Microsoft Teases Next Generation Xbox Being Announced May 21
After all the speculation and rumors, in less than a week from now Microsoft will officially unveil its next generation Xbox game console. The Xbox 720 (codenamed Durango), or whatever it ends up being called, will be introduced via a live stream on May 21, 2013 at 10 AM PDT (that's 1 PM for folks on the East coast) on Xbox Live, Xbox.com, and Spike TV, giving you plenty of viewing options, provided you can steal some time away from work.
Microsoft set up a special online hub teasing the upcoming reveal and is encouraging users to "join the conversation" on Twitter. That should be an easy sell, considering the conversation's been going on for quite some time now. One of the biggest talking points is whether or not Durango will require an always-on Internet connection, a sore spot among gamers who know all too well that Internet service outages can and do happen. The topic even cost a Microsoft Studios employee his job after he took to Twitter to defend always-on devices in a snarky manner.
The other big question is how Durango will compare to Sony's PlayStation 4 and whether or not it too will make liberal use of PC-like components. In fact, the PS4 is essentially a PC in console skin with a custom AMD Jaguar APU, 8GB of unified GDDR5 memory, and a GPU that's closely related to a Radeon 7870 GHz Edition.
Microsoft is also likely to shed light on its next generation Kinect motion control sensor. Early info leaked to the web suggests it will be able to distinguish between your thumb and other fingers, and be able to track 25 skeletal points, up from 20 in the current Kinect.
The other big question is how Durango will compare to Sony's PlayStation 4 and whether or not it too will make liberal use of PC-like components. In fact, the PS4 is essentially a PC in console skin with a custom AMD Jaguar APU, 8GB of unified GDDR5 memory, and a GPU that's closely related to a Radeon 7870 GHz Edition.
Microsoft is also likely to shed light on its next generation Kinect motion control sensor. Early info leaked to the web suggests it will be able to distinguish between your thumb and other fingers, and be able to track 25 skeletal points, up from 20 in the current Kinect.
