lets take a look at what Microsoft is planning for the next Xbox: (All quotes taken from the respected links)
Note: Apparently this came from a 56 page "Leaked" Document.
All-in-one
"XTV" is the 2010 working title of existing plans to encompass online services such as TV streams, music and video catalogues, and various entertainment downloads. Blu-ray playback will also be supported.
Yet Xbox 720 will go one step further by allowing customers to mix applications together. Users can overlay sports feeds onto movies, game guides onto games, along with various other transmedia initiatives.
A significant step for Microsoft will be the system's form-factor, which the document suggests will closely resemble a set-top box. The consumer psychology is to present adults and non-gamers with a device that appears familiar to the living-room set-up.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/355035/xbox-720-files-microsofts-master-plan-for-the-next-xbox/?page=3#top_banner
Stereo sensor imaging
At the centre of Microsoft's Kinect Version 2 plan is what the document calls "stereo sensors, i.e. two cameras/microphones".
As shown in many of the artist's illustrations, the console set-up uses two separate cameras, placed either side of the TV. The new initiative is said will offer "full-body hi precision" motion control for many players. The tag line in the document is "closer, wider, deeper".
A "dedicated processor", improved microphone, and enhanced RGB cam means that Kinect version 2 will allow for "four players, sitting or standing" as well as sophisticated technology that can register props such as baseball bats.
The document also claims the original Kinect sensor will be compatible.(More focus on Kinect...good or bad?)
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/355035/xbox-720-files-microsofts-master-plan-for-the-next-xbox/?page=4#top_banner
4. Kinect Glasses - Microsoft's augmented reality breakthrough
Next-generation Augmented Reality shades will be the show-stopping centrepiece of Microsoft's Xbox 720 offering, the leaked document suggests.
Described in the file as "Kinect Shades", the unique peripheral will allow several players to view moving augmented reality images simultaneously.
"The game has broken out of the screen and is all around you," reads the document's suggested marketing line. Images show Kinect shades attached to smartphones, or a microconsole, that pulls image data created by the Xbox over Wi-Fi.
Theoretically, with Kinect communicating with the shades, player positions can be identified and thus multiple people can see the same moving AR image from different viewpoints.
The Microsoft document claimed the device would be a "breakthrough in heads-up and hands-free devices".
It claims the service will provide "seamless integration of the digital world with the physical world".
The pitch to developers reads: "Build next gen immersive experiences that extend beyond the TV. Incorporate the living room into your storytelling."
Feasibity
Torsten Hoffmann, an expert and regular speaker on emerging 3D technologies, said the Kinect Glasses set-up was "entirely feasible".
"The set-up is similar to Google's Project Glass," Hoffmann told CVG, referencing the search engine giant's recent glasses tech that layer digital information over the real world.
Hoffmann said that using Xbox 720 to stream the content would pave the way for new, rich augmented reality tech.
"Even though we already have things like Layar and other Augmented Reality technologies, these are all dependent on phone power. But to have a home console generate the images would allow for a much more striking graphics."
It remains a matter for debate whether Microsoft is pursuing the Kinect Glasses strategy. The service is codenamed Fortazela - named after the state capital of Ceará in Northeastern Brazil.
"Microsoft has a codename for absolutely everything," a second development source recently told CVG. "They are obsessed with codenaming new ideas with places around the world."
Kinect's original codename was Natal a city is also in the northeast of Brazil.
Roadmap to Fortazela
Microsoft plans to delay the release of its Kinect Glasses until one or two years after the system's release, the document suggests. This is likely because theywill appeal to a more casual audience and not early adopters who will buy the 720 on day-one.(As we can see the 720 will most likely be a "2 Tier" Launch. First draw in the "hardcore" then switch focus to "casual" years later)
CPU/GPU Power and oddities
Xbox 720 will be powered by a 6-8 core CPU (either ARM or X86 chips). However, one strange addition is the 3-core PowerPC chip, said to be used primarily for backwards compatibility.
Being of a different architecture to the Xbox 720's main CPU, it is not clear why these (admittedly cheap) processors are added to the system when the 720's existing chipset could handle the processing.
Another strange inclusion is the dual GPU, one for applications and another dedicated to 'system'. It shouldn't be confused with an Nvidia Dual SLI set-up, which requires both cards carry the same spec. It is speculated that the application chip will be used for TV screen display, while the system GPU will be used for processing other images and streamed to devices such as the Kinect Glasses.
Additions
The Xbox 720 will boast 4GB of system memory, solid state storage for fast-access info and a hard drive for the bulk of data. Meanwhile, the use of USB 3.0 will likely open up the potential of legacy Kinect devices.
The Xbox 720 document claims that "unified Windows 8 foundation makes it easier to build integrated applications across Xbox, PC, and Windows Phone environments".
(Interesting Hardware specs. Do you think this will be expensive?)
Do you agree that this shows that Microsoft plans to get away from hardcore games and focus more on casual gaming?
Discuss.
What atrocity is that?
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