The next Xbox

[Benstamania]

Gamestop threatening to not sale the Next Xbox.

http://insidevg.blogspot.com/2012/03...-next.html?m=1

[WolfCypher]

I want to live in a world where all our systems use purely digital, downloadable titles...so Gamestop can die the dirty w&^%* they are.

[Havok83]

Originally Posted by Benstamania

Gamestop threatening to not sale the Next Xbox.

http://insidevg.blogspot.com/2012/03...-next.html?m=1

that only makes me wish MS to say F U and go ahead with their rumored plans. Ok, not really bc it would suck for gamers, but GS threatening them just rubs me the wrong way

[hippie_hunter]

Originally Posted by Benstamania

Gamestop threatening to not sale the Next Xbox.

http://insidevg.blogspot.com/2012/03...-next.html?m=1

That same blog is reporting that Durango is RRODing and that there is still a LOT of work to do.

[LuisTX85]

Could the Optical Drive be a reason for the RROD?,In the Gamestop blog it mentions that Microsoft's next console is still have over-heating problems and that's why they might replace the drive with digital!

PS3 also have lights of death,perhaps it really is the optical drives!!

[Iceman]

Damn, I thought they'd fixed this RROD problem to an extent with the latest consoles. I left mine on for over 2 months. That would have caused a nuclear explosion on my original 360.

[Soapy]

That just reinforces my decision to not buy new consoles for a while after they're released.

[Soapy]

Samaritan reportedly running on next gen Xbox

Samaritan's return was the only taste of the next-gen we'd be getting at this briefing, but Mark Rein made it obvious that this was the visual target for the new wave of consoles and there was a brief implication that the mystery NVIDIA Kepler card's performance would be matched by whatever the console platform holders are working on now. Rein himself would know: sources close to Epic have told us that the company is working on next-gen target hardware from Microsoft right now - one source has even gone so far as to say to us that Samaritan is already running on whatever kit is currently being used to simulate the new Xbox.

[StrainedEyes]

Originally Posted by Iceman

Damn, I thought they'd fixed this RROD problem to an extent with the latest consoles. I left mine on for over 2 months. That would have caused a nuclear explosion on my original 360.

It's not cured, bit it is significantly lessened.

[LuisTX85]

I'm kinda worried it's still going on in the new console's developing stage process,But I'm sure they could at least make it better by launch!!

I've personally never really had RROD..I had the white one for 6 months&nothing and I've had my elite for about 2 years or so and only had it after power loss by major lightning or disconnected wire while being on..Which the RROD only lasted till I turned off the power bottom each time!!!

[Iceman]

http://www.vg247.com/2012/04/02/xbox...tcon-required/

Xbox 720: Blu-ray inside, always-on netcon required

Xbox 720 has been fully detailed to some third-parties, VG247 has learned, and has been slotted in for a Christmas 2013 release. And yes: of course it’ll have a Blu-ray drive.

VG247 has learned that Microsoft has now detailed Xbox 720 to certain partners and has internally confirmed the machine for a Christmas 2013 release.
The next generation Xbox will have a Blu-ray drive, contrary to a recent report.
Multiple sources have confirmed this morning that the machine will have two GPUs. One said: “It’s like two PCs taped together.”
We’re waiting for final confirmation of specs, but the graphics cards are thought to be equivalent to AMD’s 7000 series GPUs, but “not CrossFire or SLI”. The GPUs aren’t structured as they are in a normal dual PC set-up, in which the two chips take it in turns to draw lines of the same object: Xbox 720′s graphics units will be able to work independently, drawing separate items simultaneously.
It was reported last week that PlayStation 4, internally codenamed Orbis, will also be powered by AMD hardware.
There will be “four or six” cores to the Xbox 720 CPU, one of which will be reserved for Kinect and one for the OS.
Xbox 720 will require an always-on internet connection as an anti-piracy measure.
We’ve also been told that the next generation of Kinect will be built into the device as standard.
The details have emerged in the wake of a hastily removed tweet from Sean Tracy, a technical designer for Crytek, that said he was attending the “Durango summit” in London at the end of February. Durango is though to be the codename for the console.
Microsoft is not expected to announce anything pertaining to its next machine until next year.
Many developers have been posting job openings for “next-gen” and “future-gen” systems for months.
Lionhead and Bethesda are just two of the latest.

[KALEL114]

Blu-Ray was a given, but requiring always on internet? That's not going to happen. Not everyone connects online and some still don't have decent connections or internet at all. Also, the two GPU's may be misleading. The 360 and PS3 dev kits had 2 GPU's, but the retail versions don't.

[LuisTX85]

Whenever I turn on my 360 I'm connected online,I'm an XBL person and same with my PS3 But I ain't sure about going just full-time online or nothing like the PS Vita!!

I'm surprised a release date is set for next year instead of 2014 as I expected,Revealed at E3 next year then launched months latter..hm!!

[Soapy]

They did the same with the 360. Unveiled it in May I believe, and then launched in November.

[Iceman]

I'm sure blu-ray is coming and those reveal/launch dates sound very likely. 2012 is too soon, 2015 too late. 2014 doable but a little late. That permanent online thing would be fine for me but I guess would be a big problem for a lot of people. It would certainly have advantages in controlling what users do and have access to but not sure how they can think of implementing it when a fair percentage of people just can't meet the requirements.

[hippie_hunter]

I find 2014 to be the best date for the next Xbox and PlayStation 4. It would allow the major publishers to finish up their major projects for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and it would give them more time to launch some quality launch titles as opposed to most of the drivel that plagues console launches. It would help the development of the consoles to be much smoother, as opposed to the rush job on the Xbox 360 that caused so many problems and being way too expensive for the PlayStation 3. And if they both launch around the same time, publishers will be far more comfortable in making games for the new systems as opposed to making multiple expensive versions of a game.

[craigdbfan]

Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly. 2014 is the goldilocks date.

[Havok83]

The constant online is pure BS and I hope its not true for the reasons Kalel mentioned. For me personally my internent provider stinks and there are times where connection drops out, at worse for few hours at a time. This whole system would suck for someone like me. I hope it doesnt come true and I hope Sony doesnt follow suit

[Soapy]

Next Xbox to have 16 core processor?

According to the latest issue of Xbox World magazine, devkits for Microsoft’s next generation console are already in the wild, and were shipped to developers in March. The first devkits reached a select number of developers after Microsoft’s hush-hush developer’s conference in London on February 28, 2012. The purpose of the conference was to brief European representatives on the new hardware, which is codenamed Durango – the meeting was subsequently confirmed by a senior technical artist at Crytek, who tweeted that he was “enjoying the Durango developers summit in London. So far, great swag and interesting talks.” Further meetings were held for American developers at the Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco, with Durango devkits shipping “shortly afterwards.”

The publication states that current devkits will not mirror the final hardware in appearance, however, initial specifications are representative of the console set to ship in late 2013. Sources close to Xbox World magazine have revealed that Durango’s devkit features a “monster” 16-core IBM PowerPC CPU, a GPU comparable to AMD’s Radeon HD 7000-series graphics cards, and a Blu-Ray optical drive.

“Even if you had a 16-core processor in your gaming PC there are currently no games built to use it, but games for the next Xbox could put all sixteen cores to work on day one for a level of performance far in excess of current gaming PCs. It’s a ridiculous amount of power for a games machine – too much power, even. But remember, Kinect 2 could chew up four whole cores tracking multiple players right down to their fingertips, so it’ll need a lot of power.”

Discrete sources at GDC also confirmed to the publication that developers expect Sony’s Playstation 4 to be more powerful than the next Xbox, and that various studios are aiming to unveil their next generation software at E3 2012 in June, regardless of whether “Microsoft and Sony are ready or not.”

“Regardless of whether the next Xbox makes it to E3, the arrival of those Durango devkits is the starting gun for the next generation and once again Microsoft have beaten Sony out of the gate by getting hardware into the developers’ hands first. Sony keep denying any possibility of PS4 at E3 2012 too, but if they don’t move fast Microsoft could roll into June’s LA showcase with dozens of next-generation exclusives from third-parties. When Epic shows that first Unreal 4 demo they’ll only have one console platform to talk about – call it Durango, call it 720, call it what you like, but if Microsoft move fast it might be the only game in town.”

The bold part is the most interesting to me.

[KALEL114]

Ok, now I think these sites just have a big dartboard with rumors on it. Every other day they just close their eyes and see what they hit. Xbox World is the same magazine that said the new Xbox would have a tablet controller.

[Soapy]

I don't think it's their job to only report rumors that are consistent with previous rumors.

[KALEL114]

I was talking about all sites. We have a new rumor every day.

[Iceman]

Sounds pretty powerful. Wish I had more of a handle on these pc type stats so I could appreciate exactly.

[LuisTX85]

It being so powerful&even"too much power for a gaming machine"sounds very interesting But a lot will go into a build-in Kinect(which will most likely be more powerful&advanced than current one)/most likely dozens of more apps&current ones being updated with big changes/maybe a web-browser/Blu-Ray and the rest still making the new console more advanced than the 360 for gaming&XBL content!

IF PS4 will be even more powerful than that..Whoa!

[Soapy]

There's no way that Kinect is going to be built into the next Xbox.