XBox 720: Rumor roundup and release date speculation.

The Xbox 360 is a now 6-year old console which many people forget because of the recent success of the Kinect. But techies are itching for the next best thing.



Microsoft has openly expressed that the 360 was designed to be profitable for approximately 10 years and yes, they are most definitely on track to reach that goal. However, I doubt they will risk losing their fanbase by allowing the console to become stagnant. Therefore, I think a realistic release date will be early 2013.

Here are some of the interesting rumors floating around the interwebs (thanks to Tech Radar:

Firstly, processor and graphics card technology have come a long since 2005 when the 360 was released and I believe we will see a huge hardware upgrade with the new 720. Probably a 3D gaming aspect will be included.

Along with those hardware upgrades storage and drive options will see enhancement. Blu-ray integration is most likely going to be included. An increased physical SSD drive would be a wicked improvement and streaming to the cloud for media services is definitely a good possibility.

The current xbox controller is hailed as one of the best gaming controllers to ever be released. I don't think there will be any physical changes to the controller. Instead, I believe gesture driven controls through the kinect will be the focus of improvement.

Windows 8 integration. Microsoft is getting the hint when it comes to working in the cloud and that means syncing devices through the xbox, your home pc, and mobile phone. I believe with the release of Windows 8, all new Microsoft hardwares will be bundled with the OS.

The evidence has been piling up indicating Microsoft is now expending a lot of time and effort with the new console as can be seen with new job postings on their corporate website and the indication that at E3 2012, we will get the first look at the 720.