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Rumour also has it that Microsoft deliberately delayed this event, so as it could show final hardware, having noted the backlash directed at Sony after it didn’t do so at the PS4 reveal.
With the E3 just around the corner, this is the company’s opportunity to tout the features and appearance of its new console, before following up with the games line-up at E3 next month.
So, let’s get to know this new gaming phenomenon, and get the game going. Gamers, are you ready?
The Xbox name: There’s no earthly reason why Microsoft should hold this back any longer. What the name will be remains uncertain. However, I often hear people talk about ‘Durango’, ‘Infinity’ and simply ‘XBOX’ as names for the 720.
Entertainment focus: Expect game sites to erupt in flames as Microsoft talks up the new box’s entertainment credentials. It doesn’t play well with the hardcore, but the figures don’t lie. Entertainment use around apps like Netflix is huge on Xbox 360, and the company has been courting new entertainment partners worldwide. The internal push is to make Xbox “Input One” , the first high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port on your TV, because it delivers every entertainment stream you need. This new exciting box has some TV capability. Hear that! Microsoft is evolving into TV’s too.
New Kinect as standard: Microsoft did very well with Kinect, shifting millions, and buying another two years of life for the ageing Xbox 360. Its star may have waned, thanks to uneven performance and a weak software line-up, but two years ago, when Durango’s spec was being nailed down, it was a smash hit. Rumour suggests that the new Kinect 2 sensor can track up to six people at once. A console built around motion detection has lots of promise, and it seems highly likely that this is the direction Microsoft is taking, given the way it’s currently pushing Kinect hardware and software.
However, you can be sure that the trusty control pad will remain a core component for hardcore gaming. The 360 control pad is wildly popular amongst both console and PC gamers, so we won’t see the design changing too radically, either.
Microsoft recently filed a patent relating to projecting augmented reality 3D images onto the walls of the room you’re gaming in, in an effort to more fully immerse you in the experience.
The codename for this project is ‘Fortaleza’, and has Kinect at its heart. It is all supposed to work with wi-fi enabled Fortaleza glasses, much like Google’s Project Glass glasses. Who wouldn’t want a Star-Trek-style holo-deck in their front room?
If the Xbox 720 is to be as popular, and last as long as the Xbox 360 – without the frankly appalling hardware failures which blighted its early days – it’s going to need some reliable and powerful components. From what we can tell, the Xbox 720 will come packing very similar specifications to the already announced PS4.
AMD x86 architecture-A robust set of hardware leaks has given a pretty solid idea of the new Xbox’s internals: An AMD (Advance Micro Device) x86 Jaguar-based CPU clocked at 1.6GHz – possibly very similar to that of the PS4, possibly identical in every way. That would certainly be a boost for game developers as it would make cross-platform development much easier than it is currently. The PS4 comes packing 8GB of unified GDDR5 memory which combines system and graphics memory for super-fast gaming. But the Xbox 720 is rumoured to contain 8GB DDR3 of general system memory and separate graphics memory with a 500GB hard disc. The new architecture will mean backwards compatibility is unlikely, although Microsoft may offer a software solution as it did with Xbox 360.
Graphics-wise, rumour suggests that the console will contain a revision of AMD’s 7000 series graphics, which is based on its 28nm Graphics Core Next (GCN) Southern Islands tech.
It is thought that the Xbox 720 will have just 12 processing clusters which could well mean that Microsoft is using a version of the (rumoured/forthcoming) AMD Radeon 7790 chip. That means less power and cheaper bits, basically, but it’s not all doom and gloom.
Xbox 720: to Blu-ray or not to Blu-ray?
Will the Xbox 720 come with a Blu-ray drive or not? We’ve seen dozens of rumours pointing both ways and we’re still no further to really finding out. One rumour says that the Xbox 720 will not have a BD drive. Other rumours say it WILL arrive packing a Blu-ray drive. Microsoft was, if you remember, a staunch member of the HD DVD Promotion Group and went so far as to launch an external HD DVD drive for the 360. So it represents a bit turn-around for Microsoft to embrace Blu-ray, but it also makes perfect sense.
Read speeds from DVDs are still faster than from Blu-ray discs, but BDs can hold vastly more data. A standard dual-layer BD can contain 50GB of data compared to the Xbox 360’s dual-layer DVDs which contain between 8 and 9GB. So the question is, to blue-ray or not to blue-ray?
A document that leaked in June 2012 indicates that the Xbox 720 will come packing 1080p 3D support, Blu-ray player and DVR functionality. This would indicate that Microsoft is trying to position the Xbox 720 as the single does-it-all set-top box in your living room. If this is so, then we are in for a good treat.
Will Microsoft kill the second-hand games market?
There have been rumours circulating that the new Xbox console will feature a system aimed at preventing owners playing used games. That would mean no trading-in of old titles in order to fund the purchase of new ones – a move that would not be warmly received by gamers or high-street store.
The rumours centre on the concept of the new Xbox demanding an always-on internet connection. That sounds like a horrifying idea to us.
Strong rumours are building that Microsoft is planning a double assault on the console market. The new Xbox will allegedly be joined in the cabinet by an Xbox Mini – a small, Apple TV-like device based on Windows 8, with the ability to stream Xbox 360 games from the cloud.
SPEECH RECOGNITION-The Xbox 360 has supported voice control, using the optional Kinnect camera, for some time, but according to The Verge the Xbox 720 will go a step further. Wake on voice, natural language controls and speech-to-text were just a few of the potential new features listed.
SKYPE-Microsoft now owns Skype, having bought the best-known VoIP provider in 2011, so it makes sense that the service will come integrated in the Xbox 720. Skype will be the default communications platform in place of the standard Xbox Live chat system and Messenger service, although we’ll believe it when we see it – it’s far more likely to appear as a standalone app and sit alongside Microsoft’s own messaging service.
As you can see, information on the Xbox 720 is very thin on the ground, even at this late stage. All this article can do is apply a little logic to the most prevalent rumours out there. One advice to all Xbox gamers: Be prepared for a thrilling event!
