Before Microsoft launches the Xbox 720, it may have another trick up its sleeve.
The Xbox 360 launched way back in 2005. If we were playing by the conventional rules of game consoles, it would be well past time for the next iteration of the Xbox to be released.
As has been discussed many times, though, this generation has thrown all the rules out the window, because of the Xbox 360 and PS3 ability to push out firmware updates and remain relevant longer than any previous console.
For those reasons, Microsoft says that the next Xbox will not be on display at the upcoming E3 trade show in June, where many fans had expected the company to show off new hardware.
And in fact, it might still do that. But the new hardware will merely be a new version of the Xbox 360, one that is geared toward a crowd that hasn’t had a chance to get their hands on one yet – the budget-conscious crowd.
According to a new round of speculation, Microsoft will announce a console that only costs around $100.
“It will be cheaper than the 360, further enabling Kinect adoption. And it will be far smaller than the 360. It will also demonstrate how Windows Phone could possible implement Win9’s dev platform on the lower end,” claimed a Microsoft insider known only as MS Nerd, which has leaked previous information that ended up being accurate.
Further details were not discussed, but it is an intriguing concept, and one that certainly makes sense. After all, seven years into a console’s life cycle, one of the problems that arises is being able to still attract new customers who don’t already have the console. This kind of initiative would open up the Xbox 360 brand to a brand new segment.
