GR - Xbox 720 or Xbox 3 draws a lot of speculation, so let's find out what we know so far regarding the hardware, graphics, release date, games and more.
Well normal generations are usually around 5 years so if a new Xbox launches in 2012 that would mean the 360 would have been on the market for 7 years before its successor shows up. I think 2012 is the best guess. We will probably hear something about it next year.
I honestly don't think that MS will be moving to a new platform before 2014. Why, you ask? Because the major IPs that 360 has (and people would love to see on new hardware) are done and gone. Bungie is gone. Gears is gone (or will be after #3). Lionhead never delivers. Valve is focusing on PS3 because Sony is letting them bring Steam to the platform. Mass Effect is now multiplat.
This is why MS is moving into the casual market. They'll probably spend the next two years testing the casual market. In late 2011, they'll be putting new hardware into the hands of devs (if there are any left, that is), and we'll see a new console announced in 2012's E3. Launch will probably be holiday 2013.
You say they wont move to a new platform but i think they will and retain kinect compatability of course.
As sony moved onto PS2 from PS1, the older console was swamped with casual titles and kiddy titles. More hardcore titles arrived on the more expensive newer machine. This happened with the PS2 to PS3 transition as well. The older console continued to live for much longer as a result and still sold in good quantities.
I suspect microsoft will look to introduce a new platform, obviously the expensive next generation hardcore gamer machine and relegate 360 with cheaper kinect bundles as their casual vehicle, retaining it on their portfolio of hardware rather than retiring it immediately. The cheapest new 360 is now approaching a key pricepoint- the 100 pound barrier. Once that is achieved and i expect it inside the next 12 months it will signal the latter stages of 360s life as microsoft's flagship console.
Yes i know, its obvious you can get clearance old style machines at knockdown prices at outlets with old stock. That has always been the case. I clearly mean everyday official RRP price for the cheapest new models.
It said a first party sequel was being developed, but pushed into being a launch title for the next console... Sounds like Perfect Dark to me! Also, I believe the next gen will start in 2012! By next year, the average price for either 360 or Ps3 will be $200! That is the usual warning sign the next gen is coming!
I still say digital download only will kill our industry! In theory, it sounds like a good idea, but they are forgetting a lot of people have consoles who aren't connected to the internet. Not to mention people like me who don't want to hand over my credit card info to a game company, especially when I personally know several people who have had their accounts hacked by entering their numbers on a console!
If they think sales are down now... wait until the DD crap kicks in! Those numbers will get lower and lower. Primarily because people will be more cautious about what they buy! You won't have the security of buying a bad game and being able to sell or trade it... You are stuck with it!
More than likely, Nintendo won't follow this DD crap and will probably come out as the winner if MS and Sony go along with it!
The only good thing I see from having DD games is not having to worry about messed up disc and console has fewer moving parts which should lead to a longer life than usual... I mean like a Nintendo cartridge console life line long!
They need to come up with a new name instead of "xbox" There is a lot of bad blood associated with that name. A new fresh name would represent a new beginning. Maybe the Microsoft Phoenix? haha just spit-ballin of the top of my head
We are running into a dead end. 360 & PS3 need to be able to drop below $200 for reasonable production costs before we can even think about a new console - or the inflation puts the $400 price point where $200 is now. PS3/360 are way to complex to scale down to $200 at any time soon - not without stripping features.
Without that, a new console won't happen. It is much to risky to drop the old model and introduce a new one at a >$400 price point. This is the lowest price I can imagine for a new console - and it'll be tough.
The only reason for a new console I can see is, that the PC will eat into the console market and 3D will take off (which requires more horse power eventually).
But if neither will happen, and current tech can at least compete with those two factors, nobody will take the risk an invest another billion to just get a new more powerful machine to the market. Cash flow for those risky projects pretty much dried up these days.
The 360 Has alot more time microsoft said KINECT WILL AD 5 YEARS TO THE LIFE CYCLE and sony said MICROSOFT AND NINTENDO WILL BE FIRST TO DO A NEW CONSOLE you wont see anything else till 2014-2015 jesus guys sony spent like what 5 years makeing ps move? there not just going to release it and move into another console that's stupid same with milc-o-soft, i mean microsoft.
Three years at least. But not because the 360 has the power to last that long. It'll last that long because of MS focusing on casual market. Once they realize they need to get back into hardcore, they'll put a new kit into devs hands and announce it to us the following E3.
The Ps2 was the weakest console last gen and people are still buying it now! You were happy with it (I was as well) and didn't care about graphics that much. Now all of a sudden the Ps3 is the most powerful, you guys want to turn your noses up like snobs?
The only thing that matters in the end is if the games are still fun and if you can see good.
...and the Ps2 is still selling well even though it was the weakest! Wii is the weakest and it is still selling well! Like I said, graphics don't mean sh*t... fun games are what count!
@AAA, ps2, like ps3 now, had all the great games....now you can do a lot more with a ps3, and unlike ps2, it's the more powerfull console.
so, if people are not brainless, ps3 = ps2 or more, if not, bad for them :)
" i think the xbox is capable of producing the same graphics as ps3 but is held back by lack of disc space and a lack of harddrive in every console "
and most of all, cell !!! hd and disc space explain some real differences (compression, non hd sound, etc) but no AI, graphics, polygones, etc : ps3 is better for that, when optimised.
lo(again)@dchalfont, THE real joke of the day : he don't have ps3 or xbox, but read all the day console's news, and try to explain to gamers what he don't know anything about the best : he is comparing old pc games, whith games 100 times more beautifull on consoles ! resolution can't do miracles dumbo, i also have a pc, and most of the games have inferiors graphics to uncharted, killzone (not all, but most of all)
"But this gen of console's haven't brought innovative gameplay to the table either..."
what a donkey ! you really don't know what you are talking about (oh wait, you don't have the consoles you are trying to talk all the day, pathetic :)), 2008 to 2010 was the best years for videogames, all the specialists confirm that ("golden age" articles are easy to find)
True, but you can't completely disregard the difference in clock speed either. Then there is the fact that the PS2 also had half the RAM as the Xbox. It was unquestionably the weakest hardware by a large margin.
In any case, this generation the two HD consoles are much more equal in power.
"It's also been confirmed that Crysis 2 will be coming in 3D on the Xbox 360 so that means Xbox 720 will definitely be supporting 3D gaming and it will most probably be without those pesky glasses." YOU WISH. The only display that displays 3D without glasses is the Nintendo 3DS - and it's not even out yet! And TV size? Not yet. My point is it depends on your diplay - not your Xbox 360.
Hopefully the next Xbox won't be as hot though.
And, as I said on the PS4 speculation, I doubt that Optical media/discs are going away anytime soon. I used to believe it, but seeing as my 10mbit connection takes several hours downloading some GB, who wants to wait that long to start playing a game they bought? Nobody.
The tech behind Xbox 360 and PS3 is 7 years old. It's time for a new machine and I expect to here about it at E3 2011 with the new machines coming in 2012.
If kinect sells 50 million 360's on top of the 41+ million they have now, then maybe we may not see a new xbox for 3-4 years or more.
The power really isn't everything and Nintendo proved that with the Wii leading in sales. As long as Sony and Microsoft can continue to innovate and release innovative games, then there's no need for a new console.
you are truly outrageous...lol...Kinect selling 50+ mil....WOW!!!
@kamakaze
Nintendo didnt prove that..if any system did it was the ps2... it did the same last gen eaily being the weakest of the group.
As far as Power goes this gen is funny....last gen the xbox fans touted having the most powerful console while ps2 fans touted the most games.......fast forward to now PS3 fans has the most power (and games...now) and xbox 360 had the most games.......
"Xbox 720 will definitely be supporting 3D gaming and it will most probably be without those pesky glasses."
I stopped reading right there. There is NO technology that supports glasses-free 3D on anything beyond a small display, and it only works for a single viewer in a very specific position.
There is also little need for resolutions above 1080P...anything higher is virtually undetectable unless you are sitting very close to the screen. That processing power is better spent on more detailed textures and higher polygon count.
Disagree with what? My comment on the weaknesses of glasses-free technology is fact. As for 1080P, do you see any need for anything higher in terms of normal television? Hell, it's already like you're looking through a window at times. If the answer is no, why would you need it for games? The big difference between games and live TV is not resolution-related, it's detail-related.
Do we really need a 720 right now, I mean Kinect is coming out soon and that should expand the 360's lifecycle right.