Xbox 3 Speculation

[MagGnome]

I know these kinds of threads can be obnoxious, but I'm genuinely curious.

How do you think MS will handle the next console? Do you think it will be fully backwards compatible? What about the DLC - will the things you buy on the Marketplace transfer over to the next system?

Seeing my 360 RROD has made me wonder about this. Knowing that the next system would support all the games that I'm buying for my 360 would go a long way towards making me more comfortable with my purchases.

Thoughts?

[crazyD]

I would expect limited backwards compat, and tons of DLC. I would expect a less convenient Steam-esque method of downloading games directly to a fairly large HD. It will probably have a Blu Ray drive, for neanderthals who refuse or are unable to download games. Basically, I expect it to be a locked down PC.

[DoctorFinger]

Just my speculation:

1) All of your XBLA stuff will transfer to the new console (with the possible exception of themes & gamerpics).

2) It will be backwards compatible. The next Xbox will use components from the same vendors, so BC is a piece of cake to do (eg: the Wii and GC)

3) Blu-Ray, wireless internet, and some sort of storage medium (HDD or solid state) will be standard.

4) The difference in overall power will not be as extreme as between XB1 and XB360. I think they'll take a small page from the Wii and try to get the system in a little cheaper.

5) They'll make incremental changes to most of the accessories just to make you buy them again.

6) You'll be able (but not required) to buy 1st party games digitally.

[Shadowstorm]

Outrageous accessory prices and extremely low general hardware failure rates (read: RRoD) as a result of better components.

[Mdot]

Just bring back the universal HDD. No options except size.

[rvieira]

Motion control e tons of casual games, probaly not a evolution on graphics and sound but a more "familiar" fun. Will be like X360 with better hardware

[Disgustipated]

It'll have at least 2-4 GB's of RAM, a multi-core processor (at least 2-3x faster than the tri-core PowerPC proc currently used in the 360), and a next-next-gen ATI (most likely) GPU, at the very least with around 1 GB of VRAM.

And WiFi built in. ;)

[Ondo]

Do you think it will be fully backwards compatible? What about the DLC - will the things you buy on the Marketplace transfer over to the next system?
I think Rock Band and Guitar Hero may well change companies attitudes towards backwards compatibility. There are a lot of people who have invested significant money on those games; letting them continue benefiting from that investment on the next console would remove a significant barrier to its adoption, so I'm expecting controller and DLC compatibility. Probably game compatibility also, but a new version of Rock Band at or near launch could also work.

[Suave Peanut]

I think Rock Band and Guitar Hero may well change companies attitudes towards backwards compatibility. There are a lot of people who have invested significant money on those games; letting them continue benefiting from that investment on the next console would remove a significant barrier to its adoption, so I'm expecting controller and DLC compatibility. Probably game compatibility also, but a new version of Rock Band at or near launch could also work.
This hits it right on. I have blown so much money on DLC, my primary desire in a future console is that these items will transfer and my money will not have been wasted.

[Variable Gear]

Hopefully Microsoft learns form the failures of the 360. If they standardize HDD support at launch, there's no reason why they couldn't allow for users to re-download their content. It'd be really nice if saves transferred over. :)

[Iron Past]

The only thing I really hope they're focusing on is hardware reliability. I'd think it would be a top priority with the fiasco that happened to this gen. Also, I'd imagine that Arcade games at least will transfer over no problem. All they would need to do is tweak the current DRM tool for transfering licences and it's solved. HDD should be standard, as well.

[squirrelTactics]

The RRoD will be used to signify that the console is online and functioning properly.

[wyeast]

extremely low general hardware failure rates (read: RRoD) as a result of better components.

As much as I would like to believe this will happen, they've already made their bed. Unless there is some obnoxiously long warranty and express replacement (i.e. no more shitty refurb lottery) service, I find it unlikely that many of us will be willing to be early adopter guinea pigs again next time. :(

[crazyD]

As much as I would like to believe this will happen, they've already made their bed. Unless there is some obnoxiously long warranty and express replacement (i.e. no more shitty refurb lottery) service, I find it unlikely that many of us will be willing to be early adopter guinea pigs again next time. :(

On this board? I'm sure there are a ton of people willing to throw out cash for whatever new console MS puts out, regardless.

[Variable Gear]

On this board? I'm sure there are a ton of people willing to throw out cash for whatever new console MS puts out, regardless.
What board are you talking about? EvAv? :confused:

[DarkDay]

Im one who will buy on first day on my experiences. Too many great game moments to look past.


Give me lots of high end tech, universal hdd, Gears 3 and whatever else. A decent price and im in.
Also, do NOT make motion control standard. Let the wii have our moms wallets, please MS and Sony don't let the hardcore down. If I want watered down gaming I know where to look.

[crazyD]

What board are you talking about? EvAv? :confused:

I dunno, it may not be as bad as on EA, but this place still seems to be quite preferential to the 360 to me.

[DarkDay]

People go where the games are, its that simple, blaming it on anything else becomes fanboyish. It happened with the ps1, ps2, now 360, that is for the more hardcore players that is.

[crazyD]

People go where the games are, its that simple, blaming it on anything else becomes fanboyish. It happened with the ps1, ps2, now 360, that is for the more hardcore players that is.

Games go where the people are, it's that simple.

[DarkDay]

Touche. But it can be looked at from both sides and be true. Blows the mind huh?

[Variable Gear]

People go where the games are, its that simple, blaming it on anything else becomes fanboyish. It happened with the ps1, ps2, now 360, that is for the more hardcore players that is.
Yeah, I agree. If Sony's system wasn't a year late, I bet there would be fewer perceived 360 fanboys.

However, if you own a Wii at this point, you're a Nintendo fanboy. Wait, what? :o

[jeffbax]

On this board? I'm sure there are a ton of people willing to throw out cash for whatever new console MS puts out, regardless.

Seriously, this board has tons of people ready to jump at the next Xbox regardless of quality control.

Anyway, I expect full backward compatibility with 360, and all Live content to transfer over in full.

[DarkDay]

Yeah, I agree. If Sony's system wasn't a year late, I bet there would be fewer perceived 360 fanboys.

However, if you own a Wii at this point, you're a Nintendo fanboy. Wait, what? :o



I had a wii last year for Mario and metroid. Great times and to me it was worth it, but ended up migrating to my moms, first time she has ever played a game or had a machine and now she has parties, so Nintendo did well in that.

I also agree with the Sony statement, man did they drop the ball. Really looking forward to their hopefully new humility in the next gen and with that what they can pull off, not from just a hardware standpoint but from the games and attitude.

Should be good, an in many ways im looking forward to Sony's next machine more than MS's.

[Sandman]

I'm just hoping for a large (500GB -> 1TB) HDD with the ability to purchase first party and select third party titles online.....and hopefully the ability to pre-load them similar to Steam on PC. With several publishers taking steps to discourage the used market I see this as the next step.

I just hope there aren't any problems with DRM from full downloaded titles.

[DarkDay]

Something occurred to me, with the success of the wii could it be the money heads of both go the route of Nintendo, leaving devs with big aspirations only the pc?

Could this be the resurgence of the pc for the truly hardcore, and 3 handicapped systems vying for our moms and grandparents dollar?

Im really ok with this idea.
Force me back to my pc, the high end graphics, keyboard mouse, mods, communities and clans.

Sounds good to me

[tombofsoldier]

Fully backwards compatible with 360 games, possibly backwards compatible with 360 controllers. It'll have an 80 gig hard drive at minimum, probably double that. You'll be able to buy and download full games online, and hopefully be able to delete them from your hard drive and re-download them at will as many times as you want.

The hardware will improve blah blah blah, but it won't be as big a jump as it was from the original xbox to the 360. No six times memory or anything like that this round. They'll also start the price lower, maybe at $280 and try selling at least at break even point from the beginning.

They'll make the online stuff better and have more stuff for sale. They might even make multiplayer free. But their "big innovation" (marketing point to show how different and better it is) will probably be something to do with the controller. They no doubt want to capitalize on what Nintendo seems to have stumbled into, but will hopefully recognize that unlike Nintendo they'll still need actual games for people to play.

It'll launch either 2011 or 2012 alongside some new IP they hope will be a blockbuster and Halo 4 soon after just in case.

[crazyD]

It'll launch either 2011 or 2012 alongside some new IP they hope will be a blockbuster and Halo 4 soon after just in case.

You don't think they will farm out Halo 4 before then? I expect Halo 4 to be released this gen, maybe Halo 5 will be for their next system.

[Sandman]

Halo is done....oh god please let Halo be done. Gears is the new Halo....and I actually like Gears better.

[MagGnome]

I'm hoping for a stable system, full backwards compatibility, and the ability to transfer over/re-download all of my arcade titles. I won't buy the next system if those features aren't there. Those are must haves next time around IMHO.

I also won't go in for more than $300 next time, so hopefully hardware prices are more reasonable. I'd also like to see game prices go back down - I can dream, right?

You guys all put in some great suggestions and speculations. More powerful hardware is almost assured, although I also doubt that the leap will be that big. Hopefully they focus on system stability and the interface.

[DarkDay]

Halo is done....oh god please let Halo be done. Gears is the new Halo....and I actually like Gears better.

Hell no, let Halo come and if sucks or you don't like just don't buy it:eek:
Crazy no?

Its not our money that is initially building the game. We can all vote after.
Regardless of weather you like the game or not, the only reason I can see someone wanting a game to be wiped off a system is for fear of its popularity and what it might do for said system, same goes for all games and systems.

If it sucks don't buy it, but ya never know, might just kick ass and cost me nothing if not.

[tombofsoldier]

You don't think they will farm out Halo 4 before then? I expect Halo 4 to be released this gen, maybe Halo 5 will be for their next system.

Nah, they've got Halo 3.5, Halo Wars, and Halo Jackson for this gen. That's two games next year and then one in 2010 which puts Halo 4 squarely in 11 or 12. Not that I'd be overly surprised if it shows up on the 360 two years from now though.

[LarsenNET]

Halo is done....oh god please let Halo be done. Gears is the new Halo....and I actually like Gears better.

I agree :)

[DarkDay]

I agree :)

You do understand that it is possible for the 2 to co-exist right? I would prefer the option of having both instead of one. When I play a game I play that game, not a game while thinking of another.

If you hate it don't buy it, it should be that simple.

[Suave Peanut]

I'd also like throw in, and it probably goes without saying, that your Gamertag, Achievements, Avatars, etc., will all carry over to the next generation.

[LarsenNET]

You do understand that it is possible for the 2 to co-exist right? I would prefer the option of having both instead of one. When I play a game I play that game, not a game while thinking of another.

If you hate it don't buy it, it should be that simple.

Mostly I'm agreeing that Gears is better but it's strange how fanatical gamers get about Halo around launch time for a game that is just ok (in my option). Although Halo has great production values and an awesome score. The games end up being just ok.

[DarkDay]

Mostly I'm agreeing that Gears is better but it's strange how fanatical gamers get about Halo around launch time for a game that is just ok (in my option). Although Halo has great production values and an awesome score. The games end up being just ok.


Ya, I can get behind this post for sure, I have even asked myself would I be as into the game itself if I had played it 3 or so months after the massive launch hype or if it gets to my brain and colors my vision a bit.
1 and 3 were worth the money to me, but 2 can suck it, bad game imo.

[CES]

Halo is done....oh god please let Halo be done. Gears is the new Halo....and I actually like Gears better.

Kill them both now. They're a pair of juicy cash cows which means they'll only get more average as time goes on.

[pomeroy]

Kill them both now. They're a pair of juicy cash cows which means they'll only get more average as time goes on.

Fuck that, son. I'm ambivalent towards Halo (but would be down with another sequel), but Gears' story isn't done yet.

[GunnyMo]

Ugh, I really don't even want to speculate at this point. The 360 not only barely functions but, when it does, is really just coming into its second wind. I cannot fathom how MS could make another console so soon or even make it work properly in their rush to be first to market again. Bleah.

[MagGnome]

I'd also like throw in, and it probably goes without saying, that your Gamertag, Achievements, Avatars, etc., will all carry over to the next generation.

Agreed. Live is such an integral component of the 360 that at this point it would be really strange and shortsighted to make everyone start all over from scratch. The same goes for marketplace purchases IMHO.


Ugh, I really don't even want to speculate at this point. The 360 not only barely functions but, when it does, is really just coming into its second wind. I cannot fathom how MS could make another console so soon or even make it work properly in their rush to be first to market again. Bleah.

I hear what you are saying and for the most part I agree. At the same time the faulty hardware has basically turned the 360 into a ticking time bomb. My initial point in this thread was that I would be a lot more comfortable continue to spend money on the 360 if I knew that those purchases would carry over to the next-gen hardware. I'm not in a hurry for the hardware itself, so I wish I knew whether or not the games I am buying now will be playable in 4 years' time.

[fitbabits]

500GB HDD as standard
Backwards compatible
Blu-ray optical drive
TV Tuner with DVR functionality
Seamless integration with Netflix
Windows 7 OS included

[Shadowstorm]

As much as I would like to believe this will happen, they've already made their bed. Unless there is some obnoxiously long warranty and express replacement (i.e. no more shitty refurb lottery) service, I find it unlikely that many of us will be willing to be early adopter guinea pigs again next time. :(

It would be foolish to think Microsoft hasn't learned from their near-fatal shoddy hardware component mistake.

Only time will prove me right or wrong.

[Farsight]

Motion controls. Real ones, not the gimmicky unresponsive Wii versions. Halo will ship with a gun.

[KamaItachi]

I'd be genuinely surprised if we saw anything official on a new system other than 'we're working on it' before 2010. There were reasons MS jumped the gun on this generation. They reaped some of the rewards and made some mistakes from such a rushed release. Like Sony, they have nothing to gain from starting the next generation of machines.

When it comes I would expect:

Full BC with disc, live games and gamertag etc.
At least 120 Gig harddrive
Blu-ray disc drive or other propriety HD disc
Option to download versus disc based games
Some sort of motion sensing/visual/camera control

[crazyD]

Fuck that, son. I'm ambivalent towards Halo (but would be down with another sequel), but Gears' story isn't done yet.

Gears has a story?

[LarsenNET]

Gears has a story?

HA, I was waiting for that. The thing about Gears is that it's so much fun the story doesn't matter. The story was never in the forefront in Gears. With Halo it's a different story (pun intended).

[pomeroy]

Gears has a story?

I actually like the story, especially in 2. The dialogue is awful (unless it's the Cole-train talking), but the stuff with Marcus and his dad is genuinely interesting to me.

[crazyD]

HA, I was waiting for that. The thing about Gears is that it's so much fun the story doesn't matter. The story was never in the forefront in Gears. With Halo it's a different story (pun intended).

I agree that when a game is fun enough, story doesn't really matter, but I don't feel Gears has reached that level. It is a pretty good game about big, loud, stupid people doing big, loud, stupid things. That can be fun, but it really doesn't have enough of anything for me to see what all the hubbub is about.

I actually like the story, especially in 2. The dialogue is awful (unless it's the Cole-train talking), but the stuff with Marcus and his dad is genuinely interesting to me.

Haven't played 2, and probably won't til it hits the bargain bins, so please note all my comments are about the original.

[MalReynolds]

i just want Gears 3 now -.-

[DoctorFinger]

500GB HDD as standard
Backwards compatible
Blu-ray optical drive
TV Tuner with DVR functionality
Seamless integration with Netflix
Windows 7 OS included

Is a TV tuner really much of a benefit now? How many people who will buy a system like this don't have cable/sat? And how many of those care about OTA channels?

But you're spot on about the HDD. The big money maker will be selling digital content, and you need space for that. In 2-3 years 500GB will be cheap.

[Talanvor]

The damn thing better have BC (With the 360, at least) and the ability to use the same DLC. I have over 100 songs for RB/RB2, not even to mention all of the XBLA titles, that I better be able to play on the next console.

Also, what I would really like is the ability to install your own HD into it, using a caddy or enclosure that MS would sell you. Sure they would gouge you on it, but at least you wouldn't be limited on size.

I do see Blu-ray as being standard, since you can buy BD drives for <$100 now for the PC, in a few years that should be even lower.

[Kelegacy]

I hope COMPLETE backwards compatibility on a rock-solid machine, that way we can play our 360 games on a system that isn't dead, broken, or close to it. Face it, in ten years I doubt many of us will have working 360s to play these games on.

I'd like to see a more reliable drive, too. Perhaps optional installations for every game. I've had one 360 die because of a shitty optical drive, and we've seen other systems go as well (PS2 and my PS3).

I'll support the next Xbox, as I think I'm pretty much on the bandwagon now (was just a small fan of the first Xbox, but the 360 really took off and I love it). Sony stumbled this generation in my eyes. History will show if the Blu-Ray gamble was worth it or not.

EDIT: Oh, and I'd like to see an affordable console right out of the gate. Don't throw TOO much extra shit in that will make me have to spend $500 on it. I think $400 is alright...but less would be even better. Without sacrificing technology (like an Xbox Wii for example).

[NoName]

If they put out something that has the same failure rates as Sony or Nintendo, I'll be happy. Living in fear of red LED lights isn't fun :).

[wyeast]

It would be foolish to think Microsoft hasn't learned from their near-fatal shoddy hardware component mistake.

Only time will prove me right or wrong.

One could argue that they should've learned that lesson with Xbox1 between the dismal Thompson drives and the power supply recall. But apparently they had to top that with the 360. ;)

[pomeroy]

One could argue that they should've learned that lesson with Xbox1 between the dismal Thompson drives and the power supply recall. But apparently they had to top that with the 360. ;)

The problems with the first Xbox aren't even in the same ballpark as the 360.

[Wraith]

I know these kinds of threads can be obnoxious, but I'm genuinely curious.

How do you think MS will handle the next console? Do you think it will be fully backwards compatible? What about the DLC - will the things you buy on the Marketplace transfer over to the next system?

Seeing my 360 RROD has made me wonder about this. Knowing that the next system would support all the games that I'm buying for my 360 would go a long way towards making me more comfortable with my purchases.

Thoughts?Before reading any of the other replies...


Backwards Compatibility - The less MS has to support the 360 hardware, the better. I think they'll pretty much have to support full back-compat with 360 games if they really want to get 360 owners onto the new hardware.

Since Xbox 1 back-compat is software based on the 360, it should be relatively easy to bring to the next Xbox.

Marketplace Content - Well, there's little doubt that MS wants to have the content they're selling on the marketplace carry over into the next gen. They wouldn't want to cut off early adopters from this huge library of content they can buy. Worst case, there are a few things that don't carry over (themes, gamerpics?), and other content has to be re-downloaded. If, for example, XBLA titles made for 360 couldn't transfer to the 720, you'd have developers and gamers mad at MS. I don't think anyone involved wants to see Live split into two different content groups (old content vs. new content). [Edit: Well, it's going to happen to an extent, as content coming in for the next system won't necessarily play on the old, but I guess at least they don't want gamers playing "New Live" to be cut off from content developed for "Old Live."]

Hardware - No doubt executives at Microsoft have numbers showing how much their hardware troubles have cost them this generation, and projections for the rest of the 360's lifecycle. And despite the 360's success, gamers won't forget those problems that easily. MS is going to have to do something to a.) ensure they don't make the same mistake twice, and b.) convince the public that they haven't.

MS gained a lot in that first year before the PS3 launched, and they probably won't have that luxury the next go around. They'll have a tougher go of it against a PS4 that's both launching around the same time and at a much closer price point (compared to the PS3 launch). If gamers who would have otherwise jumped on an Xbox 720 hold back to see if the new hardware is reliable, it could really hurt them.

While I don't think the next console will have flawless reliability (it's pretty much impossible), it's got to be at least on-par with the competition. Maybe the 720 won't be as big of a leap, hardware-wise, as we saw from Xbox to 360, but I don't doubt it will be a significant step forward. (No "two 360s duct taped together" talk.) I guess I'm optimistic that the next Xbox will be significantly better, for the growing pains it went through in its first two iterations.

[wyeast]

The problems with the first Xbox aren't even in the same ballpark as the 360.

That is exactly my point.

[MalReynolds]

i would rather wait another 10 years ....

[Purple Santa]

Gears has a story?

Horde Mode ;)

[Kelegacy]

It would be foolish to think Microsoft hasn't learned from their near-fatal shoddy hardware component mistake.

Only time will prove me right or wrong.

Well, seeing how units are still failing, you'd think they'd have learned from the shitty console they released 3 years ago by now.

I hope the next Xbox is hardy as a mofo, but your post made me wonder.

[Wraith]

For those talking about having a standard hard drive... Would it make sense for MS to build the next Xbox with a smallish amount of built-in flash storage (16GB?, 32GB?, depending on how cheap it is by then), standard on all units, and then add larger non-flash HDDs to the "Pro" units? (250GB, 500GB, 1TB maybe.) Give everyone enough room to download some demos, a few XBLA titles, and if they find they're filling up the onboard memory, they'll go out and get the HDD addon. They can clean out some content if they need to free up space, but they've got a reason to buy the addon then.

Or is this just as bad as the no standard hard drive situation when the Core/Premium launched?



As for release date, my money's on MS and Sony both launching in Q3-Q4 2011. Six years after the 360 launch, five after the PS3. Barring a sweet 360 redesign next year or something (PSone/PStwo-style), I don't think MS want's to drag out the 360 lifespan longer than six years, and Sony doesn't want to be a year behind again, so 2011 seems like the right time. Nintendo will be off doing their own thing.

[MagGnome]

Is a TV tuner really much of a benefit now? How many people who will buy a system like this don't have cable/sat? And how many of those care about OTA channels?

But you're spot on about the HDD. The big money maker will be selling digital content, and you need space for that. In 2-3 years 500GB will be cheap.

500GB is pretty cheap now. Even 1TB drives aren't all that expensive. I imagine that by the time the "720" hits, harddrive space will be very inexpensive. A SSD is also a possibility, although I'd be somewhat surprised to see MS go that route.

Lots of great speculations in this thread - keep them coming!

[pomeroy]

I predict they'll name the new Xbox something stupid too.

[wyeast]

I predict they'll name the new Xbox something stupid too.

Xbox Mufasa? :confused: :D

[MalReynolds]

Maybe they wont even call it x-box Oo

[Evewalker]

I'm wondering if Microsoft is going to develop and manufacture the hardware at all.

[KingGorilla]

If Microsoft were not living 10 years behind the curve, I would say that they would be the first to go with no disc(my 3 year younger self looking at their CES pitch would have guaranteed it). Oddly Nintendo and Sony, for all their warts, are offering the more robust content of the three consoles, with respect to digital sales. Those are also measures that the publishers like as they launch their international crusade against kids with little allowance who need to rent and buy used.

I predict the rebirth of something like Windows Home. A single set top box with Netflix, Amazon Unbox access. A stripped wed browser(probably no flash support) would come as well. It would have a 120 GB hard drive standard, with DVD as the delivery medium, highly compressed, instals required with disc authentication for speed and sound reasons. Maybe they will catch up with Sony or Nintendo or the PC with download sales, but I have seen no indication that they have put forth that money towards building servers for that purpose. Nintendo invested close to 100 million on servers sinc ethe Wii Launch if I am not mistaken.

The key gamble of the next iteration will be in who is balsy enough to flip Gamestop and Wal-Mart the bird by offering day 1 digital sales, pre-loading even, on all major titles if not all titles period. Microsoft has the benefit of being free of any proprietary concerns like Sony. Disc based movie sales and sales of those players are still very large for Sony.

The one real thing I would expect to see is that the next-box will have several SKUs built by several manufacturers, but with standards to one OS, and basic hardware specs. I could see Dell, Toshiba, Asus taking a bit at that market.

[Disgustipated]

If Microsoft were not living 10 years behind the curve, I would say that they would be the first to go with no disc(my 3 year younger self looking at their CES pitch would have guaranteed it). Oddly Nintendo and Sony, for all their warts, are offering the more robust content of the three consoles, with respect to digital sales. Those are also measures that the publishers like as they launch their international crusade against kids with little allowance who need to rent and buy used.



Wow. Stop right there. That statement is so wrong. Have you ever been on Xbox Live? Are you joking or something? Xbox Live has more digital content than Wii/PSN combined.

[Ancalagon]

I still dont think it will have a built in hard drive - MS has realized how well low priced consoles sell. Rather, the low end SKU will have 8-16GB's of flash memory built in, and the higher end SKUs will come with 120-240GB external hard drives. Having a HDD as standard pushes up the price quite a lot, and MS has seen how much a low price can benefit them in terms of sales, vs the PS3.

It will also (hopefully!) be better tested and designed, so it doesnt suffer from heat failure problems like the 360. I also think Wifi will be standard, alone with either a quad core CPU with SMT, or a 6 core CPU. No more than 2GB RAM in total, and a next gen ATI or Nvidia graphics solution.

(Edited for silly amount of flash memory)

[President Fred]

It would be foolish to think Microsoft hasn't learned from their near-fatal shoddy hardware component mistake.

Only time will prove me right or wrong.

I think it would be foolish to assume that they have got better or worse instead of just waiting before you pay money for it. Then again I am probably going to get this at launch, but I am foolish.

[Raen]

I still dont think it will have a built in hard drive - MS has realized how well low priced consoles sell. Rather, the low end SKU will have 8-16GB's of flash memory built in, and the higher end SKUs will come with 120-240GB external hard drives. Having a HDD as standard pushes up the price quite a lot, and MS has seen how much a low price can benefit them in terms of sales, vs the PS3.

It doesn't have to be expensive to have a built in HDD. Given the price for me as a consumer to buy a HDD is so freakishly low right now, them buy as a company in bulk will make any low-end HDD crazily cheap. Sure the higher end SKU will have a bigger drive, but putting a 40GB in at the low end? Not gonna cost them a whole bunch. I'd like to see something huge available at the high end, or at least proper support for external drives available somewhere. A SSD would be nicer, but I don't see it at the moment.

Is a TV tuner really much of a benefit now? How many people who will buy a system like this don't have cable/sat? And how many of those care about OTA channels?

Well me for a start. The digital OTA service in the UK is pretty good for me. I mean sure it doesn't have a huge volume of channels, but it has most of the ones that I wanna watch right now. It wouldn't shock me hugely if they put a tuner in.

[Ancalagon]

It doesn't have to be expensive to have a built in HDD. Given the price for me as a consumer to buy a HDD is so freakishly low right now, them buy as a company in bulk will make any low-end HDD crazily cheap. Sure the higher end SKU will have a bigger drive, but putting a 40GB in at the low end? Not gonna cost them a whole bunch. I'd like to see something huge available at the high end, or at least proper support for external drives available somewhere. A SSD would be nicer, but I don't see it at the moment.


Well, HDD prices havent really changed a lot in a while, and they decided to drop the HDD for the 360 to lower the price and broaden the market. Now I know what you are going to say - that I can get more GBs for less these days, and thats true. But a $50 HDD is still a $50 HDD, irrespective of how much space you get it for it. It didnt make economic sense to them with the 360, I'd be surprised if they change their minds with the 720, assuming they follow the same business plan.

of course, they might make online and downloading a bigger part of the nextbox, and that would make space more of a necessity. otherwise, they might release the lowest end SKU purely as a gaming console (like now) and the mid and high end SKU as gaming consoles and media players (like now). I wouldnt be surprised if thats the case.

[KingGorilla]

Wow. Stop right there. That statement is so wrong. Have you ever been on Xbox Live? Are you joking or something? Xbox Live has more digital content than Wii/PSN combined.

I have, An believe on shere quantity, Nintendo and the Virtual console is top. It is set to add a lot more withe th DSI store(the near 100 million investment). There is the PSP store, as well as the PS1 classics, then the modern original titles, on the Sony Store. Sony is also the only one currently offering full game downloads(Warhawk, SOCOM, etc). As well as offering actual hosted servers.

Why quibble over this? It is not a value statement, it is a statement of fact.

[Mike Kelehan]

I have, An believe on shere quantity, Nintendo and the Virtual console is top. It is set to add a lot more withe th DSI store(the near 100 million investment). There is the PSP store, as well as the PS1 classics, then the modern original titles, on the Sony Store. Sony is also the only one currently offering full game downloads(Warhawk, SOCOM, etc). As well as offering actual hosted servers.

Why quibble over this? It is not a value statement, it is a statement of fact.

It's an incorrect statement of fact, though. XBL gets more videos in one week than total Wii Shop and PSN additions in a month. If you're just talking about game-related content, they're still in front.

[crazyD]

Someone should provide some numbers to shut the other person up.

[roboninja]

The box will be sponsored by UPS, and have a shipping label built in; no more sending you a coffin!

Sorry, could not help myself. Most of the suggestions here (high level of BC, both with games and DLC, large HD, most likely a Blu-ray player, etc.) seem quite reasonable.

[DoctorFinger]

The one real thing I would expect to see is that the next-box will have several SKUs built by several manufacturers, but with standards to one OS, and basic hardware specs. I could see Dell, Toshiba, Asus taking a bit at that market.I think that would be an unmitigated disaster. The beauty of a console is it's homogeny. Introducing 3 or more different architectures into the mix just compounds cost on so many levels without really providing a benefit. The only console to do that was 3DO and it was a mess.

Maybe they will catch up with Sony or Nintendo or the PC with download sales, but I have seen no indication that they have put forth that money towards building servers for that purpose. Nintendo invested close to 100 million on servers sinc ethe Wii Launch if I am not mistaken.
And about your belief that WiiWare and PSN are outstripping XBL in terms of content (they're not even close if you count video content). How much of that content is original? WiiWare is mostly old 8- & 16- bit games with no added functionality. PSN is better with the original content, but when you compare games to games they're no better than XBL. Frankly I don't see how Nintendo could possibly have spent $100M on servers when they have fewer than 20 online capable games, total.

[Disgustipated]

I have, An believe on shere quantity, Nintendo and the Virtual console is top. It is set to add a lot more withe th DSI store(the near 100 million investment). There is the PSP store, as well as the PS1 classics, then the modern original titles, on the Sony Store. Sony is also the only one currently offering full game downloads(Warhawk, SOCOM, etc). As well as offering actual hosted servers.

Why quibble over this? It is not a value statement, it is a statement of fact.

Except... no, just wrong. Check Mike Kelehan's post for examples.

It's a statement of bullshit, which seems to be ok with you. :)

Get the facts before you start spouting off about shit you don't know about. Just because you THINK the PSN/Wii network have more content doesn't make it true.

[Iron Past]

I predict they'll name the new Xbox something stupid too.

It will be called the Logbox 720, just watch. ;)

But really, I remember hearing that it was not called "Xbox 2" because they didn't want to sound inferior to "Playstation 3," which actually makes sense (seriously, think about it for a minute). I suppose they're now in the Nintendo area where every gen has a different name, which is cool with me.

[Mike Kelehan]

Okay, so, my predictions.

1. Standard hard drive. By the time the system reaches the $200 level, which would be 5-6 years from today, how cheap do you think 40GB HDDs will be when purchased by the million?

2. No Blu-ray, because it will be unnecessary. Games will be on multiple DVDs and will install to the huge HDD. The only reason Blu-ray would be necessary is for movies, and the Video Marketplace takes care of that. A Blu-ray add-on might happen, but like the HD-DVD add-on for the 360, no games will use it. Using DVD instead of Blu-ray has given MS a huge price advantage over Sony, and I don't think they're willing to give that up, regardless of the fact that they'd be putting money in their competitor's pocket.

3. All first party games that are sold on disc will also be available for download, in addition to many more games that are download only. This includes not just smaller games, but games that they don't feel are worth the trouble distributing; for instance, games that are made for one market and have limited appeal in another. I'm not saying that the amount of games available on disc will be lessened at all; I'm just saying we'll have a lot more options digitally.

4. It will be fully backward compatible with the 360. Your same Live account will transfer, just as it did from the Xbox to the 360, and all of your DLC will still be yours. You'll have to redownload it, of course.

5. It will have near-Nintendo levels of hardware reliability. They learned their lesson a billion ways to Sunday.

6. Wi-fi will be built in.

Those are what I think will happen. I'd be surprised if any one of those turns out untrue. Now let's move to what I would like to see.

1. Controller backward compatibility. They might use a new wireless protocol that would make it difficult, but I think odds are slightly in favor of cross compatibility. I'd like to keep my guitars, drums, and dance mats if at all possible.

2. Preloading. As I said, digital distribution is the future, and the next generation will be all over it. I'd like to be able to preorder games on the XBL Marketplace and start a preload a few days after the game goes gold, so that when it's released, it's unlocked as fast as an XBLA game goes from demo to full.

3. A sleep mode that uses very, very little power. The 360 has a shut down download feature that was added later, so while it uses less power than having the 360 on in full force, it still uses quite a bit. Since we're going to see some huge downloadable games, many users with slower connections like cheap DSL will start a full game download and have it finish while they're at work the next day. I'm sure they'd rather not have it sucking up 100 watts while it's doing it.

4. A functioning d-pad. Seriously, guys.

5. Memory units. Standard hard drives might tempt MS to drop MUs entirely, and instead go for SD slots or somesuch. I'd really rather not have to copy my account to an SD card and onto another HDD every time I bring my account to another system. I go between several 360s, and having all of my save data on an MU is fantastic. Now, if they want to give the system 4 SD slots and let us save data and accounts right to them, I'd be all over that.

[Yeti2005]

Oddly Nintendo and Sony, for all their warts, are offering the more robust content of the three consoles, with respect to digital sales.

I had to laugh at this. MS ranks in the top 5 of digital movie / tv show downloads. I will give Sony a lot of credit for starting the full retail downloads though.


The one real thing I would expect to see is that the next-box will have several SKUs built by several manufacturers, but with standards to one OS, and basic hardware specs. I could see Dell, Toshiba, Asus taking a bit at that market.

I think you definitely might be onto something here but I think we'll see MS license the Xbox hardware to cable / satellite providers. You'll be able to get your console as a stand alone or built into a set top box provider by Comcast, Time Warner, etc. The latter you won't really own but it will be cheap to afford (maybe a little more than the monthly premium for a DVR).

[Wraith]

2. No Blu-ray, because it will be unnecessary. Games will be on multiple DVDs and will install to the huge HDD. The only reason Blu-ray would be necessary is for movies, and the Video Marketplace takes care of that. A Blu-ray add-on might happen, but like the HD-DVD add-on for the 360, no games will use it. Using DVD instead of Blu-ray has given MS a huge price advantage over Sony, and I don't think they're willing to give that up, regardless of the fact that they'd be putting money in their competitor's pocket.Yes, Blu-ray did put the PS3 at a price disadvantage, but the format beat out HD-DVD, and the price of Blu-ray tech has been coming down pretty steadily. I doubt it will be as cheap as DVD was when the 360 launched, but it will be a lot less expensive 3 years from now. Games keep getting bigger, and if there is a relatively small standard hard drive (you mentioned 40GB), that's not going to hold many big games. So my guess is that MS will use Blu-ray, or the next version of Blu-ray if there is one by then.

[Shadowstorm]

One thing I am really curious about is if a Blu-ray player will come as default. I don't see Blu-ray content outselling digital content. It's cheaper and more convenient.

I wish HD DVD won.

[Orca]

I have, An believe on shere quantity, Nintendo and the Virtual console is top. It is set to add a lot more withe th DSI store(the near 100 million investment). There is the PSP store, as well as the PS1 classics, then the modern original titles, on the Sony Store. Sony is also the only one currently offering full game downloads(Warhawk, SOCOM, etc). As well as offering actual hosted servers.

Why quibble over this? It is not a value statement, it is a statement of fact.

Microsoft offers Xbox Originals, which are also full game downloads, and about as many 360 games offer dedicated servers as PS3 games - both have about 95% of their library using p2p.

Fact means different things to different people, I suppose - especially where [company they dislike] is concerned.

[KingGorilla]

Someone should provide some numbers to shut the other person up.

All I said was that Nintendo and/or Sony have invested more money and offer a larger quantity of games for download. Sony still being the only one offering retail games for download. People took that to typical fanboy places. That's it, they are bigger. You can compare lists on each company's site to see it.

For the THIRD time, not a value assessment.

[Kielaran]

The XBOX9000 will not have the hardware failure of its predecessors. Microsoft lost a lot of money on the RRoD and will not make that mistake again.

[Mike Kelehan]

Yes, Blu-ray did put the PS3 at a price disadvantage, but the format beat out HD-DVD, and the price of Blu-ray tech has been coming down pretty steadily. I doubt it will be as cheap as DVD was when the 360 launched, but it will be a lot less expensive 3 years from now. Games keep getting bigger, and if there is a relatively small standard hard drive (you mentioned 40GB), that's not going to hold many big games. So my guess is that MS will use Blu-ray, or the next version of Blu-ray if there is one by then.

The 40GB I mentioned was just for a really cheap, sub-$200, casual market Lego-Indy-Kung-Fu-Panda crowd. I was throwing that out as an example as why it wouldn't be significantly cheaper to have no HDD at all. Most of us will have 120GB+ drives, and that will probably be the only option it launches with. Smaller drives like 40 (or perhaps 60 or 80) would only be added much later as a bare bones proposition that can only hold one or two big games at a time.

And, of course, only games that don't fit in 9GB will need to be installed. I think most games, honestly, will fit just fine. Especially more casual games that the 40GB model would be aimed at down the line.

So, yes, Blu-ray will be cheaper then than it is now. But, I still don't think it'll be either necessary or cheap enough. Or fast enough! The DVD drive would be speedy enough for many games to be streamed, but as we're seeing with the PS3, more and more games need to be installed because the Blu-ray drive just isn't fast enough. They'll be faster in the future, for a price, but DVDs will always outstrip them in speed, at least until the generation AFTER next.

Edit: You know what? Let's just forget the whole 40GB figure altogether. I did a quick search on Newegg, and buying ONE 80GB HDD is $38 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136195). Buying a million in 5 years couldn't be more than $15 or $20 each. So, let's say the cheapest model will have about 80GB then. The difference between a DVD drive and a Blu-ray drive will be at least that, and a standard hard drive offers all sorts of other advantages.

[Mike Kelehan]

All I said was that Nintendo and/or Sony have invested more money and offer a larger quantity of games for download. Sony still being the only one offering retail games for download. People took that to typical fanboy places. That's it, they are bigger. You can compare lists on each company's site to see it.

For the THIRD time, not a value assessment.Invested more money, flat out false. MS has sunk WAY more into Live over the last six years than Sony and Nintendo combined. I mean, WOW, not even close.

More games, definitely false for Sony; not even close once again. XBLA has a great deal more content than WiiWare, but if you include the VC, that does give Nintendo the numerical advantage. Still, that doesn't speak to the effort on Nintendo's part. Putting a game on the VC is a simple matter of putting the ROM up for download, taking some screenshots, and writing a really, really simple operations manual. The other guys are making and funding entirely new games.

It is true that Sony has taken the lead with offering new retail games on their service. One of the big things I'm saying in this thread is that I believe that will change in the next generation, with MS and Sony both offering all of their first party games as downloads. Sony has already pledged to do that with PSP games, and I think that's a big sign of things to come.

[digitalErich]

I fully expect the next xbox to be packaged in a reusable, plastic case. The packaging is the coffin this time.

[Disgustipated]

All I said was that Nintendo and/or Sony have invested more money and offer a larger quantity of games for download. Sony still being the only one offering retail games for download. People took that to typical fanboy places. That's it, they are bigger. You can compare lists on each company's site to see it.

For the THIRD time, not a value assessment.

Oh wow. Now you're backpedaling and calling people fanboys? Back the fuck up, girlfriend. Did you already forget what you posted?

Oddly Nintendo and Sony, for all their warts, are offering the more robust content of the three consoles, with respect to digital sales.

Right. Even now you're saying they offer a larger quantity of games to download. I'm pretttttyyyy damn sure that if you take a look at XBLA alone, you'll see more content than PSN/Wii network combined.

But go on then. Keep spewing your BS.

[Telefrog]

Despite our predictions and fanboy bickering, Shane Kim says MS isn't putting out another Xbox until Sony balks first (http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/16/microsofts-shane-kim-loves-nintendo-talks-up-new-xbox-experience-as-social-network/).

Although the Microsoft-supported HD-DVD high-definition video format lost out to Blu-ray, Kim said that the costs of the Blu-ray player have handicapped Sony’s PlayStation 3. He said Microsoft made the right decision by not including HD-DVD or Blu-ray in its box and offering HD-DVD as an accessory. (It has discontinued the accessory). He also said that digital downloading of movies to the Xbox 360 over the online connection would likely prove more important than Blu-ray in the long run. He reiterated that Microsoft has no plans to put Blu-ray into the Xbox 360.

Asked how long Microsoft would keep making the Xbox 360, he said, “One day longer than the lifespan of the PlayStation 3.” That means that Microsoft will invest in the Xbox 360 for a long time and feels no pressure to offer a new machine.

[Mike Kelehan]

Despite our predictions and fanboy bickering, Shane Kim says MS isn't putting out another Xbox until Sony balks first (http://venturebeat.com/2008/11/16/microsofts-shane-kim-loves-nintendo-talks-up-new-xbox-experience-as-social-network/).

I don't think he meant what the author thought he meant. I think he was just saying that current users don't have to worry about MS completely dropping the 360 when the new one comes out like they did with the Xbox. I think a new system with complete BC would go a long way towards making people feel better about investing their money in a Microsoft system.

[Sl1pstream]

On this board? I'm sure there are a ton of people willing to throw out cash for whatever new console MS puts out, regardless.

The only reason that I didn't run to the store to buy a PS3 (and still don't have one) is because Sony's been treating Europe like shit. They're still doing that.

I did however get a Wii on release, which has been collecting dust for the past 6 months or so.

My 360 is something I play on a daily basis and while it does have its problems, I'm pretty sure that I'm going with a Microsoft system next-gen.

If that makes me a fanboy, great.

[crazyD]

The only reason that I didn't run to the store to buy a PS3 (and still don't have one) is because Sony's been treating Europe like shit. They're still doing that.

I did however get a Wii on release, which has been collecting dust for the past 6 months or so.

My 360 is something I play on a daily basis and while it does have its problems, I'm pretty sure that I'm going with a Microsoft system next-gen.

If that makes me a fanboy, great.

Expecting past performance to equal future returns, and not owning / using the competition? That is a bit fanboyish, albeit more justified fanboyism then usual.

Personally, I'm not making any calls about what next gen system I'll own until any sort of information on them is released.

[LarsenNET]

I think this generation is going to be around a lot longer than people think. The Wii is the weakest in terms of power and is selling like hotcakes, no reason whatsoever to be jumping on something new. This is also the first generation with an upgradable OS. The NXE makes the console look fresh which gives it even longer life, the PS3 can do the same. The graphics in this generation has the potential to me simply amazing (anyone play MGS4?).

With the money invested and the power of these consoles I expect a long lifecycle, maybe 2011 but probably later.

[Mike Kelehan]

I think this generation is going to be around a lot longer than people think. The Wii is the weakest in terms of power and is selling like hotcakes, no reason whatsoever to be jumping on something new. This is also the first generation with an upgradable OS. The NXE makes the console look fresh which gives it even longer life, the PS3 can do the same. The graphics in this generation has the potential to me simply amazing (anyone play MGS4?).

With the money invested and the power of these consoles I expect a long lifecycle, maybe 2011.

I think you're right, which is why the next Xbox will be an incremental upgrade with full BC. It won't be a hard stop and new start like Xbox to 360, but instead they'll both exist for a number of years before the 360's gone.

[Yeti2005]

I 100% guarantee the next Xbox will be backward compatible with the 360. Also the 360 will be around a while and supported while the next Xbox gains steam (hell Sony would have been toast if they didn't keep around the PS2 while the PS3 slowly gained momentum).

Edit: Beaten to the punch by 2 minutes! :)

[Telefrog]

I don't think he meant what the author thought he meant. I think he was just saying that current users don't have to worry about MS completely dropping the 360 when the new one comes out like they did with the Xbox. I think a new system with complete BC would go a long way towards making people feel better about investing their money in a Microsoft system.

I think the only thing we can expect between the next full Xbox and now, is an incremental step in which MS tells Arcade owners to suck it up and get a HDD. It's obvious to me that MS wants to push customers to the Marketplace as fast and as hard as possible.

[Mike Kelehan]

I think the only thing we can expect between the next full Xbox and now, is an incremental step in which MS tells Arcade owners to suck it up and get a HDD. It's obvious to me that MS wants to push customers to the Marketplace as fast and as hard as possible.

I've expected that since MS announced the Core model. Perhaps we'll see the limited time HDD upgrade program become permanent.

[Murtaug]

I've expected that since MS announced the Core model. Perhaps we'll see the limited time HDD upgrade program become permanent.

I think once the group of people stuck with Core/Arcade units without storage dries up, they will cut off at least the HDD part of this deal. At this point newer SKUs of the Arcade have the nessecary memory for the NXE and eventually their supply of refurbished 20gig drives will dry up.

I will never argue that they made a major mistake in putting a system out there with no hard drive, it essentially gave them a market of users that can not take advantage of some of the best features of the system. Not to mention places limits on developers.

The Next box will almost undoubtably have standard storage, the industry has started moving in a direction that requires it.


TV Tuner with DVR functionality

I do not see this at all. Why would they cock block Video Marketplace with this? They have been pretty damn successful with that this gen, by all accounts, and it really has grown into an easy to access store with a large and varied selection of titles (if over priced).

Not to say I would dislike seeing this, I would love to see it added if only to consolidate devices and save shelf space.

[fitbabits]

I do not see this at all. Why would they cock block Video Marketplace with this? They have been pretty damn successful with that this gen, by all accounts, and it really has grown into an easy to access store with a large and varied selection of titles (if over priced).

Not to say I would dislike seeing this, I would love to see it added if only to consolidate devices and save shelf space.
And that's why I think they may add it - to consolidate everything. Microsoft has been trying to be the hub of people's entertainment experience from the get-go. They're almost there...

Oh, and one other thing I expect to see in the new Xbox - Internet Explorer X (where X is the version number).

[Mike Kelehan]

And that's why I think they may add it - to consolidate everything. Microsoft has been trying to be the hub of people's entertainment experience from the get-go. They're almost there...

Oh, and one other thing I expect to see in the new Xbox - Internet Explorer X (where X is the version number).

With IPTV, they're already doing that with the 360. At least, they said they were. So it's possible they're just saving that for the next system, too, like they did with Live Vision. It certainly won't be standard, but as an add-on, why not?

I'm kind of surprised they've gone this long without a downloadable web browser. It'll probably be standard in the next gen.

[Telefrog]

I'm kind of surprised they've gone this long without a downloadable web browser. It'll probably be standard in the next gen.

Actually, now that the strategy behind the Marketplace has really crystalized, I can clearly see why they don't offer a web browser. A browser gives the customer entertainment options outside of Microsoft's direct control.

[MagGnome]

I don't think he meant what the author thought he meant. I think he was just saying that current users don't have to worry about MS completely dropping the 360 when the new one comes out like they did with the Xbox. I think a new system with complete BC would go a long way towards making people feel better about investing their money in a Microsoft system.

I agree. Like I said in my original post, knowing that the next system is fully BC would go a long way towards making me more confident in my purchases now.

I was strongly considering selling my 360 once I get it back, but I really want to partake in the XBLA titles and the exclusives, so I'm sure I'll be a sucker and keep the thing around. :p

[vodkajello]

Give me properly attached heatsinks and tested solder.


My predictions:

quad core 3 Ghz IBM processor (each core being dual threaded)
4 GB RAM - DDR3 high speed - fully shared to all of system
same kind of super high speed on die RAM for frame buffer just like the current setup. enough for a full 1080p res display with 4xAA.

Blue ray optical
250 GB hard drive standard on all sku
ATI graphics hardware.
wireless ABG and N support

If they rolled out with an optimized 4850 based chip it would be able to crank out 1280 x 720 res with 0 problems. 1920x1080 might be a bit of stretch. 4800 series will be old tech by then, but it would run stone cold on a 45 or 32nm process. If they did a 4850x2 config, or a single 4850 based chip with +30% clock it would have no problem with HD TV resolutions. All of this will be smaller and cooler with the 5000 series.

I'm sure whatever they put in will be 5000 series based, and on a 45nm. We have so much video power now for so cheap. I would be suprised to see a $500 price tag when the new consoles ship.

With the HUGE investment in wireless controllers, guitars, and drums I would expect full peripheral compatibility and full transfer of all DLC content and games.
I'm hoping for h264/ac3 mkv container support to enhance the home theatre support.

[JayK47]

Any hardcore gamer won't care about the next Xbox. The next Xbox is going to be Wiitarded. MS will copy the Wii as much as possible to try and take away some of the Wii cash. The wireless controller will have more in common with the Wii mote than the current kickass xbox controller. Too bad. The hardware specs will be a tad better than current gen to keep down costs and keep reliability high. So basically they should call it the Wiibox.

But fear not hardcore gamers. The PS4 has your back. The PS3 was a complete failure unless you are blind. But the PS4 will be Sony's comeback special. The PS4 will be a slimmed down PS3 with slight hardware improvements. Home will be available at launch (for real this time). They will stick with a familiar controller. No Wii mote here. Blu Ray again, but this time with a faster drive that will cost less keeping the system cost down.

Of course I am pulling this out of my ass. But that is the point of this thread. No matter what happens, I hope the next generation of consoles has a lower starting cost, less console versions, and no RROD. I'm sick of the tiered BS that plagues this generation. Stick with one system so there is an even playing field and development has one system to design for.

I have a bad feeling that soon there will be no used game market. With HD space being as cheap as it is, and the popularity of DLC, why not go all the way digital? Then with the disk out of the way, why not lock the game to your user name and system? If they pull some shit like this, I hope that you will be able to pay as you go in a game, so if the game sucks, you can quit and save a few bucks. But then like episodic TV, they will try to lure you into buying more of the game. We really can't win here. Technology, as much as it makes things better, can also make things worse. Control through tech.

[Mike Kelehan]

Any hardcore gamer won't care about the next Xbox. The next Xbox is going to be Wiitarded. MS will copy the Wii as much as possible to try and take away some of the Wii cash. The wireless controller will have more in common with the Wii mote than the current kickass xbox controller. Too bad. The hardware specs will be a tad better than current gen to keep down costs and keep reliability high. So basically they should call it the Wiibox.

But fear not hardcore gamers. The PS4 has your back. The PS3 was a complete failure unless you are blind. But the PS4 will be Sony's comeback special. The PS4 will be a slimmed down PS3 with slight hardware improvements. Home will be available at launch (for real this time). They will stick with a familiar controller. No Wii mote here. Blu Ray again, but this time with a faster drive that will cost less keeping the system cost down.

Wait, wait. So hardcore gamers won't care about the next Xbox, because it'll just be a slimmed down, slightly more powerful 360. What we should really be looking forward to is the PS4, which will be a slimmed down, slightly more powerful PS3. Is that what you're saying?

They may add motion controls to the Xbox controller, but I don't think it'll be oversimplified at all. Unlike Nintendo, MS and third parties make a LOT of money on their core games. The NXE shows that they can make things accessible and friendly without dumbing anything down.

[vodkajello]

At any rate I'll be waiting until a year after launch to see if MS cocks it up again with the hardware.

I've got to admit they have the games and an excellent online system. They just stumbled on the hardware in order to beat Sony to market, then they paid the $1 billion price to do it. They may continue to pay through pissed off customers leaving the platform and influencing future buyers. I think the systems since the HDMI revision with the heatpipe, and then the main processer die shrink, have WAY better return numbers.

I'm locked in to the Xbox system via the peripherals I've purhcased. So unless they pull another RROD scale screw up I'll be buying the next Xbox. This has never happened before. I never really purchased anything extra for a console except for the Dreamcast fishing rod, but never anything to the scale of Rockband and Guitar Hero.

Backwards peripheral compatibility will be a MAJOR consideration for the next next gen. Which means that the share numbers generated on the current hardware are extremely important for the future. Sony will need to drop the price on their $400 box further if they want to make any inroads against the "$200" Xbox. The same thing applies to the crazy number of WiiFit units being sold. If people get hooked on it, and don't just play it once, they will be lined up for the next N system if it is compatible.


<edited for spelling and grammar>

[Yeti2005]

At any rate I'll be waiting until a year after launch to see if MS cocks it up again with the hardware.

I've got to admit they have the games and an excellent online system. They just stumbled on the hardware in order to beat Sony to market, then they paid the $1 billion price to do it.

MS will not make the mistake of having shoddy hardware the next time around but not because the "paid" $1 billion dollars for it but because they want the mainstream to believe in the their product. The $1 billion dollars was a write off against several billion in revenue so that really didn't hurt MS as much as you think.

[CptTripps]

The 360 not only barely functions

Eh??? Barely functions?? Then what the hell have I been playing my games, watching my movies and enjoying myself on? I thought it was a 360.