RUMOR: 1UP sources tell of new Xbox in Fall 2010

Yea, that seems quite logical. But wouldn't we hear some news of this by now? If we're getting word of it just now, I imagine we won't see it until 2011.

Meh, no it's not. It's probably just gonna be an attempt at "rebranding" in order to reach a wider audience, but the system will remain the same, plus Natal on top. Anything else would just piss off anyone but diehard fanboys as far as I can tell. It's simply too early for a brand-new system. And where's the sense in advertising Natal for the current 360 if they plan to make it its own thing? Nowhere.

Exciting, or URGH?

I seriously don't want to think about buying a new console for at least another 5 years after the dent the 360 and ps3 left in my pocket.

I wrote a bigass post about this earlier, and giantbomb fucking 500'ed when I posted it, ruined my fucking day.

VERY short of the long.

Won't be a 'new' console, because of the economy and the next 18 months of 360 games lineup say otherwise. And if it is, be afraid, be very afraid, MS have a nasty habit of dropping old products like stones and moving swiftly on.

'might' be an expansion pack style upgrade (ala the N64) if it is, then that's not a good thing unless you have the cash to upgrade. I went without an expansion pack during the N64 era and it was a nightmare, even though most games didn't say they required it, fuck the framerates were awful if you didn't have one. Unlikely though imo due to my above point, MS prefer to drop products and move onto an entirely new one, only reason they still support XP is because of HUGE demand.

Most likely a 'slimline' style repackaging which honestly I would welcome given two conditions and a suggestion. Keep the HDMI port, bigger HDD (or same size at least, 120gb), and my suggestion is that they take a leaf out of sony's book and modify it slightly. Stick in a cheap and cheerful CPU and dedicate operating system functions solely to that, hopefully it will keep the fucking thing from crashing everytime I try to save while connected to xbox live, or from slowing down horrendously when an achievement pops up mid fight.

I can't see it being an entirely new console, especially with Natal being released, how do they expect people to afford both in this economic climate? Very unlikely. And upgrade? Sure, maybe, i'll probably even buy it if it makes Blue Dragon playable (the frame stutter during battles gave me headaches).

Honestly though, especially if people have their hopes up, I would assume it's simply a repackaging until we get solid info saying otherwise (that's if it's even true, rumour after all)

No next gen console for like five years, please!

I don't want to buy a slightly-better 360...

They should just continue working on their current console with good games and software.

This is false, Microsoft said they were treating Project Natal as a new project launch.

Hmm, I suspect it will just be another addition to the 360 range.  So you end up with Elite, Premium, Arcade and Natal (but you will be able to buy a seperate Natal kit for older boxes).

I don't think they'll 'slightly upgrade' the power of the unit.  That'd just split their audience and at that point they'd basically have just re-invented the PC.

If you listen to the Listen Up where they talk about this, the idea seems to be that the next XBox would be sold alongside the current console. It's processing power would be higher, but not by leaps and bounds. Certain games would look better on the new box, but again, the 360 branding would remained in tact.

The best analogy would be to think of the new 360 as the new iPhone. The general architecture is more or less the same, and the new variants have very noticeable advantages, but there would be some level of compatability with the original 360 hardware. Natal, for example, will be sold seperately and be able to be used on the current 360; there is going to be few, if any, games that REQUIRE the new hardware to run it. It is just that if you have the new hardware, it will run more smoothly.

I think the real difference makers here are going to be the game developers. I don't suspect many of them are going to want to turn their backs on the 30 million X-Box 360 owners and focus in on the niche market of the people with the new box. At least not at first. Give it a couple more years before a healthy number of games that require the new hardware to hit, once there is a mass of enough people to have that make sense.

The other question is, of course, the price-point; one of the Wii's greatest benefits is its ability to have an impulse buy pricepoint along with creating itself as a "hot item"; if you see one in the wild (or at least when you did at a certain point,) you didn't think too hard about buying one. Meanwhile, PS3's still sit neglected on shelves. If Microsoft tries to sell this for any more than 299, they're shooting themselves in the foot.

Possibly the most major take-away from this whole conversation is if this is indeed Microsoft's plan, then the whole concept of console "generations" is becoming something of the past, very quickly.

i really don't want any new consoles to come out any time soon

As a Sony fanboy, alienating M$ fans by launching a "updated 360" is only good news.  Also, FUCK MOTION CONTROL.

Oh man I really hope they don't do a minor upgrade to the hardware (More RAM, slightly faster clock speeds, more bus bandwidth etc.) All that is going to do is split the userbase which is never a good idea.

If this is true, then it'd basically be the same as the DSi: A new version of an established system that's slightly more powerful, with a few extra features. Not sure how well that would work for a home console though.

I mean, having to buy another version of a system you already own -- whether it be a portable or home system -- is something no one wants to do. Because that means there will be games made specifically for the new version, thus forcing you to buy one to play whatever games do that. Which means you'd end up having two versions of the same console, just with the minor difference that one can play certain games while the other one can't.

The DSi has this issue, and I don't like that about it either. Why should we be forced to buy multiple versions of the same system just so we can play more games (a good portion of which will probably be made for the new version I imagine)?

Sounds like they're just treating Natal as a "new console" due to all the stuff it's supposed to bring to the Xbox 360. I'd be very surprised if it really is a next-gen console.

I think they're using the term "new console" loosely. I believe Natal will be packaged with a "newer" Xbox 360, that being maybe a smaller system, bigger harddrive, more RAM, whatever. Perhaps he upgrade from a DS Lite to a DSi. Natal will also be something we ca buy separately for about $150. If I'm wrong, the this is absolute ludicrous. 2010/2011 is the right time for rumors to afloat of the Big 3's next major projects, but not an actual release. We might enter generation 7.5, but not necessarily generation 8. 

Natal looks like a great piece of hardware and software but I do not want to buy a whole new console with slightly better improvements and a focus on minigame collections. I don't even believe that this is going to be true, but if it is, Microsoft has pissed me off once again.

Please don't! We're barely going to get out of this recession and Microsoft wants to release a new Xbox? No thank you. Let's give the 360 a couple more years. I mean, a lot of developers haven't even harness what the 360 is capable of yet. And I think 2010 is too early for a new console generation to start. We probably won't really see a difference in graphics. 

I was talking to my friends earlier saying I don't think Natal will be on xbox 360, it seems more logical that it would ship with the next xbox. Hopefully they don't plan on doing away with the controller completely.

if this is true it would only make sense.  Peripherals tend to not do so well.  Relaunch a peripheral as a new brand and experience and you will build up more support and excitement.  I'm just glad it will work with my current 360.

Screw Natal. It is fucking retarded.

After 3 broken 360 they can kiss my ass.

It'll probably be rebranded as a new console but technically just better hardware and maybe smaller. Microsoft said they'll be expecting a 10 year life span for the 360, so I wouldn't expect them to launch a new console and especially during a recession. Only problem is that there isn't a whole lot of juice left behind the box, or it's getting there quickly.

I always want something new on the console front, so I am all for this. Whatever it is, it will be a welcome step up for me, especially if a new console sees a signifcant drop in the failure rate.

Meh, I just bought the RE5 Special Edition, I'm good for a while

I really hope Microsoft isn't making just another Wii. Please, make it have a controller that I can grip, but to be honest I don't even want a brand new platform. I still am getting my money's worth out of the 360.

i think its more likely to be a brand on its own, like xbox live

Splitting the user base seems like a good idea. Totally brilliant. Genius move. I am not at all being sarcastic. Wait...what?

Not gonna happen.  However, they might release a smaller $250 360 with natal and a new marketing push.

If I remember correctly, it was said at E3 that the 360 is going to stay around until around 2015. Or maybe that was said about the PS3. Either way, we won't be getting a new one that soon. Maybe a new model of the current 360, but definitely not a new console entirely.

r

Is it a new console or is along side the 360?

I.e. There'd be companies releasing games for that and the other companies releasing games for the 360.

The rumor is only starting because Sam Kennedy wrote an article about it and now it's spreading all over video game sites. From what I can tell, there are no "sources", this is just a theory he came up with by himself based on nothing.

Microsoft just said that the 360 would have a ten year life cycle. So I'm not expecting a new one until at least 2015.

If Natal is MS's next console, then that'll be an MS console that I will not buy. Controllers please, my good sir.