Nextbox Rumours : Final Predictions & Hopes/Dreams

[Peter Crisp]

Surely it all depends on whether or not any of the developers have games that can be released in time for Christmas and considering some info would have leaked by now if they did I think that rules out this year.

[The Alchemist Penguin]

Surely it all depends on whether or not any of the developers have games that can be released in time for Christmas and considering some info would have leaked by now if they did I think that rules out this year.

A lack of games hasn't stopped other consoles from launching!

[NickSCFC]

Surely it all depends on whether or not any of the developers have games that can be released in time for Christmas and considering some info would have leaked by now if they did I think that rules out this year.

I think we'll see screenshots/videos/tech demos before the year's out.

[bear]

Unless the Wii-U is generating huge amounts of positive press and detracting from the 360 this Christmas I don't think we'll see anything concrete about the next Xbox this year. I really don't see any good reason to launch it this year either but can think of at least 3 why it shouldn't.

1. Microsoft already have two massive launches lined up for the back half of the year in Windows 8 and Office 15. Given that they still haven't managed to make a success of Windows Phone and will also need to spend big on boosting that platform the added expense of launching a new console could lead to serious unrest among shareholders. If things went badly then there'd be calls for Ballmer to go and for serious changes to be made.

2.The 360 is still selling well and they can help boost that with a significant price drop in the second half of the year whilestill turning a profit.

3. Sony can't afford to launch a PS4 anytime soon.

[Wiggy G32]

Unless the Wii-U is generating huge amounts of positive press and detracting from the 360 this Christmas I don't think we'll see anything concrete about the next Xbox this year. I really don't see any good reason to launch it this year either but can think of at least 3 why it shouldn't.

1. Microsoft already have two massive launches lined up for the back half of the year in Windows 8 and Office 15. Given that they still haven't managed to make a success of Windows Phone and will also need to spend big on boosting that platform the added expense of launching a new console could lead to serious unrest among shareholders. If things went badly then there'd be calls for Ballmer to go and for serious changes to be made.

2.The 360 is still selling well and they can help boost that with a significant price drop in the second half of the year whilestill turning a profit.

3. Sony can't afford to launch a PS4 anytime soon.

This does make a lot of sense MS are going to be pushing Win 8 and WP8 together which will cost a fair whack add office to the mix and its a lot for even a company of MS's size to deal with and lets not forget the 360 still hasnt even got to the £99 price point!

[Garth]

EXCLUSIVE: No disc drive for Next Xbox

MCV has learnt that Microsoft has been telling partners that the Next Xbox will NOT include a disc drive.

The briefings have been issued under what MCV’s source describes as “the strictest NDA” they have ever encountered.

Although the console will not include a disc drive, it will offer compatibility with some sort of interchangeable solid-state card storage, although it is not known whether this will be proprietary or a more standard format such as SD.

Furthermore, a 2013 launch date for the hardware has been confirmed. What is less clear, however, is the intended timing of Microsoft’s announcement.

As revealed by MCV earlier this year, an E3 2012 reveal could still very much be on the cards.

The omission of a disc drive signifies the beginning of a new era for games consoles and represents a potentially savage blow to the already beleaguered video games retail sector.

Of course, retailers will tell you that they are already involved in the digital market. Indeed, GAME is enjoying growing revenue from the sale of digital download cards for digital-only titles and DLC.

Nonetheless, the abolition of physical games is bad news for retail however it is spun. With the Next Xbox positioned as a digital centric platform, the relevance of retail will once once again eroded.

When contacted by MCV Microsoft said that it does not comment on rumour and speculation.

UPDATE: Microsoft has issued a fuller statement to MCV.

“Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend its lifecycle like introducing the world to controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention. Beyond that we do not comment on rumors or speculation.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/exclusiv ... box/092534

I wouldn't be surprised to see a less expensive version of the Nextbox without a disc drive and a more expensive Nextbox with a disc drive, but to go download only? Hmm, I don't think the console world is ready for that.

Edit: whoops, missed the other thread.

[chalkitdown]

20-40gb downloads for every game. That should be fun on my internet connection.

[Meep]

It will be 5-10 (shorter for companies that survived pretty much in tact, longer for complete write offs like Greece) years before the global economy is back to where it was, I doubt they will wait that long to release a new console.

[Zellery]

20-40gb downloads for every game. That should be fun on my internet connection.

What the strawberry float are you downloading?

[chalkitdown]

Current Gen games average at 8gb on 360, 15gb on PC and PS3. They're not gonna be getting any smaller.

[Rik]

There may be a download only console but at this point that will sit alongside a disc version, the console market isn't quite ready for a full switchover.

[Rik]

The ad looks for an Algorithm Research & Development Engineer for Xbox team based in Haifa, Israel. The major responsibility of the engineer will be designing and implementing algorithm into state of the art 3D imaging systems working in an integrated HW and SW leading team and others.

Though the ad restricts itself from going into more details, it gives loads of hints that the Xbox team is researching into introducing 3D interface into the consoles. It is an obvious move from Microsoft since 3D gaming is becoming more popular.

Moreover, earlier leaks have suggested that Xbox 720 will be using ATI’s Radeon HD 6670 GPU which can offer support to 3D technology.

It is expected that Microsoft will unwrap the new gaming console at the E3 trade show scheduled to take place later this year

I don't know if 3D is really gaining any traction but I suppose they will want to tick every box.

[Lex-Man]

20-40gb downloads for every game. That should be fun on my internet connection.

What the strawberry float are you downloading?

Would only take a couple of hours with my broadband.

[bear]

The ad looks for an Algorithm Research & Development Engineer for Xbox team based in Haifa, Israel. The major responsibility of the engineer will be designing and implementing algorithm into state of the art 3D imaging systems working in an integrated HW and SW leading team and others.

Though the ad restricts itself from going into more details, it gives loads of hints that the Xbox team is researching into introducing 3D interface into the consoles. It is an obvious move from Microsoft since 3D gaming is becoming more popular.

Moreover, earlier leaks have suggested that Xbox 720 will be using ATI’s Radeon HD 6670 GPU which can offer support to 3D technology.

It is expected that Microsoft will unwrap the new gaming console at the E3 trade show scheduled to take place later this year

I don't know if 3D is really gaining any traction but I suppose they will want to tick every box.

That job description sounds more like they want someone to help improve the Kinect interface than something related to 3DS style 3D gaming though.

[jamcc]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a less expensive version of the Nextbox without a disc drive and a more expensive Nextbox with a disc drive, but to go download only? Hmm, I don't think the console world is ready for that.

So are you saying full releases ('proper games') would be released on disc and as downloads?

[Peter Crisp]

What would be great is if they found a way to put games on tape again so the new kids can get a taste of that Spectrum magic.

[The Alchemist Penguin]

I wouldn't be surprised to see a less expensive version of the Nextbox without a disc drive and a more expensive Nextbox with a disc drive, but to go download only? Hmm, I don't think the console world is ready for that.

So are you saying full releases ('proper games') would be released on disc and as downloads?

Sony already do this with the PS Vita, and it does make sense to simplify the process and just have it available for download alongside the retail release. I'd like to see a Steam style preloading service added, if they decide to give it a bit more focus.

I'd be very, very surprised if we ended up having a download only console sitting alongside a more expensive traditional one, simply due to the fact that cutting the disc drive wouldn't save Microsoft, or the consumer, that much money. The rest of the machine is, presumably, going to be the same, and that's where the majority of the cost will be anyway.

[1cmanny1]

So I take this means no blu-ray drive? Not having a discdrive is just stupid. It would take me weeks to download one thing.

Also this won't come out this year. Maybe they will even wait until after Halo to annouce it? I doubt it though.

[Shadow]

With downloads it's possible to split the disc content up by region and reduce your file size compared to the disc. The European MotorStorm Apocalypse disc is 19GB, the download is 5GB, but you only get the one language.

Also, there'd be no need to put post release DLC on the disc which obviously bloats file size.

[Shadow]

So I take this means no blu-ray drive? Not having a discdrive is just stupid. It would take me weeks to download one thing.

Also this won't come out this year. Maybe they will even wait until after Halo to annouce it? I doubt it though.

I don't think no disc drive necessarily suggests it'll be all downloads. The Vita has no disc drive and has games on memory cards. Given BluRay's slow read times it would make sense for Microsoft to come up with a solid state alternative. Means publishers don't need to pay for space their games aren't using and should make piracy a bit trickier.

Blu Ray movies will never really take off anyway so including the BR drive for that reason would be pointless.