Microsoft Confirms Work Begun on Next Xbox

Via 1up, an interview with Chris Lewis, head of Xbox Development in Europe. Along with some interesting discussion of X06 and aiming games at European markets, Lewis confirms what most people could reasonably expect: Microsoft is already hard at work on the next Xbox system. From the 1up article: "'You can't sit back on your laurels in this business - the consumer won't let you, the developers certainly won't let us. So that's happening right now,' ... In order to remain competitive, hardware manufacturers have to start thinking about the next cycle the moment work finishes on the current one. Ideas for the following generation were likely generated during the development of Xbox 360, and you can surely bet the same situations cropped up in the R&D rooms of Sony and Nintendo while working on PlayStation 3 and Wii."

Comments

Four words;

[Deadguy2322]

Tacit admission of failure!

Standard practice

[HarvardFrankenstein]

This is nothing unusual. Both in games and in other areas of consumer electronics, even outside of electronics, once you've got a new product rolled out and selling, most companies will get to work on the next big thing. They have to. That new product that they just released isn't going to keeping selling forever. Eventually, customers are going to need something new to buy. The sooner you get started on it, the sooner you can give it to them.

Not to mention, it's going to take Microsoft a good long time to finish designing their next XBox. Look at how down-to-the-wire things got with the 360, and look at how much Sony are struggling to get the PS3 out in a timely manner. They certainly wouldn't want to end up in that mess twice.

Re:So ...

[falcon5768]

Sony started development of the PS3 long before they released the PS2, unfortunatly other than the Cell, nothing from the early development stayed once Sony had to shoehorn Blu-ray in.

Re:Good ole monopolistic competition.

[twistedsymphony]

If the Xbox 360 was right on time, why are the other 'next gen' consoles (Wii & PS3) showing up so now?

You must have missed the various news & /. articles from game industry developers who were pissed off that the PS3 launch kept getting pushed back from last spring. I also don't recall many actual news articles or developer comments about MS's release date, IIRC it was more backlash from gamers and /.ers then it was from actual news sources or developers.

You must have also missed the part where I explained that Nintendo has launched late in nearly every generation. The SNES, N64, Gamecube, and now Wii will be launching at least 1 year (or more) from the start of their respective generations.

Re:So what Microsoft is trying to say is

[VJ42]

Certainly $500 for a games console isn't a big deal for most affluant UK households who will have two incomes of approx $40,000 each.

Where abouts do you live? I don't think I know anyone that earns that much, and I consider my family middle class; we live in a nice area in a City in the South of England. I certainly couldn't afford to waste £500 ($800) on a console, and IIRC that's what the PS3 is being released for over here. If we had paraty of price i.e it was being released at around £300; I still couldn't could justify it at launch (March 2007 here for us). £200 (well £170+ 2 games)for a Wii at launch (Yes, I've been sucked in by the hype, and even have a Wii pre-order*), is the top price I'm willing to pay for any toy (all consoles are just expensive toys), be it from Nintendo, Sony or MS.

*My brother even says I've become a Nintendo Fanboi; I dispute this. :)

Re:So ...

[Akaihiryuu]

Simple...The Wii's code name during that period was Revolution. Microsoft has never had anything even close to an original idea, so they basically "copied" Nintendo's name to come up with 360.

Re:Ideas for next-generation system

[cgenman]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. Not an HDR display, but HDR rendering tricks for traditional displays.

More details on Wikipedia.