[360] Xbox 720

[spiker]

Yeah, now I'm calling you a retard too you fucking moron.

 

[DannyD]

Yeah, now I'm calling you a retard too you fucking moron.

Fuck you faggot, lol Naperville.

 

[Handleit_44]

Link: The Next Generation According to Game Developers

The next generation of consoles starts in 2013, if all goes according to developers’ plans. In an anonymous questionnaire, multiple industry professionals told IGN that they plan to release games for the next Microsoft and Sony consoles before January 1, 2014.

Multiple developers also intend to launch software for an unannounced platform next year.

To further signal the winding down of the current console generation, approximately 60% of respondents have no plans to release games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Wii after 2013. Of course, this means some 40% intend to keep at current-gen releases after next year. To that point, an anonymous developer told IGN, “I would not be surprised if something atypical cannibalizes the market, maybe even the Xbox 360 itself.”

From a hardware perspective, nearly 80% of respondents said Microsoft’s next console is the easiest to work with, and the overwhelming majority suspect it will be the sales leader over the next five years.

The ease of use compared to other consoles is assuredly attractive, too. By comparison, 63% of developers who spoke to IGN said the Wii U would be the most challenging platform to develop for. One creator went as far as saying, “we won’t be working on Wii U due to these complexities,” while another lamented the difficulty of moving innovative games unique to Wii U to other platforms. This poses the question: Will Nintendo once again need to rely primarily on first-party games to propel platform success? At any rate, the Wii U’s 2012 release window gives it a distinct advantage: time.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Nintendo once again screwing themselves. They still have great first party support with Mario and Zelda, but at some point the lack of third party games is seriously going to hurt them.

 

[Golden Taters]

Multiple versions of the next Xbox?

For better or worse, one thing you can generally count on in the console gaming market is that a system you buy on launch day will have the same basic capabilities as the same system bought six years down the line. Even though numerous internal hardware revisions in that time might reduce the component size and lower the production costs, anything designed to work on one configuration of the console would have to work on all the earlier ones as well. But a patent application filed by Microsoft suggests that the company may be looking to release its next Xbox in multiple configurations, each with varying hardware power and capabilities. A patent like this usually wouldn't be so interesting on its own; Microsoft files patents all the time, and most never see the light of day. But this one includes details that are intriguingly similar to those included in the now famous "Xbox 720" leak that came to light last month.

Microsoft's patent for a "Scalable Multimedia Computer System Architecture With QOS [Quality Of Service] Guarantees" describes a design for a game system that is capable of "allowing platform services to scale over time." Those "platform services" include pretty much everything the hardware does besides directly running games—everything from maintaining the basic operating system, handling network traffic, and interpreting inputs to potentially streaming content to nearby tablets or recording TV shows .

A standard console configuration might explicitly devote one entire CPU/GPU combo to handling those basic platform functions, while other processors are dedicated to the game-playing "application" functions. But Microsoft's patent describes a new "communication fabric" framework that would let the system allocate computing resources more flexibly between platform and application tasks concurrently, while also ensuring that the game-playing portion doesn't dip below a certain quality threshold. So the operating system would be able to use as much processing power as it wants, as long as it doesn't interfere with the performance of a game that's running at the same time.

That's important, because it would also let Microsoft design multiple hardware configurations of the same basic game system, all of which run the same games, but some of which allow for additional "platform" features that use the extra hardware power. The patent even hints at this kind of configuration diversity. While "lower cost embodiments" of the system might be forced to share a single GPU between the platform and application systems (theoretically limiting the power of the platform aspects), the patent suggests that subsequent versions of the hardware could provide "more platform services... due to hardware improvements." In other words, as computing standards increase, newer versions of the system would be equipped to provide additional functions, while still running games designed for earlier versions of the hardware.

What might those extra "platform services" entail? How about converting your game console into a general purpose computer? The patent describes one "embodiment" of the design that could be equipped to run "a different general purpose operating system (e.g. Windows)" including "Internet access via a browser, word processing, productivity, content generation and audiovisual applications." In this configuration, the hardware would be able to easily switch between a game-playing mode and "general purpose computer mode," without requiring separate processors for each distinct part.

But the added services don't have to be that elaborate. Other configurations discussed in the patent could be designed to "be operated as a participant in a larger network community" (read: act as a home server), handle basic audio/visual functions (like persistent on-screen chat or streaming music), or make use of a third CPU to speed up storage access times and process complex inputs (read: Kinect) faster and more accurately. Theoretically, the more advanced hardware could even improve the graphical rendering on games designed for earlier configurations.

The "Xbox 720" document that we reported on last month discussed a potential system architecture that was "designed to be scalable in frequency/number of cores," and have a "modular design to facilitate SKU updates later in lifecycle." And while the leak was labeled as "for discussion purposes only," it's dated just a few months before the December 2010 patent filing (the patent application was only published online by the US Patent and Trademark Office late last month, and found by Internet sleuths earlier this week).

Taken together, these documents present an interesting middle way to combine the PC world of constantly upgradeable hardware with the console world of standardized design. While developers would still have a set baseline "quality of service" configuration to aim for with their designs, the console would also be able to evolve to make use of new standards in computing power as time goes on. Combined with some sort of subsidized monthly fee model, which includes regular, cell-phone style upgrades, Microsoft could ensure that its players aren't using obsolete hardware even years after the system launches. With average console lifecycles continuing to increase , it might not be such a bad idea.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/will-there-be-multiple-versions-of-the-next-xbox/

 

[Golden Taters]

Wedbush Securities analyst: $99 Xbox 720, contract required

Would you buy an Xbox 720 if it meant you had to sign a contract with a cable company? Yeah, you read that correctly. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter seems to believe that the next iteration of Microsoft’s Xbox will act as both a video game console and a cable box – like, with a legitimate, actual physical service connection meaning you won’t need to have a standalone cable box.

“The Xbox 720, this is my prediction, is going to be your television as well. You’ll be able to tune into television through it. You won’t need a ‘smart TV’ when you’ve got an Xbox 720, it will be your television and your internet. It’s going to be open architecture and I think it’s real trick will be that one Xbox will be able to display television to as many screens as you have in your possession,” said Pachter.

This is the same business model that mobile retailers use when selling smartphones – the list price on the most powerful Android phone might be more than $700, but Verizon is willing to sell it to you for $200 if you promise to pay for service for two years. The rationale, of course, is that over those two years, Verizon will more than make up for the $500 it lost on that smartphone sale. For something like an Xbox, though, there are millions of people who live perfectly content lives without having a service subscription to it will be interesting to see if this strategy would work.

http://www.slashgear.com/wedbush-securities-analyst-99-xbox-720-contract-required-11238195/

 

[DannyD]

Pretty interesting articles.

 

[Swarley]

Xbox World to reveal next-gen details in new issue - Report

The penultimate issue of Xbox World magazine will reportedly reveal new details about Microsoft's new Xbox console, according to CVG.

The magazine's editor reportedly told the site that the next-generation Xbox will most likely be called "Xbox" instead of "Xbox 720" and will ship with 8GB of RAM and a quad-core processor.

Other details about the new console that will reportedly be revealed by Xbox World include the inclusion of Kinect 2.0, Blu-ray discs, directional audio, a TV output and input, an "innovative" controller, and the possibility of augmented reality (AR) glasses to be used at a later stage in the new console's life.

Microsoft has not officially confirmed it is at work on a new console, but speculation about the new Xbox has been circulating for some time. In June, a 56-page document allegedly from Microsoft indicated the company was planning to launch an Xbox 720 in 2013 at $299. An updated version of the Kinect was to be included, and augmented-reality glasses support would be added sometime after launch. The document has since been removed at the behest of Microsoft's legal team.

Earlier this month Microsoft filed a patent for a new tech system designed to monitor viewers as they watch TV.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/xbox-world-to-reveal-next-gen-details-in-new-issue-report-6400312

 

[tokyostomp]

i really hate motion gaming. i know it is good for the corps as it expands the userbase/casual players. but they pump out so much crap it hurts.

 

[Swarley]

Report: Two Versions of the Next Xbox

A new report suggests that Microsoft's next generation Xbox will come in two very different models.

The first is the console we're all expecting, providing true next-generation gaming experiences, while the other will be a more affordable unit aimed at the casual market. The latter is said to use Windows 8 as the basis of its operating system, and won't be able to run the latest triple-A titles, but will support downloadable casual games from Xbox Live.

So it will function more like a set-top box, or an Apple TV, allowing a greater number of consumers to experience the console's growing range of entertainment apps. Apparently, the next-gen Xbox will be an 'always on' device that starts up almost instantly, letting you resume your game with little downtime.

This latest report comes from The Verge, which cites "multiple sources familiar with Redmond's plans". (Redmond, if you were wondering, is the location of Microsoft's head quarters.) It also claims that this twin SKU approach is part of a larger Microsoft strategy to ensure that its core Xbox software is 'scalable' to run on a variety of devices. There's even talk of making it so that a phone could be capable of delivering a full Xbox Live experience. It has also looked into including licensing core Xbox functionality into television sets.

It's believed that both devices will be announced sometime in 2013 and made available before the end of the year.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/22/report-two-versions-of-the-next-xbox

 

[riley420]

All I know is that I probably won't be getting this until Christmas 2015. Get the huge bugs out, avoid the launch lineup crap, let the developers learn how to use the system to its potential.

2 lessons I learned this gen: PS3 was way too complicated for developers for way too long, and the RROD almost destroyed the 360's potential. Fix those probable issues ASAP and you'll get more people on board.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

All I know is that I probably won't be getting this until Christmas 2015. Get the huge bugs out, avoid the launch lineup crap, let the developers learn how to use the system to its potential.

2 lessons I learned this gen: PS3 was way too complicated for developers for way too long, and the RROD almost destroyed the 360's potential. Fix those probable issues ASAP and you'll get more people on board.

If it's a holiday launch, I'll probably wait until the spring or summer. That was when I bought my first 360.

 

[Garrett67]

I will drive to Microsoft myself and punch Bill Gates right in the mouth if this thing ends up being called the Xbox 720.

I don't even know why people refer to it as such. The first Xbox wasn't the 180.

 

[Maynard]

i would probably buy this on launch. it all depends on the launch lineup

 

[JimLeavy59]

I don't even know why people refer to it as such. The first Xbox wasn't the 180.

I don't know why did people think the Playstation 2 was going to be called the Playstation 2 seeing how the first Playstation wasn't called Playstation 1

 

[Realist]

Really who cares about the name? As long as it and the PS4 is a good system they can call it whatever they want

 

[Swarley]

I don't know why did people think the Playstation 2 was going to be called the Playstation 2 seeing how the first Playstation wasn't called Playstation 1

 

[Garrett67]

Originally Posted by JimLeavy59
I don't know why did people think the Playstation 2 was going to be called the Playstation 2 seeing how the first Playstation wasn't called Playstation 1

 

[Maynard]

u guys really trying to make sense of a jim leavy post?

 

[U824942]

Looks like XBox live is being prepared to use the hardware that will be the XBox 720 (or whatever it is called). Loaded the update and now I can lay on my couch and use the XBox to surf the net. Still can't view video clips via the browser.