# Xbox 720 leak reveals $299 console with Kinect 2 for 2013, Kinect Glasses project



## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2012)

Don't know how real any of this is but it's an interesting starting point for discussion on what people would like in the next xbox.



> Microsoft outlines a competitive differentiation for its next-generation Xbox, including support for Blu-ray, native 3D output and glasses, concurrent apps, and additional sensor and peripheral support. Alongside a promised 6x performance increase, there's also mention of true 1080p output with full 3D support and an "always on" state for the console. A slide on core hardware indicates that the next Xbox will be designed to be scalable in the number of CPU cores and their frequencies. Microsoft appears to have been debating whether to use six or eight ARM or x86 cores clocked at 2GHz each with 4GB of DDR4 memory alongside three PPC cores clocked at 3.2GHz each for backwards compatibility with existing Xbox 360 titles.
> 
> Microsoft positions its Xbox 720 as the _only _box needed for living room entertainment in the document, providing background recording functionality for TV content and a unified Windows 8 foundation to make it easier for application developers to build apps that target Xbox, PC, and Windows Phone. Illustrations of the Xbox 720 throughout the presentation make it comparable in looks to an old set-top box, but appear to be just a concept design used in 2010. Microsoft rounds off the document with a promised price point of $299 with its Kinect 2 hardware and a prediction of a 10-year lifecycle with more than 100 million units sold.


 
Read the full article here.


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## bmd (Jun 16, 2012)

Closer integration of console, pc, tv and phone is where it's at. It's all about the content now too. What gets me with Ms is how much they tie a Gold sub to all of that. You won't get that with Apple or Nintendo. Hope Apple get their iTV shit together. iPad, Mac, iTV and iPhone would work for me. Be interesting to see how Android will get some kind of coherent strategy together for this, the fragmentation thing is too confusing for Joe Public atm imo.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2012)

Can't see Android getting in the convergence/home entertainment hub game tbh, they just have too many companies doing different products. MS and Apple will succeed because they'll force coherence and easy of use. Nintendo and Sony are in big trouble although the latter has more opportunity given they actually make other devices...


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## bmd (Jun 16, 2012)

Yeah I'm seeing the beginning of the end for Nintendo. It's most of the games that are shit plus Ms are doing motion control so much better imo. Sony always get proprietary about their stuff which just adds a layer of bullshit that people can choose to circumvent by going with ms or Apple. Two horse race you think?


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2012)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> Yeah I'm seeing the beginning of the end for Nintendo. It's most of the games that are shit plus Ms are doing motion control so much better imo. Sony always get proprietary about their stuff which just adds a layer of bullshit that people can choose to circumvent by going with ms or Apple. Two horse race you think?


 
Yeah Ninty's constant rehash of old franchises for each new system is getting a little old now. They're really late to the online party, something that MS have nailed with the 360. I wouldn't rule out Sony but you're right about their idiotic attitude to their products...at the moment I can't see anything coming that's going to make me want to get anything other than the 720.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2012)

It's amazing how every single company and pundit goes on about how integrating everything into one device is the ultimate goal. And they have for years - decades, probably, I remember this stuff from the 80s. Everybody's just on the edge of producing that one box in your living room that does everything. And yet _nobody's done it_.

Could it be that it isn't actually a very good idea at all?


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## bmd (Jun 16, 2012)

FridgeMagnet said:


> It's amazing how every single company and pundit goes on about how integrating everything into one device is the ultimate goal. And they have for years - decades, probably, I remember this stuff from the 80s. Everybody's just on the edge of producing that one box in your living room that does everything. And yet _nobody's done it_.
> 
> Could it be that it isn't actually a very good idea at all?



Is Ms saying the 720 will be that one box or more that it will be the hub that connects the mobile devices, tv and pc?


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## souljacker (Jun 16, 2012)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Can't see Android getting in the convergence/home entertainment hub game tbh, they just have too many companies doing different products. MS and Apple will succeed because they'll force coherence and easy of use. Nintendo and Sony are in big trouble although the latter has more opportunity given they actually make other devices...


 

I can't see apple moving into this space. Mainly because we'd know about it already through the monstorous rumour mill that would have already kicked off. Apple TV is a media hub but wont ever be a gaming machine.

And never write off Sony or Nintendo. I'm certain that the Wii U will sell by the bucketload. Thousands of familys love their Wiis and they don't care about it not being an entertainment hub. They just want to all gather round and play Guitar Hero or Tennis or fuck about on the balance board. As for Sony, have we had any specs of the PS4 yet? I bet it has comparable specs to the 720, probably better.

As for fragmentation, I don't think its relevant in the console market. There is room for 3 consoles in the market place, no problem.


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## bmd (Jun 16, 2012)

I don't think the next gen console will stand alone though, that's the point. It will be the hub that connects all devices. Ms does it now to a certain extent and to say the console will be merely a games machine isn't how Im reading what Ms and Apple are gearing up for.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2012)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> Is Ms saying the 720 will be that one box or more that it will be the hub that connects the mobile devices, tv and pc?


I don't think it really matters tbh. One box, no, won't happen. Hub that connects, no, won't happen (either devices do that themselves without a hub, or they don't at all).


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## bmd (Jun 16, 2012)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I don't think it really matters tbh. One box, no, won't happen. Hub that connects, no, won't happen (either devices do that themselves without a hub, or they don't at all).



That's kind of what I meant, in that devices work together to make the entertainment experience more seamless rather than disjointed from console to phone to tv to pc. That's what Sony and Nintendo are missing. But yeah Iagree that no one box will hold all the answers.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2012)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> That's kind of what I meant, in that devices work together to make the entertainment experience more seamless rather than disjointed from console to phone to tv to pc. That's what Sony and Nintendo are missing. But yeah Iagree that no one box will hold all the answers.


This is the thing - they keep pretending they can make it happen, because it's the holy grail for a manufacturer - you make the BOX THAT DOES EVERYTHING, the one people use when they want to watch TV or play games or look up train times or post to Facebook. You are the Gatekeeper.

But it's not happening, and it won't; boxes can't torrent, they won't run your photo gallery, they have crappy browsers,  you can't post to Facebook about a TV program on them at the same time as watching that program without a window going over it. PCs and mobile devices still do lots of things much better and will continue to be better at it. Can we not just give up this myth, given how it's such a complete failure both theoretically and practically?


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## bmd (Jun 16, 2012)

Yeah I agree but do you think it's possible and a sensible way forwards to look at the way different devices fufill different functions outside of the home, like a tablet or phone for instance, and then look at a way that they can then integrate into a device inside the home, like a smart tv, which could be the central hub. No one device has to do all the things you mention but the tv could be where the viewing and gaming experience comes together for the whole family's devices. What are your views on that?


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## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2012)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> Yeah I agree but do you think it's possible and a sensible way forwards to look at the way different devices fufill different functions outside of the home, like a tablet or phone for instance, and then look at a way that they can then integrate into a device inside the home, like a smart tv, which could be the central hub. No one device has to do all the things you mention but the tv could be where the viewing and gaming experience comes together for the whole family's devices. What are your views on that?


I don't think there has to be a "hub" at all - I think that concept is dead. It's just not needed. We've proved it, because people can do all the stuff they want to without a hub. The TV can certainly be where people watch TV and play games (it is already) but that's it, it doesn't have to be connected to anything.

There could never be a hub that all your devices want to deal with anyway, because the manufacturers all want to be the one who controls everything, and none of them make everything you would want, so the connectivity won't happen.


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## bmd (Jun 16, 2012)

I think that Ms and Apple have a chance at connecting all their propiertary devices one way or another but I think the crucial driver to the take up with that will be the content. Who gets what and for how much. Netflix and Lovefilm are good but I can download a 720p movie in 30 mins for much less than they want to charge. The day I stopped pirating music was the day i joined Spotify, because it was easier than sourcing, downloading, storing and playing my mp3s. Give me that with films, ANY film, right after cinema release, for a reasonable price at a decent quality and I'm in. Same with tv series.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2012)

Bob Marley's Dad said:


> I don't think the next gen console will stand alone though, that's the point. It will be the hub that connects all devices. Ms does it now to a certain extent and to say the console will be merely a games machine isn't how Im reading what Ms and Apple are gearing up for.



Yup in fact talking about all this in terms of games consoles will soon be considered retro...


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## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2012)

FridgeMagnet said:


> This is the thing - they keep pretending they can make it happen, because it's the holy grail for a manufacturer - you make the BOX THAT DOES EVERYTHING, the one people use when they want to watch TV or play games or look up train times or post to Facebook. You are the Gatekeeper.
> 
> But it's not happening, and it won't; boxes can't torrent, they won't run your photo gallery, they have crappy browsers,  you can't post to Facebook about a TV program on them at the same time as watching that program without a window going over it. PCs and mobile devices still do lots of things much better and will continue to be better at it. Can we not just give up this myth, given how it's such a complete failure both theoretically and practically?



You don't need torrents to be a mass market success. Check out SmartGlass for how well TV net browsing can be done.

Convergence isn't a myth, it's fast becoming fact and it ain't going away...something I'm very happy about too. We need to get all these devices connected and powerful so it gets to the point that the hardware doesn't matter.


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