Watching grandpa and grandma competing with each other in front of a big screen waving back and forth may seem hilarious but it is a scene worth a billion-dollar movie. And this was possible, thanks to xbox 360 kinect console. Be it young or adult or old ones, they all love to play, connect and enjoy the unleashed entertainment on xbox consoles. In US, xbox has already bragged the no.1 position among all console types and so the expectation from the next-generation xbox console is bound to be higher.
No console makers are ready to brandish their next-generation console openly and wildly but we have our reports and rumor mills running and based on those authoritative sources, here is everything you need to know about the so-called xbox 720. As you advance through this article, you’ll see several images of xbox 720 concept. Let me put my note here that this article is frequently updated, so bookmark it and come back often to get gist of new updates.
Table of Contents
Name of xbox 720 ?
The obvious name is xbox 720 (2 times 360) but it may not be so when released. Since windows 8 os for tablets, desktops and laptops is revealed, windows phone 8 to be launched for phones, xbox may be called xbox 8 to bring all these numbers in unison as part of integration effort or will it be called xbox infinity. Well, if these speculation turns out to be false, we always have something to fall back upon i.e. xbox 720, which is the most predictable and close-to-true choice for the name of the new upcoming xbox gaming console. The supposed internal codename for new xbox console is Durango.
Hardware Features of xbox 720
When it comes to hardware, we want xbox 720 to be not just powerful but near-futureproof as well because each generation of consoles usually are supposed to last definitely few long years. According to rumors and reports, xbox 720 will be powered by AMD based CPU and GPU. The CPU may be as powerful with 16 cores and Twin GPU chips may be able to provide the strong muscle that the future gaming titles need. Of late, reports even indicate shortage of processor resulting in delay of release of xbox 720. The processor of xbox 720 is codenamed ‘Oban’. The current build quality of the processor is too low which has caused the delay and so Microsoft is working on to change their release strategy so that they could have sufficient time to work upon processor shortage and quality issues, fix it to meet the demands of hardcore games.
Since modern games are coming in very big size, the new xbox 720 may pack a blu-ray drive which seems more reasonable apart from variable hard drive option. This will reduce the number of disks required for large xbox games as a dual layer blu-ray disk can pack 50 GB of data. Microsoft is keen to make xbox 720 as All in One entertainment device (Xbox Smartglass app for smartphones have already bridged the gap and made integration, communication, synchronization of other devices with xbox 360 console easy and effortless). Native 1080p 3D support is also to be present. Kinect 2 will include support for 4-player kinect gaming support as well as kinect accessories.
Kinect Glasses, like Google’s project Glass, codenamed Project Fortaleza is also under development. Well, this seems to be independent product research, but may be closely associated with xbox 720. If things turn out true, augmented reality in gaming would no longer be much away. Although, it is expected that this will not be released along side release of console, as this is supposed-to-be a separate product.
Second-hand games, Used games on xbox 720 ?
It was also widely rumored that xbox 720 will not allow playing of used games or second-hand games, which means you can not borrow or exchange game titles from your friends. If this turns out to be true, it is really a sad news not only for gamers but also for such business which are based on buying and selling of used games. Rumors even claim that new xbox may even require always-on internet connection. Well, I personally don’t think this to be true because internet connectivity is not at all easy and readily available 24×7 in many parts of the world.
xbox 720 controller
xbox 720, without a doubt, will feature a more advanced version of its kinect. It may bring to table innovative newness in the Kinect concept but that doesn’t mean xbox controller will be out of way. xbox controller is here to stay even in the upcoming xbox. It may receive redesign keeping in view ergonomics and upcoming games and the needs. We love current gamepads for xbox and the future ones are not going to disappoint either for sure.
xbox 720 Release date
Speculations, rumors and reports change from time to time, hence, we keep updating this post with new news, information as they are available. Earlier, xbox 720 was supposed to be released in the last few months of 2013 but based on the fresh reports, the release date may be postponed to spring of 2014. Whenever it is, it will be released close to the release Sony PlayStation 4. Keeping this in view, the price of xbox 720 is to be competitive and as per a leaked document, will be around $299 (we expect the price to be higher than the said price). Further, xbox 720 will bring integration with windows 8 os, windows phone 8 and other devices as Microsoft is believed to make their gaming console a true info-entertainment device as well and to offer synced experience everywhere.
What do you expect from xbox 720 ?
if they made it to were the xbox 720 couldnt read used game i dont think anyone realizes how many busniesses would run into the ground because of the profits they make.let alone the friends lending them games that is complete bs.if they do make it to this i am going to sell my xbox 360 320 gb hard drive an by a laptop to replace the one i have an sell all of my games. i would give up gaming for the rest of my life.in the long run that might be best so i can save more money an put it up for bills.
We hope that Microsoft shall not bring such a policy and allow used games to work in the next generation of xbox console. Lets see if our hope turns positive when xbox 720 releases.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Microsoft didn’t allow used games. Selling used games doesn’t make Microsoft any money it is only lucrative for places like EB and Gamestop. Although I hope it will drive the price of games down.
As mainly a PC Gamer I have been used to no used games for a while. I get almost all my games off Steam and they all have to be activated through Steam to play them (also most games you buy retail for the PC have to be activated online these days). I have no problem with not being able to trade my game. Steam offers great deals throughout the year so you can usually get the big name releases at a deal and during their major sales you can load up on a lot of A+ games for $4.99 a pop. So if the consoles go this route it could be a great thing. Especially since Xbox already has a great online store to buy games. It is how I played Red Dead Redemption. No disc just downloaded to the Xbox HDD!
Thank you Greg for your valuable opinion.
But from customer’s perspective, used games provide cheaper options which should not be neglected at all..
I personally don’t think that they are going to cap the used games, the hardware that is used to identify this type of read….it is expensive and constly!! I think they are going to performe some sort of an operation where you can’t Jtag your xbox anymore, meaning that you can’t chip it software wise or hardware wise….meaning no alien material can be installed…and thats the only way I can think of them stopping people from playing used games OR aka BURNT disks! not the original manufactured discs!! it goes against them, think about it! thank you for reading!
there will always be a way where someone can bypass it as still have blunt disks run. you cant really determine if where or who does it unless its all online.
I love it