According to a new report from Pat Garratt, Microsoft have been fully detailing the new Xbox to third parties, with the console manufacturer apparently eyeing up a Christmas 2013 release for its next-gen machine.
If the report is to be believed, the new platform will certainly have a Blu-Ray drive, quashing rumours that it might be digital-only, and will require a permanent connection to the internet "like Steam" as an anti-piracy measure.
"Multiple sources have confirmed this morning that the machine will have two GPUs," reads the report. "One said: 'It’s like two PCs taped together.'"
"We’re waiting for final confirmation of specs, but the graphics cards are thought to be equivalent to AMD’s 7000 series GPUs, but “not CrossFire or SLI”. The GPUs aren’t structured as they are in a normal dual PC set-up, in which the two chips take it in turns to draw lines of the same object: Xbox 720′s graphics units will be able to work independently, drawing separate items simultaneously."
There were reports last week that Sony's next-gen console - codenamed Orbis - would also use AMD components.
The new Xbox's CPU will reportedly have “four or six” cores, with one reserved for Kinect and one for the OS. Furthermore, Kinect will be built into the device as standard, and the console will require an always-on internet connection as an anti-piracy measure.
It's uncertain whether or not this will also be used to combat pre-owned titles, as has also been rumoured.
Next year is going to be utterly bonkers! [VG247]
