It appears very much to be a week for rumours, with details of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 7XX series, talks of iPhone 5s, Galaxy S IIIs and lightfield cameras; however today is Microsoft's turn with details of the firms latest console, the Xbox 720.
According to gaming news and reviews site, IGN, a source close to the Xbox 720 project has confirmed that the new console will feature six times the processing power of the current-gen Xbox 360 and will likely ship to retailers in late October or early November next year.
The site's sources also went so far as to confirm that the GPU for the new system will go into production before the end of this year and will be based on AMD's well-established Radeon HD 6000 series, with specifications best matching the HD 6670, a mid-range DirectX11 and 3D capable GPU. Given that the console is likely over a year away from release and, that its graphical capabilities are based on an already last-gen mid-range card, one might wonder exactly what Microsoft is aiming for with its new console, which, unlike the 360, is unlikely to push any performance boundaries upon release.
Perhaps some insight can be gleaned from an e-mail sent to gaming news site, Kotaku, from a Microsoft representative which stated, "As an innovator we're always thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect. We believe the key to extending the lifespan of a console is not just about the console hardware, but about the games and entertainment experiences being delivered to consumers. Beyond that we don't comment on rumors or speculation."
To this writer, it feels very much as though Microsoft may be looking to take Nintendo's approach to gaming in the next round of the console wars, with focus on enhancing experiential devices such as the Kinect, looking further into 3D technology and the interactions that are possible, whilst keeping the hardware affordable and compact.
On a potentially upsetting note, rumours have also been floating around that the new console may very well embrace Blu-ray technology, a rumour which one would expect to be received positively, however, along with this are suggestions that Microsoft may also deploy anti-used-game technology to prevent the resale or perhaps even lending of games. If the rumour proved true, no doubt it'll create quite a stir amongst the console community; meanwhile we wonder just how far Microsoft would consider going, from online activation to burning discs upon first insert.
With any luck some rumours will prove true, whilst others we pray will prove false, either way, expect more details to emerge in the coming months.
