Microsoft has no current plans for the ‘next’ Xbox

Microsoft sees a ‘long future’ for a Natal-equipped Xbox 360, with no current plans to develop an entirely new console, claims gaming exec.

Much of the gaming talk at CES this month has been focused on motion-control and 3D technologies, with Microsoft now stating that it has no current plans to release a successor to the Xbox 360.

Microsoft’s Project Natal, along with other new software and content services, are being developed to prolong the life of the Xbox 360, instead of the company focusing on any type of entirely new ‘Xbox 720’ style successor to its current console.

Microsoft’s David Hufford, senior director of Xbox product management on Project Natal told an interviewer this week that, "it’s important to say that the Xbox 360 is the console of the long future for us," adding that the company feels there "is no need to launch a new console, because we’re able to give this console new life either with software upgrades or hardware upgrades."

Hufford added: "The Xbox 360 was designed for a long life, and I don’t even know if we’re at the midpoint yet."