Microsoft unveiled their newest home console today, known officially as the XBox One. That’s going to be confusing.
You can read all about the details of the new system after the break.
A supposed document from Microsoft has revealed details about the Xbox 720. It’s unclear if the document itself is legitimate, but it was taken down from Scribd.com by a law-firm that has worked with Microsoft in the past. The document, however, “makes several assumptions about the Wii U”, “specifically claiming that the Wii U will cost around $249″. The question is, does Microsoft have inside information?
It’s in their best interests to know what the competition is doing, so I’m curious as to how much information is leaked between the big companies that never makes it to the press. What do you think?
A user on NeoGAF has shared a series of posts that provide a relative understanding of the Wii U hardware in relation to the Xbox 720 and PS4. Supposedly, he is a developer who has proven himself to the moderators on the forum, but as with anything, be skeptical. It’s also very early days for the other consoles, so a lot of things can change between now and then.
This apparent developer compares the Wii U to a “low specs PC” and, while the “PS4 is not final yet and can change a lot”, the next Xbox is “more or less clear right now” and “the gap is big in almost every part”.
He specifically mentions, in response to someone disagreeing there will be a major difference with graphics that, “no, it will be noticeable (technically speaking)”. Of course, “noticeable” is a relative term in itself. But will be interesting to see if these systems make the Wii U look like another Wii in terms of raw power.
Bloomberg is reporting that the successor to the Xbox 360, despite the rumours we’ve heard, will not be released this year and it will not be shown at E3 2012. That latter point was confirmed by David Dennis, a spokesperson for Microsoft. And as far as Nintendo and the Wii U is concerned, this is great news. Their biggest advantage is being the only new console on the market for an entire year before the competition.
(via mynintendonews.com)
IGN has reported a rumor that:
…the Xbox 720′s raw graphics processing power is expected to be six times that of the Xbox 360 and will yield 20-percent greater performance than Nintendo’s forthcoming console, the Wii U.
If true, this is fantastic for Nintendo. An improvement of 20% is nothing to scoff at, but I don’t believe it’d be enough for the Wii U to lack the multi-platform support that the Wii suffered.
There may be some games that couldn’t be scaled back to run on the platform, but most could. It’s rare for a developer to truly tap into the full power of the hardware they’re working with anyway, so a graphically average game on the Xbox 720 would likely be a graphically high-end game for the Wii U. The fact that it could still run though is what makes this exciting.
There’s also mention of the Xbox 720 being released at the end of 2013, which seems to be the most plausible time frame for the console’s release, and a worthwile head-start for the Wii U.
Written by David - Tags: Xbox 720
Okay, so MCV reported that the Xbox 720 and PS4 will be shown at E3. But Industry Gamers is saying that one of the consoles (or perhaps both of them) will launch during Christmas 2012.
One of the biggest advantages Nintendo has with the Wii U is that it was expected to launch at least a year before the other consoles. They may have a much tougher battle to face if it turns out that Microsoft, Sony, or both of them close that gap by a matter of months (or even weeks).
MCV is reporting that “both the Xbox 360 successor AND a follow up to the PS3 will be shown at E3 2012.” If true, this means the Wii U will have a lot more to compete with in terms of grabbing the attention of the media and the gamers tracking the event online. What’s also particularly impressive is that:
It will mark the very first time in the show’s 17-year history that three fresh, rival console formats will be so directly comparable.
This might end up being one hell of a show.