Xbox Next
Xbox Next is a name used along with Project Xenon, Xbox 2 and Xbox 360 to refer to Microsoft's as-yet unnamed Xbox successor video game console. It is expected to be released late 2005 in U.S and the launch in Europe is only expected a few weeks later. It is rumored and believed by most that the name will be Xbox 360. In March 2004, Microsoft announced a new software game development strategy, dubbed "XNA", relevant to the Xbox Next. The Xbox Next will compete for marketshare with the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Project Revolution. The Xbox Next will be officially unveiled on MTV a week before Eł (May 12 2005).
RumorsIn a Q&A with the development community, Pete Isensee, Development Lead, Xbox Advanced Technology Group, detailed the Xbox Next's specifications. The console is powered by a customized 3.0 GHz CPU, based on the IBM PowerPC 970 processor. The GPU is a custom 500 MHz ATI chip, which is rumored to be a generation ahead of the X800 series. The console has 512 MB of unified memory. The CPU includes either two or three independent processors (cores) on a single die. Each core runs at 3.0 GHz. The Xenon CPU can issue two instructions per clock cycle per core. The CPU peaks at approximately 72 GFLOPS. Unlike the Xbox, the basic version of the Xbox Next is rumored not to have a hard disk. In November 2004, The Inquirer reported that three separate versions of the Xbox Next may be released: a standard Xbox Next, the Xbox Next HD with a built-in hard drive and additional multimeda functionality, and the Xbox Next PC which would incorporate an entry-level PC, a CD burner, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and a special multimedia edition of Windows XP.
joystick picture If the Xbox Next does come in a version with a hard drive, Halo "2.5" will be a launch title. Xbox 2 and "Halo 2.5" I Love Bees-style marketing is apparently being used with OurColony that supposedly rewards visitors with glimpses of Microsoft's next-generation console.
ReferencesVideo of Jay Allard speech at the GDC 2005We Got Next (part 1) and We Got Next (part 2), Gamespy articles about the Xbox Next (March 8, 2005).Microsoft to release three versions of Xbox 2, an Inquirer article about the three proposed Xbox Next variantsNo Hard Drive in Xbox 2 Confirmed, TeamXbox News articleMicrosoft leaks details on Xbox Next, from MercuryNews.com Big Changes Are Planned in Game-Software Strategy, a New York Times articleXbox2News.com, Confirmed Xbox 2 Games List
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