it to squeeze more out but you aren't gonna make up for huge hardware disadvantages vs another console.

Godmars2904036d ago

As to your original comment about competition breeding excellence, I say BS. At least the way MS applies it.

Said it once, will say it again: even though the 360 was touted as being "Easier to Program for" there is little to no evidence that such an advantage was exploited in this console cycle. Some multiplatform titles looked better on the 360 but not all. And when it comes to exclusives often times the PS3 set the standard.

MS have really done noting to exploit what advantages they supposedly had.

thechosenone4036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

And those small difference between the PS4 and 720 are what exactly? Well for one is dat always online requirement and the other is the fact that you'll never really own these games because once MS shuts down their DRM servers you won't be able to access those games again, even though you paid for them.

Just some minor non important differences that you shouldn't pay much attention too.

starchild4036d ago

As a PC gamer I hope that the next Xbox isn't too far behind the PS4 in terms of performance. I don't want PC games and PS4 games being held back by a much weaker next Xbox.

Kenshin_BATT0USAI4036d ago

@Diver

I don't think anyone was talking about horsepower. Gaming website not a automotive one.

AsimLeonheart4035d ago

I read the original interview and he never said XBOX 720 was being aligned hardware-wise. I think the author is putting words in Mallat's mouth. IMO, I do not think it is possible to shoehorn extra RAM, CPU core or GPU at the end of the development when you never initially planned to. PS4's RAM case was different because Sony were considering both possibilities and finally settled for 8GB. The next XBOX has been in development for several years, the designs, the components, architecture all were planned years ago and MS had been following that plan. There are so many things associated with that like ordering components from suppliers, costing, manufacturing processes, manufacturing facilities etc. It just does not seems possible to change your console design and everything associated with it in a couple of months after having worked on it for years.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 4035d ago
DarthJay4036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

@iGAM3R-VIII - I back your comment 100%. Can not wait for this to finally be announced so we can be done with this speculation and drama.

JeffGUNZ4036d ago

How do these articles get approved? This "journalist" says the studio in Montreal says they are tweaking their hardware but in the quote it just says their hardware is in align with the PS4's. It says nothing about them tweaking anything, just that it's comparable to the PS4. What a bunch of crap. I am so tired of these rumor articles.

violents4036d ago

By saying that the durango platform "will be algined" with the ps4 in terms of power means they are playing catchup since sony released specs.

JeffGUNZ4035d ago

No it doesn't. It means future tense. Since the PS4 is officially announced and the 720 isn't, they can't say it IS, they have to say "will be" since the 720 is a future product (due to the unofficial announcement). Also, I highly doubt this is a real quote and MS would be suing this company for acknowledging the nextbox. It's like you're at the mall with the newest smartphone in your pocket. I WILL BE at the mall later with the same phone. Doesn't mean I don't own the phone and it's in my pocket at my house. Same thing applies. The PS4 has announced their specs and since the nextbox hasn't, you have to speak in future tense.

DeadlyFire4035d ago

They state in the article X720 will be aligned with PS4 with social features, Immersion, and so on. Nothing about hardware. This is rumor out of control. X720 being announced at 1.23 Tflops is going to crash alot of people's hopes. It could be announced to have similar power as PS4, but we will only know when its announced and all rumored specs so far say otherwise.

He told Eurogamer: "It's going to be connected. It's going to be social. It's going to be immersive. It's going to be interactive."

ijust2good4036d ago

Who's to say M$ will admit "always online" even if they were implementing it. If the leaked specs of nextbox is to be right then it shows that nextbox is much weaker than PS4. They prob wont even show the specs.

_-EDMIX-_4036d ago

100% agreed. Mainly because of this story!

http://www.quartertothree.c...

Though EA says DRM is bad and sucks, you think they are talking about SimCity's own DRM, but they literally start acting like its not even DRM! As if to say "we don't like DRM....but this isn't DRM" LOL

ps3_pwns4036d ago

no it wont be close. this gen is close and the ps3 launched a year later and still has the same number of consoles out that MS does. this new gen ps4 will win big time trust me. the go to console will be the ps4. any reason you were getting an x720 is the reason you should get the ps4 because its doing it better and bigger and in a gamer friendly way.

sak5004036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

Trust you a 2 bubble anonymous nerd with handle as PS3_pwns claiming PS4 will win big time.

Sure why not you can't be wrong..

/s

pete0074035d ago

hey, youre a shareholder, right? if you so ps4, instead of buying 1, buy 10, it´ll help your master a lot trust me, be ready for E3, then we´ll speak of facts, dont come with your religious expansionism, it doesnt work here

3-4-54036d ago

probably just adding the replay / always recording button feature. It's going to be a must have feature for games like GTA V.

Freedomland4036d ago

No time, If they rush changes, I expect hardware failures are at hand otherwise you will see nextbox in 2014.
They will not risk it, so they should launch what they have, if they will wait until 2014, ps4 will eclipse xbox 720, maybe death. I know Microsoft is not that crazy to fall straight into trap.

Bobby Kotex4036d ago

I don't see why anyone thinks the one or the other will be more powerful. MSFT just better bring the games, or they're in for a world of hurt.

4035d ago
MYSTERIO3604035d ago (Edited 4035d ago )

Im guessing well need internet access for the controller to work this time around.

jden284035d ago

If we all go back to the original leaked rumors they said that the Xbox 720 was like having 2 pc's tapes together. Basically it had 2 cpu's and 2 gpu's....Now we get another so called leak. And it's all of a sudden less powerful. Well if you think about what was also included in the original rumors it said that Microsoft was developing 2 consoles side by side with one aimed at casual users and the other at hardcore...Heck who know's we could be getting both...the Original rumor of a 16 core power pc cpu with and AMD graphics card and an all AMD machine with only 8 cores...one for all of us...how this would work who knows...I can't wait for E3 so it can put and end to the rumors and we can really know what's going on.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 4035d ago
aceitman4037d ago

if true it can push the release date for it by months

Godmars2904037d ago

if true it could mean another bout of RRoD.

Jek_Porkins4036d ago

The Xbox 360 was rushed, but we saw a quality console that was very sturdy with the original Xbox, we've also seen a very sturdy Xbox 360s.

Microsoft has had the longest possible time to work on their next console because they were first to market this generation. As for RROD, 2006 called and wanted people to stop talking about things from over six years ago k?

Godmars2904036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

With the first Xbox MS failed to buy several key components which prevented them from modifying it. Kept them from making a "slim" Xbox1 and was the main reason they lost so much money on the system.

With the 360 they added HDMI and an internal wifi adapter as an afterthought post release. Another sign of it being rushed and overall poor research on their part. Then there are the issues the DVD driver. That one they first used the cheapest they could find which lead to damaged discs, then more telling upped their storage limit via an update which bricked a few of consoles.

The point I'm getting at is that as a software company, MS's weakness has always been hardware. That weakness has even showed up in their main product over several iterations with resource hog Vista the most notable. Hell, the current BS with the DRM rumor, them essentially tethering Xbox3 to the internet so they can exert that much more control over it, is just another sign.

The question is how many more software preferences are going to show up this time around. How soon and how badly will it effect their hardware.

nukeitall4036d ago

@Jek_Porkins:

You are speaking to deaf ears. Godmars290 is a well known Sony fanboy, so he ain't going to listen to anything you say unless it is smack about MS or praising Sony.

Lvl_up_gamer4036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

Are we still talking about RROD?

How's that PSN hack doing? I guess we can expect poor online security with Sony going into next gen.

lets keep talking about that too

OMG, can we not let it go. You people bring up issues from many years ago are pathetic.

Godmars2904036d ago

I've had two YLoD incidents, 4 and 3 years apart, so its sort of a thing with me.

Knight_Crawler4036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

The worlds biggest Sony troll has spoken.

You must be excited aobut all this doom and gloom MS news :)

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4036d ago
sengoku4036d ago (Edited 4036d ago )

Agreed if indeed there tweaking the hardware side the console would be delayed considerably.

personally i don't believe they can do that much changes to the hardware, and i doubt that Sony even told everything they have under the hood.

so if M$ would try and match the current specs.
Sony might just pull another rabbit out of there hats and slightly one up them again..

very exciting times SPY vs SPY LOL

black9114037d ago ShowReplies(1)
wishingW3L4037d ago

they already did it once when they stole R&D from Sony to make the Xbox 360. That's why both consoles ended up being so close in power and you can bet that is gonna be the same again with the X720.

JimmyDanger4036d ago

They stole what from who now? Is that why they were on market a year earlier?

Is that why the 360 was successful? Because they stole some magical R&D blueprint from Sony then jumped back into their time machine to release earlier?

Whatever gets you through the night I guess.

BitbyDeath4037d ago

Would mean multiplats would not be held back on PS4 so this is in no way a bad thing.

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70°

Disney Dreamlight Valley teases part two of paid expansion

Disney Dreamlight Valley devs have officially teased the second part of the paid expansion titled The Spark of Imagination.

70°

Best Stardew Valley Farm Names – 100 Funny, Nerdy, Cute Ideas and More

Starting out a new farm, but need help choosing a name? Check out this article for a 100 farm name ides for Stardew Valley.

190°

Bethesda Needs to Reduce the Gaps Between New Fallout and Elder Scrolls Releases

Waiting a decade for new instalments in franchises as massive as Fallout and Elder Scrolls feels like a waste.

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gamingbolt.com
-Foxtrot14h ago

Microsoft have Obsidian but I feel it's Bethesda who just don't want to play ball as they've always said they want to do it themselves.

Once MS bought Zenimax in 2020 they should have put the Outer Worlds 2 on the back burner, allow Bethesda to finish off its own Space RPG with Starfield (despite totally different tone why have two in your first party portfolio with two developers who's gameplay is a tad similar) and got Obsidian for one of their projects to make a spiritual successor to New Vegas.

When the Elder Scrolls VI is finished Bethesda can then onto the main numbered Fallout 5 themselves.

The Outer Worlds 2 started development in 2019 so putting it on the back burner wouldn't have been the end of the world, they'd have always come back to it once Fallout was done and it would have been nicely spaced out from Starfields release once they had most likely stopped supporting it and all the expansions were released.

If they did this back in 2020 when they bought Zenimax and the game had a good, steady 4 - 5 years development, you might have seen it release in 2025.

We are literally going to be waiting until 2030 at the very earliest for Fallout 5 and all they seem bothered about is pushing Fallout 76.

RaidenBlack12h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Its not just only Todd not playing ball.
Obsidian have made a name for themselves in delivering stellar RPGs, but most famous once have always been sequels/spin-offs to borrowed IPs like KOTOR 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Stick of Truth etc.
Obsidian wants to invest more in their own original IPs like Outer Worlds or Pillars of Eternity with Avowed.
Similar to what Bluepoint & inXile wants to do or Kojima is doing (i.e not involving anymore in Konami's IPs).
So yea, even if New Vegas has the most votes from 3D Fallout fans, Obsidian just wants to do their own thing, like any aspiring dev studio and MS is likely currently respecting that.
But a future Fallout game from Obsidian will surely happen. Founder Feargus Urquhart has already stated an year ago that they're eager to make a new Fallout game with Bethesda, New Vegas 2 or otherwise. Urquhart was the director of the very first 1995's Fallout game after all.
And don't forget Brian Fargo and his studio inXile, as Brian Fargo was the director of Fallout's 1988 predecessor: Wasteland

KyRo8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

Obsidian should take over the FO IP. They're do far better with it than Bethesda who hasn't made a great game for almost 15 years

RaidenBlack2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

@KyRo
So, by 15 years, you mean Fallout 3 was the last great game Bethesda made?
You don't consider Skyrim a good game, which came out 13 years ago?
I'd consider Fallout 4 a pretty decent game as well. It's Story & RPG elements were a bit downgrade from New Vegas but the exploration and shooting on the other hand, were upgrades.
FO76 was disappointing and Starfield could've been better at launch I'll agree.

Duke198h ago(Edited 8h ago)

I disagree. Part of these games is the support for the mod community. If they move to releasing a "next game" every 2 or 3 years, the modding support plummets and the franchises turn into just another run of the mill RPG.

Make the games good enough to withstand the test of time, to keep people coming back to them and expanding on them with mod support.

--Onilink--5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

I dont think anyone is saying they need to come out every 2 years (not to mention almost no game is released that quickly anymore)

By the time Fallout 5 comes out, it will be more than 15 years since Fallout 4 came out (same with ES6 coming out 15 years after Skyrim). Even if you want to use F76 as the metric for the most recent release, that one came out in 2018. It will be a miracle if F5 comes out before 2030

The point is that for a studio that doesnt seem to operate with multiple teams doing several projects at once, that their projects normally take 4-5 years as a minimum, and that now they even added Starfield to the rotation, it becomes a 15+ years waiting period between releases for each series, which doesnt make sense. Imagine that Nintendo only released a mainline Mario or Zelda game every 15 years…

They either need to start developing more than 1 project at a time, let someone else take a crack at one of the IPs or significantly reduce their development times

Duke194h ago(Edited 3h ago)

Why should someone else take a crack at one of the IPs? Look at what happened to Final Fantasy as a recent example - there is pretty clear FF fatigue setting in because they are now pumping out titles in the franchise every few years. Pumping out more games faster doesn't always make a series better.

There are plenty of options to make new games, not just create more titles in the same universe at a faster pace.

-Foxtrot1h ago

"Why should someone else take a crack at one of the IPs"

He's literally just told you why

We're waiting like 15 years before a sequel comes out, it's insane

Skyrim came out in 2011, the next game is expected to come out in 2027 at the earliest so that's 16 years apart while Fallout 4 came out in 2015 and might not release until 2031, again 16 years.

We're fine with Bethesda trying new things and doing new IPs like Starfield but adding a new game to the cycle now means a bigger wait. Also Starfield didn't meet most peoples expectations, can you imagine waiting 15 years or so for a sequel and it's disappointing? It would feel even worse because you would have to wait another 15 years to see if they manage to come back from it.

They need to give it to another developer, we don't need main numbered titles but a spin off of Fallout and Elder Scrolls should be cycled in between the long gaps of the main releases.

Once again you are making out people want these games as quick as possible when all we want is a standard development time of at least 4 years or so rather than waiting 15.

mandf5h ago

Yeah I’m going to say it, who cares about the modding community when making a game? Half the time developers only tolerate modders because they fix there game for them.

Skuletor7h ago

Yeah, let's all advocate for smaller gaps between series' releases, then we'll probably get headlines about how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven. Let them cook.

SimpleSlave5h ago

"how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven" So every Bethesda game then? Got it.

Listen, I would agree if this was about From Software or something, but Bethesda?

🤣

C'mon now. What timeline are you from?

Skuletor3h ago

Think about it, they're already bug filled messes on their current schedule, can you imagine how much worse it would be if they rushed things?

-Foxtrot1h ago

@Skuletor

Who's saying to rush the releases? No one is saying that...

People just don't want to be waiting 15 years for a sequel, they aren't working on the game for that long, you do realise that right? The issue isn't coming down to them working on the game and us "rushing them", it's the fact they are working on other games like Starfield now meaning bigger gaps before they even get started on them.

I bet you any more Elder Scrolls VI only entered full development last year when Starfield was finished despite being announced in 2018.

Duke194h ago

I mean you aren't wrong. People are going to complain about anything

isarai6h ago

Hows about you focus on quality, just a thought 🤷‍♂️

Sciurus_vulgaris5h ago

Bethesda [or Microsoft] would have to reallocate internal and external studios towards fallout and elder scrolls titles. Bethesda has the issue of developing 2 big IPs that are large RPGs on rotation. If you want more Fallout and Elder Scrolls, development will have to be outsourced.

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