Microsoft plans two versions of its next Xbox - rumour

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 24 November, 2011

One like a set-top box, the other aimed at the hardcore.

Microsoft plans to launch two very different versions of the next Xbox, according to a Digital Foundry report on GamesIndustry.biz.

The first is described as a "pared down machine" to be released as cheaply as possible. It is likened to a set-top box, and will act as a Kinect-themed gaming portal.

The second is a "more fully-featured machine" with optical drive, hard disk and backwards compatibility. This would be aimed at hardcore gamers and released at a higher price-point.

Kinect, Digital Foundry has heard, will be bundled with both SKUs.

Next-generation talk has ramped up in recent weeks, with Edge reporting that the next Xbox will launch late next year.

Digital Foundry believes this is unlikely, however, suggesting a 2013 launch. The console is rumoured to be set for a reveal at E3 2012.

Edge claimed Ubisoft Montreal is currently developing software using "target boxes" - PCs containing off-the-shelf components provided by Microsoft - and that true dev kits will be available before the end of the year.

The report added that a number of other developers also have the target boxes, including a number of EA studios.

French site Xboxygen reported that Microsoft plans to unveil its next console at the CES show in Las Vegas in January 2012.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (88) Latest comment 3 months ago

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  • Astro-Creature #1 3 months ago

    So they are going to piss off developers again by releasing one without a HDD?

  • Kano-11 #2 3 months ago

    What happened to the days of just releasing 1 machine which does everything and not gimping the consumer out of important features such as HDD size and backwards compatibility?

  • darkmorgado #3 3 months ago

    @Astro-Creature

    Well the simple way around that is to make a distinction between the the two SKUs and consider them as separate platforms, with separate brandings for games (similar to the whole "Only with Kinect" stamp on Kinect games).

  • PaulieWaulie #4 3 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:23:40 06-01-2012

  • Collymilad #5 3 months ago

    @Astro-Creature

    Did you read it? One will be a shovelware portal and the other will be a proper games console. I doubt the shovelware will need a HDD.

  • Al_Swearengen #6 3 months ago

    @Astro-Creature

    No not really. It's suggested that the cheaper version would not have an optical drive meaning that it would be XBLA titles only.
    So really what we're are looking it is two completely different devices under the XBOX brand.

    I think even Microsoft must realise that their 'Arcade' SKU wasn't the best idea from the developers perspective.
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/11 @ 15:29

  • JodSUMO #7 3 months ago

    There were similar rumours before the 360 launch that didn't come to anything. I remember one of the SKUs was supposed to be an Xbox 360 PC.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #8 3 months ago

    That's just slapping together the two last rumours, of "Xbox Loop" the low-end one and the xbox 360 successor they're supposedly working on at Ubisoft.

    I find the notion of a low-end, casual xbox hard to believe. I would have though that MS would rather support Kinect in Windows 8, and let the Nettop crowd take the risks involved in releasing such devices.

  • Machetazo #9 3 months ago

    It's a strange solution to an overly cluttered and unintuitive dashboard.
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/11 @ 15:35

  • FogHeart #10 3 months ago

    They should sell three bits of kit - basic, a big expansion pack that plugs into the basic kit and gives it the hard drive and optical disc drive, and a system that includes both for less cost than the two together, thus providing an upgrade path for the basic version. If you system gets broken, no loss of installed data, just replace the basic unit. Or they can improve the basic unit over time with things like new wireless tech, or screen outputs. Wireless screen output will come sometime next gen for example.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #11 3 months ago

    These reads like the basic one doesn't have a Optical drive or a HDD, so unless its streaming games like OnLive it doesnt make alot of sense, sureley it will have a storage device in it for the games of some kind.

  • OllyJ #12 3 months ago

    A set top box one with no optical drive would "HAVE" to have a large HDD, there would be no getting around that.

  • Buztafen #13 3 months ago

    Personally i think this is a smart move by MS if its true. It wont alienate their main customer base and it'll offer a cheaper gateway for people who aren't sure what they want. As ever though, it all hinges on the price points they come up with for both SKU's.

  • Darren #14 3 months ago

    I really hope the next Xbox doesn't suffer from Microsoft's desire to please the casual market as I'm personally not interested in Kinect so I hope it remains a separate option from launch rather than becoming an integral part of the machine. That way people who want to play Kinect games can and the rest of us can just ignore them in favour of 'proper' core titles.

    The last thing I want is another games console that disappointed me as much as the Wii did, granted it does have some superb games in the form of Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 and Zelda: Skyward Sword. I don't think Microsoft would risk that but who knows as I never expected Nintendo to turn their backs on their core gamers and they pretty much did that (plus admitted they had too).

  • ubergine #15 3 months ago

    God damnit. Hard drive as standard or die screaming in a pit with George Lucas. Another generation without the potential benefits of hard drive installs would probably drive me across to Sony.

  • Buztafen #16 3 months ago

    I wonder if MS and Sony will be going with SSD's for storage on their next systems. Might make sense what with the Thai floods causing HDD supply problems for the foreseeable future and SSD's being not that much more expensive these days.

  • RodHull #17 3 months ago

    No no no no NOOO! The Arcade and Pro SKU nonsense with the 360 was bad enough, with the likes of Bungie bemoaning a lack of standard HDD. This is going to confuse consumers. Hopefully the rumours are faff and nonsense and MS will release a shrunken 360 alongside the next machine, like Sony didwith the PS2 Slim. That seemed to do okay.

  • TaniumZX #18 3 months ago

    Think I will drop Xbox next generation then. I do not want to pay a premium to have Kinect bundled in with my 'hardcore' system. Have not got the space, does not interest me, wont get used.

    Miscosoft are just annoying now.

  • carlitoswagon #19 3 months ago

    Makes sense. Why saddle people with the cost of added console features they will never use. Helps push the stripped back version into a cheaper market for the masses.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #20 3 months ago

    I think this is one of those rumours that will turn out to be crap, like the "removable hard drive that functions as an MP3 player" rumour from the 360 launch.

    Will MS have two SKUs at launch? I wouldn't be surprised. But a casual-friendly box would surely need to have an optical drive, for the whole grandparents-buying-an-easy-Christmas-present-for-Little-Joh nny market. Much simpler to pick up Disneyland Adventures from Tesco than buy 4200 MS Points from Game or something.

  • Flipper79 #21 3 months ago

    One of the key aspects consoles have over the pc market is simplicity. I kinda wish they would keep it that way. One console with an optical drive and enough hard disk space to make it practical to install games for a realistic amount of time. If they further seperate the 'arcade' and 'elite' versions, and continue conning their way into getting people to trade in for newer versions of the same thing with slightly more hard disk space and extra connectivity possibilities I'm just gonna stick with what I can do on the pc.

  • Brev2034 #22 3 months ago

    @ubergine but not all games can be installed to the ps3

  • Der_tolle_Emil #23 3 months ago

    A more 'casual' oriented Xbox makes perfect sense for me but from a totally different perspective: Microsoft is trying to push into the living room. It will be a media center extender that also plays XBLA titles. Gaming will not be the primary focus with this device - the goal is to set foot in living rooms.

  • FireMonkey #24 3 months ago

    @FogHeart - That reminds me of the expansions I had on my old Acorn Electron.

    http://home.iae.nl/users/bverhoev/Expansions/ELKexpand .jpg

  • TigerX81 #25 3 months ago

    @OllyJ Except MS have been rumoured to be working on Cloud-Based which could mean the cheaper box streamed instead which is most likely.

  • Syrette #26 3 months ago

    If Kinect is the focus of the next Xbox then I simply won't be buying one. I play games to relax, not to be active.

    Same for Sony and the PS4 if they were to focus on Move, but that's extremely unlikely.

  • andrewsqual #27 3 months ago

    @darkmorgado They tried that with the other Skus of the 360. "All Xbox 360s can play all games", but OH then it turns out that you don't get the full experience with such titles like Burnout Paradise, Battlefield 3, the last 2 Forza games and Halo Reach.

  • Darren #28 3 months ago

    @Buztafen - I'd say there's absolutely no chance of the PS4 or next Xbox including an SSD as standard as they're still very expensive for the amount of space you get. A 256 GB SSD for example is around £300! Even bought in bulk for consoles they'd be prohibitively costly.

    That said, with the recent flooding, standard hard drives are risen in price by 50% compared with earlier on this year as I discovered when I had to buy a replacement 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD for my PC. It cost me £80 whereas the other one I have from two years ago cost me £50. Apparently, the HDD prices may not recover for another two years so they may contribute to the cost of the next consoles. I dread to think what Microsoft will be asking for standalone HDD upgrades as even when they were cheap, their Xbox 360 HDDs were double/triple the going rate!
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/11 @ 16:12

  • -cerberus- #29 3 months ago

    Kinect bundled with both? Damn it! It'll be tough to get rid of it on eBay...

  • Po1ymorph #30 3 months ago

    I wont willingly buy a Kinect(because it's shit, it's games are shit and it doesn't work) so now Microsoft are going to force one upon me.....great!

  • Smudge1983 #31 3 months ago

    Ha ha, its all rumours and there you all go throwing your toys out your prams. Just wait until you hear from Microsoft themselves and enjoy your current gen.

  • DwarfyP #32 3 months ago

    Ohhh come on Microsoft. Don't release another generation of consoles with a SKU without a HDD. It only holds back the fully featured ones as the games have to cater for the lower end machine :(

  • Whitster #33 3 months ago

    Unless it's an extremely updated version of Kinect what about the millions of people who already own one for their current Xbox?

  • SteelPriest #34 3 months ago

    @FogHeart - sounds like you want a PC...

  • Widge #35 3 months ago

    I like this and echo the comments that its more akin to have two platforms. Sounds like a successful strategy.

  • miiiguel #36 3 months ago

    I just need a SKU with full backwards compatibility, there are too many games I want to play, for years and years. But I'm pretty confident it will be, softwarewise(Live) and HW.
    Meanwhile, Stacking's very good, 600msp yesterday!
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/11 @ 16:32

  • Totza #37 3 months ago

    How much would the high end version be?

  • OllyJ #38 3 months ago

    @TigerX81 Aye, it's possible (well, it's a dead cert) but do you really think they will not have a fairly decent HDD?

    Even my Virgin HD box has got about the same HDD as my PS3....

    People buying a cheap console doesn't really seem to be the same market as those with high speed interweb connection. Who knows though!

  • RexRunti #39 3 months ago

    This makes the rumored Kinect intergration into TVs much more likely. Microsoft are clearly trying to extend the basic Windows 8 away from just telephones and tablets (of which they are currently fighting a very tough uphill battle) and into the living room (where they would be the only competitor). I'm thinking a TIVO box that has XBLA and Windows 8 apps with a Kinect interface for basic model and an XBox with TIVO for the "hardcore" model.

  • TaniumZX #40 3 months ago

    I don't want Kinect in my TV either.

  • JHo #41 3 months ago

    What's the point in releasing a new console in 2013 when we'll all be dead by then? I mean, really Microsoft?

    Just plain silly if you ask me.

  • Subdominator #42 3 months ago

    This is so not gonna happen. After the original Xbox they listened to the developers and created the 360. They won't create an even bigger gap than they have with Arcade/Pro. I can see that they'll go for two SKUs again, that worked well for them. But both SKUs will have a HDD (size varies of course) and since it is actually cheaper to buy 40 GB disks than 4 GB disks the lesser model will start at about 40 GB, the high end model will be something like 500 GB. The cheap version will come without WLAN but that's about it. Neither one of the SKUs will be bundled with Kinect. They have the 360 for that. Think about it: If you're selling your new console for maybe 400 bucks and make a loss of 100 or more per unit - would you include more content than you need? Would you risk selling a Kinect for free to every customer, no matter if he ever uses it. Or maybe he already has one at home? Microsoft even tried to minimize the number of screws in the 360 because they know that a single screw can mean additional production costs of several million dollars over the lifetime of a console. There is absolutely no way that they add a gadget that costs 40 dollar (iSupply) to make to the boxed console. Everything will be optional.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #43 3 months ago

    I think MS are trying to tie all arms of their operations together - see the use of Metro across phones, Windows, and Xbox, and PC Kinect. So yeah, I think the new console will have Kinect. I hope to God it's a new version of Kinect - physically smaller and capable of working in a much, much smaller space, for instance - but I would be honestly amazed if MS wasn't building its entire operations around voice, gesture, and touch control.

  • Bander #44 3 months ago

    So the hardcore unit has an optical drive and hard drive, so presumably the 'pared down' one has neither.

    How the hell does the cheaper one run games then? Loading from the cloud (expensive internet connection required)? Cartridges?

    More than anything, I'd just want a machine with reduced loading times, that works when playing backward compatible games too. With this generation, the amount of time it takes to get from turning on the console to playing in a level of a game is comparable to loading from audio tape on the 8-bit computers. Except you can't go away and make a sandwich while you wait because there's still several instances of having to press buttons to proceed. SSDs acting as a cache will help massively to achieve this, but they need to be on every unit, otherwise developers will ignore the cache as they do currently.

  • spekkeh #45 3 months ago

    @MENTAL1ST Seems to me like it is Microsoft releasing an actual nettop/htpc themselves. The xbox logo is then only slapped on there for recognizability as living room media center
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/11 @ 18:25

  • mossychops001 #46 3 months ago

    Microsoft will never be Hardcore.

  • Sid-Nice #47 3 months ago

    As I’ve previously stated “Project Loop” is an interactive hub that can interact with a Windows 7 PC and other Microsoft products including Kinect. The system is a family orientated gaming device and a multimedia hub. If Microsoft are successful in licencing television manufactures to incorporate Kinect in future sets then Microsoft will have the monopoly on interactive gaming and multimedia devices.

  • miiiguel #48 3 months ago

    Hardcore... ffs, that's so adolescent. What the fuck is "hardcore" ?
    The Mogwai awesome album ? "Harcore will never die, butt you will" ?

    Grow up.
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/11 @ 18:20

  • vizzini #49 3 months ago

    Given the recent painful experience of thoroughly formating and starting to rebuild my PS3 250GB installation(for 2nd time) to a bigger faster drive (and still experiencing what seems like profile corruption issues that are killing PlayTV), I'm hoping all next gen systems ship with two Blu-ray drives; a reader and a writer. So one has reads the game you buy, and one for a blank CD-R, DVD-R or BD-R that can be filled with patches you'll download for the game as they are released, so you never do it twice.

    Fortunately I've got 50Mbit/sec broadband, but I was very angry the second time my 11x GT5 patches errored in the last one percent, before corrupting the download again; requiring me to create a new PS3 account and install it on that account to fix the problem on my profile with my DRM locked save files :<.

    I love that games get enhanced with patches, but I hate that consoles have profiles that can corrupt just like a PC, yet don't have advanced tools for (selective)backup/restore or repairing user profile's damaged files.

    It took 29hrs to properly format the 500GB drive just to rule it out as the source of the problem, and I'm now seriously considering that Nintendo's approach with better Q/A and no patched features is the lesser of two evils.

    Now just to install Rage(8GB), GT5(8GB), Modnation(3.5GB), Virtua Fighter 5(3GB), download Infamous(7GB), LBP(2GB) and GT5 2.0 patches and everything else again :(.

  • Hindle #50 3 months ago

    More next gen rumours, boring etc.

  • AnotherIdiot #51 3 months ago

    Not everyone can afford the 'bells and whistles' package you see, they want to accommodate as wide an audience as possible. No doubt the cut down version could be built up with periphs. A lot of gamers were against the Core unit, but MS have persisted with it, they see the sales figures.... this is the same model as the 360 launch, multiple SKU's aimed at different customer types.. Same responses so far from the same class of customer.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #52 3 months ago

    I'm all for this providing the baseline spec that games can use to offer the best possible experience (e.g. HDD) is the same across machines.

    A Kinect/media focused 'set-top box' with access to XBLA would be cool.

  • MattRobson #53 3 months ago

    soooo like Arcade and Elite consoles then?

    I dont want a new gen just yet if all its going to bring is shiny graphics need room for improvement in AI and the ability to bring the rest of the experience to a believable level.

  • xuiton #54 3 months ago

    after how crap the 360 was at launch why would any sucker want to buy a next gen console on release? Let's face it, they are overpriced, crap launch games and most likely to have problems.

    Going back to the price, just look at how expensive the 360 and ps3 were when they launched. With todays prices and costs, the cost of these new machines will be even higher.

  • JumpinJackFlash #55 3 months ago

    The second is a "more fully-featured machine" with optical drive, hard disk and backwards compatibility. This would be aimed at hardcore gamers and released at a higher price-point.

    Sounds like the 360...

  • jonsaan #56 3 months ago

    Sounds good. Bar the Kinect bit.

  • matseffect #57 3 months ago

    Its going to be a total fuck up if the next generation ends up with another SKU that does not have a hard drive or something.

  • MeBrains #58 3 months ago

    pfffrrtttt... it really is happening... :(

  • Iain815 #59 3 months ago

    If it doesn't have Blu Ray, it can get fucked. All the fucking way.

  • Moxyz1 #60 3 months ago

    hope this means they keep all there kinnect stuff away from my xbox and put it on a casual box instead.

  • Uncompetative #61 3 months ago

    The Xbox 1080 should be a Multimedia Jukebox like the iPhone. Look at how iOS lets you pause at any point in a game, and resume a previously paused game from its home screen. A mandatory 1TB HDD and launch day digital distribution would facilitate this and stop all the annoying online passes that people currently complain about.

    I welcome backwards compatibility. This would give it a substantial back catalogue to make it worth buying as a replacement system. Some way of posting old games back to Microsoft in exchange for them adding them to your download queue would be lovely, but probably wouldn't happen.

    If developers can rely on the existance of a 1TB HDD, proper 1080p graphics @ 60FPS - but no silly 3D gimmickry... you can leave all that to Sony and let their users develop migraines - then they will be able to create persistent game worlds.

    Remove the squashiness from the D-Pad. Make the bumpers pressure-sensitive and mirror the face buttons so that concave versions are positioned on the underside of the pad's grip where the little and ring fingertips rest.

    Finally, please make it run cool and quiet - it shouldn't be heard above the music it plays.

  • 32768Colours #62 3 months ago

    Well they didn't say the pared down machine had no HDD. Even sub-£100 digital TV recorders have hard drives around the 320-500GB mark. Therefore a set-top box styled sku would almost certainly need to have some sort of decent hard drive space to give it any chance of competing in that market.

    Personally, it doesn't surprise me that they're taking this direction. Kinect may have sold well but hardcore games are clearly not where the technologies' strengths lie. I just hope that motion control doesn't become the be all and end all next gen because for my money, it really has been the emperor's new clothes.

    Also, I have to say I'm just not excited by the prospect of a new generation of consoles. Aside from the arbitrary processing upgrade, I suspect the development of the next round of consoles is likely to be centred around enabling the money-grabbing strategies of the industry, not improving games themselves.

    The other thing that makes me feel a little less excited is the feeling that we'll probably just end up with a massive raft of sequels picking up from where we left off this gen, and very few new franchises.

    In reality, it'll be two things that inform my next console purchase: first how draconian the system is in respect to consumer control over media, and second the variety and creativity behind the titles available.

    Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a few big names heading up a launch, but I just don't think its really worth forking out £300 for a new system just to play nicer looking versions of the same stuff we're already playing.

    Perhaps when the next gen consoles are detailed I'll feel differently, but I just can't shake the feeling that E3 is going to be one huge casual-fest with nothing but sequels to keep us "hardcore" gamers sated.

    Sad times indeed, when a gamer of 26 years feels like that at the turn of a generation.

  • ubergine #63 3 months ago

    @Brev2034 All PS3 games' developers have an option to install content to a hard drive to improve performance because a hard drive is standard.

    I think Battlefield 3 is the first game on Xbox to have an optional install but I doubt many dev's would go to the bother and expense of having two versions of their game and potentially an extra disc in the box for textures.

    That said I wish Bethesda used some of the 4 gig left of on the disc to have a HD texture install.

  • Iron_Napa_76 #64 3 months ago

    I hope the cheaper version includes a cooling fan ......

  • getittoomebaby #65 3 months ago

    Wouldn't buy any launch hardware from MS. I'll be waiting at least 12 months before venturing into a MS world again.

    Besides I'm only going to buy 2 consoles from next gen and 1 handheld (have 3DS but likely trade it for PS Vita). I'm over owning every console. Can't play all games anyway I have 8 PS3 and 5 Xbox 360, 3 WIi games still not played. I suspect I may limit it to Wii U (timing of this purchase will be dependent on at least 2 must have games) and PS4.

  • CamberGreber #66 3 months ago

    No KInect PLEAASSSEEE.

  • Xboxfanuk #67 3 months ago

    Rather then making their own setop box, why not partner with TV MFG or Sky and have it built right in their devices, in fact they could treat it like an OEM and offer Live and min specs to hardware mfg and get Xbox on as many devices as possible. XBLA could be the new Sky Games.

  • ED209 #68 3 months ago

    CALM THE FUCK DOWN. This rumour is utter bullshit. I happen to know the following for a fact (but even if i didnt i could reach a similar conclusion through awareness and logic).
    - There will be one xbox (no enforced fragmentation which limits sales of existing products to current customers)
    - It will have no optical drive (dvd format is dead, bricks and mortar stores are a menace - see Game preowned)
    - Media player features through digital download only (blu ray = lol, mkv = yay)
    - Backwards compatibility through games on demand (bc gtfo see sony. keep your old console)
    - On live type game streaming, no chance, the networks cant sustain it consistently enough, anyway that takes more resources than just letting users download once play many. So there will continue to be local internal storage.
    - You wont interact with the console itself, via plugs buttons etc just like you dont with a router, so it will be designed to be hidden. the new kinect will be the face of the xbox (have an idea of inspiration for the design, but would give away sources, think ipod/ ives sleek though)
    Fuzzy facts:
    - internal Storage format - probably just go with hard drives as the industry will recover, too early to go flash only.
    - Kinect is an integral part, but bundling is unlikely if ms pursue tv integration, you cant sell the same thing twice (not sure about this one as it depends if the tv thing is a rumour/agreed - feeling is its true as the current solution is too ungainly for some, so bundling unlikely).

    Phew! Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

  • atomicjuicer #69 3 months ago

    Yeah, I really want an Internet connected camera in my sitting room.

    How can people by so stupid and shortsighted and naieve about their privacy this way?

    I feel like Will Smith in iRobot.

  • Otis_Inf #70 3 months ago

    For years Microsoft has tried to get into the living room through 'set top boxes'. Once it finally realized these things were a complete failure (mostly because they were well ahead of their time) they tried it through XBox.

    While I can imagine they now try again with a cheap xbox variant to appeal to the people who'd otherwise never buy a 360, they also have to realize that you can't change a brand and what it stands for: this takes ages and a lot of money. XBox doesn't stand for 'a box to add services to your TV experience'. It stands for 'game console, a machine to play video games on'.

    And I think they do realize that. I mean, from the article
    It is likened to a set-top box, and will act as a Kinect-themed gaming portal.
    ... what does that even mean? What's a Kinect-themed gaming portal ? A system which allows you to download games only ? Or an on-live like gaming portal?

    Only the latter will allow MS to sell the thing at a low price. the former will require some kind of storage, making the thing much more expensive than the Wii (for the target audience of this thing, the wii is equal to the 360... )

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #71 3 months ago

    @lollage

    Its called Binary patching, Sony implied the Vita will have it so presumably the PS4 will have it, it is great most of the time, but dont make out that no 360 games have massive patches cos they do, try Burnout Paradise.

  • ED209 #72 3 months ago

    That is the most obscure suggestion ive heard!
    "I heard the Sega Dreamcast will have a tape deck. Yeah i know they used CDs in the past, have structured their business around the CD model, the whole world has moved to the CD model. But i had great trouble when i left a CD under my iron. Made a frightful mess and I just didn't see the point of them anymore...I really hope its a 'double' tape deck."

  • kitsuneyo #73 3 months ago

    Kinect will be Xbox's undoing. There still isn't a single good game for it, and I don't want to hear Dance Central or Child of Eden.

  • ED209 #74 3 months ago

    But why would it be xbox undoing? Just cause Kinect is a bit shit doesnt mean it will make all the excellent aspects of an xbox shit by association. MS arent going to make it a requirement that you shake your booty to play every game. (you will have to oscillate your breasts at the right frequency to navigate the menus though).

  • Jenslyn87 #75 3 months ago

    Please rid of us the useless Kinect and beef up the system instead - PLEASE!

  • Stuz359 #76 3 months ago

    It's amazing how a rumour can cause such anger.

  • uk-kob #77 3 months ago

    Kinect, im out.

  • Geordiemp #78 3 months ago

    Everyone read the article again carefully, then insert the word cloud next to set to box and the words onlive type device.....MS are rumoured to be working in his area

    Reading between the lines, it says a hardocre machine with HD and OPTICAL device.

    It says set top box with kinect - it does not mention OPTICAL at all...I doubt that ommission is a mistake.

    I bet the set top box is a kinect / cloud gaming device that works on streaming like onlive - that would make sense are you dont need an HDD or a DVD / optical drive and would get the casual crowd.

    The only thing that upsets me is kinect is bundled with the hardcore machine - dont care about it other than it will effect the price.

    If MS absorb the cost of Kinect and the bundle is attractive, no ine will care. If its > £ 400 and Kinect is in there, everyone will scream loose the Kinect.
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/11 @ 11:43

  • Mashum #79 3 months ago

    I could believe that they would have one light SKU aimed at digital distribution with no optical drive and a lower price point.

  • GaryStew1980 #80 3 months ago

    Well think its pretty possible this will happen. It appears MS are going to go after OnLive and Sony with this next console should the rumours be true. The Set-Top-Box most likely will include some form of HD MS aren't idiots when it comes to this stuff, I would imagine it will then run on some form of Streaming service and Digital downloads. Also as it will be nice and cheap it is more likely to be picked up by the casual gaming community and if it still includes the same features as xbox live such as Sky Player then expect it to be picked up in large numbers.

    The second unit will obviously be the core machine. Love some of the complaints on here, lets be fair most people who are actually commenting on here are going to have 0 interest in the set-top-box anyway so i really dont get the moaning. As for developers, considering how 3rd party xbox games constantly outsell their Sony counterparts I am going to guess the developers will be quiet enough when counting their money.

    Seems a pretty smart business plan to me. Is it true, well that very much remains to be seen, good to see SDK for both Sony and Xbox are out to developers can only be a good thing for gamers, Sony better just hope they have an SDK people can actually use and have a way for developers to access the full power of their machine unlike handicapping them with the PS3. If they don't then Sony will be in a lot of trouble because, Vita is going to flop in a big way. the majority of people who own a DS/3DS are casual gamers with some core gamers too, casual gamers can now move to their phones for cheap, basic addictive games that you can play for 5-10 minutes on the bus or train and not have to worry about hitting checkpoints etc... They aren't going to pay big money for an expensive unit and expensive games.

  • vizzini #81 3 months ago

    @lollage

    This isn't a comparison of incremental versus full patches for updates; as both have their purpose and issues, when we see how business backups work :)

    It is just a complaint of both systems having all the inconvenience of normal computers (with patches and profile corruption problems), while having very little in the way of basic file system tools to allow rapid repair by users; not to mention the passing of control with trophies, DRM locked save files and DRM locked music (in the 360s case).

    But on the issue of patches, Maybe the solution for next-gen consoles would be just one hybrid Blu-ray R/W drive, where layer 1 of retail discs is read only for the game to be stored, and layer 2 is R/W for the inevitable patches, thereby keeping everything self contained similar to the way some old cartridges did in the past. This would also facilitate lower need for SSD capacity for permanent storage, making them viable for next-gen so that some of their capacity can be used to supplement the modest amounts of expensive RAM.

  • MARKIV #82 3 months ago

    "Kinect, Digital Foundry has heard, will be bundled with both SKUs."

    This is terrible news, I have Kinect yet I can't stand having to stand up to use it properly, especially after work.

  • kitsuneyo #83 3 months ago

    @ED209 Why would Kinect be Xbox's undoing? Because we'll have a choice of 3 different new consoles next gen, and a lot of people will choose the one that doesn't focus on a technology that doesn't work.

    Kinect bundled in = higher price. I don't want to pay for Kinect.

    It's been out for a year now and we've still not seen anything good.

  • Grayvern #84 3 months ago

    I would worry about attach rates for a Kinect centric gaming portal, the willingness of consumers to buy the Kinect again, and it's success without an existing install base to sell into.

    If this is true microsoft has missed the obvious that the 360 could do exactly this and be kept alive, under a minor design change and rebranding.

    It's hard not to be cynical because it doesn't feel as if existing Kinect customers equal next gen sales and whether Kinect has created it's own sustainable market space outside that of the 360 meaning Microsoft could be left in the same position as Nintendo.
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/11 @ 14:44

  • sourc0r #85 3 months ago

    @Buztafen SSD? 120GB perhaps? not gonna happen. the floods definitely won't drive Microsoft towards such madness..IT'S STILL YEARS AWAY and SSD ARE much more expensive. jesus, i could go on a million lines, but i will stop here..

    comment on news: sounds both interesting and awful. i hope it won't turn out true, because Microsoft will need to spend a good amount of money to make a proper successor and i don't want them to divide something from it to design something especially for casuals. a console has been a console and should remain a console. ONE BOX FOR ALL OF US.

  • Nismo400R84 #86 3 months ago

    wasn't it a French rumour site that said psvita will have a base model with 256mb RAM and a premium with 512mb RAM ,why oh god why would MS think of selling something they can only sell half there shit and everything to the other half.

  • HAL9000 #87 3 months ago

    ...a set-top box, geez, definitely part of the cloud gaming, Onlive mentality...one box to rule them all and in the future bind them!
    Edited by 1 at 27/11/11 @ 12:08

  • rudedudejude #88 3 months ago

    So, one is a Wii version eh to maximise sales and nick the casual market