Rumor – Xbox 720 documents show next-gen plans

@ 50 oh ok…that’s rather weird. Indeed no other site to my knowledge picked that story up. And now all of a sudden they come with it….

And the document is gone from Scribd now, due to copyright infringement.

It doesn’t matter, the whole world knows about it now…

Here’s another bit of supporting evidence about the Kinect glasses from a story back in March that references back to 2010: http://www.patentbolt.com/2012/03/microsoft-invents-projector-eyewear-for-xbox-beyond.html

There are just too many different factors for this to be fake, now.

EDIT:

And here’s Sony’s version that includes a tablet controller (for the PS4?): http://www.patentbolt.com/2012/03/sony-patent-reveals-new-3d-controller-for-single-or-multiplayer-games.html

Eurgh!! Fuck all this scary change!! I’m getting myself a second hand mega-drive!!

@53 You do that. I’ll get the beer.

Make sure you get Captain America and the Avengers, and General Chaos for it!

Can I come too?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR99V4zcL30&feature=related

^ The more the merrier, bring your own beer, I got the snacks

ummm “six times as powerful” I think you meant to write “six times MORE powerful”. As powerful means what it implies

The document has been removed at the request of Covington & Burling LLP, which is a law firm employed by – among others – Microsoft. Legitimacy confirmed?

I’m surprised that people actually still doubt this is legit.

A two year old document that talks about SmartGlass and Kinect glasses…

Who faked it… a time traveller!?

And now it’s been taken down by a big money law firm who probably charge $1000 just to phone their number.

Shocking.

The specs aren’t far fetched to be too ridiculous. Who knows it might be MS trying to measure public response by leaking some info; this way they get feedback without the backlash of kids going “OMGz Deeze zpecs suxk!!”

Went through the entire document.
All of this seems too well thought-out to be made up. Also, the fact that a lawfirm took down the document implies something.

After reading the articles and spending time going throught the document, I think it’s probably a legit docuement, though stuff could have changed from the time it was written. Also, at the very end “Todd” is mentioned, I wonder if anyone can peg that name with a MS position that fits….

I find it disapointing though, the actual article says 4 to 6 times more powerful, not just a straight 6x. The console is exactly what i feared, a moderately more powerful console that is trying to be a cable box, includs Kinect, and focuses on gadgets rather than a more powerful console. They mention Xbox TV reveal in 2012, could they announce that at the MS conference tommorrow? If so, it would make it even more legit.

I think Sony must be happy, not too often you get a competitors roadmap… I’m hoping sony doesnt go the same route, or this “next gen” is really just a current gen 1.5….

The “Todd” in the article looks to be Todd Holmdahl (corporate vice president of Gaming and Xbox Products Group) from Microsoft.

We can’t see the article anymore though. But you mean his name was in those documents?

@fearmonkey, The nex gen will not be a graphical revolution mate, not for consoles anyway. It’ll be all about multi connectivity & fixed userbase.

Maybe not a revolution, but definitely alot better, not the Xbox to X360 or PS2 to PS3 improvement, but most definitely a significant improvement.

Firstly, $299 is way to cheap for the next Xbox, it’ll probably cost $50 to $100 more.

Secondly, all ‘Xbox next’ units will ship with ‘Kinect next’ – you won’t have the option of not buying one until much later, if at all.

Lastly, the next Xbox will * definitely* NOT be called the Xbox 720. Microsoft’s marketers hate the name and feel it impinges on the console’s traction in the traditional family living room.

The release date sounds pretty accurate, though.

^ Agree with everything. Especially with the name.
XBOX 720. What does it mean? That it’s finally can do 720p image?

also, about the price. 299 USD for a 6 series of ATI and ok CPU is a price they can do actually.

In which case, I stand corrected. If they can make $299, good luck to them! I, for one, won’t be getting my hopes up. £349 seems much more realistic.

Xbox 720 is obviously just a quick and easy moniker that’s been used before marketing even get anywhere near coming up with a name for it.

There’s no point in paying someone good money to come up with a name, then trademark, copyright and final stamp it before you’ve even got a green light for the project. Because the doc definitely looks like an internal milestone presentation.

The price does seem very low to me, though. But having said that, I’m sure it’s just a target price. If you read Pat’s making of the original Xbox, iirc, they needed to come up with a (speculative) price before it was green lit, too.

What’s this? Erzamess having another fabulous day by being a top contributor to a thread about a toy his mom won’t be buying him anyways? Will he be posting about ‘purchasing’ it on launch and subsequently ‘selling’ it, like he did with Posv? I wonder.

Shocker.

How much more powerful is the xbox360 then the xboxone? And same question for the PS3 over the PS2?

Cause I really don’t think the jump was huge from xbox one to xb360. I remember playing Halo 2 in HD on xbox, and laughing because Halo 3 on xbox360 wasn’t much of an improvment graphicly.

I think the gap bewteen last gen and this gen was much bigger for Platystation system. PS2 was a releativly weak system and the PS3 is the best system(graphicly) of this gen.

The reason I am wondering all of this is because if the next xbox is 4-6X more powerful, does that mean pure graphical power, or do you folks think the graphics won’t be much of an improvemt over what we see on PS3? Because people have been ballparking WiiU as slightly more powerful then PS3. Does this doc from MS indicate that xbox next will also only be slightly more powerful then PS3?

Does this mean that Sony could compete against Nintendo AND MS next gen offerings while staying with its current PS3 system?

I have been saying for months, maybe years, that next gen will not be a revolution of graphical power. So this isn’t much of a suprise to me. i am guess sharper, smoother, faster graphics. But the main focus is going to be on services not games next gen. But even I was expecting more. Maybe it is still too early to tell.

I still don’t believe the price point on that doc. I am sorry but no way. I would believe 299usd if you have to sign a two year LIVE deal at 10 or 15 usd a month(and it could be if the system is going to make use of its 4G abilities, the data plan could be more then that).

I also don’t belive this doc was leaked by accident. The whole thing smells of PR to me. E3 recovery. Leaked days/weeks before WiiU starts going on tour and stores start taking preoders. That is what I mean when I say Fake. We seem to have two camps of thought being touted, one is people think the whole thing is 100% BS. And the second wants to believe that the thing is a blueprint/roadmap for MS next gen. The truth is likly somewhere in between. This could have been based on or even a real doc. But those ideas where most likly general directions/pitches or ideas for moving the next xbox forward. Likly many things from the doc are going to be changed. Maybe improved, maybe removed. That is how these type of docs are, they are used in company presentations and meetings. They are often projections, that get altered.

What I don’t like is the seemingly over focus on things not video games. I don’t want smartglass(as i understand it). I don’t even have my kinect conected to my xb360, I don’t want a kinect 2 intgrated to a new system. I don’t want xbox TV, likly I will have to have a cable provider anyways(just like how I can’t use ESPNU on my xbox360 w/o also paying for a TV package that includes ESPNU from my cable company)(meaning that if I already can get the channel or channels on cable, why do I need them on xbox live as well?) I do not need a console with 4G, that is just silly. I can see why some people with really bad or no braodband could want that, but based on cell phones pricing structure, can you imagine the price a data plan for a console?

What i want out of my new systems are two things.

Thing one is raw graphical power. I am not a graphics whore, really. But I game on PC. And I have 10 year old games running 100+ fps and 1080p, they are stunning and are better in most cases then what I am playing on PS360 already. I understand PC will almost always be ahead of consoles, but get it close.

The only way I will buy a system w/o graphical power is if the system offers games and gameplay experiences that are so unique, different, and compeling that they capture my inner child and gamer. They have to be fun. For everyone that will mean something different, i am sure. When I see what WiiU can do, I want one. It isn’t that its graphics will blow me away, but the games will captivate my imagination and hold my intrests.

I am not passing judgemnt on somethine not out yet(xbox next), but I don’t take away anything from the “leak” that would lead me to believe the new system will do anything to impress me. I am expecting new services, higher price Live Gold(actualy expecting another teir of LIVE called platnium or something), lots and lots of social conectivity(which I don’t enjoy – I don’t even have a facebook page or twitter account), and as for games just more of the same game franchises we already have, most of which bore me already.

Keep in mind I used to play xbox and xbox360 near exclusivly. I just haven’t been conecting with MS for the past couple of years. And I don’t see that changing in the forseeable future. But, time will tell and I am not gonna be one of those idiots that closes his mind off about something we know so little about.

The coming year should be an interesting ride, to say the least.

As I understand it, you don’t need to worry about the next gen’s graphical output. By all accounts, both high-end consoles will offer a significant, noticeable and attractive leap forward.

I don’t think that there’s anyone who believes that it’s a blueprint or definite plan of action.

As I remember, the doc started with the question: ‘Why do we need an xbox 720?’

If they’d already agreed and finalised what they were going to do, there would be absolutely no need for that question. Don’t forget that the doc is two years old. If they had a finalised spec sheet, and all of the details ironed out, it also wouldn’t make sense to keep it in a cupboard and delay release until 2013.

The whole thing, as I said before, looks exactly like an internal milestone document. Its purpose is to be so that the decision makers can see where the project is, where it’s going and where to move from that point.

I’m pretty sure that many things mentioned in the doc are more than open to change.

However, what I don’t think they’ll change are the major ideas, such as (obviously) SmartGlass, Kinect v2 and the Kinect glasses.

@74 I hope the actual specs of the machine improve

Shame they are not considering free online for silver subs.

tadaa…and now an xbox branded tablet called surface…Wiill U finally believe it?

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/18/fresh-microsoft-leak-details-xbox-tablet

^ this is tablet?

this is madness. If that thing is real then it’s awesome. Tablet spec’s are very good.

“I really believe that PC will win out in the long run over consoles. Well, let me clarify. Game “services” will win out, and PC will be a huge part of that. I fully expect MS to expand LIVE next gen to cover multiple devices like Tablets, Phones, and PC. I know they dable now, but I mean full fledge Steam/Origin style services. I think it is reasonable for Activision to use battlenet. And I think publishers will carry their franchises and brand across multi platforms. Maybe they stream them, maybe just downloads, but I think that is where it is heading. I think the platform you play on will matter less then it does now, might be an xbox interface, a Playstation one, an Apple one, a PC, or even a tablet.”

A quote from Me.

A MS tablet makes sense. How it gets used remains to be seen.

^ this is tablet?

this is madness. If that thing is real then it’s awesome. Tablet spec’s are very good. No, they are amazing.

Shader model 5, 5 GB Of ram. I dunno, list of specs is too good to be true or it can cost you over 9000 US dollars lol.

That sounds like some sort of console/tablet hybrid. Something you could bring round a friends place and play on the table, or connect up to the TV. Components – even down to a 2.5″ HDD would make it too thick to be considered a tablet as such. It’s more of a console with a screen on it.

Interesting, but likely BS.

I dont know what innovations are ms bringing xbox 720 except kinect 2, but one has to admit kinect is a very useful piece of hardware with uses extending far beyond gaming. Maybe someday someone can get a good idea for a game for kinect (or kinect 2).
Sony maybe launching those biometric controllers we heard about earlier.An awesome idea on paper.Imagine a game which your mental state affects the game in real time.
Now as with Wii U, looks like ninty like 2 screens too much, as now both 3ds and wiiu have it. Its best use yet, accessing maps, weapons and everything else on gamepad. Really? I thought pause menu or HUD was just for the same thing and definitely works awesomely in this department. Furthermore, tell me how a person can concentrate on 2 screens at once without taking off one of them?
Of course, unless they want to change the human race itself by making them able to see 2 things at once like a chameleon.
If controllers have a screen, its called a handheld console, looks like ninty forgot that. Innovating just for the sake of it does not work.
@76,
That is precisely why people working on pricing scheme of live are pure ass*****. Charging for something that is free on psn is foolish. But then I guess people who pay for it are even more foolish as they allow themselves to get ripped off by ms.

I wouldnt be surprised if this was leaked on purpose. I mean cmon, just after E3 when the Wii-U was shown off? I guess this means the tech specs for the Wii-U must finally be out. ima go look nao

Although it’d almost definitely scream *INSTABUY* if it was true…

I think I’ll believe the tablet thing ‘when I see it’.

@82: MS are working on augmented reality glasses (just like Google are), which can be used as a controller. So are Sony.

If these things are released in around 2015, Nintendo will have to follow, or they’ll be finished IYAM.

Augmented reality glasses are a stupid idea.

3D glasses already proved that people don’t enjoy wearing these stuff no matter how cool 3d is. Not everyone likes to wear glasses.
some people wear them because they need them and that is the point of “glasses”.

I’m not sure that people will wear glasses to check someone on facebook while wearing them Playing games? I don’t want to be distracted because that is just a Fad.

3D glasses are rubbish for a number of reasons. Augmented reality is completely different.

This is a very crude example, but I’m sure you can see why MS would be pushing this for the mass market.

Google are spending millions on this kind of technology, and now so are Sony and MS.

http://www.patentbolt.com/2012/03/microsoft-invents-projector-eyewear-for-xbox-beyond.html

http://www.patentbolt.com/2012/03/sony-patent-reveals-new-3d-controller-for-single-or-multiplayer-games.html

You might think it’s a stupid idea, but it’s an idea that I think is going to be difficult to get away from over the next few years.

Just look at the people https://plus.google.com/111626127367496192147/posts
They look stupid. No way i will wear these in public.

“Google are spending millions on this kind of technology, and now so are Sony and MS.”

Sony and other major electronic companies spent millions on 3D glasses too and nothing worked in the end.
Just because companies spent millions does not mean it will reach that audience. There are a lot of examples and it’s not just glasses.

Like I said, that’s because they’re rubbish.

3D glasses are a completely different thing.

It’s like saying that DVDs would fail because LaserDisc did. You can’t compare the two.

So why they are rubbish?

What’s the difference between glasses and glasses?

So called 3D glasses are rubbish for loads of reasons.

1. They don’t even work for everyone. Some people don’t see the effect, some get dizzy, some even get severe headaches. They’re not like a TV where 99.999% of people all see the exact same picture.

2. They’ve always been pitch black. Wearing pitch black glasses indoors is just too stupid for people to take seriously.

3. The effect isn’t even 3D. All you get is a bit off extra depth. The effect isn’t even that good compared to watching some ultra high HD stuff on a high contrast ratio.

4. The idea contradicts itself. Watching something “3D” on a flat screen is pretty much false advertising.

5. Technical restrictions. A whole range of issues have affected 3D glasses based technology over the years, from a lack of a high resolution (although maybe not any more), to super low viewing angles.

6. Price. Doesn’t really need explaining, does it?

Ok. Good points.

But i disagree about 6th because Google glasses will cost a lot for sure.

@89 you ever drove a car with a HUD? If so, you can probably imagine how awesome it must be, to have any kind of informations just infront of you when you need them, while you are fully aware of your surroundings. This AR shit is hot and if released to the masses, they will buy it for shure. Let there be some killer Apps for that and you have the next big thing.

3D is also here to stay but not in the red/green or polarizing or shutter manner. It will shine with higher resolutions and new display technology but it also, like AR glasses, needs more time and its just the beginning of whats to come in the future.

Lets just hope they actuslly remember to bring some decent games along for the ride.

^ so true, as I sense they are going to take the xbox brand into the whole cloud and entertainment park.

@93 agreed