In reference to this: http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=205004 Lets start the wild speculations - list the specs (including who is making the tech) of Microsoft's next gen console and give it a name. We'll come back to this in 3-4 years and see who was closest
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...ge=2&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:34&tx=154&ty=60 It shall be that big.
Itll have graphics as good as our current PCs and PCs will be 3-4 years ahead at this point yet microsoft and the troglodytes of the world will go OMFG the graphics are better than a PC just like they did when the 360 was released. Maybe they will make a console for blind people and that way there will be a legitimate excuse for the false claims of AWESOMENESS that get thrown around like its going out of fashion...
It will be cooled by a turbofan and the CD drive will be powered by a diesel generator. It'll still be quieter than the current 360.
Hmm, fun ok, how about.... HEAVY on the network connectivity - digital distribution to be the norm. TV Tuner/PVR as standard - big deal with TV supplier to make their box the standard? Proprietary disc format if not BR (flash memory?) SSD storage Speeds and RAM, not a clue. No doubt it'll be loads of cores, RAM quicker than a greased whippet etc. ALSO IT CAN READ YOUR MIND
Frankly, I think the new console will probably just be a case of "bigger, better, faster" - after all, the max resolution is stuck at 1080p, so all that can really change are the numbers: faster processor, faster graphics (more polygons, more detail, more AA), more storage. If you're looking for specifics, I'd say perhaps an nVidia GPU, probably something based on the current crop of cards; definitely a DX11 part, with a sensible amount of RAM available for graphics this time around - and a decent amount of (much faster) RAM overall (I'm thinking multiple gigabytes here), also a sensible amount of storage (perhaps 500Gb or 1Tb?). Definitely a BluRay drive, with the graphics (and HDMI port) capable of 3D - perhaps with games able to utilise 3D TV too. As for CPU, I'm not sure here. Perhaps they'll stay with the PowerPC architecture, just throwing more cores and more on-die memory. Maybe with better multithreading and out of order execution? EDIT: Never thought about SSD for storage. Perhaps a small SSD for immediate game saves/data with a larger HDD for long-term storage?
It'll be just like the current one, but with a stripe down the side and a spoiler. Hmm.. I reckon it would be quite impressive if it were based on double, maybe even triple the equivalent power of a GTX580/HD6970. The price of that sort of gpu should be swallowable by about then. It'd need to be fairly beefy to handle the UltraHD+ resolutions that'll be available on consumer tv's by then. Blu-ray drive, obviously. Kinect 2 that would be able to read your mind (hey, we're four years off right?) And some good games, natch
Yeah, but now we might get see games that actually render in 1080p and/or more than 30fps on consoles
Keyboard + Mouse support with an overly expensive accessory cost for their specific version that the only the console can recognize. In all seriousness. I think probably a Corei7 at minimum with 1GB DDR3 of system memory. If they use ATI (I hope) then at least a 1GB GDDR5 graphics card.
I think we'll still be on 1080p in consumer-land by then, and it'll be about making it look as nice as possible. Unlike the current crop of consoles, I expect the Xbox 720 will be able to run native 1080p output, rather than upscaling as is done now, and will do so at 30fps+ In a way, the hardware won't be that important, but what else the boxes do. They'll be network connected, able to handle video/audio and so forth - exactly like we have now, but better. Kinect will be built in somehow, and on to its second version. SSD? Depends on price - but the argument can be made for capacity over anything else. Consoles are fine at streaming data off a normal drive, that won't change. We'll get a HD disc format, probably Blu Ray, although MS will be trying to push digital content more and more, but they can't stick with DVDs! As for exact specs? Probably a quad-core system, maybe even a cheap hexacore (which by then will be around) though I think PPC will go out the window and we'll transition to x86, with a decent amount of RAM now prices have come down (think 1GB dedicated GPU, 2-4GB overall).
By this time Microsoft will have been bought out by Apple the new device will be; iBox. Its specs will be lower than the current Xbox, but as Apple recently successfully sued all other console manufacturers over patent violation, no-one else is allowed to make them anyway. It will run Apples new Open (but totally closed) OS iGameOS. All games will need to be downloaded via the App Store. It will not run Flash or Silverlight (or any other browser based technology that may allow apps to run not purchased from AppStore) and will only implement certain aspects of HTML7. Steve Jobs will be controlling Apple from his Cryogenic chamber somewhere in the orbit of Pluto! Something like that anyway! (written on an iMac by the way - the PC is busy playing ArmaII !)
It'll be a gamma-powered mechanical monster! With freeway on-ramps for arms, and a heart as black as coal... yes...
Valid point. There's no reason why next gen consoles shouldn't be able to run at 1080p60 given how much processor and GPU architectures have improved in the last 6-7 years (assuming current Xbox hardware architectures were frozen 1-2 years before the public release). As far as CPU cores go, I'd say at least hex, probably octocore, considering that the current gen is already triple core.
It will be named the SE Xbox. It will come in a range of colours, all of which will look rather plastic with LED lines up the sides. It will be a new rounded shape that rises from the desktop and ends in a curvaceous tip. Early models will have a fan fault that causes the whole thing to vibrate and overheat under heavy use. CPU will be a cheap intel "custom" processor (read cut-down mid range CPU) sold cheaply to M$ by Intel as they look to rule the world. It will have 13-cores and the GPU will be on-die. It will later be discovered that Intel sold the chips cheap because of a design flaw in their 16-core chips that meant using more than 13 at any one time caused small earthquakes. The resulting mountain of recalled chips not only saved the planet but also saved Intel from bankruptcy when they signed an agreement with M$ to sell the chips for a couple of quid each as long as only 13 cores were ever used. Video will output to i4D. i4D will be the latest standard taken up by everyone after apple "invent" a fourth dimension. Only Apple fanboys seem to be able to see said 4th dimension but rocketing sales sees every company in the world claiming i4D compatibility. It will also include 25.1 surround sound output after M$ signs a secret deal with speaker manufacturers designed to increase profits to both companies (M$ getting it's cut). After some debate internally M$ will shun the Blu-Ray drive in favour of a new M$ standard of solid state memory. It will cost 5 times as much as an equivalent SD card. Accusations will be levelled at M$ that it is just a SD card with a notch cut out. These will be revealed as true after a Chinese worker is found dead of overwork and malnutrition outside of the SE Xbox factory holding the evidence.
the new xbox will be called the xbox 720 it will have advanced hardware can't say yet as it will be coming out in 2014, a lot changes in 3 years I should point out. Blu-ray player have windows home media for photos, music and films will very likely have mouse and keyboard support will be able to be used as a sky HD+ box internet browsing... youtube support e.t.c will be quiet won't run hot and won't brake all the time 1080p support for games I get the feeling it won't have a SSD in it, too expensive for the amount of space you get, console gamers don't know what a SSD is so... just a big 1TB drive will have a simple slick design and will be accessible to modding you will be able to upgrade it in some way those are my thoughts
So what if it's behind in power. There's not much point in most of the midrange/ high end GPU's today when the only game coming out that looks like it will take advantage of the hardware is BF3.
