Microsoft’s Next Xbox to be Revealed on May 21st, 2013

Just think, in less than a month’s time, Microsoft will give us a reason to call the next Xbox something other than the Xbox 720. That might just be better news than anything they could possibly reveal at their upcoming showcase.

Both Game Informer and Kotaku have now confirmed that Microsoft is sending out invitations to select members of the press for their next Xbox unveiling. The presentation is set for 10am on May 21st, 2013 at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters.

We have reached out to our contact for more information. Until that happens, this is all we’ve got.

Update: Our contact directed us to Major Nelson’s blog. This is what he writes there:

On Tuesday May 21^st, we’ll mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV and entertainment. On that day, we’ll be holding a special press event on the Xbox campus and we invite you to join us via the live global stream that will be available on Xbox.com, Xbox LIVE and broadcast on Spike TV if you are in the US or Canada.

On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future. Then, 19-days later at theElectronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games.

We are thrilled to pull back the curtain and reveal what we’ve been working on.

What do you want Microsoft to announce for their next console? For me, I just don’t want the thing to require an internet connection in order to play games.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Xbox 720 makes Internet connection mandatory, report says

Microsoft could be working hard to suck all the bargains out of gaming, if fresh rumours concerning the next Xbox are to be believed.

Citing "sources with first-hand experience of Microsoft's next-generation console", Edge reports that the Xbox 720 (said to be code named 'Durango') will require an Internet connection in order to function, and will see games shipping with single-use activation codes.

That would put the kibosh on buying or selling second-hand games, forcing you to always pay first-hand prices. It would likely also rule out lending games to a friend or sibling.

This is only a rumour for now, so take this report with a pinch of salt. These anti-second-hand measures are already being taken by a number of games publishers however, who bundle one-use codes with games in order to make the discs less valuable to sell. Sony's upcomingPlayStation 4 is rumoured to feature the same locked-down technology.

The report also reckons that the next Xbox will use Blu-ray discs, taking advantage of the format's high-capacity discs, and will come packing a quad-core processor.

The next Xbox and PlayStation 4 are both expected to go on sale this year, to combat the Wii U, which was released before Christmas. Sony has already teased a PlayStation event on 20 February, so we could be less than a fortnight away from glimpsing the fourth PlayStation console.

[Source: CNET]

Xbox 720 in the next 18 months, job listing divulges

The next Xbox has been pegged to go on sale next Christmas by a revealing Microsoft job listing.

The job details, which were spotted by PCWorld and have since been deleted, explain that "over the next 18 months Microsoft will release new versions of all of our most significant products," going on to list "Windows (Client, Server, Phone and Azure), Office and Xbox." We already know about the new Windows gubbins -- that's Windows 8 of course. But so far Microsoft has remained tight-lipped regarding a new games console.

18 months would see a new system released early in 2014 at the latest, though it's far more likely that Microsoft would try and get the new Xbox -- reportedly codenamed Durango -- on sale in the run up to Christmas next year, giving cash-addled parents the opportunity to stuff their offsprings' stockings with a brand-new console.Microsoft has already stated that there would be no new console out this year, ruling out a surprise 2012 unveiling. Not much is known about what Microsoft's follow-up to the popular Xbox 360 will look like, though rumours tip it to feature a Blu-ray drive and to require a constant web connection in order to play games.

If we're talking about excluding gamers who don't have an Internet connection, then perhaps we could also see Microsoft ditching physical media altogether and having games accessed solely through downloads. Another recent Microsoft job ad spied by Techradar suggests that the company responsible for Clippy is already working on a second round of Surface tablets.

[Source: cnet]