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. Then, days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 in Los Angeles, we'll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games.
Little is know about the new console — not even its name. Gamers have been referring to it as Xbox , although a codename, Project Durango, also surfaced last year. Most game sites believe we can expect an eight-core processor, with 8GB of system memory, MHz graphics processor and a Blu-ray drive. But almost certainly, games will only be one of the functions of the new hardware; as Major Nelson's reference to TV and entertainment suggests, Microsoft is likely to push the new console as an all-in-one living room solution, offering streaming video, television and music services as well as social media.
It's also probable that the device will support a range of payment methods for content, including in-game micro-transactions and subscription services offering access to a range of content for a monthly fee. Although Microsoft has remained very tight-lipped on the entire release of its new console, most are now predicting that the console will be hitting stores for the Christmas shopping period.
Home Life The Xbox console's release date draws ever nearer, and Microsoft is seemingly planning to unveil more details of its next generation console after sending out an invitation to the world's media about an event at their base in Redmond, Washington on May Most Read Why as a pastor I decided to get vaccinated Banning conversion therapy: a step too far or not far enough? Christians in the Holy Land 'at grave risk' - report Franklin Graham recovering from heart surgery With the growth of Islam and secularism, how Christian will Britain's next coronation be?
What God taught me in my career low point Churches are keen to reach net zero but there are needless barriers in the way. I'm not sure if this would suit a living room console, but it proves that Microsoft is taking its Kinect research seriously.
I hear that four of the 16 processor cores will be dedicated to running the Kinect alone, so you can expect it to enable something more futuristic than barmy arm waving when it finally launches. Microsoft played a poor hand with its disc reader on the Xbox Instead, it forced gamers to swap discs mid-game by sticking with the older DVD format like a tech-phobic granddad.
There's a third option: do both. Some people think Microsoft will release two consoles. One would be a stripped-down media hub for your living room that can play downloadable games, like the aforementioned Xbox Lite. The other, a fully-featured gaming behemoth with a Blu-ray drive and backwards compatibility. Maybe the stripped-down version will just be that based Xbox Lite anyway, running alongside a single hardcore Xbox , but this is pure speculation.
What if the really does skip the Blu-ray generation? It's a tempting rig, but introduces a very real problem. If modern games weigh up to 50GB, how many can you keep on the hard drive before storage becomes a problem? It also means no backwards compatibility with games -- an error Sony made with its PS3, to much criticism.
If Microsoft does stick to a classic plastic format, don't expect to trade your old games in for cash -- and that's not just because video game stores are having a hard time on the high street.
Games will probably be tied to your Xbox Live account, with the console frequently pinging to Microsoft servers to check you're the real owner. Gamers will be furious if they get kicked off just because their connection is floppy. Of course, you could say the same about today's multiplayer games, and we all get by alright. Extreme piracy protection sounds cheeky, but by eliminating the resale market, we might end up with significantly cheaper games.
Swings and roundabouts, eh? The Xbox is set to achieve the wet dream of photo-realistic gaming, but seems unlikely to ditch discs for a fully fledged Xbox Live marketplace, instead upgrading to Blu-ray.
If Microsoft can offer cutting-edge Kinect technology at a sensible price before the PlayStation 4 launches, it might steal enough Sony customers to win the console war for good. Whether it can fend off competition from Apple and its march into the gaming world over the next decade remains to be seen. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read.
Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. Xbox release date rumours, graphics and spec news Will we wait three years for the next-gen Xbox to drop or will Microsoft chuck us an Xbox Lite tidbit? Tom Davenport. April 26, a. Graphics The Xbox can still push outstanding graphics, but they'll look medieval once the launches. Anything that supports DX11 is going to look stunning anyway, judging by this tech demo from Crytek: A similarly impressive demo by Epic shows a potential game called Samaritan , in which the shape-shifting anti-hero roams the streets like a dystopian Robin Hood.
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