The Next Gen: Let the Speculation Begin
EvAv just highlighted the EDGE article stating that several studios already have makeshift dev kits for next gen game development, in preparation for a 2012 launch. It would appear that Nintendo with the Wii U, might be forcing the companies to get to the market a little earlier than they had originally planned. I definitely remember Sony saying something about “10 years” when they launched the PS3. Why either MS or Sony would find the Wii U any threat at all, is beyond me. Even as well as the Wii sold, it wasn’t a threat to the competitors for the current generation. The only thing holding Sony and MS back in this current generation were high price and quality respectively. Had Sony launched the PS3 at half the price, it would have sold like the Wii. Likewise, had MS manufactured a machine that wasn’t guaranteed to break, they too, would have celebrated much higher sales numbers. Furthermore, I think there are very few people who bought a Wii over one of the other systems regardless. With the Wii, Nintendo did the entire industry a great service – they got video games through the doors of homes in which there would never have been a video game. They expanded the market. Michael Pachter got this right when he said in the latest Bonus Round, now those kiddie gamers will be asking their parents for a real machine to play the FPSes on.
Admittedly, while wincing at the thought of dishing out big bucks yet again, I find the thought of the “next gen” coming so soon to be very exciting. Until about six months ago, I would have adamantly denied that I would ever buy the 720 at launch. Who needed it, I thought. But then the PC finally started getting some love, with Frostbite 2 leading the pack and The Samaritan demo teasing things to come, and we are starting to see the wrinkles under the make-up. Also, the faster the new system launches, the sooner it enters its 2nd year with tested hardware and reduced prices. Anyway, what I find particularly enjoyable is considering the things that the companies need/should change for their next machine. Here is my wishlist:
Xbox 720:
Stable, durable hardware, below the 300.00 mark.
Cheap, durable 1st party boom mic headsets.
A Solid State Drive at least for the OS so that it is instant on.
Dev requested quantities of RAM.
The option to use non-licensed HDD.
At least a 1.5 year jump on high end PC hardware for longevity.
Software enhancement for instant dashboard access and use during games.
Optional:
Built in 2nd generation Kinect tech
Non-proprietary hardware for easier development
Customizable controllers
How about you guys? I am sure I am missing a ton of crucial updates/changes.
Great. Great post my brotha (fam). It is fun to have a wish list. With that said, I will give MY wish list (keeping in mind that I already give your wishes the “thumbs up”). So…
MP games that can play up to 64 players. Blue ray. Keyboard and mouse. More (or all) pc type abilities (ms word. Lotus notes. High end pc gaming). Destroy the pc world with a Xbox / pc all in one. I would buy one (and never buy another desk to pc again). Laptops/ipads and xbox’s would be tbe only systems people would buy in 5 years. Something like that would be expensive of course. But could they do it for $800? If they could, I would buy it in a second. $1200 maybe. They could just keep improving the X360′s quality and price to keep / get “low end” customer. Oh and one more thing on my wish list. Drum roll please…….
Have a spliter cable that could work on 4 tv’s. One Xbox for 4 gamers and 4 tv’s. Everyone could be gaming off one xbox. That would be a beast! I would play $2000 if I could get all that stuff.
You said “wish list”.
Oh. One more thing
Make that sh..t out of alumunim and anodize it cool custom colors. Just to say to Apple…
“Wazz Up!……”
Oh and make the keyboard wireless, ergonomic so you can sit with in your lap on the couch. And “bat outta hell cool’ with little green led’s glowing everywhere. Ok, now I want to work in MS marketing group and kick this next gen in the ass. But I’m stuck in Detroit… Earning a good living in the auto industry. Oh well, a guy can dream… And play BF3 or Gears 3! Anyone gaming tonight?
Also a console that is on Direct X 11. That’s where BF3 is on ultra settings right now. The current gen of consoles is on DX9. Gives you an idea of the disparity there!
Want:
-Direct x11 video card (specs hopefully relatively high in comparison to current high end at the time). I don’t think DX12 will be on consoles, because the API feasibly will not be out until xbox 720 is near end of development (this isn’t a big deal though, as xbox 360 has pushed its dx9 limits very far). Even BF3 on PC is just the tip of the iceberg regarding what is possible with DX11.
- Liquid cooling (this has been rumored for a while, if done right, would be durable and excellent)
- Intel’s hyper-threading processor… potentially 6-core+ hyper threading to 12+ ::drool::
- Sufficient ram (likely DDR3), that doesn’t bottleneck the rest of the hardware.
- a small SSD to store the OS and temporary data.
- 1TB HDD (7,200 RPM), to store games and media. These drives are so cheap these days… even at 2.5 (laptop drive sized).
- Kinect included in box.
- Fast OS, Clan blade at dashboard and integration to all xbox titles.
- Hdmi in box. Native resolution MUST BE 1080p.
- Blu-ray
- (like kenai said) an aluminum casing would be great. Not just for looks… but to work as a natural heat sink. Apple (being brilliant) knew that the casing material would essentially breath (without burning consumers lol).
- Social network emphasis… on gamers. We don’t want facebook live.. we want features that are important to gamers. Any additional content is great, but they at very least need to accommodate their hardcore in the design choices.
I imagine digital distribution will be a large part of the next xbox.
Also, Microsoft hired their “next gen xbox hardware” devs a long time ago. And several months ago hired more! I would not at all be surprised to see an xbox 720 at E3… even though the earliest they will launch is 2013 Q4 imo.
OH!! Also, xbox 720 needs to be integrated to 360.(this should be easy in terms of backwards compatibility). A user on xbox 720 should be able to join a party with people on xbox 360… and play the same games.
I approve this message.
After speaking with Blank and based on my own personal opinion, I feel like 2013 is the earliest we’ll see a new xbox. They really screwed the hooch with this generation. If I’m going to shell out $400, I want RELIABILITY in the hardware department. Also, the new system will most likely be $400 or more. I just don’t see them doing anything less. The question is, will people buy them in these tough times. Me, I’m going to wait a while. Shit is too damn expensive.
It can’t be a gaming console. It has to be more, and more than what it already is. I mean looking back at this year, even after all the AAA games out there, gaming isn’t enough, netflix isn’t enough (heck my TV now does that).
It has to provide more content and the social aspect of connecting people should be paramount over gaming. Otherwise other devises will overlap and overcome the consoles reach. I would rather just buy the ipad 3.
Gaming itself is declining. I will laugh at all 3 consoles when they don’t reach their expected sales. If people are having trouble enough getting all the good games in a mostly dry year. I can’t imagine them shelling out $400-500 on a new console and then getting all the good games that come out for it. Not to mention the division it will cause.
They need to wait 2-3 years until the economy is stronger and they have strengthen all the aspects outside of gaming, enough to justify a big purchase, and basically buying all those sequels (and subsequent map remakes) all over again.
as long as sports games and COD’s keep getting releases, gaming consoles aren’t going anywhere.
Thanks, Guys! I knew you would have a bunch of stuff I hadn’t even thought of.
As for the launch date, MS announced the 360 in May 2005 and launched in November of the same year, which gives the rumored dates of 2012 some precedent, if not validity. At seven years, it also still makes this the longest console generation to date. That is quite a feat.
As for early adopting, I am not saying I have the cash for another new console in 12 months (let alone a whole Man Cave set of 4 boxes). I am saying, however, that I am now officially excited about the potential of new hardware. Until BF3 for the PC was shown, I really didn’t care, and didn’t really want to think about it. But since PC footage started hitting the web, I started experiencing that “grass is greener” feeling that I always used to feel.
Finally, I don’t want broken hardware so I really want to resist buying at launch. I want to wait at least until it has been established as solid. I think MS is going to have some crazy “pre-order” deals to try to combat the resistance/reluctance that normally eager early adopters will naturally have to overcome.
UPDATE:
According to this article, a source on the Xbox team at Microsoft has confirmed a 2013 launch for the next gen machine.
“Williams, Coyner’s replacement, will be tasked with guiding the design and brand strategy as the group moves toward launching the next console. The game developer Web site Develop recently pegged the launch of the next console for 2013, something a source on the Xbox team confirmed. Microsoft declined to comment on the timing of the next Xbox.“