MS begins work on next Xbox
Microsoft has begun hiring hardware engineers, indicating it will soon start work on a new Xbox.
Microsoft has yet to issue firm confirmation, but three new job adverts have appeared on LinkedIn, each putting heavy focus on designing new console architectures.
The roles currently being advertising include Graphics Hardware Architect, Senior Architect and Performance Engineer for the Xbox Console Architecture Group and Senior Hardware Design Verification Engineer.
'[The applicant must be] responsible for defining and delivering next-generation console architectures from conception through implementation,' reads one of the adverts, as originally reported by Eurogamer.
'The ideal candidate will have been the lead architect and/or implementation lead of a 3D graphics core. The candidate must have taken designs from investigation to end-customer shipment during their career...Our group is involved in product definition from early evaluation all the way through high volume manufacturing.'
While history would normally suggest that a new Xbox console would be arriving this year or next, the console market is currently looking at a much longer shelf-life. Microsoft in particular views the recent launch of Xbox Kinect as a 'console refresh' - so don't expect to see the new Xbox on shelves for a few years yet, at least.
Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyWill a new xbox be more powerful than the best home pc at the moment?
Yes if its 3 or 4 years off
That way when they port stuff to PC we might at least get AA support. :p
Assuming of course that people still develop stuff for PC by then...
Or better yet, destroy all consoles! >.<
Looking forward to it!
HA! It's funny because I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing.
My pursuit of the coveted Game of the Year led to a 3 day binge of Game Dev Story.
And it's good to see MS working on the next console.
Frankly, I think the new console will probably just be a case of "bigger, better, faster" - after all, the max resolution is stuck at 1080p, so all that can really change are the numbers: faster processor, faster graphics, more detail, more AA, more storage.
As long as Microsoft see Sony as their main competitor, not Nintendo, we should be OK. I won't be interested if Microsoft try to make some kind of Wii-alike console.
Lets say for example they use something of similar power to Sandy Bridge, Intel would probably be looking at releasing their next architechture a year after the next gen consoles come out or maybe sooner, who knows?
Still I'm sure it will be interesting to find out what happens.
Hmm... lets not forget even more PC-Like, games feature now more tweak options, more downloadable content, ISO like demo's downloadable directly from the company website, espect unique and never seen before bugs at the release date, virus and Haxxor's from around the world, Next Gen Expeience like you never imagined :D
I don't think there'll be a need to tweak options, either - they exist on the PC because the range of target hardware is so huge, so developers need to allow their games to run on the widest range possible, hence the availability of different graphics settings, etc. Console hardware is fixed, meaning developers are only writing for a single hardware configuration, so no need to offer tweaking as the game will be guaranteed to run on every console because they're all the same.
The one thing you've got right is the downloadable content - developers have really jumped on this with the PS3 and Xbox, and this is only going to get more popular (at least from the developer's viewpoint) in the future - it extends the lifespan of games and is a reasonably cheap way of generating revenue for the games companies.
I think its not that crazy... lets take a look at this, Im sure you remember this move by Intel:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/18/intel-wants-to-charge-50-to-unlock-stuff-your-cpu-can-already-d/#
Yes, for $50 more you could "unlock" some extra L3 cache memory, a feature that was already there.
Now my point with this is, it is entirely possible to make a console with "unlockable" feature in it, be it unlock more memory, unlock an overclocked setup(it doesnt even have to be custom, lets just say its a preset overclock unlocked), and charge more for this features, features that wont damage the console because it was already made to work that way. And with this new unlocked features, revamp some game features aswell (antialiasing enable, some AF, higher texture resolutions). Yes, its entirely possible and for how the technology business is working right now, Im pretty sure this is the way they gonna go!!
NINTENDO DI IT IN A VERY SMALL SCALE, BUT IT DID IT:
http://www.gaminggenerations.com/store/images/expansion_pack_n64_4mb.jpg
Its the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak, with this your console could have a woping extra of 4 MB of memory, and with this your games could run now at resolutions of 800 * 600 (that's some "tweaking" right there)
I give you the virus and stuff, that part was more to point out the "pc-ish" trasformation consoles are having
As has been said, they don't need to really make any big changes to the next consoles, just faster, silent, no rrod, keyboard and mouse support - job done.
shocking isnt it, i dont know the nerve of some people
As others have said, I do think M$ needs some sort of upgradeability in the next console. Take all the good ideas from laptops:
Easy to access sodimm slot
express card
MXM or AXIOM card (graphics)
The graphics card would be the toughest and would probably require a more proprietary slot, just to prevent people from trying to plug in a 6990 and having to RMA the xbox because the power supply shat its innards all over the floor.
HAHA, it would so happen.
No chance. Most 360ers don't even know what a SODIMM slot is. The whole idea of a console is that it's a standard platform.
I'm with Bindi on this one. The whole point of the XBOX is that it's a standard platform where developers can tailor their games for specific hardware capabilities and gamers know that an XBOX game will run on their console no questions asked (mostly).
I already have a computer, but one of the reasons I prefer to game on the xbox is that I don't have to worry about hardware specs etc. I know I am playing the game as it was intended and not missing out on the pretties because I haven't upgraded in a year etc.
Who would have guessed that Steam would make a showing on PS3?
The more interesting question is what's going to be under the hood on the PS4. I predict Sony will move back to the mainstream with a x86-64 CPU in order to make the platform easier to code for and therefore more attractive to developers.
If memory > 4GB then
Feature-xyz = true
else
Feature-xyz = false
end if
If feature xyz was something like microsoft medaroom IPTV running in a small PiP in the corner, or the ability to power a second display for eyefinity(assuming the red team gets the nod again), other content, or just to avoid the crappyness that is splitscreen I think a sodimm slot makes sense.
But this gen should be ready for replacement and there are NO replacements in sight. What happened? Don't tell me we reached any sort of ceiling, there's still PLENTY of innovation to be done (without slap-dash hacking your console with after-thought motion control. I'm lookin at you MS and Sony.) I can think of a dozen serious improvements to be made on a new gen of consoles.
All three consoles are stale in my opinion (I'm actually thinking about giving my 360 to a childrens hospital or something, I haven't touched it in a year, may as well give it away. I'd almost consider the same for the Wii, but I'm looking forward to the next Zelda, so I'll hang on to that.)
You're right though, this time is different
You're greatly overly simplifying it. If coding was that easy, every title would be a triple A game without bugs. Plus you're assuming that you want build in potential upgrades - at extra cost - on an already loss leading price for your console. The aim of a console is to be designed as physically cheap as they can possibly be made without failing, then make the money on the games.
i resent that statement!!!!!! lol in all seriousness i totally agree with you, im the only person in my group of friends that actually knows what a sodimm is, although when we knew about the 360 being in development i also called for there to be some upgrade ability but, having thought about it, the idea is bit over the top as someone stated above about developers knowing they are developing for one piece of hardware and not many thousands of different hardware setups.
I would like to see microsoft allow us to use our own peripherals though and in that i mean allowing us to exchange our hdd's for bigger hdd's, maybe use our own wireless adapter although i dare say the new console will most likely come with wifi built in like the slim, keyboard and mouse support.