Rumour Suggests Xbox 720 Silicon Finalised, Likely To Meet 2013 Release

TSA Staff 33 Comments

In a somewhat roundabout manner, tech site SemiAccurate has pointed to the silicon for Microsoft’s next console being finalised.

Although nobody really knows what the chips are that’ll be used in the 720, final designs for them have apparently been sent to manufacturer. If yields are good, the innards for the machine will be ready in a matter of months.

“While we have not definitively heard about a go/no go wafer in decision,” says the site, “if Microsoft is going to launch their next generation console this year, they almost assuredly made the December 31 date. Any delay of more than a few weeks will mean no new console in 2013, there just won’t be enough time to make them.”

Testing after that, of course, but it’s possible developers will get their hands on final hardware by Summer at the latest, which is encouraging.

This all suggests a 2013 release for the next Xbox.

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33 Comments

  1. I supposed this is only a semi-accurate piece of info :P

    • ha ha, reading the quote, I think you/they might be spot on too.

  2. Will probably buy one when they release it.
    Pop my XBox cherry after all these years.
    Unless the ps4 comes out at the same time (ish) then I’ll just get that.

    • so you are willing to pop your cherry on something without finding out the costs? Good luck with that, I tried it last time and sold my xbox within a month.

      • I don’t think any man thinks about future costs and repercussions when popping one’s cherry. We’re just too busy fumbling around the back trying to get the damn thing out of the fancy wrapping.

      • ha ha thats true. What fancy wrapping did you have then?

  3. testing, i think that’s going to be key this time round.

  4. Getting it out before the holiday period will be a massive win for MS if Sony don’t get the PS4 out this year.

    • You sure about that? Remember that the PS3 has virtually equaled the sales of the 360 despite being a year younger. Plus now we have digital games and trophies etc. people will be more inclined to stay within the ecosystem, so unless the 720 has a major living-room focus and wins millions of new customers I don’t think Sony should be too worried.

      • They will be if the xbox720’s launch game is COD.

      • There’s a major flaw with your equaled sales theory. Alot of the PS3 sales have come somewhat recently, meaning if someone waited 5 years to buy a PS3 they’re probably not going to update to a PS4 within the first year of a PS4 launch. In addition we don’t even know if digital games will transfer over to next gen- I’m guessing not. I’m sure trophies will carry over, but I honestly don’t think the causal gamer cares enough about trophies to stick with Sony. I’d offer another opinion that if theres only 1 next gen console available in 2013, theres going to be some playstation owners buying a 720, and that will reduce the possibility of those people buying a PS4 in 2014. Giving MS another head start will hurt Sony in the short term and Sony is in rough shape- a huge 720 wave could sink their boat- so any short term damage could easily become long term. And remember, one of the main selling points of the PS3 is Blu-ray, without knowing how many PS3s are used primarily as a BD player not every PS3 owner needs to buy a PS4

      • MS only recently got to that number as well so it makes no difference the PS3 has not been far behind for years now.

    • It was the ps3’s price being constantly higher that has hurt it the most but it still outsells and has outsold the 360 just about everywhere in the world expect the US and UK.

      The casual market moved from the ps2 to the wii and its probably been with mobiles for a while but is now on to tablets.

      I’m still not convinced consoles will die out, I think we’ll still have playstations and xboxs for decades to come. They may look a bit different and work differently but they’re not going away.

      The current generation is still the biggest selling one. It’s now around 250-300 million consoles between the wii, ps3 and 360. The ps2 managed 150 mil and the xbox, dreamcast and gamecube only just broke 50 mil between them.

      Each generation has grown, even handhelds. The PSP and DS total nearly 250 million between them. Handhelds may have peaked but before the PSP the gameboy advance only sold around 80 million without any real competition. Over 14 years the GB and GB color only sold 120 million.

    • If there’s only 1 next-gen console on the market for xmas, it’s going to have a massive advantage, you can’t deny that. Over time, sure it will even out, but right at the start is where it will be a great win for either company.

  5. After having 6 xbox 360’s red ring their way into silicon heaven, and reading that Microsoft knew that the 360 had problems but decided to ship it anyway to get the headstart, I couldnt care less if Microsoft beat Sony to the gate again.
    Finalise your chip set all you want because I certainly wont be an early adopter of any Microsoft product for the rest of my days.

    • i’m with you brother.

    • I’m with you both too. I had 2 launch 360s and 2 launch PS3s, 3 out of the 4 are broken. Im certain whomever launches first will do so by cutting corners, nd whomever launches second will try to catch up by also cutting corners. IMO it’s a no win situation, so I’m going to wait to make sure the machines are well built before I pick my pony in this horse race.

  6. Not sure what I’ll do next-generation. I got a PS3 in 2008, but that was only because I had a Wii beforehand (I even turned down a free PS3 at launch! Stupid child me!) so I’m not sure whether I’ll wait a few years, or like the PS Vita get one at or near to launch. For me it all depends on the cost and backwards compatibility.

  7. Wow, that sounds like a dangerously tight timeline. It doesn’t sound like there’s any time for slippage.

    • Indeed, very tight. It’s also incredible how early they have to start manufacture, I always assumed it was around a 3 month wait from starting the conveyor belts to shiny new boxes of gadgety joy arriving on our high streets.

  8. I said I wouldn’t get a ps3 when it came out as it was too expensive and bought one two weeks later so I’ll probably end up with a new console when they come out but I don’t really want one this year.

    I can’t see myself going for anything other than a PS4 unless the whole staff at Naughty Dog jump ship and set up a studio with Microsoft or they completely blow everyone away with some good tech that I actually want.

    My consoles have generally been based on the games lineup and Sony has always had ones much more to my tastes on the exclusives side. MS really need a strong of list of new exclusives to tempt me away. The PS4 could be 3 or 4 years after the next xbox and I wouldn’t mind as long as the multi-platform games hadn’t abandoned the PS3.

  9. We all know the launch titles will be Halo 5, a new Fonza, Call of Duty MW 4, Battlefield 4, Fable 4, Dance Central 4, Kinect Adventures 2, Kinectamuals 3, Kinect Sports 3, some form of Disney crap, Gunslinger 2, Steel Battalion 3: Extra Sh!tty Edtion (the Kinect version guys not the original), Ryse, the Milo and Kate sequel RROD & E74 : The Hardware Failure Chronicles, Kinect Star Wars 2 and the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog 2013 : Glitches in Time.

    As for the price of the games themselves, they will cost £80 and they will all have Online Passes whrere players will have to fork out £35 to access the unlock feature and charge you a further £10 just to play the game and you have to have XBLG to access the offline multiplayer features with a £10 charge to go online for that one game.

    The best part is you have to fork out £530 to buy the Xbox 720 and pay extra for a controller to be able to play any of the games at all, the you will enjoy seeing your console breakdown witth no warranty cover, see Micro$oft deny all the rumours of bad hardware and force you pay $250 plus post & packaging for both trips to and from the US and be told that your console was lost in transit and tell you to buy a new console before you drag them off to court for trying to rip you off with bad faulty hardware and terrible consumer service and the poor handling of your property.

    Come on Micro$oft, it will be the best thing you have ever done.

  10. What happened to my previous comment? I was only taking p!$$ out of Micro$ofts track record for console launches since 2005.

    • Some clarification please as to why the comment was taken down.

      • I’m going to assume that it was fanboy drivel judging by your next comment. You also appear to be confused regarding the spelling of Microsoft.

      • When I’m making fun of MS that how I spell their name, also you may be right the fanboy theory.

        But at least the comment is back for to see.

      • “also you may be right the fanboy theory.”

        Should be “also you may be right about the fanboy theory”

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