AMD boss talks up next Xbox's graphics and AI

AMD's Neal Robison has dropped hints on what to expect from Microsoft's new console.

The new console will have graphics on par with James Cameron's Avatar, Robison told the US version of OXM, as reported by the Examiner.

Commenting that gamers have much to be excited about, Robison reportedly said AI and physics will be a major focus for the console's powers. Open-world games in particular will benefit from this, with crowds acting as individuals rather than predictable mobs.

It's not clear how hardware is supposed to make this happen, but perhaps Robison means Microsoft is ensuring it supplies specific capacities with which developers can implement such novelties.

The Xbox 360 uses ATI Xenos to power its graphics, suggesting AMD is likely to be in the know if Microsoft is (inevitably) researching the console's successor. The original Xbox used nVidia cards.

Thanks, CVG.