The rumour mill for the next Xbox (or as we learnt yesterday, simply “Xbox”) continues to turn. This time, business website Bloomberg has a lengthy article discussing the hardware changes inside Microsoft’s next console. Bloomberg is obviously citing anonymous sources but sources “with knowledge of the matter” nonetheless.

The next Xbox will shift to an AMD “Jaguar” system-on-a-chip design. This will bring a shift to an x86 format. As is the case with the PlayStation 4, this shift in architecture renders games made for the previous version of the console unplayable. Bottom line: if these rumours are true, then there will be no backwards compatibility for Xbox 360 games in the next Xbox.

The positive here, if the rumours are true, is that both the next Xbox and PlayStation 4 will use very similar architectures, which means game development will be made easier. This could lead to shortened development times and less discrepancies between cross-platform titles.

Source: Bloomberg
Via: Polygon

New reports have surfaced that indicate Microsoft is planning to unveil their next console, which is supposedly now just called “Xbox”, on 21 May. This reveal was originally rumoured to be happening at some point in April.

According to Microsoft analyst Paul Thurrot, the Xbox will ship in two price flavours: a $500 version and a $300 version that includes some sort of subscription model. Unfortunately, Thurrot has backed up the rumours of an always online Xbox console, stating that he has received documentation that discusses this requirement.

Anyone else finding it disconcerting that each new next Xbox rumour also serves to reiterate this “always online” aspect?

Source: Eurogamer

This isn’t the first time that this next-gen Xbox rumour has popped up, but this revised iteration of basically the same rumour extrapolates a little. To date there’s been a ton of speculation around whether or not the next Xbox will require a permanent Internet connection. It’s been thought that this alleged requirement was a way for Microsoft to control piracy, to control the used game sales market, or to have better control of the advertising on their console. That last theory ties in rather nefariously with another popular next-gen Xbox rumour that suggests the next iteration of Kinect will be mandatory as well.

Kotaku (which appears to be on a roll when it comes to breaking news this week) has sited reliable sources that have told them the next Xbox won’t even launch games or applications unless it has an Internet connection.

“Unless something has changed recently, Durango consumer units must have an active Internet connection to be used,” said one of Kotaku’s sources.

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By now, Sony is sitting pretty smug in the wake of last week’s PlayStation 4 reveal event. A Sony official has said that the event “caught Microsoft off-guard” and that the home of PlayStation had “definitely ruffled some feathers”.  Was that a warning shot marking renewed hostilities for the Console Wars 2013?

A big deal was made about the fact that Microsoft beat Sony to market with the Xbox 360 and that this was the reason the American company had such a massive lead in terms of hardware sales. Now that Sony has unveiled their upcoming hardware, it’s Microsoft’s turn to respond. If rumours are to be believed, then that response will come in April.

That’s according to a rumour posted by website CVG. It’s also speculated that Microsoft might use next month’s Game Developers Conference to announce new hardware. Adding fuel to both of these rumours is the fact that Ustech has registered the domain XboxEvent.com. Ustech has partnered with Microsoft in the past when it comes to press events, so this domain registration on behalf of Microsoft is a pretty strong indication that stuff’s about to go down.

Source: CVG