Rumour: Microsoft to Reveal the Next Xbox Console in April

Post by Dan @ 11:41am 25/02/13 | 37 Comments

Following last week's big PlayStation 4 reveal, much expectation has now been heaped on Microsoft, who are yet to disclose any details on their similarly hotly-anticipated next generation games console. However, as it did before Sony's announcement, the rumour has began to bubble with word on when Microsoft will be showing their hand, and all signs are pointing toward a one-off event April 2013.

CVG appears to have been the first to sound the horn, with many other publications confirming their sources have reached the same conclusion. AusGamers is happy to join the party on this one, as we can also confirm to have word, on good authority, of something Xbox going down in April.

Microsoft partner Ustechs has also reportedly registered the very suggestive xboxevent.com Internet domain, so unless we hear otherwise, expect to hear more about codename Durango in under two months.

xbox 720 xbox microsoft

Latest Comments

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ravn0s
Posted 12:03pm 25/2/13

microsoft has a tough battle ahead of them. they're going to have to pull out all the stops this gen.

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WirlWind
Posted 12:36pm 25/2/13

I stopped caring after "oh hey, you need to pay to play online".

I sold my 360 shortly after I finished laughing.

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Reverend Evil�
Posted 12:50pm 25/2/13

microsoft has a tough battle ahead of them. they're going to have to pull out all the stops this gen

You reckon? The 360 has been around for about 8 years now and is still kicking ass. And they didn't have bluray either to entice customers. I think they'll do alright against Sony. I don't think they have to worry too much about Nintendo since Nintendo are still dragging their feet with adding in DVD/Bluray playback plus their hardware will be behind Sony and MS again. Also, I'm not a fanboy of either. PC will always be my main choice.

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Hogfather
Posted 01:50pm 25/2/13

I don't think they have to worry too much about Nintendo since Nintendo are still dragging their feet with adding in DVD/Bluray playback

I laugh in your face, sir.

WiiU needs DLNA, not Blu-Ray.

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Eorl
Posted 02:17pm 25/2/13

The Wii U doesn't need a bluray drive at all, just like how you said 360 didn't need one. They have their own format though which loads up to 25GB discs but I presume they'll be able to tweak that. I never doubted the Wii U would be technically inferior to the PS4 and next Xbox, they seem to be able to go off into their own corner and survive well enough, especially with the amount of dosh the 3DS is pulling in for them now.

In saying all this, I am quite excited to see what Microsoft do with their next-gen console. I'm hoping for more media playback and a strong push to unite Windows 8 with PC which should be interesting. No doubt it would probably be cheaper too (hopefully) though we shall see.

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ShwaMiller86
Posted 02:19pm 25/2/13

Microsoft doesn't have as much of a battle ahead as you may think. Their battleground will be the PC, Infinity will sell itself quite well and compete with the Vita's PS3 integration and WiiU with Xbox Glass.

Nintendo will likely go the way of Sega this generation unless handhelds carry them to the finish line. Wii was unique, unrepeatable and a short term success and long term disaster.

Their overall strategy is anchored in the 90s, producing gaming machines and toys, not entertainment systems - PS3 was only successful because of BluRay. Xbox was successful because of the titles that dragged it into great success.

BluRay is important, because the majority of people in the world aren't tech savvy and buy physical media, so I wouldn't be laughing at Reverend Evil.

Due to x86 architecture across the board PC will become the lead development platform and consoles will be the ports. Multi-core will become more prevalent, as will engine efficiency as the pathetic clock speeds of the consoles will need to be taken advantage of.
This will mean PCs will have a huge amount of overhead for massive performance gains and higher resolutions.

WiiU development will fall behind due to hardware gap. This gap will widen hugely when 360 and PS3 are abandoned by devs in 2015/16 and become the home of old ports from previous generations and bad movie tie-in ports etc. as PS1, PS2 did. 360 will likely do this for a very short period of time before being cut off as Microsoft have a more aggressive upgrade model - they push devs off, Sony like to squeeze old gen for every cent it's worth (PS2 only stopped being manufactured mid-2012).

WiiU will fall behind at that stage, because it will be the most difficult to code for. Smaller install base will likely result in less or no effort from third parties, unlike with Cell, which had enough traction to keep Sony in the game.

Then we will see the Steam Boxes emerge, Linux become a lead platform as Nvidia continue working on Linux drivers and coding happens in OpenGL (as used on consoles anyway), with performance boosts of up to 400% depending on the engine and less code between metal and engine.

At this point Microsoft will lose traction due to a modest pick-up of Windows. Gamers have a disproportionate influence over operating system choices in the consumer market, so moving to Linux will cause major issues for Microsoft as Windows 7 ages and

So... that's next gen for the initiated.

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Hogfather
Posted 02:57pm 25/2/13

Nintendo will likely go the way of Sega this generation unless handhelds carry them to the finish line. Wii was unique, unrepeatable and a short term success and long term disaster.

The Wii U isn't selling as many units as the original, but people are buying a lot more games for it. The attach rate is almost double what it was at this time in the Wii's launch. This is good news for Nintendo, as the Wii U with its fancy pants tablet controller is considerably more expensive for them to make than the Wii was, and they need games to be sold to make money.

http://gimmegimmegames.com/2013/01/wii-u-has-3-82-software-attach-rate/
It appears that analysts claiming the Wii U would have a software attach rate close to 1 game per console were dramatically wrong. New sales data shows that the average Wii U owner has bought almost four games for the system.

The launch hasn't been a failure, it just hasn't been the exception that the Wii was, but it still out performed BOTH the 360 and PS3 launches in a pretty gloomy economy, with over 3 million consoles now sold.

Your post is full of random thoughts and assumed truths that are made up. There's a portion of the gaming community that is desperate for Nintendo to fail for some bizarre reason.

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Mantorok
Posted 02:59pm 25/2/13

BluRay is important, because the majority of people in the world aren't tech savvy and buy physical media, so I wouldn't be laughing at Reverend Evil.

Blu-ray players are like $90. Anyone who wants Blu-ray has it already.

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Hogfather
Posted 03:06pm 25/2/13

Yeh, non tech-savvy people buy expensive newly-released video game consoles because they include disk players available for a quarter the price, right?! lolsies

As mentioned, this Shwa random is making up reasons for Nintendo-fail.

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glynd
Posted 03:13pm 25/2/13

@ Shwa, none of that will happen. "Next gen" will run out exactly the same as the current gen.

The "average" person doesn't care about blu-ray player. The "average" person cares about the $300 price difference which it looks like it'll be heading again.

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Linker
Posted 03:18pm 25/2/13

Lol this guy is the new Michael Pachter right?

People have been sayin nintendo is doomed since the n64 days. Not gonna happen, they are too profitable unlike Sony and Microsoft's gaming businesses.

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Reverend Evil�
Posted 03:25pm 25/2/13

Well, if I was gonna buy a console from scratch and two out of three of them could play my DVD and Bluray collection, I know what one I wouldn't buy.

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Akuma07
Posted 03:45pm 25/2/13

LOL.... the 360 isn't still kicking ass. It's a dead platform. Microsoft NEED the new Xbox, however, the PS3 still has many years left in it. They don't have bluray because they tried to pioneer HD-DVD, which Bluray beat out of the park at the start of the gen. The next-box will use Bluray. You can tell me not having Bluray is no problem, and while you are changing your discs midway through the game, I'll keep kicking ass on my PS.

Name one first party game that was awesome besides Halo?

I haven't even thought about the 360 at all in at least a year, until all this next-gen talk.

The only thing Microsoft ever did well, was ruin things for everyone else, while not producing anything worth while themselves.

Not a fanboy, but have to call it how I see it. The Xbox enjoyed a nice period of prosperity, but the last 3 years have been total crap.

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fpot
Posted 03:50pm 25/2/13

Yeah totally not a fanboy.

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`ViPER`
Posted 03:55pm 25/2/13

Their overall strategy is anchored in the 90s, producing gaming machines and toys

I must be stuck in the 90's, cause I still like buying gaming machines.

I dont really need my console to be an entertainment hub, but in saying that Nintendo could add media capabilities to the Wii U through software, not a silly blu-ray drive that no one needs.

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BEHUB
Posted 03:56pm 25/2/13

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2013/02/14/xbox-360-keeps-top-console-spot-for-25th-straight-month.aspx

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tel
Posted 03:57pm 25/2/13

I've always thought Nintendo products are for children. I bought a Wii once, what a mistake that was. I'm a PC gamer myself but I'm looking forward to the new XBox reveal. Lets hope Microsoft shows the new console. Even though i liked the PS4 event, i was disappointed they didn't show the console. We don't have a clue what was running those games. For what we know, it could've been a Game PC.

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Eorl
Posted 04:02pm 25/2/13

Well, if I was gonna buy a console from scratch and two out of three of them could play my DVD and Bluray collection, I know what one I wouldn't buy.

I'd like to see who doesn't have some form of DVD or Bluray playback, especially in the year 2013.

Also ShwaMiller86, the Wii U has actually performed just above what the PS3 and Xbox 360 did in their first three months, which is odd I guess for a console that is "dying". Nothing will ever come close to Sega and its falls, especially Nintendo who has a hefty sum banked up from the Wii and DS days. While it is doom and gloom at the moment, I highly doubt NIntendo aren't going to rollover and die without some sort of fight, so hopefully we see some big titles next month like Monster Hunter and LEGO that really kick start the buyer fever.

Tel, anything can be deemed "childish", heck most of America's media think video games are still children's toys and deem them too violent for kids.

I'd suggest giving Steve's latest entry at Vooks a read, its a great piece and I share many of his opinions on this whole Nintendo ordeal.

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Mantorok
Posted 04:01pm 25/2/13

You can tell me not having Bluray is no problem, and while you are changing your discs midway through the game, I'll keep kicking ass on my PS.

We're not talking about disc capacity, we're talking about movie playback. Movie playback is pointless because Blu-ray players are cheap. It's not like back when the PS2 launched and DVD players were still $300.

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tel
Posted 04:11pm 25/2/13

You have a point there Eorl, sorry mate. All i know is the gamer's i know either have a PS3, Xbox 360, PC or both, while their kids usually play the Wii. Wii can be fun and has some great platform games but i'm not into that. FPS, simulations and some 3rd person for me :)

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Nerf Lord
Posted 04:34pm 25/2/13

All I know is, Thief 4 may be a flagship title, so I'm keen.

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Spook
Posted 05:08pm 25/2/13

since Nintendo are still dragging their feet with adding in DVD/Bluray playback

lolz, asif anyone cares about being able to play dvds/blurays

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Akuma07
Posted 05:31pm 25/2/13

Lol. Nice trolling. I have used my ps3 as a bluray player since it was released. So has everyone that I know that have one.

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Mantorok
Posted 05:38pm 25/2/13

And Blu-ray players were still over $1000 when the PS3 launched. The point is the technology is now so cheap, you don't need movie playback integrated into a console.

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Eorl
Posted 05:41pm 25/2/13

Also consider how trivialised it would be when you have applications like Netflix or YouTube built in. The days of DVD/Bluray playback as a mandatory piece are gone with the gigantic price drop. As Mantorok said, the only reason people bought PS3's over Bluray players was due to it being a cheaper option.

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Mordecai
Posted 06:34pm 25/2/13

I've always thought Nintendo products are for children. I bought a Wii once, what a mistake that was. I'm a PC gamer myself but I'm looking forward to the new XBox reveal. Lets hope Microsoft shows the new console. Even though i liked the PS4 event, i was disappointed they didn't show the console. We don't have a clue what was running those games. For what we know, it could've been a Game PC.

The developers of Watch_Dogs admitted the demo was running on a PC set up similar to what the specs for the PS4.

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greazy
Posted 06:48pm 25/2/13

So does this mean the xbox/ps3 will get a price cut? Still in the market to get one... Not sure if I should wait (because maybe backwards compatibility?) or just to buy one and enjoy gaming?

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crazymorton
Posted 09:39pm 25/2/13

The point is the technology is now so cheap, you don't need movie playback integrated into a console.

That's subjective. If you like to have physical media and want a single media solution, not 2-3 devices in your home theatre, then you would want one.

If you just use ISO's and stream then yeah, who cares.

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Mosfx
Posted 09:54pm 25/2/13

I had a PS3 and never used the Bluray feature, I have an Xbox and dont use it for DVD playback. I download all my TV shows and Movies dump them onto a USB and watch that way.

I enjoy a console set-up in the lounge room because I work behind a desk all day and I don't want to be behind a desk playing games, I like to sit back in my sofa, drinking a beer and playing a video game my PC is used for Mplayer (NS2, TF2, SC2 etc)

Also paying for Xbox Live is what $6.00 a month? How many times were Sony's servers hacked again???? I'd rather pay a measly $6.00 a month if it means security, oh plus all the DLC first Xbox got.

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Linker
Posted 11:20pm 25/2/13

greazy, there will likely be price cuts before the end of the year.

PS4 is confirmed to not have PS3 backwards compatibility
The next Xbox is also unlikely to have that ability as they're switching to x86 architecture too. The interesting thing to see will be if somehow they will be able to transfer XBLA content, I'm guessing that's not coming across either.

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funky
Posted 11:41pm 25/2/13

yeah, i've never even seen a blueray, certainly would not enter into my purchasing decision for a games console. i probably won't be buying a console for quite a while as i'm currently, and for the forseeable future, travelling, but i am interested to see how they all pan out.

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kos
Posted 08:02am 26/2/13

I stopped caring after "oh hey, you need to pay to play online".

I sold my 360 shortly after I finished laughing.

This for me also, but without even the buying.

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Khel
Posted 10:37am 26/2/13

Wouldn't expect it to change after it was so successful though, word is even PS4 is going the same route.

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Reverend Evil�
Posted 10:47am 26/2/13

As long as the console has good games I don't worry about stuff like bluray or dvd. That's just normally an afterthought.

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Hogfather
Posted 10:56am 26/2/13

Well, if I was gonna buy a console from scratch and two out of three of them could play my DVD and Bluray collection, I know what one I wouldn't buy.

As long as the console has good games I don't worry about stuff like bluray or dvd. That's just normally an afterthought.

Holy f*****g backflip batman!

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kos
Posted 11:07am 26/2/13

Wouldn't expect it to change after it was so successful though, word is even PS4 is going the same route.

Of course, I would never expect them to change it. If you can get millions of chumps to pay subscription fees for the "privilege" of playing multiplayer or accessing any online features, why would you stop?

And yeah it wouldn't surprise me at all if Sony went the same way, though if they did it would rule the PS4 out for me completely. The old PS3 will do me just fine for casual on the couch/social gaming for at least a few more years.

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ravn0s
Posted 11:26am 26/2/13

Wouldn't expect it to change after it was so successful though, word is even PS4 is going the same route.

pretty sure they said it's still free.

bluray drives aren't solely for movies, it can help improve games too. due to the large capacity of the discs, it gives developers the option to add better quality cinematics, audio and more to the game. that's something they can't really do with the xbox unless they fork out the cash to print extra DVD's.

That's subjective. If you like to have physical media and want a single media solution, not 2-3 devices in your home theatre, then you would want one.

that's me. i only want the 1 device and my ps3 allows me to do everything i want and need from it. it plays my physical media, media obtained in other manners, and my ps3 exclusive games.

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