13 March 2007
Ferry

Next Xbox 720 to launch in 2011-2012 according to Microsoft

While Sony already admitted to be thinking about the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo are no doubt developing a Wii 2… In an interview with the head of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business division, Peter Moore, EGM magazine asked him when their next video game console would come out, and also asked if they’d drop support for the Xbox 360 like they did with the original Xbox. He said that they were going to support it “as long as it sold.” Possibly because they saw the Xbox sell well into 2007 despite not producing the console after October 2005.

He said the production team from the Xbox 360 is working on the next Xbox 720 [our pet name], and their looking into what kind of CPUs will be available on the market in 2011-2012. That would put the Xbox 360 at a lifespan of 6 or 7 years, a far cry from the Xbox’s 4 years. After spending $1.26 billion in losses launching the Xbox 360, they’ll want to get the most out of the system by lengthening its lifespan. As the longer you get into the cycle, the more profit you can make due to stopping being a loss leader, analysts always remark.

On June 13th, 2008, Robbie Bach — the President of Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft — mentioned the next Xbox by saying: “Our view is we will be selling Xbox 360 for a long time. We are always working on new technologies. We have people working on those. People ask me how many people I have working on the next generation. On the one hand, it’s everybody. On the other, it’s nobody. People are continuously working on new technology.

We started thinking about the next generation before we shipped the Xbox 360. It doesn’t start with a date. It starts way upstream with silicon development. From that comes a series of data points. You start making early technology choices. It’s an evolving thing. Stuff doesn’t become concrete until you get inside a window of when you have to ship, more than 18 months or so out.”

This video shows all Xbox 720 console mockup pictures unofficially made by Xbox fans.

Thanks to salernoking for the video.

In late 2008, The Inquirer newspaper reported on speculation from industry insiders that Intel is trying to get its high-performance, new architecture GPU Larrabee chipset into the next-gen Xbox 720… both of which are codenames…

Their sources claim that: “Intel has offered Microsoft a very sweet deal indeed in exchange for pushing AMD out of the running for Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 720. Offering everything from chips to chassis, Intel is purportedly wooing the Vole right down to designing its thermals and pimping the Larrabee chipset out to Microsoft to subcontract out as it pleases. Needless to say, this gives the Vole some rather hefty bargaining power, and leaves both AMD and Nvidia quivering in their boots.

[...] in all likelihood, Larrabee version one will barely take off, but with the right console deal, Larabee Two — which should be making its first appearance somewhere around 2010 — could be a big player.”

As you may or may not know, the Xbox 360’s internals consist out of a PowerPC-based CPU from IBM and a GPU designed by ATI. So an Intel deal would definitely change things up, and aside from emulation, hardware backwards compatibility might be out of the picture as a result. Advantages of the Larrabee chipset are shown in this image:

Click on the image for the full Larrabee convergence slide.

In May 2009 Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter claimed: “We do not expect the ‘next’ generation to begin before 2013, if at all. We remain convinced that the publishers will resist the introduction of any video game hardware technology that requires a refresh of software, as the publishers have as yet to capitalize on the immense investments made in being competitive in the current cycle.”

In June 2009 TeamXbox.com claimed: “The only thing I’m going to say about everything I heard regarding the next Xbox is that it won’t launch until a certain type of television becomes more widespread because in addition to built-in Natal tech, a key feature of the next Xbox would be full HD stereoscopic 3D visuals similar to 3D movie theatres.”

In October 2009 Fuzilla.com industry sources claimed: AMD / ATI has already won the GPU deal for Microsoft’s next generation Xbox console. They also created the current Xbox 360 Xeon GPU, suggesting compatibility with legacy games. The report also states that the new console won’t be released before 2012, since the current economic recession is preventing an originally planned 2010 release.

23 June 2009 10:13
JQ

@MooSEHNTR29
You may be right by saying the ps3 is more powerful then the 360, but the ps3 is so difficult to program for that none of the games to date even come close to using the ps3’s full potential. JQ

23 June 2009 21:10
Bgreetat

I definately agree with that.

23 June 2009 23:19
MooSEHNTR29

That is the reason why Sony has a 10 yr. life span and support for their consoles. They still make and support the ps2 along with game developers. And what’s that? Yes it is still selling strong and selling systems. It took years for Sony and developers to use the full potential of the ps2. And it was, and still is a greatly loved and supported machine. Microsoft quit supporting their original box, which I think could of had much more unlocked from the system. They are a lot like Wallymart…..make a crappy product, produce as many as possible, have tons of people fall in love with it, and dump it for something new asap. I know you are right about the game programming, but just you wait…..they are getting better and better. For example, MGS4, inFamous, uncharted 2, god of war 3, and at e3 they announced FFXIV exclusive to the ps3 with online play. Oh yeah that will be free via playstion network. Thank god for Sony…..better disc support, better built machine, free online play, and long term console support even when the next gen comes out. A company that will ALWAYS unlock the TRUE FULL POTENTIAL of their consoles, and are always looking ahead.

24 June 2009 11:20
JQ

@MooSEHNTR29
Ok well answer me why since God of War 2 and Final Fantasy 12 came out, every single game made for the ps2 has been utter s**t, ps2 has been downhill since November 22nd 2005, and you can not deny that. JQ

24 June 2009 17:18
MooSEHNTR29

WHAT ABOUT METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER, AND METAL GEAR SOLID SUBSISTENCE? SUBSISTENCE WAS RELEASED IN 2006 AND RECEIVED A 9/10 FROM GAMESPOT? AND THEY ALSO CONTINUE TO PUT OUT ALL THE MADDEN’S, NCAA FOOTBALL, NHL, ALL THE GUITAR HERO’S, AND ALL THE ROCKBAND’S. THEY ARE SMART. THEY SUPPORT WHAT THEY KNOW THE CONSUMER WILL EXPECT TO SEE COME OUT ON A SYSTEM, AND THEY PUT IT OUT ON PS3 AND PS2. I DON’T THINK THEY WANT TO SPEND THE ADDED COST ON A NEW PS2 BLOCKBUSTER AND CROSS THEIR FINGERS HOPING IT SUCCEEDS. THEY STILL SUPPORT THE GAMES FOR PS2 THAT EVERYONE WANTS, EVERYONE HAS, AND EVERYONE EVENTUALLY WILL BUY. THEY HAVE A LOT MORE WORK AHEAD OF THEM MAKING SOME KICK ASS GAMES, AND UNLEASHING THE TRUE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE PS3. SONY FOR LIFE.

25 June 2009 10:19
JQ

Ok, the Metal Gear Solid games you listed were OK, but nothing on next gen games like Metal Gear Solid 4, and so on and so on until I get bored of typeing, as for the rest, they are all s**t, 360 makes the ps2 look like the Atari 2600, face it ps2 is crap with a capital C, and the ps3 is and always will be a faliure. JQ

25 June 2009 15:28
Sean McCormack

Alright, it’s no xbox 720, but I have been researching the project natal, and I, accedently, found a clue to the next (kind) of xbox 360, have a look for your self, show your friends too.
You’ll have to skip to 3:30 in the video, it shows for a brief couple of seconds.
http://blog.2sol.com.au/post/118199761/introducing-project-nata-l-for-microsofts-xbox

26 June 2009 19:37
fww

i just got a xbox360 elite a wile back and i’m kinda worried about it i heard that it’s known to scrach disk’s and have hardware mess up’s and i allso heard it’s known to overheat i hope the 720’s don’t have these risks so far it’s working allright but i can’t help but think it’s going to happen soon well if it doe’s happen atleast i still have my ps3

26 June 2009 23:37
ZephyrBlaze

Honestly, do you really think an Xbox 720 is going to show up in 2-3 years when they just released a prototype of Natal? I even highly doubt the PS4 will reach that date too. Wherever you’re getting this information is misleading. After reading Game Informer’s last issue (not this month’s), I read the article about the console’s next gen:

Nintendo- WILL NOT BE RELEASING A NEW CONSOLE. For crying out loud, the Wii is making top sales and you guys think that another console is going to come? Nintendo said that as long as they are on top, they will not even think about making another console until they see major competition.

Microsoft- PRICE REDUCTION, MAYBE, BUT NO NEW CONSOLE. After recent sales, Microsoft sees that lowering the 360 attracted more people. They said that they will not make another console till their 360 sale build-up comes to a sudden stop, or a heavy drop. As being 2nd in the generation leap, Microsoft is content where they are and hope Natal will bring them hope. They’ve never came to a decision if the 720 will exist.

Sony- DEFINATE PRICE DROP. Sony has released that the PS3 can be expected to drop in the price range to about $50-$100 more than the regular Xbox 360’s price. Sony’s only problem is that the price of the PS3 and the slaes aren’t matching the production rate. With this, Sony is losing money. With a BIG price reduction, Sony could save their sales of the PS3 and make it up with their motion controller. The PS4 has avoided thoughts until Sony has the money to produce it.

27 June 2009 14:18
JQ

It’s a entirely diffrent market to say 5 years ago, the rescission is glooming over the world, and to the mainstream market, the important thing is quality and not quainty, that’s why the DS and Wii are selling so well, I’m not a big fan of Sixth Generation technology being the mainstream, but the world market obviously is. JQ