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There are two questions that always come up when I get asked about the next Xbox console. The first is when it will arrive? and the second is what will Microsoft call it?
On the question of a name, the best two guesses are the Xbox 720 or the Xbox Next. Neither of which are fantastic, but then I’m sure Microsoft will surprise everyone with a motion-control inspired name. As for the release date, we may actually have some idea of what Microsoft has planned due to a design sketch posted by one Ben Peterson.
You can see the sketch above which shows very little. But it’s the text that accompanies it that makes the case for a console release timeframe. Ben describes the project as a confidential collaboration with Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. It also mentions user experiences and hardware for a 2015 product, and carries the title “Microsoft Xbox”.
This is a new project for Ben as it is marked as being carried out in March of this year. So the reference to Xbox must be for a new machine, not the existing one. While we can assume it’s a brand new console, it could instead be another Kinect-like peripheral device for the 360.
With the Xbox 360 appearing on the market in 2005, a 2015 follow-up would give the current console a 10-year lifecycle–something Sony always strives for with its games hardware. If that’s the case then the 360 still has a good few years left in it yet, a fact that is sure to make developers worried about moving to yet another new platform relax a little.
