After Xbox 360: Microsoft's next console

How fast will the new Xbox be? How many core will its CPU and GPU have? How much memory and processing power will it have? What media storage and other built-in features will it have?

Tech.co.uk takes educated guesses and looks at the specs of Xbox 2011.

[BigKev45]

The next Xbox will be the S**t.

[lynx1halo]

By 2011 Microsoft will extend the XBROKE720 warranty to 5 years as its new and improved !!5 fans..and now with even bigger power brick!!! will crash and burn every month or so...

[marinelife9]

Only about 3 more years. Not long at all.

[deadpreacher]

Sad part is, is that i like and expect a new console every 5 to 7 years tops! 5 years is just long enough where you wanting something newer and more powerfull. 7 years you seen basicaly ever last bit of power the system can muster and its truely showing its age behind PC games. As long as PC games keep pulling ahead i will be looking forward to a new console to keep up. So yes a new Xbox around 2011 is more than welcome with me! Since PC games are already pulling ahead on what any of the next gen consoles can do today just think what it will be like by 2011!?

[therealwillie]

i think this is hilarious, the console is out about two years and everyone is already talking about the next one

[deadpreacher]

Well what do you expected? 3 more years and its about time to start looking forward to a new system! In 2 years we should hopefully be getting new info on the stats of the new consoles and what to expect. Besides even when the new Gen comes you can bet everyone is going to be wanting and wondering whats next just as quick.

Its great for a console to be supported for years after the Gen is up. Yet its even better to keep moven forward when the time comes. Also its really not that far away from now! So why not be excited about it!? Most of us have already been in the next gen gameing for 2 years now so 3 or 4 more years is about right. Not are fault if you waited its yours alone.

[IRONMAN_X_357]

hahahahaha come on dude, your right it will be sh*t, if they do do it, you do re3lize that there fanbase will not grow, and once again ps3 will sell 140 million again, or even more, i know that

[paul_war]

I disagree with the built-in camera & built-in microphone, i'm sure it will be technically possible, but accessories is were all the money is!

[Oblivioner]

have 33 Red Rings of Death. Yes

[Meus Renaissance]

The next Xbox, and the next PlayStation will obviously be more powerful. We can look at those staggering technical figures right now and be in awe, but by the time they come out we won't be as much. What, instead, could awe us, what will distinguish the consoles are the games.

Because I like PlayStation games, I will get a PS4 regardless of its technical capabilities and I'm sure the vast majority of you, even those who can never imagine it, will choose your next console - not because of its name - but because of the games.

Original comment "I'll get a PS4 because I'm a fan of PlayStation games". Edited because it hit a few nerves and some major arteries belonging to Bloodmask.

[Saint Sony]

In that case.. WAIT BEYOND.

People are already waiting for games, think about waiting the PS4.. wow.

[Meus Renaissance]

You sadden me.

[BIoodmask]

Your whole comment is sad. This thread is about the successor to the Xbox 360. What the hec does your comment do except induce a flame war. I was under the impression that the comments posted on the thread were actually supposed to be about the article.

Silly me though, obviously only a fanboy would do this, so I must be mistaken (insert sarcasm).

[Kuest]

Mate.

I think it is time to add another fanboy to the list...

Such a shame.

[rofldings]

Oh shut the fuc|< up, bloodmask.

Like I don't see you on PS3 threads posting negative comments. Quit acting like you're not a fanboy.

[SmokeyMcBear]

well considering the ps4 wont come out for 5 years, most likey 2012... so yes.. that is waiting beyond I guess. But enjoy paying another 500 bucks for the next 360 that comes out in 2009, just hope it has more backwards compatibility

[Kuest]

On what basis do you make such a claim?

Xbox?

Yes, of course. Never mind the fact that MS was losing substantial amounts of money on each console sold, while ALSO suffering dismal sales compared to the PS2. Funny how we sometimes overlook the WHY as opposed to the "WHAT happened".

My friend, whether or not MS decides to introduce a new console will be determined through the 360's market share. If it manages to retain a relative dominance in comparison to the PS3... expect MS to hold a while longer.

Its all about revenue and profits (among other things, but I won't get into that).

[PS3n360]

Meus seems to be quickly sliding into just another Sony retard. The last several comments of yours I have read have gone from unbiased to just plain fangirly. Dont forget how you got all those bubbles, it wasnt by coming into xbox threads and starting flame wars. Its gonna be a long way down to one bubble but no one is invincible.

[Meus Renaissance]

This article is talking about the next Xbox - which should interest or appeal to every gamer because its a general discussion about the next generation of hardware. I read it because I was interested. So I made a comment about the PlayStation games, did you read my comment? It implied that regardless of the hardware specifications, what appeals about consoles are the games on that platform. You and many others, ironically, have spouted the same point over and over again to rebuke the Sony fanboys who sing about the power of the Cell processor. I like PlayStation games so I'll be very interested in the PS4 - regardless of it's specifications. But if those games were lost to Microsoft, then I'd be interested in the Xbox.

I wasn't dismissing the Xbox brand, I was dismissing hardware specifications because as we've seen in this generation, it really doesn't matter.

Oh, I liked the part where you accuse me of flamebait. You, good sir, are legendary for that, more than any other fanboy on this website. You know it's interesting because it almost seems like you're trying to speak intelligently, maturely, and from an objective point of view. It's even more funny you negate and criticise fanboys - as if, as if almost you are not a fanboy yourself.

One minute you complain about how some "fanboys" try to distort an article but not using its original headline, in order to spin it for their own purpose. The next minute, you do the exact same thing; so you're hypocrisy is well known to me especially, and I'm sure others would find it hard pressed not to.

But I agree, however, my comment was poorly conveyed and it could have been interpreted as some sort of attack or criticism of people's console choice and for that I apologise to anyone who was offended by it. But Bloodmask, don't even waste my time of accusing me or anyone else of being a fanboy. That's not sad, that's not offensive, that's just damn right funny.

Yes I'm a PlayStation fan but I'm not Sony fanboy. I'm quite capable of hating on Sony, as many have seen recently, but I don't go hating on other platforms or games - which is I think the main DNA of what people can fanboys nowdays; not ones that defend their consoles, but ones that attack other consoles. For gods sake, even my comment on the surface - all it says is that I like PlayStation games so I'll get a PS4. If I had said something stupid like, "the PS4 will still be better", then I can understand the complaints yet if anyone here, because I imagine mostly 360 owners would be reading this article, said something negative about the PS3/4, no one would be accusing that person of flamebait. But because I'm a PS3 fan, have 9 bubbles, I'm a big target?

And for those who are itching their balls to put me on Ignore or take a Bubble, go ahead and do it if it'll make you feel that just much better about your day because it won't affect me either way.

Love, Meus

[Kuest]

but he just can't seem to spin it, can he?

No meus, the only thing more pathetic than your #5 comment is the explanation you gave to defend it. What's even more disgraceful is that you probably do not RECOGNIZE how dumb your last post just sounded! Sometimes its better to shut up, take your losses, and just be content to your redeem yourself in another post.

As it stands, you will need to experience another "Renaissance" in order to get yourself out of the fanboy rut-house that you put yourself in.

As Bloodmask stated earlier- no one cares whether or not you are interested in the PS3... this thread is about the 360. Troll elsewhere.

I don't have to ignore you. I'll just make do with you the way I deal with other nincompoop fanboys.

edit:

So i take it you ignored the gist of my argument. Let me, in way of one sentence, summarize my earlier post for you: STOP TRYING TO DEFEND YOURSELF.

You cannot, Bloodmask was RIGHT. Whether or not, he is a fanboy is irrelevant. Why? Because you made the STUPID comment, and he- seeing that it was wrong- simply called you out. Your response- to insult him.

Oh, but when I spoon-feed you a taste of your own distorted medicine... you call foul and ignore! Fine. But, don't think that will stop me- so if you make a dumb@ss comment, EXPECT me to call you out just as I would any other fanboy. If you make a good comment, EXPECT me to compliment you.

That's just the way it works- now STOP GIVING EXCUSES.

[Meus Renaissance]

I've had many arguments here where, when I see that I'm wrong or have nothing to say - I'm not that arrogant to continue pointless excercises.

I responded to Bloodmask explaining my comment and how it had no ill-malice. Logically, why would it? For one, I wouldn't want to start to insult and anger people especially on an article that will predominantly be for 360 owners. I admitted that my original comment was poorly conveyed but my response tried to explain what was going through my mind - so to dismiss and call it pathetic just goes to show that you are more than happy enough to assume the worst of me, even though its not in my character to make "fanboy" statements or attack another console in the face of its owners. Think about that.

I accept the heat I got, because, yes I can see how it was misunderstood and how I'm generally not loved and adored (being sarcastic there) but some of the more prudent posters here and they had their moment with me, not disputing that. However I myself, after holding my hand up, still maintain that I was misunderstood and then I went on to address his tone of response to me (Mr Blood) in relation to his accusations of fanboys. Call me a fanboy, I don't mind anymore - I doubt there are many left who haven't been accused of such a thing, but to be called that by someone who is universally accepted as a hypocrite fanboy here, is well, just wrong and even offensive towards me and embarrassing towards him.

It'd be like the Mart ravaging Sony fanboys, for being fanboys. Or Nasim doing the same. It's not about the specific accusation, but the actual context - them saying it! It's irony in its most poetic form.

I'm sure they appreciate that; for example the story on how Howard Stringer proclaimed Sony sold 100,000 in a week, not everyone will buy that, not even I. Why? Because its coming from Sony, I'd rather wait for an independent source, and there are several comments who expressed the same there because its pure irony for people to believe him without doubt.

Back to my comment, I should have went into more detail with it. I think the next consoles being powerful, is a granted. There is no need to speculate how much RAM or how powerful it's CPU will be. Take this generation for example, one person could enjoy a Wii game more than a PS3/Xbox 360 game. The Cell is meant to be one of the most powerful processors of our time, yet it's not really producing anything to raise eye brows and I'm personally part of the wagon that doesn't care for hardware specifications. It's all about the games for me.

I had an Xbox, I could have kept it but I didn't. I sold it to get more money for PS3 games which I wanted and I love, nothing on the 360 interested me anymore. People, at the end of the day, buy consoles for games, regardless if it has 512MB of RAM or 4GB of RAM. And that's the underlining point, which I regret in not specifying, of my original comment.

You can dismiss me, you can mock me, you can insult me and you can accuse me (because people rarely get the opportunity to do that) but either way, I stand by my point. Although not the comment - that was just a mistake in written form.

EDIT:

Did you even read my reply? I agreed and said my original comment was poorly written and its own form probably interpretable as flamebait, I have no dispute in regards to that. But my point is now trying to explain what I had in my mind, which is that regardless of hardware, it's the games that matter. I'm not defending my original comment so why do you keep saying that I am? I am defending my original thought which was not shown through that comment, hence I am showing it here.

And you wanna stalk me? Hey press TRACK under my Member name, I'd love your views on my opinions. But hey I support your efforts in crushing fanboys 100%, I'd give you a gold star sticker but I can't find one. So instead this will do, from me to you.

* its a star

[BIoodmask]

You amuse me because you edit your original comment to appear to be less flaming. Just wanted to thank you for adding some humor to my day. By the way ever since I made this new account I don't even go into PS3 news sections to post comments.

It is true that I prefer Xbox 360 but I don't feel the need to force my opinion on others bc I know they don't care.

Meus Renaissance I will save you the embarrassment of posting what your comment originally said. Kuest and the others who responded already know.

[Meus Renaissance]

Ofcourse I changed my original comment. But I haven't changed my view. I agreed with you and the others from the get-go that my original comment was poorly written so I fixed it to how it should have looked like. Do you have an issue with that aswell?

Embarrassment? No I'm not embarrassed. I would be though if I constantly contradicted myself and then be mocked by dozens and dozens of members daily for stupid articles.

Yeah I changed my pic but it's not showing on my screen for some reason? Hmm. I still have this one, but I changed it to a Smallville picture. It takes like a day for it to refresh for me, which was weird.

EDIT: Lmao, you made the comment about me changing my pic because you construed as if I was changing my identity from all of this "embarrassment?" Oh wow. I just realised that.

[fredy]

Meus Renaissance - "The next Xbox, and the next PlayStation will obviously be more powerful."

what a turd of a fanboy [Meus].

This has nothing to do with the PS3 or 4. But you choose to respond in that manner, as always if your not defending Sony and the PS3, your praising everything about it.

about the next Xbox 360

-Modified Intel Core CPU
-Small SSD HDD for the OS, and 250 Gig drive
-BD or HD-DVD whatever wins
-Modified GPU with 1 gig RAM

Can't wait, I rather have the latest and the greatest every 5 years providing games are 100% BC, I have no issues.

[Meus Renaissance]

Hi,

I'm growing impatient of constantly explaining myself. You quoted only a single sentence out of several responses I have made and I have to explain my opinion as best as I could.

I will, however, explain one more time for you.

To me, this article isn't just about the Xbox. When you think about those hardware figures that are speculated on the article, you wonder how powerful these machines will become and therefore your sights are immediately put on how great the games could become. Because, what is 8GB of RAM if it's not for the games? No one would care, you know what I mean? So my opinion was that, this translates to games. And for me, I don't put thought into how powerful the consoles will be - they will be more powerful anyway, that's not up for debate. But what will distinguish them are the games.

In my original comment, I didn't express that in detail and it was mistaken for some sort of fanboy statement of dismissing the Xbox or something.

On a personal note, I do not always defend the PS3 actually. I'm always honest with my posts, check back on my recent comments for the past week. I got hate because I criticised Sony on the Drake demo situation, I got heat for saying that the console should be selling 100,000 a week anyway to have a chance of over leaping the competition, and hence downplayed the "new sales figures". But I mainly do my defense against ignorant people who attack the console with silly comments, and I get support for that by other PS3 owners. That pretty much sums up my role on N4G.

[Biphter]

I agree with you and understand what you are trying to say. But it seems that people are quick to jump on you purely because of your status here. I too have owned Playstation machines right from the start, and its not because I like Sony (I Hated them when Dreamcast died) but its the games that appear on Sony machines that I like.

I've tried Xbox 360 too, Didn't like the types of games appearing at the time and sold it to fund my PS3. I must admit having the PS3 so early felt a bit how it did in the early days for PS2, only having a few games worthy of purchase (But at least some I enjoy) Motorstorm and Resistance of course. And I found myself tiding over on PSN games. Especially Super Stardust HD. When that game got announced I was over the moon, I loved the Amiga original. Anyway, point being that I prefer the types of games on Playstation and believe that in time, like the past has proven, Sony will pull out some marvels, and to my taste. Its already showing now with Heavenly Sword, Ratchet and Uncharted. I'm excited about these games! But hey, if it all goes to pot and Sony "Do a Sega" then i'll be there to "jump In" once again.

And when it comes to the people here that are having a go at you, you'll never reason with them and they'll always find a way to twist what you say becasue they want to diss you out.

[demolitionX]

My PS3 will be good for me for the next 6-8 years.

[freakyzeeky]

Why is it called a Xbox 360? If you turn 360 degrees you'll just end up in the same place!

[Meus Renaissance]

Microsoft couldn't call it Xbox 2 as that would seem inferior in the eyes of the public when compared to the PlayStation 3; but the actual decision was made around the ON button because it was circular and had a green light outline. Circular = 360 degrees = Xbox 360.

[Bladestar]

The name is not random... look at the picture of the article... you see the center? That represents the gamer... The xbox 360 and xbox live is build around the gamer... the gamer is the center... hense why they called it 360... all services and features of xbox live are all about the gamer...

My Gamer score, my friends list, my games, my downloads, blah blah blah... All these features are available even when the gamer is playing games or not...

Gamer does not have to go outside of the environment.. like quiting the game to read messages... or run anotyher app like @Home to access their gamerscore... hense why the name wouldnt apply to the PS3.

[freakyzeeky]

Makes sense to me now... It was a bit obvious now that I think about it. :P

[Meus Renaissance]

I don't think the exact reason was as you described it. I think there's a video on YouTube or something about how they designed the 360, it's like a mini documentary, they talk about how important the controller design was etc and near the end they explain why they named it 360 and the reason was, as they said, based on the physical design of the console - because it was a box shape, they needed to add a circular shape/pattern/design into it and that's where the green ring came from. Hence the 360 degree's, hence the name.

I'm pretty certain about that.

[remix]

the next xbox might have slightly better graphics but the ps3(ps2)will have the big install base and all the games.

devs wont even want to develope for the next xbox. they will already be use to the ps3 and it will be ps2 vs xbox.

this is why i keep saying microsoft screwed up by not making sure there 360 will last because they cant support it like sony did with ps2 because there systems WONT LAST THAT LONG. so what are developers gonna want to develope for if the 360's dont work and the new xbox doesnt have a userbase.

[The Chief of Mjolnir]

You know what I think? That Sony did MS mistake and released a console that just focused on power. It´s pretty obvious that some people don´t want a power bomb console. They just want to play games. Like me.

[INehalemEXI]

Thats the year the PS3 will finaly see a FF7 remake IMO. I will trade in my 360 for store credits and get this new MS console in 2011 if this prediction is correct.

[mazirjones]

although i agree a ff7 remake is inevitable, i think it's gonna come much sooner. imagine the commotion?!

[OOG FunK]

meh interesting to see but this now and thats the future so lets live in the now......

who knows what tech will be floatn around here in 2 3 years down the road......im sure it will make this gens tech look sad like it does every 5 years lol

[RudeSole Devil]

Unfortunately the human population will be on the verge of extinction, and video-games will be a bedtime story.

[freakyzeeky]

Before we all die, let's play teh PokeMans! :D

[MythSquare]

Absolutely wrong way for creation of consoles IMO.

[Vojkan]

"Could, should, would"-bla bla bla

[THE_JUDGE]

MS console yet....what was it again....oh yea, PC. They want us to use the PC, thats why all their game come out on it and the 360 fails so much. J/K

[gamesblow]

Fun little fact, do you remember those PS9 commercials? 9 is the number for completion in Asian culture. I didn't know that until watching an interview with Jerry Seinfeld... strange stuff.

As for Ps4, lets just hope they can survive with the ps3 for another year or 2, how bout it? "ha"

[mc]

Was this article written by a child?

[jonnyjd1]

I'm tending to agree with mc.

This story reeks of a child and a wish list for christmas and was a totally boring read for me.

...end of line...

[Covenant]

Don't care about the specs or the name...just make sure, MS, that the next Xbox doesn't have major hardware issues. No more RRoDs.

[AnalFace]

Lets just hope they use their brains and not their pussies this time. The hardware sucks.

[Vizion26]

I think Microsoft's next console won't be much powerful than the 360. Why? Because Microsoft has loss billions of dollars on 360 hardware selling it for much less than it cost to produce. Nintendo makes a profit on every Wii sold than trying to recoup the loss other ways. That's a smart and practical business model. Did you know that Microsoft hasn't made any net profit from their Xbox line? They only reported two profitable quarters and that was during time Halo 2 and Halo 3 came out.

It doesn't make good business sense to continue to release a much more powerful console and to expect hundreds of dollars on every console sold while its competitor Nintendo is making bank on every console sold.

I think they are going to take the Nintendo route by making it only marginally more powerful while adding innovations to the control interface and targeting the casual gamers first. So expect the next Microsoft console to have Wii-like controllers... that's if Microsoft does decide to release another console when they can't seem to make a net profit.

[DaCandyman]

The next XBox will come when the format war has really been decided. If the format war goes undecided within the next 5 years MS will either be rushed into an early new console or establish a new 360 sku with an internal HD-DVD drive that plays games from HD-DVD disks.

[witchking]

Will be price. Put all of what this article conjectures into the system, price it at $399, have major franchises and some new ones within the launch window... and beat your competitors to the market again.

Nintendo will need to release an HD-capable Wii before 2011... and Sony is going to have to figure out (10 year plan or not) how the next PlayStation can hit the market. It's still 4 years away, so a lot can change in that period, but rest assured that each of the big 3 (and maybe a 4th entrant, who knows?) is already considering the long-term strategy for video games. Let's not forget that this is a $30 BILLION dollar business that is growing double-digit percent yty.

[DG]

The specs sound good. The main thing MS should do is cater to the Devs and the Customers/Gamers. They should send out a survey to all Live customers and Major devs. If you have the devs on your side you have good games. And if you have good games the gamers will follow suit. I think asides from more cores/ram a dedicated physics processor should be there. The cammera and mic option sounds good (as it would include motion sensor capabilities ala Wii). I hope the next console supports 3D immages for a TV. Now that would be next gen. They have the tech its just too expensive right now ($1000.00 for the screen alone). And I agree that the price should not be above $400.00 (even if it means not having top of the line tech). As for the format war if its not decided in five years (which I doubt) they will put in a multi drive. A blu ray drive is now $400 so in 5 years it cant cost more than $100 for a blu/HD drive from a mfg point of view. PS it HAS to be backward compatible no matter what by any means neccessary. As well dont let the 360 die out like the xbox. Keep it arround and keep redesigning it and droping the price like the PS2. Itsnt the PS2 still selling more than the PS3 (at least it was for a good while). Its a financial kick stand and a way to recoup losses from R&D and loss per console sold if thats the route they wish to take again.

PS I dont think MS will rush to the market this time I think late 2012-2013 will be the next date.

[n_n]

wow, since they literally dropped the xbox like it contained the plague and left the entire userbase with nothing to play in the future and drag them to buy a 360. will they do this again with the 360? guess we'll find out...

[monkey602]

I think I would be pretty pi$$ed if another Xbox came out in the next two years considering I only bought my first 360 (elite) a month ago and have barely gotten any use out of it yet (because of college and the fact that it made me poor).

[Kuest]

I think anybody would be pretty pissed if his/her $400 investment went kaput. However, consider the timing in which the 360 was released. Do you remember the position the original Xbox was in during that period? In short, nothing could have been better for MS than to release a new console, lest they wish for Sony to increase their worldwide console dominance during the PS2 era AND the PS3 era.

In essence, MS's choice to speed up the production of their new console was based primarily on fear, so to speak. However, if current sales trends are in any way indicative of the 360's potential success... it would be quite foolish indeed to expect MS to introduce a new console.

Why? It wouldn't be profitable given their (potential) healthy dominance over its next competitor.

[monkey602]

nice post! I dont know what to say..I dont really know much on the matter.
If MS are going to release another console which I think is Inevitable, Then I hope they take their time this time around and dont jump the gun again. Anyone who says that the 360 couldnt have done with another few months in the making is fooling themselves. Failure rates speak for that. And im not just saying that because I just bought one very recently (thats only partially my reason heehee).
I for one worry about my machine melting everytime I turn it on though I'm probably just paranoid because of the stories thats still not a good position to be in.

[Kuest]

I say thank you, friend. bubbles from me... why, you ask? Because your concern was honest and legitimate. Seeing how concerned you genuinely were about your 360 purchase, I couldn't help but give you a boost of morality. Nice speaking w/ you, monkey. You're smarter than people make you out to be.

[monkey602]

Thanks Kuest. I'll talk to you again dude. Look after yourself

[Maldread]

Such early guesses will probably be far off, since it`s hard to predict what will be hot on the technology front in 2011, now. This would make more sense to discuss before "E3" in 2011, or whenever the specs are released. But speculating is always fun i guess ;)

I agree with Meus Renaissance though. Games is what will settle the next war, and this one for that matter ;)

[BIoodmask]

all the current gen consoles is lack of video ram. You could have the fastest processor in the world, but without enough ram it doesn't matter. I hope the article is correct and the newer Xbox will release with a few gigs of ram.

And to all the people claiming that Microsoft won't support the Xbox 360 except for the next couple of years, that is pretty ludicrous.

The games are where the profit is at not the hardware. Making new hardware is where these companies potentially lose billions, in manufacturing and R&D. There is a reason why Sony is still supporting the PS2 and that is bc it is a cash cow. It is more than likely that Microsoft will try to emulate the PS2 business model. It has been posted in a previous article that is one of Microsoft's goals.

[xplosneer]

If any of the three next gen consoles had had one or more GB of RAM then it would have a gigantic boost in power, graphics, larger levels, less loading screens, more features in game, (I could go on) etc.

[AnSteRiX]

it sounds quite real calculating the advancements and the leaps in the electronic parts of computing. The new xbox 2011 will have built in microhone for the sound recognition, as its the future and obviously it will be more luxorious, and interesting...

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

And we still have high quality games, high attach rate, better sales, better online.... well, it will just be better like it is now. Question will the PS3 still be a movie player 1st, games 2nd? LOL by the "ten year console" crap you guys and Sony spew, you guys won't have yours untill like 2016. LOL by that time you will start getting some of those first year games.

[FPS nut]

But your funny and there is some truth to what you say. Don't take it personal your not the biggest a-hole here. I find some of those that have a bunch of bubbles and try to say they are unbiased when they arn't to be the biggest a-holes here.

[mikeslemonade]

Well the next xbox won't make that much of a graphical leap unless MS will charge you a lot more. A game like Crysis takes about $2000 right now or more and it doesn't look twice as good as COD4 and COD4 is only a 2nd generation title. I doubt the next xbox will surpass Crysis by much visually. The PS3 on the other hand which is built last will eventually bring out a game that rivals Crysis once the tech inside the PS3 is all figured out. Why buy the next xbox when the PS3 can make graphics just as good for what I assume would be atleast $300 cheaper by then.

[Oncnawan]

Here, have a napkin...you've got some Kool-aid on your chin.

[PS360PCROCKS]

* CPU/GPU - Integrated chip with 16 x 5GHz processor cores, 32 x 2GHz graphics cores
* Memory - 8GB GDDR8
* Media - Dual-format HD-DVD/Blu-ray drive for backwards compatibility and movies
* Storage - 4TB hard disk for online game (and movie) delivery
* Built-in camera - for gesture-based control
* Built-in microphone - for voice-recognised control

Can I pretty please fall asleep and wake up in 2011? That machine setup would be fuc*ing AWESOME!!!!!!!

[monkey602]

But then you will miss out on Mass Effect ;)

EDIT: Yeah it does look amazing. It's the one new 360 game I'm aching to get this year.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Lol ok gimme a few months than I wanna fall asleep, lol. God Mass Effect looks good.

[pshizle]

2010

2011 is to LONG!!!

how much better games are going to be this gen their starting to reach their limit by the end of 2008

specs are a bit too high

[bootsielon]

It's just wild speculation. PPU's are destined to disappear, and so are GPU's. In fact, the article pretty much contradicts itself, by citing unified GPU and CPUs, but latter citing them a separate processors with different clock speeds. The only thing I buy is the amount of RAM the next Xbox will have, and even then it depends on how cheap it gets, on how successful the Wii becomes, and on how much money Microsoft is willing to invest (which will depend on how much money Xbox 360 can make back from all the losses they've made so far).

Anyway, that's why I think the Cell processor is a genius idea. The SPUs can do, pretty much, almost anything and in a very effective way, including graphics, physics and AI. The only downside to it is that you have to learn new programming techniques. But the good thing is, if you had a system with only Cell processors, you could simply use XDR RAM, which is superior to GDDR which was cited.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be cool to have all those features... I'm just saying that, judging by Microsoft's "unified" approach to everything, they would be a lot better with a single multi-purpose processor, and faster RAM.

By the way... 4TB HDD and a double format reader sounds too expensive, even for 2011. For disc games: My bet is that there will be, in the future, backwards compatibility for both PS4 and Xbox 2011, except it will be optional. Cheaper than a PS3 or Xbox 360, but dependent on the next gen consoles. Sony and Microsoft will try to be as cheap as the Wii, but still powerhouses. That's why it might not be bad for them to completely eliminate disc readers. For hard disk: It won't be necessary to have disks as big. In 5 years, Wireless internet will pretty much be anywhere and a basic service, so computers, cellphones, PDAs, PEAs and consoles will not depend on massive storage devices; rather, they will download every application every time it's used, since internet will be blazingly fast. Movies, games and music will all be streamed.

[zonetrooper5]

Well by 2009 there is suppose to be 32 core processors on the market for PC's. Hopefully the next gen consoles will have more Hard Drive space and Ram.

[SKUD]

Drive standard in the next generation XBOX. No way in hell MS is going to use blu-ray.

[Malkier]

Microsoft wont really have a choice. They will go with which ever format wins and if that happens to be blu-ray then that is what it will have to have. I just hope the format war is over by then...

[sonyfanonly]

you are right M$ wont use blu ray because they know they can feed you XBOTS SH$T and you all will eat it up lol M$ is king when it comes to SH$T lol

[sonyfanonly]

you are right M$ wont use blu ray because they know they can feed you XBOTS SH$T and you all will eat it up lol M$ is king when it comes to SH$T lol

[Genki]

Just some advice.

[aba]

You know the next one won't have any problems, they'll be testing this thing like crazy. It took Sony 3 consoles to get it right, MS will be the same. Imagine being able to do all the things you can't do playing original xbox games on 360. MS needs to do that with the new xbox.

[Mighty Boom]

You have achived your goal of starting a flame war... Dork.

[Gorgon]

This prediction is wwwaaaaaayyyyyy off.

These guys think that as soon as something comes into the market it is automatically adapted as standard. Wrong.

Quad cores have been arounf for 1 year or something. How many people have them? Dual-cores are the standard and the vast majority of games don't take advantage of quad-cores. The ones that do do so in a not substantial way. I think quad-cores will only become standard in two years and that puts us in 2009.
Yes, nehalem will bring 8 cores somewhere around 2008, but just like quad-cores it won't instantly become the standard for gaming. Probably that will only happen around 2011. My prediction is that the Xbox 720 will have 8 general purpose cores, maybe 16 at the VERY MOST, but i strongly doubt it if it indeed comes out in 2011.

Regarding RAM I doubt it will have 4 Gigs. 4 gigs has been available for a long time for pc but still 2 gigs is the standard optimum. That is partly because we still use a 32bit OS, but you can have 3-3.5 gigs easily with a 32bit OS and still people don't. I would say that in 2 years PC owners will be using 4 gigs, not more, even if 64bit Vista becomes the standard because of memory. That puts us at around 2010. There's NO WAY a console will have as much ram as a gaming PC. I would say that Xbox 720 will have maybe 2 Gigs (either DDR or GDDR). Shared or not remains to be seen.

As for the GPUs it remains to be seen what nVidia and ATI/AMD come out with with the next R700 and GF9. Multiple cores? Probably, but we still don't know zipo about how is that gonna work. Saying that it will have 32 cores as a GPU is just stupid and based on anything real.

As for CPGPU solutions, it has been stated many times by Intel and AMD that that will only be useful for general applications, the raw power beying dependent on the number of specialized graphic cores on that CPGPU. But they said very clearly that for graphics intensive work, and specially gaming, we will still need specialized boards, independent of the main CPGPU.

[Oncnawan]

The current Xbox has a "built in" Microphone. The Elite and Premium (don't ask me about the Arcade) ship with a headset, which can be used for voice recognition. If this is not the form intended by the article's author, where else would you put a "built in" microphone?

[-SIXAXIS-]

It seems possible, but I doubt the integrated camera/mic would be included. It would be seperate so M$ can get more money and it would not recognize gestures. That's been Sony's thing since PS2.

[Malkier]

Seperate so microsft can get more money? ok the wi-fi thing I agree should have been built-in as standard, but dont go pointing at microsoft for having things seperate, they are all guilty of this, but at the same time, do it for a reason. PS2 only had 2 control ports when N64, dreamcast, Xbox all gave four. Sony sold a seperate multitap. The PS Eye is also a seperate buy.
Any company that looks at a feature as not 'required' will sell it seperate to reduce the price of the inital purchase, thats where sony made a mistake (in my opinion) they tried to include as much as possible in the package, but it was to expensive, to reduce the price they removed things, BC USB ports etc.

[level 360]

All just speculation - wait till 2009 to 2011 before commenting....

[Pain]

They will ither x2 everything compared to PS3 or well.... just that Its M$ They well Copy or just
make same but More juice.

And for whats on the inside most likey same old PC tech nothing special, eg. 360's inerds (nothing New)

[bootsielon]

I find it funny that people disagree with him, despite the fact that he stated his preferences and he only defended himself. Everything he said is pretty well written, gramatically and logically, contrary to most of his detractors; that doesn't make his opinion any less valid. The "Agree/Disagree" system is getting more retarded by the day.

It's funny, a few Xbots have cited the system of Agree and Disagree as worthful for your credibility (Example: BlackjackVII or whatever his exact name is); it kind of reminds me of Xbots singing theMarts words as gospel: "AAA games are equal to 9.0 or above in metacritic".

The funny thing is, most of Meus Renaissance detractors are calling him a fanboy. I guess they've never seen a mirror in their whole life.

[riskibusiness]

9-12 processors 3-4 MB Cache
3-4 GPU/w EDRAM for 12 X FSAA; GPU can be used for Physics
2 GB unified Ram

100% BC with XBOX360 games because gated for same architecture just 3-4 times more power.

They will focus on game play innovation...motion sensing, 3D type stuff. Taking a play from Nintendo book. I mean really how much more photo realistic do we want games?

[Mighty Boom]

you are wrong. If thats true the next gen is going to suck! Ill junp over to the PS3 if thats the case.

[Malkier]

I agree, bubble up! It may not be to the extent of the Wii where nearly every game uses it, but it will be an option.
The question I always ask is, when do the graphics reach that line where there isn't really anywhere left to go? Atari to NES, NES to SNES, SNES to PS1/PS2/Dreamcast/Xbox = all mindblowing steps.
Xbox/PS2 to Xbox360/PS3 also a step up, but greatly helped by HD. Soon we wont be able to see any big change, so unless the way we play games chages who is going to be excited about the next gen when its going to be the same?

[deadpreacher]

I would expect until we reach movie quailty. Even still i can see some more improvments!

[Rattles]

need to get out of console gameing GET A GOD DAM COMPUTER IF YOU DONT WANT TO FEEL OUTDATED EVRY 3-4 YEARS

you can play evry 360 game on a computer and neva be outdated. think about that one?

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

The PS3 was outdated before it even came out. You would know this but just like the PS3, you don't have enough memory to remember.

[OmegaKulu]

lol talk about people who don't know hardware, GDDR8? thats just stupid, right now there are like 4 video cards out there that have GDDR4. GDDR5 are still in development/testing(due to release next year), what make them think it will jump 4 gen in 3 years?
4TB wont make sense because consoles will always go for the low end of HDDs for cost reasons.
Integrated CPU/GPU could happen, both intel and ATI are looking in to it.

[Mighty Boom]

make sense if its %100 digital distribution.

[OmegaKulu]

IF %100 digital distribution, VERY unlikely, because that will pretty much kill all the retailers, and i don't see the world sudden jump from a majority of cable connection all to optics.(distribution via cable connection? how long that will take...)

[ROCCOZILLA]

i cant beleve there gonna make xbots buy yet another console.wow,you gotta be kidding me.M$is a joke!

[The Chief of Mjolnir]

You are the only joke here. A bad one too.

[supermandead666]

So, what the failure rate for the next 3FIXME BOX?

[Rattles]

microsoft is just trying to catch up with the amount of consoles sonys made so they dont have to keep giving it wacked names

[sonyfanonly]

oh yeah i know this one its called the xbox 1080P and it can play games in 1080P with guess what this time its a 60% RROD rate so have fun with your new SH$T BOX XBOTS lol

[artman]

if it's out, then MS just done with the guinea pig, and just hope not another guinea pig for the 3rd console.

[spike]

360 is still killing the PS3 sO I dont know what you Sony fangirls are whinning at now. Take out Sonys d*ck out your mouth and realize the 360 is still on top. Look at the 360 right now there killing you girls right now. The new machine wont come out till there done humiliating the PS3. Awesome games and a great online, thats what the 360 gives you. Promises, and a Blu Ray player, delay of games, thats what the PS3 gives you.

[TheXgamerLive]

Voice recognition. I want to ask as said in the article, ask villagers questions, lead my army of men by commands, insult a creature and have an imprompt fight anywhere I choose, etc....

Rogue Ops was one of the games that did a decent job of it, even though the game was just an ok play, also video gaming using my face as already being done on the 360 except in more games.

[367 To Your Ass]

are they going to do the same.......i think Sony is not going to make another expensive console ,Howard Stringer was once talking about that.

in my opinion i don't think Sony really wants to repeat these kind of situations, millions are getting WIIs and Sony wants that kind of future.

It seems that so far the majority of the market is not ready to shed even $400 for a console, allot of people have lives you know, $400 to some means rent money, or money that can be of some use to them.

PS i'm expecting all of these parts inside the next Xbox to be more cost efficient as the 360.....if not then i'll think about it.

[THAMMER1]

I think Sony better get their $#!t together. From the looks of it people are sick of Sony antics and poor games and over priced consoles.

Both XBOX and XBOX360 have made Sony and SONY fans look pretty silly.

[DJ]

People are just sick of individuals like you.

[FPS nut]

and looking at all the disagrees you have it's obvious.

[solidt12]

These figures are too high. If all of this was in a console in 2011 it would cost over $1000.

[SlippyMadFrog]

Prices of technology fall very rapidly as time moves on. By 2011, those specs will cost the same as most components today.

[theoneandonly]

This topic was NOT about the next Playstation, but the next Xbox after the current one is finished kicking ass everywhere in spades.

Deus the hypocritical fanboy had to march in here and make it be about the playstation again, I wonder why?

Probably because there's nothing good worth playing on that failure of a system right now & he just had to clap his trap while everyone else enjoys ACE COMBAT 6, CASTLEVANIA SYMPHONY OF NIGHT, HALF LIFE ORANGE BOX, NARUTO: RISE OF A NINJA, BLUE DRAGON, ETERNAL SONATA, CALL OF DUTY, VIRTUA FIGHTER 5 ONLINE, GEARS OF WAR, etc etc.....

Along with online GUITAR HERO in HD format & MASS EFFECT.

Getting back to the original topic, I think they should make multiple GPU cores this time so they can make a "REAL", "LIVE", "LIVING" virtual world Grand Theft Auto game for the new XBOX.

And oh, make it COMPLETELY exclusive also along with bringing out LOST ODYSSEY 3 & ANOTHER killer franchise like the ALAN WAKE series, DUAL-MODE CO-OP and ONLINE ENABLED..........

Yeah now that, that would kick some mother ******* ass right there!!!! And then watch the next XBOX steamroll over all of the competition, with BOTH HALO, GEARS OF WAR & GRAND THEFT AUTO alongside a killer games lineup!!!!!!!!!!

The only way to get that kind of power is to install 9-14 GPU cores, that all function as is and COOLING FANS so they don't make the same mistake the PoS3 did with over-heating.......then excuse my french, but DEAD OR ALIVE 6 TO TAKE ON THE WORLD!?!?? HELL YEAH, VIRTUAL WORLD FIGHTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

Since the 360 costs so little to make they are already in profits now up the wazoo, so I imagine they should do the same thing again and since the 360 has already outsold the original XBOX in JAPAN..........they should keep the 360 on the market there for the WHOLE TIME and LAUNCH THE NEXT SYSTEM THERE when the time is right, INCLUDING THE GAME LOST ODYSSEY 3: TIDES OF ANDORAS

RPG of the year.......I could see the next XBOX launching in JAPAN with the RPG of the year if they get their ducks in a row....what a sight that would be!! =)

[Dragonopolis]

PC with Windows XP or Linux 1 to 2 GB max unless your running virtual clients then you will need more (if the OS can take it) and Vista 2 to 4 GB. Yet consoles were still stuck at 512mb. 8GB is what you will see on PCs standard in 2011 so I doubt that will happen for the consoles. More like 4 GBs of memory is realistic for a console.

Also I believe that we will see a pattern continue in the Cores category. 2006 and 2007 was the years of the dual core with quad core makeing its debut towards the end of 2007. 2008 and 2009 will be the year of the quad for consumers even though 8 Cores will debut the end of 2008. 2009 to 2010 will be the year of the 8 core consumer PC with 16 core debut at the end of 2009. 2010 and 2011 will be the year of the 16 core on a consumer PC.... so very unlikely that the 16 cores will be affordable for consoles. More and likely it will be 8 core. However that 8 core could possible be a combined cpu/gpu so there would only actually only be 4 GPUs and 4 CPUs on the Chip. Since Microsoft has a good relationship with ATI/AMD right now it is quite possible this is the where the next Xbox is likely to go.

Digital Distribution is only going to happen on an Xbox 360 if America can get its broadband priorities inorder and I just don't see that on a Large scale by 2011 so Microsoft will still use some form of file transfer either optical disk or Flash Drive. I'm betting it will be Flash Drive Based. Flash Drives should be improved enough for writing fast as well as reading but they are known for fast reading access which is the most important to the gamer anyway. Flash Drives will probably still have limited write capabilities compared to other forms so a Hard Drive is still needed and could easily be in the terabyte area like they predicted.

So lets recap my version.

Xbox 2011 will consist of

8 core processor combined CPU/GPU (4 GPUs x 4 CPUs) with 2 MB cache per processor for a total of 16MB of cache.

Memory probably will be way behind the PC like it is right now so no more than.... 4 GB of Memory - whatever type Microsoft Chooses. Of course this will be shared among the processors.

I'll go with Flash Drive 64GB (should be cheap by then) with potential for more as the bigger Flash Drives come down in Prices. At least there is flexibility for the Developer and they can choose which size Flash Drive they need thus reducing the cost of the game if it can be placed on a 32 GB Flash Drive for instance (or even Increase the size if the needed). Also it would be tempting because Read access on Flash Drives are so fast that Despite Blu-rays impressive data rates it can not compete. However by 2011 Sony will be able to deliver super cheap writeable blu-ray that probably will store at least 500 GB so it will be interesting to see what decisions are made. Size of the storage media is important to a point. Microsoft may find that 64 GB is sufficient for next generation and won't worry about blu-rays large data storage since games won't need to utilize it. Microsoft will just compete on speed of Flash which could work.

Camera and Microphone are gimmicks. I say yea to Microphone and nay to Camera. more Compatibility with PC to play against PCs.

The more interesting one will be Sony. Will they Stick with the Cell or will they go somewhere else and what would it Be. I believe they will stay with the tradition CPU seperate from the GPU but this time they will have a Unified Architecture and will find ways to speed up communication between Processors. However, that is another subject for another time.....

[Prophetcizer]

I think that the 360 should get a big brother in three years at which point the 360 system will be out dated! Maybe they will call it xbox1080!
The ps3 will also be out dated and if Sony wants to stick with the ps3 for a life cycle of 10 years, it will be their downfall. My guess is we will see a ps4 allot sooner en expected!
Start saving your hard earned cash folks for what system you're getting!!

[Hydrollex]

LOL ahahahah.

[sak500]

It will still run rings around ps4 with better games.

[bootsielon]

How many times can Xbots hit disagree? Go ahead Xbots, hit it!

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Ahhahaha No Xbot gives a sh!t, your a last place whiner. "I'm a whiiiiiiiiiiiiner" I can just imagine you sounding like that Nanny show chick, Fran whatever her last name is.

"Whiiiiiner" I wan't a glass of "whiiiine" for dinner, sombody call the "whaaaaaambulance".

[Cat Eye]

for goodness sake lets just hope it keep up 4 years without built in HD-DVD player

[sniper4534]

the next xbox is gonna rule over ps4

[IRONMAN_X_357]

FIRST off, repeating history, when they have plans for lagbox7fixime, they will cut all potential to xbox 360, your fanbase will not grow at all, and ps3 will dominate because ps4 will come after it, so thats already 130 million sold right there, t

[bednet]

It may sound nice to have 20 000 things at once on screen and 5 million polygons but there's just the slight issue of having to actually code these games and create that content...Games this generation do look nice, but I just don't find that the quality of the content is better that last-gen's...maybe even worst.

Call of Duty 4 is 5-6 hours long!!!! The more realistic it becomes the more expensive it gets and the more time it takes to create them. We're hitting a barrier where it takes too much time to make a game that by the time its half-way done, the technology and/or methodology is already old.

We will hit a barrier where the consumer will not be impressed by graphics anymore. I think some people are already there.

[goodganja]

The 360 has produced stellar sales worldwide while also managing to keep a consistent base of AAA titles. Micro$hit's next system could be phenomenal as long as they can repair from the durability issues that are currently plauging the 360. Even still, the system is still seeing leading sales at the moment despite the consumer knowledge of the Red Rings of Death.

P L A Y B 3 Y O N D

[Maestro]

Bullsh1t.

[daveman3]

most of you paid $400 or more for your xbox 360 and your already eager to buy the next one, i say they milk the 360 for all its worth, then release the next one. i like my 360 and i'm not going to be in any rush to kick it out the door in 3 years

[Blasphemy]

Honestly I don't think there will be another Xbox. M$ is loosing its best developers and I just can't see another box getting anywhere without alot of exclusive first party games.

[Pain]

All im Reading is It will be GODLY and and bla bla bla PS3 sucks....
XBOX 2 speaks for its self kids R-R-O-D

i said it once ill say it agin M$ will just X2 everything the PS3 has.. Copy Copy Copy.

want proof???? ...........Zune.............

[gw4k]

This is another dumb ass post!

Why even post stuff like this? The system is far from coming out and to guess what technology will be out in 3 - 4 years is absurd! I suggest to N4G to stop wasting time and space on dumb SH** like this!

[jinn]

what color will the ring of death be this time

[skagrerrrr]

and it's sell for the low mass friendly price of 150USD