Are we really ready to start talking about the next console in the Xbox family? Seems Microsoft is, thanks to a job posting on Games on Deck. Microsoft is on the search for a new program manager to help in the creation of both the new Xbox as well as the new iteration of the Xbox Live service. Should anyone be surprised by this? Not really.
It was no secret the Xbox 360 team was already hard underway developing the next Xbox just as the 360 was hitting the store shelves. Microsoft has also found success by launching their consoles ahead of the competition so it isn’t surprising to see them working hard to capitalize on this strategy a second time. They shouldn’t have much trouble since both Sony and Nintendo are hoping to ride out their consoles as much as possible.
So the real question is, what type of features do we think this next Xbox will have? Top of this list should obviously be a reliable machine that doesn’t break every few months, with a close second being integrated Blu-ray. With the death of the HD DVD, it makes perfect sense for Microsoft to adopt this disk format for their next console.
Developers are feeling the sting of the size data constraints of a single standard DVD; Blu Ray is a must for the next Xbox. Beyond that expect better graphics (probably a step above Crysis), a more streamlined Live experience (trying hard to figure out what this would look like), and hopefully a name which doesn’t end with 720.
[Via CVG]
