Microsoft has been very quiet about the Xbox 720 (addit: now the XBox One – click for the full story), unlike their rivals Sony, who have just shown off the next generation and are preparing audiences for E3 where they will delightfully show off the PS4 console and some more games.
While there could be a great method behind this silence, for the time being it is just allowing people to guess the Xbox 720 specs and “inside sources” revealing the system features. Some analysts believe that Microsoft is holding back till E3, where they will destroy Sony with a whole new gaming experience.
A previous report by a developer who got a hold of an Xbox Durango developer console kit said the Xbox 720 will come with Kinect 2.0 and a blu-ray player, amongst other things. This means we have to take this already shady source with a pinch more salt.
The source was apparently working inside the Xbox 720 labs and Gaming Capacity got the slip about information and how Microsoft are keeping the project very secret and under testing. The source gives a good number of different features, here is the list:
- While no confirmation on an announcement date, E3 will be “Party Central” in the Xbox booth
- The new ’720? will have 3x the processing speed of the current 360
- No hard release date but it looks like Holiday 2013
- 2 launch versions. 320 GB Arcade / 500 GB Pro. Exact pricing is unknown
- 1 TB HDD available as a separate purchase
- It will not include Blu-Ray
- No picture was available as prototype consoles are packaged in a 360 slim case to “avoid complications” about the design until announcement
- Tech Specs; AMD eight-core x64 1.6GHz CPU, Direct3d 11.x 800MHz GPU, and 8GB of DDR3 RAM
- Xbox Smartglass is still a feature in use
- No word on Kinect 2.0
- No word on “Immersive” technology being implemented
This all directs us to believe Microsoft are changing their strategy, while the previous launches have been on fun family orientated gaming and making the Xbox an entertainment system, this seems to be bringing it back to core gamers, the same idea Sony have with the new PS4.
We have seen the CPU speed on another report, and while it does raise some concern, hopefully the eight-core system will be able to handle complex gameplay and speed. 1.6GHz is mobile speeds now, and it is 1/2 of what a normal PC can achieve.
The source also details how Kinect 2.0 and immersive technology will both not be on the system, or at least not released with the system. This is quite odd, considering we just seen a promo for Illumiroom a few months ago.
While the source does have a good track record for having the same numbers as previous reports have, the no Kinect or blu-ray seems like a long shot, unless the Xbox 720 goes fully digital.