Next-Gen Xbox Launch In 1 Hour – What To Expect

Microsoft are set to break their long lasting silence on their new console, and about time too given they were starting to get a reputation for being selfish with the details, especially in light of how open Sony have been about their next gen efforts with the PlayStation 4.

Sony aside of course, today is a day to celebrate all that is Xbox and Microsoft and those opportunities don’t come around often given that the Xbox 360 launched a staggering 8 years ago! So much for a 5 year console cycle! So what can we expect from the presentation this evening, what will Microsoft have on offer and will it be enough to win back some of the glory that is being lavished on Sony at this time.

Hardware

You can bet your last breath that Microsoft will be showing us what the console looks like and that they will be giving us the official product name, given that Sony has yet to show of the actual device that will make it to retail this will be the perfect opportunity for Microsoft to show something real, that people can touch, play on and of course start saving their money for. Expect to see the controller too, although it’s also likely that Microsoft could just use the standard Xbox controller for the time being.

Specifications

Also certain is that Microsoft will show off the hardware specifications, from the CPU, graphics card, storage, performance figures and no doubt a few technical demonstrations and a LOT of marketing nonsense. What we really want of course are the finer details of the hardware specs, much like we saw from Sony.

Optical Drives

DVD has been the weapon of choice for Xbox for a while, it is however highly rumoured that they could be using a Blu-Ray drive this time around, which makes sense, DVD as a format for gaming is dying fast and games developers need more than a DVD9 (dual layer discs) to keep things in check over the next few years.

DVR and Streaming

Microsoft is likely to make a big play on their unified systems, Windows 8, Windows Mobile, Smart Glass and how all these integrate with their online stores, movie and tv streaming services, recording of TV shows and maybe even the rumours HDMI-in port.

Gaming

Yes there will be games, no doubt a few announcement to get people excited and give us all something to gawk at, but don’t expect too much here, Microsoft is likely to focus on Hardware for the most part and get into the hardcore gaming side of things in a few weeks time at E3

Price and Release Date

Not a chance, this will likely be post E3 at best, we can expect a release window though something along the lines of “Holiday Season 2013” but it’s unlikely to be an exact date, you can forget about the price tag for now too, I doubt even Microsoft knows the true final figure just yet.

Are you ready for the Next-Gen console announcement? What do you hope to see at tonights event?

www.xbox.com