XBOX Next Gen Rumor and Speculation Thread - Reveal May 21st

[I OU a Beatn]

You guys are misinterpreting the touchscreen controller idea. From every article I've read(except the one), they've described it as something akin to the PS Vita. I had my worries about how it would feel before I got one, but after using it, I'm more than open to the idea. You'd be basically using a standard 360 controller that had been widened to accommodate the screen. There's no way Microsoft would abandon they're controller design(which a lot of people love, especially for shooters) for a touch screen tablet.

I also don't understand where the article is going when it says 3D support because the 360 already supports 3D, and while it is a nice feature, it's not something I would base a console purchase on. I've had a 3D TV for about a month now and I rarely use it because it just kills my eyes.

[gschwendt]

Well M$ just won the next console war (if true). They can literally put a POS in a box with 100% failure rate and noone will care and buy it up like a bunch of laches. Oh well my PS3 already has 3D capabilities (not that I use it) and a touchscreen controller just does not interest me in the slightest. Good lord how big (and expensive) do you think those controllers will be?

I think if Sony is smart, they figure out a good way to leverage smart phones as their touchscreen controllers. Let me use my Android phone to look at stats or call plays while I'm playing a football game. Don't make it a necessity but make it something as a worthwhile addition. If not smart phones, then I'm sure they'd just use the Vita to do the same thing that the WiiU controller will do.

[cdj]

Sony will have a shot if they can undercut the cost of the 720 significantly (at least $50 or $100), even if it comes to market after the 720. Being last to the market plus being the most expensive console put them in a hole last time around.

If both consoles are expensive (almost a certainty), there's going to be another slow adoption rate that not only hurts the gaming community, but will also see studios (especially smaller ones) struggle and/or close. That is unless studios are able and decide to offer the same or similar versions of title on PS3/360 and PS4/720 or somehow development costs on these new machines are more manageable this time around. (Unlikely if studios are going to have two concurrent dev teams.)

CLW brings up a good point. How big (& expensive) are these controllers going to be? Perhaps the touchscreen is more optional than required? I like gschwendt's idea of allowing smart phones & devices to be utilized in that role.

[bdoughty]

Sony will have a shot if they can undercut the cost of the 720 significantly (at least $50 or $100), even if it comes to market after the 720. Being last to the market plus being the most expensive console put them in a hole last time around..

You used the terms "Sony and Undercut." These are two words never used in a Sony board room. Just look at TV's and Sony's price structure in a crowded market that they are no longer the king. Sony is like Apple's mini-me in regards to pricing. Look at the Vita, $299.99 launch price for a handheld. Even the cheapest model is $249.99, which is the same price the the 3DS launched at and it did not take long for Nintendo to figure out the $250 pricetag for a handheld, is a stretch.

[JeffHCross]

That would be monumentally stupid on MS' part if that were to be true.

I forsee both Sony and M$ trying to find extra ways to squash the used market. Lots of pressure from third-party companies there too.

I think if Sony is smart, they figure out a good way to leverage smart phones as their touchscreen controllers.

Cause so many people have Sony Ericsson phones, and Sony's always played so well with non-proprietary formats. Oh wait.

Good idea though. Be more likely to see from M$ with Windows phones.

You used the terms "Sony and Undercut." These are two words never used in a Sony board room.

True, though they do have a new President (or CEO, can't remember which).

[JBHuskers]

From Gamespot:

The PlayStation 4 will be powered by AMD, according to sources. The PS3 ran on Nvidia technology.

[jaymo76]

Any other 30 something's like me who are wondering if this gen may be the last console they will own? I started back in the early 80's with a Coleco vision, occasionally rented Activision, then went to Nintendo, had an Atari, owned a genesis, owned a Super Nintendo, owned an original Playstation, then owned a PS2, upgraded to a 360 and got RRoD... (plus my wife picked up a Wii), then a few years back picked up the PS3.

If the PS4 price structure is anything like it was with the PS3 when it came out then I am surely done. Plus, If they developers do on the PS4 what they did with PS3 and build the NCAA series from the ground up, I just don't have the stomach to go through that again.

[bdoughty]

Just under a month to go to still be called 30 something. That said, I will be gaming as long as gaming does not require you to play motion gaming style. Sticks, triggers and buttons for me, thank you. I do not see EA making the same mistake again. They should just build upon what the have, get more of the things still missing from last gen and let the next gen guys work on advanced AI and a next gen graphics makeover.

P.S. I am assuming by Activision you meant Intellivision?

[JBHuskers]

I'm 32.5 (exactly .5 on Sunday ), and I am doubting this (the 4th gen) will be the last generation of a console that I get. Most likely I'll game til arthritis takes my hands or I die If I do get arthritis, I guess I could still use the Kinect

[jaymo76]

Yeah JB, it will probably be the same for me but I suspect that my kids will be the active players and I will become more of the background observer. It will be really interesting to see the price structure though.

[bdoughty]

Juicy rumors surround the PC4, I mean PS4.

Stolen from NEOGAF.

This was tucked away in an article Richard Leadbetter (Digital Foundry) wrote for GamesIndustry.biz. I guess it went a little unnoticed because it's behind a registration wall, but it and the Kotaku article seemingly corroborate each other.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-gaming?page=2

Quote:
I recently heard from a reputable source that the forthcoming Sony console is "essentially a PC" in terms of its technological make-up and in this sense, an AMD collaboration on the CPU holds many attractions - for the first time since the launch of the original Xbox, we could well be seeing an x86 processor in a console. It may be hard to imagine that the company that brought us the Cell would be embracing PC tech so wholeheartedly, but a look at the make-up of Vita suggests a fundamental shift in the way Sony builds its consoles in the wake of Ken Kutaragi's departure.

It's not about exotic, groundbreaking hardware anymore, it's all about creating the best possible games machine with an enviable set of development tools - and it's an approach that has already yielded results. While PlayStation Vita may lack a stand-out killer app, I still think that it's set the bar in terms of overall quality and quantity over and above any console launch I've seen in over 21 years in the business. Extrapolating that same philosophy towards PlayStation 4 makes a PC-style approach to Sony's next console seem very likely indeed.

[JBHuskers]

That might make Mors jizz in his pants....

[morsdraconis]

Meh. Just means that PC ports of PS3 games will be easier on developers, which means that the games might not be steaming piles of shit on the PC.

[NatureBoy]

EXCLUSIVE: No disc drive for Next Xbox
MCV has learnt that Microsoft has been telling partners that the Next Xbox will NOT include a disc drive.

The briefings have been issued under what MCV’s source describes as “the strictest NDA” they have ever encountered.

Although the console will not include a disc drive, it will offer compatibility with some sort of interchangeable solid-state card storage, although it is not known whether this will be proprietary or a more standard format such as SD.

Furthermore, a 2013 launch date for the hardware has been confirmed. What is less clear, however, is the intended timing of Microsoft’s announcement.

As revealed by MCV earlier this year, an E3 2012 reveal could still very much be on the cards.

The omission of a disc drive signifies the beginning of a new era for games consoles and represents a potentially savage blow to the already beleaguered video games retail sector.

Of course, retailers will tell you that they are already involved in the digital market. Indeed, GAME is enjoying growing revenue from the sale of digital download cards for digital-only titles and DLC.

Nonetheless, the abolition of physical games is bad news for retail however it is spun. With the Next Xbox positioned as a digital centric platform, the relevance of retail will once once again eroded.

When contacted by MCV Microsoft said that it does not comment on rumour and speculation.

“Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend its lifecycle like introducing the world to controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention. Beyond that we do not comment on rumors or speculation.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/exclu...xt-xbox/092534

[oweb26]

WOW! if this is true that would really suck for alot of stores.

It is awesome for Microsoft and its relationship with developers though, no more online pass because now you fuckers can't even play the game used. Kinda sucks all aroung for everyone honestly though, especially for those shitty games that you will buy used just to save money or even for those games that all you want to play is the multiplayer. The only way I can see this truly working out is ALA steam shit goes on sale really quick!!!

This is defatntely a way to get around (compete with) the space of the blu-ray drive while also not neglecting the system, pretty smart overall if you ask me from a business POV.

[morsdraconis]

Better come with a Terabyte HD standard or it'll be a complete fuck up by them. When you have games that are in the 16gig range or more, there are definitely gonna be some storage issues down the line. That is, unless they go completely internet dependent and require you to play them via cloud storage. Not sure how I feel about that though it's interesting for them to be completely getting rid of physical media. The pirate in me sees VAST potential.

[morsdraconis]

WOW! if this is true that would really suck for alot of stores.

It is awesome for Microsoft and its relationship with developers though, no more online pass because now you fuckers can't even play the game used. Kinda sucks all aroung for everyone honestly though, especially for those shitty games that you will buy used just to save money or even for those games that all you want to play is the multiplayer. The only way I can see this truly working out is ALA steam shit goes on sale really quick!!!

This is defatntely a way to get around (compete with) the space of the blu-ray drive while also not neglecting the system, pretty smart overall if you ask me from a business POV.

At this point, I say fuck the box stores. They're a racket anyway. Anything I would buy that's video game related gets purchased online via Steam or Amazon anyway. I haven't bought a game at a retail store in probably close to 7 or 8 years (I preordered Doom 3 at Gamestop for the PC).

Even doing this, it won't stop places like Amazon from also being able to sell the game by just selling you a redeem code that you then put in and download the game with instead of purchasing it through Xbox Live.

What's going to GREATLY hurt Microsoft is if they go with the always connected to the internet model and make you have to pay the $50 a year for Xbox Live Gold to be able to do anything. Going that route is going to make it where they lose quite a few customers if Sony decides to go a different route with PSN and the PS4.

[SmoothPancakes]

I wouldn't mind it. I've already downloaded a couple full games and some arcade games without problem or issue. And pretty much every game I get these days comes from Amazon. I only go to Gamestop if I absolutely have to or if their pre-order bonus blows Amazon's out of the park. Otherwise, it's not worth taking an hour out of my day to drive to the next town over, get a game from Gamestop and drive back.

This would work out even better, because now I have to wait until sometime during 1pm if I'm lucky to get on the early route, or else sometime after 4pm on the normal late route for UPS to deliver any games I order from Amazon. MS updates the marketplace at 6am, so buying games directly from the marketplace, we'd be able to buy and start downloading new games at 6am that day, instead of having to go out to a store or waiting all day for UPS to deliver.

And storage shouldn't be a problem. Even with just a 250gb hard drive right now, I've got at least 15-20 games, probably more, installed on my hard drive at this very moment. Most of my games range and average from 4 or 5 to 10 gigs max. Make it at least 500gb, and storage wouldn't be a problem.

[gschwendt]

Just so long as I'll be able to "rent" games for a period of time without purchasing the full title, I'll be fine. I don't want to pay $60 for a game that I can complete in a weekend or less but I'll happy pay $10 for a 5 day rental or something.

Like mentioned though, if not renting, then you better have killer steam sales. I don't purchase full priced titles on Steam hardly ever but I have a really big collection all the same.

I would assume retail stores would still sell SOME games on some sort of memory card or something... there are still plenty of folks that don't have great internet or even some that don't have any internet connection.

[SmoothPancakes]

Just so long as I'll be able to "rent" games for a period of time without purchasing the full title, I'll be fine. I don't want to pay $60 for a game that I can complete in a weekend or less but I'll happy pay $10 for a 5 day rental or something.

Like mentioned though, if not renting, then you better have killer steam sales. I don't purchase full priced titles on Steam hardly ever but I have a really big collection all the same.

I would assume retail stores would still sell SOME games on some sort of memory card or something... there are still plenty of folks that don't have great internet or even some that don't have any internet connection.

That's where I become selective in games I buy, only buying games that I know I'm going to want to play again and again now and then over time. I have maybe 65-70 games sitting here on my shelf, and the only ones I have ever sold or traded in were old sports games (Madden 09/10, NCAA 09/10/11), everything else I keep because I like to pop old games in now and then and play them again here and there. I don't buy every game that comes out, just the ones that interest me and that I know I'll at least get some replay value out of over time when that day comes along that that game sounds like fun popping it in. So as far as purchasing the full title, I personally wouldn't have any problems there.

Others, like your case, something like that rental idea would work and probably be used a good bit.