Mandatory Kinect & Game Installs For Every Console, Allegedly

Time to put on your speculation hats on folks, because new word has emerged on the next Xbox. Kotaku has posted information online from a “reliable source” that allegedly gives us the lowdown on what to expect from the next console from Microsoft, currently codenamed Durango. Normally we would heap a heavy amount of scepticism on this one, but considering the informant has been revealed to be “SuperDaE”, the same  person who tried to sell a Durango development unit on eBay last year, it's possible that this time there could be some weight  to it.

Solid-State Cards Instead?

MCV reports that Microsoft's next home console might not have a traditional disc drive. The hardware giant has ostensibly informed its retail partners that the next Xbox will use "some sort of interchangeable solid-state card storage" instead, which could be either a readily-available or proprietary format.

If true, this means that Microsoft would be able to lock each card to a specific console or Gamertag - and go through with their rumoured threat of completely blocking the pre-owned market. At the expense of backwards compatibility, natch.

This is just a rumour, and a potentially worrying one. Without backwards compatibility or DVD/Blu-Ray player potential, the next generation Xbox console could well be a seriously hard sell. We'll keep our eye on it.

Microsoft Patent Suggests So

Rumours continue to mount of a 2012 announcement from both Microsoft and Sony regarding next-gen successors to their current line of home consoles. I'm still a little skeptical they'll launch so early - especially Sony, who've yet to fully profit from the PS3's success - but there's no doubt we'll at least get an idea of what both have in store for the future very soon. And if a patent filed by Microsoft on December 27th last year is anything to go by, we might be able to record television whilst gaming.

Will Be Built In To Next Xbox

Kinect's success means the early salvo of motion-enabled offerings was just the tip of Microsoft's ludicrously powerful iceberg. With a solid launch to build on, MS can now take their exciting new peripheral to all new heights. You'd hope. Well, early reports reveal MS have a new Kinect model in the works, so powerful it can read our lips, determine our mood via facial characteristics, and will no longer rely on the bandwidth-limited USB interface.

Do Ubisoft & EA Already Have Dev Kits?

Grab a handful of salt and a tequila to wash it down with, because it's rumour time again. EDGE Magazine has heard from an anonymous source who claims that Ubisoft Montreal and EA are already in possession of primitive dev kits for the next generation Xbox. These "target boxes" are essentially PC cases with similar hardware configurations - and according to the report, full dev kits will be released to other studios by Christmas. A bespoke AMD GPU has been heavily tipped by multiple sites and sources.

This ties in an earlier uncorroborated rumour from French gaming site Xboxygen, which that the next-gen Xbox is slated for a CES 2012 reveal and late 2012 launch, as well as the leaked Microsoft resumes from last month. Speculation abounds, and it will be interesting to see if the next Xbox manages to completely steal the Wii U's thunder.

Another EDGE Magazine source also suggests that a Sony internal studio has begun game development for the PS3's successor.

Suggests Work Has Reached Hardware Production?

We all know Microsoft is working on a next-generation successor to the Xbox 360; we just don't know where they're planning to take the Xbox 720, Next Xbox, Kinectbox or whatever they decide to call it. My suggestion; the Xbox Evo. With Microsoft unwilling, as yet, to talk about what they're working on, all we're left with is scrounging for rumors and industry chatter. The latest comes from internet sleuth, Supererogatory, who was sent a select few Microsoft employee resumes with explicit mentions towards a "next-gen Xbox".

Just last week, we reported that Crytek was expecting the Next Xbox or Playstation 4 in 2012, less than twelve months from now. The studio swiftly denied the rumor, which only stoked the flames of speculation further. However, Just Cause developers Avalanche Studios have moved to back up Crytek's denial, revealing they're "pretty sure" the next-generation of consoles will arrive in 2014.

John Carmack, the renowned id Software programmer responsible for the then-groundbreaking visuals of Wolfenstein, Quake and Doom, expects the next line of consoles - be it the Next Xbox or Playstation 4 - to offer ten times the power of our current boxes, and he's anticipating they'll release in the "next couple of years".

Phew; that's perhaps too big a leak! So, according to Video Gamer, the Next Xbox - or Xbox 720 or whatever the hellMicrosoft decide to call it - is set for an E3 2012 reveal. That's according to Crysis developers, Crytek, who're privy to the latest console plans from Microsoft and even have a potentially jaw-dropping launch title in the works from their UK studio, formerly known as Free Radical. Care to hazard a guess as to what it might be? Here's a tip; the clue's in the title!

UPDATE: EA has branded the next Xbox rumours as "total fabrication", refuting claims it's receiving dev kits from Microsoft already as "100% not true". While it doesn't quite put the story to rest, it does seem very likely that we won't be seeing anything on Microsoft's successor to the Xbox 360 any time soon.

Rumours continue to mount of Microsoft's plans to reveal the next Xbox at E3 in June. With Nintendo already announcing plans to unveil the Wii's successor, Project Cafe, at the event, it would be in Microsoft's best interests to at least parry the blow with an announcement of their own. However, according to a source close to Eurogamer, don't believe the hype. Microsoft isn't planning to show off the next Xbox - but they are sending out prototype dev kits to select publishers, including EA.

The next Xbox is due in 2015. That's according to unknown designer Ben Peterson's site, where the vague image of what might be console prototype art lingers below text reading "Confidential / Collaboration with Microsoft's IEB design group investigating future user experiences and hardware for 2015. *Work samples only permissible in person.* (March 2011)". Microsoft has been advertising for next-gen Xbox jobs, too.

It seems like the next Xbox isn't as far away as first thought. According to job postings on LinkedIn, Microsoft is looking for a Graphics Hardware Architect, a Senior Architect and Performance Engineer for the Xbox Console Architecture Group, and a Senior Hardware Design Verification Engineer. Doesn't sound like much, but then when you read the listing, which require the candidate to "defining and delivering next generation console architectures", it's pretty obvious they're gearing up for something special.