Update: Microsoft Finally Admits to Xbox 720

[octafish]

They sure do seem obsessed with the idea of a "media center" that does everything instead of keeping it simple (which might make the thing less like a giant brick).
I can get behind dvds but why the heck would I want to watch TV through my gaming console?

It's not you they're aiming at, but people who'd buy it as a tv receiver you can play games on.

Naw, you're not thinking it through... they're offering a game console (or at least, we assume it will still play games... hard to say with all the other shit they're shoehorning in) that can also be used as a DVR so you can 'time-shift' (legalese for 'record and watch later') tv shows.

Doesn't sound like something they'd really be interested in... except for when those HDDs inside the start getting full-as-fuck (and people who own DVRs will tell you that doesn't take anywhere near as long as people think it will) and people want bigger and bigger HDDs... which microsoft will be more than willing to sell them at a grossly inflated premium.

Much along the same lines as that a PS3 on discount is a perfectly viable alternative to a blu-ray player.

Actually, even at a discount they're still not a viable alternative unless the PS3 offers you other things you're interested in... because it will be a loooooong time before a PS3 is discounted to be price competative with a low end, el cheapo BR player.

That doesn't even count people who use a PC as their media centre, who can grab a BR drive for their system for AU$50.

I paid AU$40, but it was on sale, add in a Digital TV/DAB tuner for AU$70 (but I could have got a cheaper one) and there is nothing that nextBox can do that my living room PC cannot (except kinect, but my living room is too small for kinect anyway).

I'm looking forward to the next generation of consoles hitting the market. My NAS server runs more RAM than the 512Mb in the Xbox and PS3. I can't wait for devs to be finally be able to build games that will take advantage of even a moderate gaming PC.

 

[Beautiful End]

Ehh...I doubt it will be released by the end of the year.

I know Nintendo and Microsoft work differently but bear with me here for a minute. Nintendo announce that dumb WiiU would be released this year (maybe). Game are up for reservation already with a default date of Jan. 2013. But we don't know anything about the console itself, retail wise (?). What's the price? Should I keep my Wii for 6 more months or not? When exactly is it gonna come out? Should I promise that console to someone as a Xmas gift? And to be honest, not a lot of people are showing interest on it. I think it's mostly because we lack information about it. We cannot build up the anticipation. It might as well be a rumor.

If M$'s next console is indeed gonna be released this year, then...that's a horrible strategy. To release it around the same time that Nintendo supposedly is gonna release their own console is risky and kinda cocky. They must be pretty confident they're gonna do better than Nintendo (Alright, I'll give them that much). Not only that but there are no games announced or anything like that! At least the WiiU showed us a couple of games that we still cannot play but looked somewhat okay. That gives some people hope. But M$? I don't doubt their console would sell even if they released it tomorrow but they gotta give people time to want the console. You gotta let them think about it. Should I buy a 360 now or wait for the next console? Should I buy Halo 4 or wait until it is ported (?) for the next console?

So yeah, rumors. Bad rumors. We all kinda knew a new console was imminent...so yeah, back to square one.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Ehh...I doubt it will be released by the end of the year.

I know Nintendo and Microsoft work differently but bear with me here for a minute. Nintendo announce that dumb WiiU would be released this year (maybe). Game are up for reservation already with a default date of Jan. 2013. But we don't know anything about the console itself, retail wise (?). What's the price? Should I keep my Wii for 6 more months or not? When exactly is it gonna come out? Should I promise that console to someone as a Xmas gift? And to be honest, not a lot of people are showing interest on it. I think it's mostly because we lack information about it. We cannot build up the anticipation. It might as well be a rumor.

If M$'s next console is indeed gonna be released this year, then...that's a horrible strategy. To release it around the same time that Nintendo supposedly is gonna release their own console is risky and kinda cocky. They must be pretty confident they're gonna do better than Nintendo (Alright, I'll give them that much). Not only that but there are no games announced or anything like that! At least the WiiU showed us a couple of games that we still cannot play but looked somewhat okay. That gives some people hope. But M$? I don't doubt their console would sell even if they released it tomorrow but they gotta give people time to want the console. You gotta let them think about it. Should I buy a 360 now or wait for the next console? Should I buy Halo 4 or wait until it is ported (?) for the next console?

So yeah, rumors. Bad rumors. We all kinda knew a new console was imminent...so yeah, back to square one.

Wow...
So much bias against Nintendo in one post. How is that even possible? Did you undergo some special training for that or...?

 

[triggrhappy94]

Please make it look more like the 360 Elite Slim and less like a DVD player.
I want to keep my achieve score--not like they'll exclude that though.
I also want to point out how easy it'll be to make "XBox 720" look like "XBox 420", which I like.

 

[Beautiful End]

Ehh...I doubt it will be released by the end of the year.

I know Nintendo and Microsoft work differently but bear with me here for a minute. Nintendo announce that dumb WiiU would be released this year (maybe). Game are up for reservation already with a default date of Jan. 2013. But we don't know anything about the console itself, retail wise (?). What's the price? Should I keep my Wii for 6 more months or not? When exactly is it gonna come out? Should I promise that console to someone as a Xmas gift? And to be honest, not a lot of people are showing interest on it. I think it's mostly because we lack information about it. We cannot build up the anticipation. It might as well be a rumor.

If M$'s next console is indeed gonna be released this year, then...that's a horrible strategy. To release it around the same time that Nintendo supposedly is gonna release their own console is risky and kinda cocky. They must be pretty confident they're gonna do better than Nintendo (Alright, I'll give them that much). Not only that but there are no games announced or anything like that! At least the WiiU showed us a couple of games that we still cannot play but looked somewhat okay. That gives some people hope. But M$? I don't doubt their console would sell even if they released it tomorrow but they gotta give people time to want the console. You gotta let them think about it. Should I buy a 360 now or wait for the next console? Should I buy Halo 4 or wait until it is ported (?) for the next console?

So yeah, rumors. Bad rumors. We all kinda knew a new console was imminent...so yeah, back to square one.

Wow...
So much bias against Nintendo in one post. How is that even possible? Did you undergo some special training for that or...?

Yep.

Anyway, I don't see how you jumped to that conclusion. I'm just stating the facts. The WiiU doesn't have a release date; it's just a rumor at this point, just like the price. You can preorder the games but...what good is that if you've got no console?

I'll give them this much (I feel like I'm repeating myself): At least they're ahead of the curb when it comes to rumors. We've seen some WiiU gameplay as well as demos for games. It might just be enough to keep people's hopes up until whenever they decide to give us more information about it.
And that's why I believe the "720" won't be released this year. They haven't built up anticipation. Sounds like something simple but it's not. I still remember people getting in like outside stores just to try and snatch a 360 back when they first came out. Same with the Kinect. And the new models.

Oh, and they got a 360 Halo bundle coming out. It seems like their last chance to sell a big bundle before they announce the next console...next year.

About M$ selling more than Nintendo...well, again, it's kind of a given. Not hating on Nintendo but they're lagging behind the other consoles and they refuse to catch up. They've barely got into (sorta) online gaming and HD graphics and who knows what else. Now that Sony and M$ have their own versions of motion controllers, you don't really need to get a Wii to experience that. The only reason why you'd get a Wii is if you wanna play their first party games that are released every 2 years or so. Nintendo might be able to sell some WiiUs for a while because of that new gimmicky controller they added, but that's only gonna work for so long.

I'm not hating on Nintendo. I'm just disappointed at the choices they've made. I really wish to see them become the champions of gaming or whatever, just like in the good ol' days. But I dunno. It looks pretty tough at this point.

These are my two (speculating) cents.

 

[Kargathia]

Naw, you're not thinking it through... they're offering a game console (or at least, we assume it will still play games... hard to say with all the other shit they're shoehorning in) that can also be used as a DVR so you can 'time-shift' (legalese for 'record and watch later') tv shows.

Doesn't sound like something they'd really be interested in... except for when those HDDs inside the start getting full-as-fuck (and people who own DVRs will tell you that doesn't take anywhere near as long as people think it will) and people want bigger and bigger HDDs... which microsoft will be more than willing to sell them at a grossly inflated premium.

Which is a beneficial side-effect, but hardly the single most important reason to include tv functionality.

Much along the same lines as that a PS3 on discount is a perfectly viable alternative to a blu-ray player.

Actually, even at a discount they're still not a viable alternative unless the PS3 offers you other things you're interested in... because it will be a loooooong time before a PS3 is discounted to be price competative with a low end, el cheapo BR player.

That doesn't even count people who use a PC as their media centre, who can grab a BR drive for their system for AU$50.

Of course it won't match up for people solely interested in watching movies, but it'll certainly be another incentive for people unwilling to buy a console purely for gaming. Both Microsoft and Sony are aiming for the family demographic, where the parents buy a box that's not only fun for the kids, but also useful to themselves.

Not to mention that making your device the go-to box for Everything Entertainment is the wet dream of a salesman and advertiser.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I paid AU$40, but it was on sale, add in a Digital TV/DAB tuner for AU$70 (but I could have got a cheaper one) and there is nothing that nextBox can do that my living room PC cannot (except kinect, but my living room is too small for kinect anyway).

Hey, PCs can use Kinect... there's an official Kinect for Windows SDK and all... just that no one is interested in developing it for game on PCs... well, not until I convince my game developer cousin to make AIR GUITAR BATTLES, anyway.

Also, there's no chance you'd be able to turn even a next gen console into a wireless streaming media server should you suddenly have the desire to have one.

I'm looking forward to the next generation of consoles hitting the market. My NAS server runs more RAM than the 512Mb in the Xbox and PS3. I can't wait for devs to be finally be able to build games that will take advantage of even a moderate gaming PC.

Hell, it would be nice to be able to play on maps that aren't the equivalent of a 1 bedroom flat regardles of platform

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Not to mention that making your device the go-to box for Everything Entertainment is the wet dream of a salesman and advertiser.

Indeed... and all they had to do was copy 10+ year old HTPC tech.

 

[Callate]

On a basic hardware level, this has some promise (if the Durango specs are accurate), but if this is planned around the same kind of user interface/aesthetic as Windows 8... Run screaming.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I just can't believe MS haven't jumped on the HD bandwagon, if you want to sell millions of your new console to early adopting idiots who won't even read the specs, you need to call it the Xbox 1080.

'OMG HD MUST HAVE!' - Even tho this generation's had HD already, there's a fairly sizable selection of people who'll choose a crappy but full HD 22" TV over a better quality, slightly lower res screen of the same size, because they've been sold on this idea that HD is all that matters.

Also, it subliminally states that they've skipped a generation, putting the thought in your head that it's gotta be the very latest bit of gear, 360,720,1080...

Anyways, considering that studios can't seem to put together a game with less than 1000 people working for 3-5 years and a $50 million budget, I'm not wanting us to rush into a new era quite yet thanks.

I actually believe that GTA 6 will break the billion dollar mark. Given that it'll be on more expensive hardware, harder to program for, needing bigger and better graphics etc...and about 10 years off. Trouble being, AT $100 a copy, it's got to sell 10 million to break even, that's if every dime went to Rockstar, more likely it'd have to sell 50 million beore any profit was seen.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

On a basic hardware level, this has some promise (if the Durango specs are accurate)

They probably are accurate...


...for a dev kit, which means whatever is inside the box is in no way indicative of what hardware the console itself will use. Software that is in development requires a fuckload more resources than the finished product ever will.

 

[Easton Dark]

I just hope games made for it are on something other than DVDs. Games are getting huge now, and I am not a fan of disk swapping or reducing content so it fits on the disk.

 

[kitsuta]

It's been almost six years since the current console generation started

Pedantic moment: Xbox 360 first release date - November 16, 2005. Current Date: August 6, 2012. It's been almost seven years.

Whoops, my bad. Thank you for pointing it out (and for doing so politely) - it's been fixed in the OP.

 

[Callate]

On a basic hardware level, this has some promise (if the Durango specs are accurate)

They probably are accurate...


...for a dev kit, which means whatever is inside the box is in no way indicative of what hardware the console itself will use. Software that is in development requires a fuckload more resources than the finished product ever will.

Yeah, I understand that. Though whether that just means an increased amount of overhead RAM or something more may be another question.

 

[shrekfan246]

It's been almost six years since the current console generation started

Pedantic moment: Xbox 360 first release date - November 16, 2005. Current Date: August 6, 2012. It's been almost seven years.

Whoops, my bad. Thank you for pointing it out (and for doing so politely) - it's been fixed in the OP.

I probably could've worded it a little better... thanks for not taking offense. Sorry if it did come off rude at all.

 

[walrusaurus]

I like how the 'leaked specs' are crappier than the mid range PC i bought last year.
Cause thats some hardware that will stand the test of time!

 

[Kyogissun]

>launching a new console in the next 4 months
>no mention at e3
>Developers are apparently 'just now' getting SDK's
>No official name yet

Yeah, fuck that. Microsoft, do yourself a favor and quality test the fuck out of this thing before rushing it out to the market, mkay?

Also, if you're seriously planning on releasing it this year, you can kindly get fucked. Some of us actually need to plan months in advance for 300+ dollar purchases ya know.

 

[Nurb]

cloud gaming? are they planning on making games a "service?" I don't know if I like the looks of this. People are already finding their movie libraries can be cut off if they stream them and the server or net goes down for a time.

 

[Pink Gregory]

*Hrnk* "Durango"

I hope it comes with a wispy moustache as standard.