The rumors are starting to open up for the next Microsoft Xbox. IGN reported yesterday from an "inside source" that the system will be 6 times more powerful than the current Xbox and that will make it "20%" more powerful than the Wii U. Take this for whatever it's worth:
Next Xbox Power ReportAnother report coming in today that I caught on Kotaku suggests the system will use BluRay discs(not a big surprise there, even the Wii U is using a BRD drive, but not including playback). There's also a rumor here that it won't be able to play back used games and will launch with Kinect 2.
More stuff about the next XboxThere's also a lot of talk about cloud gaming and downloading full games as a big focus for the system, but so far there hasn't been any comment about it from Microsoft. The general consensus is that it'll be coming out sometime in 2013, probably in the fall.
My analysis would be that all of this news is likely to be true, but I'm a bit skeptical about the used game market being eliminated by the next Xbox, it'd definately be grounds for a lawsuit about copyright law, as if there aren't enough of those.
For power, the system needs to be a big leap over the 360 but it shouldn't be that hard because the 360 will be about eight years old by the time the new platform comes out. I also think the leap in power will be a bit more modest than the 360 was to keep prices lower and profits higher. Also if Kinect 2 will be integrated with the system they'll probably have to factor that in to their pricing too.
The used game thing, if it's true is a total deal breaker for me, I have no interest in supporting any system that restricts my ability to be games from a used market. Also the news that Kinect 2 will be a big part of the system irks me, I just do not like Kinect at all for gaming applications.
The biggest problem I have going into a new Xbox would be that I just really think Microsoft has little interesting to offer that the competition won't next-gen. Their exclusives don't interest me, Xbox Live is not worth the price of admission for me, and I just don't care for Microsoft's gaming philosophy. I own an Xbox 360 but honestly have no love for the system, it's just a venue to play HD games for me.
Of course, there's the strong possibility that the visuals of the system will really outdo the Wii U and that will give Microsoft a big edge, then it'll be like this generation all over again with Sony and Microsoft fighting for a higher-end audience while Nintendo just gets the table scraps for its system with the unique controller.
