New Xbox release date 2015 - report
UPDATE: "It's not real."
UPDATE: Ben Peterson, the design student whose web portfolio is at the centre of the next Xbox in 2015 story currently doing the rounds on the internet, has confirmed to Eurogamer that it's all fake. "I'm a student designer, it's not real..." he told us.
ORIGINAL STORY: Dubious evidence has surfaced suggesting the next Xbox will launch four years from now, in 2015.
The web portfolio of unknown designer Ben Peterson (via ZDNet) shows abstract pictures of a black product labelled "Microsoft Xbox".
The accompanying text reads: "Microsoft Xbox: Confidential / Collaboration with Microsoft's IEB Design group investigating future user experiences and hardware for 2015. *Work samples only permissible in person.* (March 2011)."
Exactly who Ben Peterson is and what his role on the project may be is unknown; unfortunately his name is common and shared by many on portfolio library LinkedIn.
There's also a question-mark hanging around why he'd post such a thing to his online portfolio; surely Microsoft protects the identity of a new console with fortress-thick walls of NDA documents.
Could this be an elaborate viral marketing stunt? Does it makes sense for Microsoft to begin building speculation this far in advance - especially after committing every PR-tongue to Kinect and how the motion-sensing camera will elongate Xbox 360 life for five years?
Job vacancies linked to new Xbox hardware were spotted earlier this month. Coincidence?
The evidence.
Handle with care.
About Robert Purchese
Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.
Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.
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Comments (61) Latest comment 1 year ago
Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!
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Consider that barrel scraped
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[link url=http://www.benpeterson2.com/167375/About
]http://www.benpeterson2.com/167375/About
[/link]
"EDUCATION
Western Washington University
Industrial Design, BS
Sustainable Design, Minor
Expected Graduation: June 2011"
He is still a student. This is more than likely a student design project and nothing more. If it is more and this is real he can kiss his design career goodbye as leaking any info on something like that is not what employees will want.
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I guess the real test is if the portfolio gets suddenly pulled from the web...
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This may well be regarded as a golden age of gaming - possibly the second golden age, since the 8 bit consoles and home computers lasted pretty much the length of the 80s.
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Bye then, you'll fit in well with all the whiney elitist PC twats.
Have fun.
@Krogasm, hey look here's one now.
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Do you actually post anything news worthy? or do you just browse 4chan the whole day looking lolz?
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While I have no doubts that Microsoft want the Xbox 360 to have a shelf life of ten years, there's nothing to stop them selling a new model alongside a cheaper older one as Sony have been doing since the PS2. Both the PSone and PS2 lasted over a decade but were superseded by new models after six years. I expect we'll see a new Xbox within the next two years myself and if you ask me then the proof is how few exclusive core games there are on the platform these days. Could the first-parties be working on games for the new platform?
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We would be on like, iPad 6 by then!
And iPhone 9!!
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Wouldn't be at all surprised to hear more concrete whispering throughout the year and maybe see a Q4 2012 release, perhaps earlier.
I'm definitely a multi platform gamer, but the shortcomings of the existing consoles have become all the more apparent lately. Fine for another 12 months or so, but 2015? Laugh. Out. Loud. Getting into Atari 2600 territory by then, carumba.
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Anyway, I'd be more surprised if Microsoft hadn't released a new console by 2015.
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You think playing for years on decade old tech makes a golden age?
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Well, not any more...I bet his portfolio's had a nice bit o' traffic today!
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You must have some fucking scary hands!
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According to Wiki, so would Microsoft; 'With the announcement of the Xbox 360 S, Microsoft have said that they believe that the console is only mid-way through its life-cycle and will continue through 2015.'
Maybe that's where Ben got his date from?
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A golden age is generally defined as a period of stability, so yes, I'd say exactly that.
The best selling console of this generation is already effectively 10 year old tech (Nintendo could easily have put out a gamecube with the Wii's hardware specs if they'd wanted to sell it for £250 instead of £130 when it came out).
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Are you from Chernobyl?
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Contrast the past four years of steadily improving and refined FIFAs with the Road To World Cup mess that 360 launched with.
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All I did was Google for benpeterson2 and that was the 4th entry. Not sure why they were bothering searching linkedin when the information is that easy to find.
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Edit: Beaten to it.
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shocker.
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Early 2013 announcement, 2014 will be the release
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"...in 2015. The only thing on my Xmas list would be a hoverboard."
Will a flying DeLorean do?
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Of course that might sound a bit exaggerated, but it still is quite lame, especially since stunts like this have been pulled since forever and it still is neither funny nor creative.
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I don't think we should moan at Ben Peterson, after all he didn't 'leak' the info or post it. Someone else found it on his site and did so.
He was just doing it as a design exercise to pass his degree. It's the people who post articles like this without proper investigation that are to blame.
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Oh, and screw Kinect... couldn't care less. I play real games