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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."
The XBox 360 is ALREADY outdated? :P
I mean really, I don't want to buy a console that I know is just going to be replaced so soon.
C'mon now, the new console is 4 to 6 years off at least. Technology gets better and cheaper all the time. Uncross your eyes and get some perspective.
Fear is the mind killer.
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.
That'll show the people who said MS was only getting into the console business to milk people on the hardware treadmill!
This guy's the limit!
No no no, it was only the "360" so that they could have that crucial number "3" to compete with PlayStation's.
Next generation gaming, welcome the "XBox 420" no next-gen console will be more fully-loaded. They've got real high hopes.
Even better news: In reponse to the backlash on DRM, the XBox 420 will support ripping.
"By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began to suspect 'Hungry.'" -Gary Larson
I think one thing is obvious about the next XBox: it won't have an optical drive. I would expect it to just have permenant storage (hard drive, possibly based on future technology) and use an internet conneciton to get games. We are getting close to there right now, so by the time the next XBox comes out in 4-6 years it should be well into prime-time for that. If MS can do as good a job with that as they have done with Live they will have a very nice package (assuming things continue as status quo).
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
No no, let's put this in perspective. I used to have this old P90-based IBM server. I think it was combo PCI+MCA, and it had about 14 drive bays in the front. Mine came loaded with 11 2.25 GB UWSCSI disks (IBM DFHS S2W - I remember this because I had tons of them around for ages afterward.)
But the important part of this comment is that one of the pieces of hardware that it came with was an IBM mainframe card. That's right - all the key parts of one of those IBM "mainframes of old" on a single full-length microchannel card.
I ended up scrapping the system into tiny bits and throwing away everything but the hard drives, because by the time I got it, it was already an antique.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
we refer to my friends xbox soley as a halo machine.
Before the GameCube came out (before it was even called the GameCube) there were already plans underway for the underlying technology under the Wii's (Revolution's) hood. The power of the Playstation 3 was already demonstrated about the time that the PS2 hit the market. The major names in the console market never sit idly and just watch their sales; they're always working on the next major step. Even in Windows, we see this... The successor to Vista is already under development, and has been for quite some time.
I'll probably be modded for redundancy, but it's a point that I wanted to make clear.
/* No Comment */
Hardware HDR. Just give us a really broad palette to work with, and handle the HDR on-chip.
Profile login on a Sim card in the controller. The Xbox 1 had the right idea, but they milked the memory card price too much. Register your controller on the network by popping in a tiny / cheap sim card.
Network Storage. My web host offers 400 GB of storage and a ridiculous amount of bandwidth for not much more than a Live Gold account. Drop the hassle of memory cards, jump to Sim cards, and store the basic game info remotely.
Pad-based controller recharging.
Game Modding and user-created content. I don't know how this would happen, but it needs to happen.
Physics co-processor. There is enough particles bouncing these days that we should have some special purpose iron to help with the load.
The ______ Agenda
So this explains the smoke coming from my power supply!
Sega must have done the same when they were finishing the Dreamcast. I wonder at what stage the abandoned the plan and what they were planning to release?
"all through my house i set up traps, it seems like the rats have a map, so now i feed the rats crack" - Donald D
Badly-done photoshop mockups of the "really real new leaked Xbox design" in 3..2..1..
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Yeah, and operating system and application bloat has matched increased processing power step for step.
They are working with SUN to develop a portable XBOX to compete with PSP. If you look a few stories earlier you can find the prototype, codenamed "Blackbox".
"Don't you know you're going to shock the monkey?"- Peter Gabriel
The strategy of the original XBOX was based on what Sony tried to do with their PlayStation 2 console - instead of being just a game console they wanted to be an entire family entertainment Hub.. No console yet has satisfied that goal, or even come close in my mind. 360 is getting better with their live content, but it is still HIGHLY lacking.
... Where is the iTunes relative content? I want to download a *WIDE* variety of TV shows, Videos, Music, etc on DEMAND (sorta like cable TV.) That's where the next step is going - You won't need cable, because everything you want to watch you'll be able to pull down from live the day after it airs. Of course, this is possible with the current 360 now, so shouldn't be much of a surprise.
/opinion
The normal lifecycle of these consoles is ~5years. It doesn't surprise me in the least that they would start the planning stages already - it will give them a legup on being first to market with the NextGen when the time comes. In this industry that type of advantage creates major waves - just look at how it worked for the 360 compared with the (not yet released) PS3. If the PS3 came out first and had some decent launch games, I might have picked it up and skipped the 360 (thank god for favorable coincidences!)
So the next XBOX will have (dun dun dun!) more powerful Graphics than the 360, PS3, or Wii (gee that was hard to guess.) Beyond that I see them really expanding on the LIVE portion of their service. Right now they offer games, demos, and weak selection of music and videos(mostly game related)
Of course, it will likely be first to market with the 'latest and greatest' tech stuff... i.e. today we have BluRay vs HD-DVD.. In 5 years who knows what the new 'hot' tech thing is, but im sure the XBOX will have some of it. I'd expect it to highly integrate with the ZUNE (which is probably where/when the music content will really ramp up on the system.)
Long story short (too late), they only have things to gain in terms of preparing this early for the next Gen console, and likely all of us consumers will benefit because of it - Longer development (hopefully) means better quality overall, and they won't need to rush in order to enter the market behind the frontrunners.
Its Deluxe, son. Deluxe!
Yes, that was the joke.
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
go easy on him, he just found out that the snozzberries taste like snozzberries.
Collector's Edition
I heard that its going to have a Wiimote... I mean Xmote controller whos position and direction can be accurately detected. And it will have a killer game called The Lengend of X-elda.
according to TFA the 360 wont be replaced until sometime after 2010, so NO not 3 years. more like 5 or 6
I think the thing people don't realize is that the Xbox 360 didn't come early... the Xbox 1 came late.. the 360 was pretty much right on time. The Dreamcast kicked off the last gen in 1999 and The Xbox wasn't released until more then 3 years later, Sony had planned to release the following spring but was delayed, Nintendo almost always launches late (so they can have competitive tech at a lower price). The fact that Sony is launching the same time as Nintendo shows that they're late in this genreation. The fact that MS launched the same time as Nintendo last time showed that they were late to the last generation.
Collector's Edition
Of course they're working on a new system. Inevitably during any project you have to draw a line and say "This is as far as we go." Anything beyond that goes into the next iteration. Video game systems are part of a cycle. If you want to stay in the game you always have to be looking at least 5 years down the road.
-- Flaw
If they want to keep the youth market, they're going to need back-to-back Xbox 1080s, at least.
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.
Collector's Edition
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.
Makes one wonder how a departmen can rectify loosing 1.2B on a console and still try again a 3rd time.
I don't remember the numbers on the original XBox, but the 360 seems to be in the minus 1.2billion.
Sure Sony has a lot of money backing itself up too, but what company would stay competing loss after loss after loss. I guess someone REALLY wants to be a big player in the console market. I wonder how many chairs need to go flying about before they just give up...
For the love of god, don't fucking start shortening the god damned fucking release cycles again you bastards!
I've said it a thousand times.
The Xbox 1 is a 4.5 year old unit, it's by far the most powerful and some still quite attractive games are released for it - yet it was the FIRST to get a replacement?! - Value for money? Hello
JUST as it was taking off properly, Microsoft shot it - way too early and now they are wondering why people hesitate to purchase the X360./
The PS2 on the other hand is damn near 6 years old now and substantially less powerful than the Xbox yet it's replacement is STILL not out - value for money is GOOD, sure it's time for a PS3 but I feel anyone who bought a PS2 at launch (if it lasted, that's a seperate matter) got value for money.
Now I can understand researching the Xbox 360 replacement but if those motherfuckers release it Nov 2009, only 4 years after the X360 I'll be pissed, especially considering how little support the Xbox 1 has received in the past 12 months.
The X360 should be thoroughly "milked" as long as possible - gives US value for money and THEM money cause we buy it, plus we'll consider the Xbox 3 or whatever if the X360 is properly supported.
Considering the track record so far though,........