Microsoft Xbox 720: What we know so far

Microsoft managed to get a year’s headstart on Sony when it launched the Xbox 360 in late 2005 and it seems the company has similar plans for its successor as well. Dubbed the Xbox 720, Microsoft’s next-gen gaming console is already in the works and there have been enough rumours and leaks to support the fact that developers have already begun coding games for the new hardware. Here’s a little round-up of what we know about the Xbox 720 so far.

AMD CPU, GPU under the hood
If the new console has to last its 10-year life cycle, then it had better pack some serious firepower under the hood. The Xbox 720 is said to feature AMD’s latest 7000 series graphics card, which is based on their new GCN architecture. There is also a possibility that the console will pack two of these cards running in parallel. This will allow it to handle more complex rendering without putting too much strain on the CPU. The new cards also bring full DX11 and Tessellation features to consoles for the very first time, something that’s increasingly being used in games. As far as CPU goes, the console is rumoured to have a 16-core CPU or two AMD 8-core CPUs running in parallel. This should give the 720 enough of processing power for years to come.

Blu-ray support?
With games getting increasingly complex every day, stuffing everything into a dual-layer DVD just won’t cut it anymore. Even today, Xbox games run into multiple DVDs, which just doesn’t spell ‘next-gen’ for the 720. With no other storage format in sight, Microsoft will have to bundle a Blu-ray drive in their next console. A dual-layer Blu-ray can hold 50GB of data, which is enough for games of the future. Whether or not Microsoft will actually make this move is yet to be seen; but for now, we don’t think they have much of a choice.

Xbox 720 games in the works
Development of next-gen titles from all major studios has begun. Recently, Eurogamer.cz reported that Mafia 3 is currently in development for next-gen consoles. We can expect the new games to take full advantage of the DX11 features present in the AMD GPUs. Expect to see a lot more realistic ragdoll physics, heavy use of Tessellation, volumetric lighting, real-time shadows and lots more

Kinect 2.0 and a new controller
Along with the new console, Microsoft is working on the next version of Kinect, which is supposed to fix the motion lag and be a lot more accurate in detecting more intricate gestures. The Xbox 720 is said to have an even tighter integration with Kinect, but how this works out is yet to be seen. The current Xbox controller is wildly popular not only in the console space but for PC gaming as well. We doubt Microsoft will change the design too much, but we hope they use a built-in rechargeable battery this time, as default.

The Xbox 720 is said to be slated for a Christmas 2013 launch, but we should expect an announcement a lot sooner. The new console is expected to be smaller, lighter and hopefully more reliable than the current one.