Someone’s been feeding that rumor mill some fuel this week. Previously, we reported on the rumor of the Xbox 360′s successor getting a 6x power boost, but even more details are floating around, this time courtesy of Kotaku.
Word on the street is that this new Xbox will pack in a Blu-ray drive, which given the constraints of DVD-9 (i.e. less than 8 gigs of usable space), seems like a no-brainer. I’m sure Microsoft isn’t keen on giving Sony money to license the tech, but it sure as hell is cheaper and more beneficial than firing up the HD-DVD factories again. This is by far the likeliest piece to ring true.
A smaller controller is apparently in the works, but that seems strange, seeing as the 360 controller is loved by many as-is. If it’s smaller, it wouldn’t significant, i.e. DualShock3 size. I think it’s already the perfect size, thus it shouldn’t change. I decide these sorts of things you know.
Supposedly, a new Kinect sensor will be bundled with the new Xbox, sporting a separate processor akin to the original specs of the Kinect. I’d call bullshit on this, for a couple of reasons. One, Microsoft is not known to bundle things it can sell to you separately. Two, they risk pissing off millions of recent Kinect owners. The latter might be a risk they’re willing to take, but the former is just how they choose to do business. The issue of how to handle a new Kinect is complicated. Given the complexities of a console launch, I’m sure Microsoft would rather hold off on that headache for now.
The last bit holds the most interesting, but frightening news. According to an “industry insider” that spoke to Kotaku, the console will sport some form of technology that does not allow used games to work. As to how this works is anyone’s guess. Do the discs all contain a unique key that is read and input auto-magically so no other console will read the disc? I know certain publishers would love this sort of thing, but it’s disgustingly anti-consumer. The future is trending towards no one actually “owning” a game, but I don’t feel like we’re there just yet. Retailers like GameStop are too damn important for console makers to flagrantly piss off.
Source: Kotaku
