Bloomberg: Holiday 2013 release for next Xbox
updated 06:44 am EST, Fri November 30, 2012
Sources reveal purported timing for next-gen Xbox release
Microsoft is planning to have its next-generation Xbox on the shelves in time for the 2013 Holiday Season, reports Bloomberg. According to sources ‘who declined to be identified,’ but who have seen Microsoft’s product roadmap, the new Xbox will go on sale in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Microsoft is also said to be undecided about whether to launch the next Xbox at a gaming event such as E3, or hold its own special launch event.
If true, the new Xbox will arrive on the market around one year after the Nintendo Wii U, the sequel to the multimillion selling Wii. Despite having sold 400,000 of the Wii U new on launch, Microsoft nearly doubled those sales figures with its seven-year-old Xbox 360 console selling 750,000 over the Thanksgiving weekend sales. Microsoft has managed to keep the current Xbox 360 fresh by regularly updating its OS, while also adding additional hardware features such as its popular Kinect accessory.
Recent rumors suggest that the next-generation Xbox will run an OS that incorporates core modules from Windows 8 as well as Direct X11. It could also incorporate Sony’s Blu-ray technology, and include DVR support, possibly through the addition of a separate set-top streamer. Early rumors also suggested that the console could be running a custom 16-core processor and AMD 7000-series dual-GPUs, making it substantially more powerful than the Xbox 360.
