Discover the latest Xbox 720 rumours, including release date, specs, games and features, for all the latest on Microsoft's next-gen games console
Although some of the Xbox 720 rumours doing the rounds are a little more speculative than others, as the Xbox 360 enters its seventh year of life, the eagerly awaited next-generation console edges ever closer to reality with a flurry of reports suggesting we could see the Xbox 720 release formally unveiled later this year.
Xbox 720 Release Date
The most coveted of all the Xbox 720 rumours, the Xbox 720 release date has been talked about for a number of years with the console continuing to be teased but, to date, always failing to live up to expectation and make its first official appearance.
Although many rumours have suggested we will see the Xbox 720 sooner rather than later, Microsoft has repeatedly made reference to the console’s ’10 year lifecycle’ seemingly quelling reports of a pre 2015 arrival.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft's European boss Chris Lewis said: "I think 2010 will be a very big year for us, it is in many ways for us mid-lifecycle. What you've seen is with this new sleek design and Kinect for Xbox 360 we've got at least another five years of this generation where we continue to offer great experiences for people.”
Lewis’ words were reiterated by Microsoft's David Hufford, senior director of Xbox product management who last year told an interviewer that, "it's important to say that the Xbox 360 is the console of the long future for us," adding that the company feels there "is no need to launch a new console, because we're able to give this console new life either with software upgrades or hardware upgrades."
Earlier this year the Seattle based company also put an end to a number of reports which had suggested it was to launch the Xbox 720 later this year to compete with Nintendo’s upcoming console offering the Nintendo Wii U.
“What will happen at E3, it's still too early to say. What's certain is that there will be nothing new in 2012,” Microsoft’s French Marketing Director Cedrick Delmas announced in a recent interview. “If we wanted to counter Nintendo, we would have to be in a position to release something immediately, and that is not at all the case.
"We're not here to counter Nintendo and they're not here to fight the other manufacturers. Nintendo has put itself in a different cycle, it's going forward to its own rhythm, with success as we have seen with the Wii, and now it's their turn to present their innovation."
Insisting that the now aging Xbox 360 still has what it takes to lead the console wars for another lucrative Christmas period Delmas added: "We're in an industry that talks, a lot, one that likes telling stories. I am not convinced that things will happen this year. The Xbox 360's cycle is not over at all. The proof is that we haven't price cut this year.”
Despite these seemingly dead end claims from Microsoft, a new selection of Xbox 720 rumours have emerged suggesting the console will now been shown off at E3 2012 ahead of pre-Christmas release next year.
Talking to MCV an unnamed source has claimed to have knowledge on the matter from an 'ultra high level' which suggests that although we won't see the Xbox 720 launch any time soon what we could see at E3 in June is a taster of what's to come.
Xbox 720 Specs
Whilst all the rumoured Xbox 720 specs are, well, speculative, the latest innards tipped to feature within the Nintendo Wii U rival paint a fanciful picture of impressive abilities with some reports suggesting the console will be as much as ten times more powerful than its predecessor.
“The next-generation will be here soon, a couple of years,” said John Carmack, the man behind Doom and Quake, of the Xbox 720. “It'll be another ten times as powerful as this generation. I'd be surprised if that doesn't last over a decade before people wind up saying, well, we've really tapped out everything you could possibly do on there."
Carmack’s comments were backed up by Gadget site Fudzilla which claimed to have more concrete details on the heavily revamped processing abilities of the Xbox 720. It stated: "If speculation is correct, which our sources believe it is, the power behind the next Xbox will be a PowerPC CPU that is married to an ATI Southern Islands GPU, or modified 7000 series."
Xbox 720 Kinect 2
More than a simple gamer, the Xbox 720 is said to be heading to release alongside the second-generation iteration of Microsoft’s industry leading controller-free motion gaming peripheral with some reports going as far as to suggest the Xbox 720 will launch with the Kinect 2 built in.
"A lot depends on whether or not Microsoft decides to bundle a ‘Kinect 2’ with the next Xbox, and if it will sport sufficient built in components or be powered by the Xbox 720 hardware itself," CVG’s Andy Robinson said.
Tipped as being powerful enough to read users’ lips the second-generation Kinect add-on will also host the ability to sense when gamers are angry and calculate in which direction they are facing.
Building on the current popular but heavily limited platform the touted Kinect 2 is said to offer increased user interaction and data transfer speeds with the now somewhat aging USB connection to be replaced by a faster means of teathering. An improved sensor and heightened voice recognition will ensure the Kinect follow-up allows for more detailed and core gaming experiences.
Xbox 720 Controller
Further mooted to be following Nintendo down the alley of motion gaming, some reports have suggested Microsoft will squeeze a touchscreen within its future console’s controller offering much of the same user input features as the previously unveiled Wii U.
The screen heavy Xbox 720 rumour, which landed courtesy of a report in Xbox World Magazine, offered a tantalising insight into the next-gen console with the touted display packing controller to offer improved input options for the "media hub" console.
As well as outing the new controller, the Xbox World report has claimed the eagerly awaited Xbox 720 "will be a matt-black media hub with a mission to bring games to life in your living room with augmented reality, directional sound, and a four-player, finger-tracking Kinect."
On the potential tablet styled controller, the report added the input device will boast a "HD screen surrounded by the traditional 360 buttons and sticks.
"That touchcreen will be second only to Kinect in how you operate your console. It could be a remote control when you're watching TV, a browser when you're on the internet, extra buttons and information when you're playing a game or a portable display when you want to take your game with you."
Xbox 720 Blu-ray
Having pioneered, and subsequently scrapped HD DVD with the launch of the Xbox 360, much speculation now surrounds the whether Microsoft will make the jump to the Sony owned Blu-ray format for its next-generation console.
One of the most coveted hardware inclusions for the expected PS4 rival, it is largely expected that Microsoft will overlook the high definition disc format for the 360 replacement, instead focussing its efforts on digital downloads of equal quality.
Speaking on the matter last year, Stephen McGill, who handles Microsoft Xbox in the UK, said: "I think people now recognise what a smart decision it was to keep the pricing low, and actually Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format. People have moved through from DVDs to digital downloads and digital streaming, so we offer full HD 1080p Blu-ray quality streaming instantly, no download, no delay. So, who needs Blu-ray?"
Xbox 720 Codename
Further hinting at an imminent unveiling for the future games console, a number of developers have seemingly leaked the console’s apparent codename following a claimed Xbox 720 developers conference in London.
Revealed via micro blogging site Twitter, industry blog Kotaku reported that Technical Designer at the Crysis developer studio Sean Tracy outed the future Xbox device as falling under the codename of ‘Durango’.
The reports, which came out of the claimed Xbox 720, or Durango developer conference, following similar mutterings just weeks previously that had suggested the upcoming hardware release was being referred to by those in the know at the Durango project.
Xbox 720 Games
Whilst precise titles have yet to be announced for the next-generation Microsoft console, a number of games publishers and developers have started advertising for positions to develop games for the Xbox 360 follow on.
Requesting applicants with “extensive experience with PS3 and 360 development,” the latest Bethesda job listing has offered a tantalising insight into the upcoming arrival of a next-generation console but failed to offer firm details as to whether it will be Sony or Microsoft to next update their aging gamers.
"Bethesda Game Studios is looking for experienced programmers to work on cutting-edge technology for an unannounced game on future-generation consoles," the official listing added.
Rumoured to already be working on a new Timesplitters release that is destined for launch on the Xbox 720, Crytek has spoken out to deny rumours that it has already been granted access to the gaming industry’s most eagerly awaited hardware release.
"Crytek do not have any next generation hardware from Microsoft, nor do we know when Microsoft may announce future hardware or what that hardware will entail,” a spokesperson for Crytek announced. Keen to reaffirm it had no access to the Xbox 720 the games company added: "Crytek are working at pushing the boundaries of what current technology can bring.”
Xbox 720 Pre-owned Games Lock
With Xbox 720 games already reportedly in the works Kotaku has cited a "reliable industry source" in claiming that Microsoft will implement new features preventing gamers picking up cheap second-hand copies of the latest core titles potentially spelling an end to the pre-owned games market.
Whilst it is unclear exactly how Microsoft would implement such a move the mooted experience hampering feature would cause a rift between developers and publishers who would relish the possibility of increased revenues and retailers and end users, both of whom would be on the negative end of such a deal.
Unless Sony followed a similar route with its own next-generation console, the long mooted Sony PS4, Microsoft’s touted move of preventing the use of second-hand games could spell the end of the Xbox brand.