General Discussions

So with all this talk about console generations I paid Google a visit. Apparently Microsoft might have a new console planned for this Fall.

"June 15th 2009
1UP suggests that the new console will be a slight upgrade of the Xbox 360, featuring similar hardware but able to support better looking and performing games, in addition to current Xbox 360 titles. Said to be targeted at a mainstream audience, it will be repackaged, rebranded and come with Project Natal as standard.

“Make no mistake, we wouldn't be talking about the sort of hardware leap we've seen with Xbox (or most other) platforms in the past, and we're not talking about Microsoft ending one console cycle and starting another,” says the report, which the site clearly labels as rumour for the time being.

“It's likely that all future hardware will be more iterative than substantive," it adds. "The distinction between new consoles will become far less marked - similar to what we've seen in the handheld space, such as with the transitions from the Game Boy to the Game Boy Advance, the DS to the DSi, or the PSP to the PSP Go.”

The report suggests that publishers will be able to support owners of both the Xbox 360 and the new console without difficulty, and that the new system will likely be unveiled at next year's Game Developers Conference.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Edge today that the company doesn't comment on "rumour and speculation."

I really hope they don't go the GameBoy way and constantly bring out hardly upgraded ones. The thing I always liked about consoles was that when a new one came out it was the standard for 5 or 6 years and you never had to worry about its performance. Constant upgrades would make me really uncertain about spending money on a console.