Microsoft Gears Up For Next Console – Xbox 360 Interactivity And “Tons Of Exclusives”

Microsoft are gearing up for this week’s big reveal of their next console, with the full outing set to be on the 21st of May, Tuesday. The company’s Aaron Greenberg has set the hype train rolling with news that the Xbox 720 will play host to “tons of exclusives” in the latest Major Nelson podcast.

“We’re really going to tell one story across two events,” Greenberg said, referring to both next week and their pre-E3 conference. “So we’re going to start on the 21st and really that’s about revealing the next Xbox platform, really our vision for the future of games, the future of entertainment.”

“We definitely have a lot of surprises planned,” he added.

“I know everyone knows the Infinity Ward team is hard at work on world premiering the next Call of Duty: Ghosts, so we’re going to see what that looks like for the first time. People are going to get a great inside look at really the making of the new platform and the team that’s brought it to life.

“I mean, to be honest, it’s really about the team, the people here, that’s why we’re inviting people to campus, we’re going to bring them behind the scenes a little bit. We’ve never done this before and so it’s really exciting to be able to do that.”

“But I think it’s a lot of laying the foundation, probably the best way to describe it, and then just a couple of weeks later we go to E3.”

“E3 is all about the games,” Greenberg continued, suggesting that next week’s reveal will be more about the hardware and vision, with E3 to focus on the core gamer. “At E3, I mean, if you’re a gamer, it’s going to be tons of exclusives, world premieres, and obviously even beyond that we have a lot to share between then and this holiday.”

That last line also confirms that Microsoft are aiming at precisely the same release window as Sony are with the PS4.

In related news, The Verge is reporting that Microsoft are set to release dashboard updates to the current Xbox 360 platform, with a view to some kind of interactivity between current and next gen Xbox consoles. The new dashboard won’t be just about the 720, though – it’ll also be visually tweaked, to more resemble Windows 8.1.

The Verge claims that cross platform connectivity will include “messaging, beacons, and Achievements.”

42 Comments

  1. I get the distinct feeling that people will view the 720 with CoD-tinted-glasses…

    • Indeed, especially if this is the first gameplay being shown at their big event. I’m still playing the first Call of Duty so it’s of no interest to me :)

    • “Tons Of Exclusives”

      from the 3 studios Microsoft owns….. Yeh right…

      Come back when you got 10x that number like Sony…

      • I’d look out for exclusives from studios that Microsoft doesn’t own…

      • Aye MS may have stumped guess and jizzed it all over EA/activison.

        Rumours suggest Ex-Infinity Ward bods have a MS exclusive with EA in bed with MS in terms of exclusive DLC ala like Ubisoft’s PS3/4 exclusives for AC4/Watch Dogs.

        Then again it may mean some exclusive Kinect shite like Ryse :)

      • It’s MS, they will have splooged cash left, right and centre to Activision, EA and Bethesda for exclusives. Following the abject failure of Windows 8, Microsoft cannot afford any such issues with the new XBox so will just revert to type (just like they said they wouldn’t).

      • I know this is kind of off topic here, but isn’t it a little early to deem Windows 8 as an “abject failure”? Plenty of businesses, parents and schools are still on XP! :)

  2. I’m excited about the nextbox not going lie, I’m thinking of ditching Sony. The reason I stayed loyal is God of war series & PS Plus.

    If they have good games like PC games on their side, I’m gone

    • They have 3 studios, so it’s going to be the same old carp.

      Forza rehash.
      Halo Rehash
      ermmmm…….

      They will likely bribe some other studios to stick with them, even though making Xbox titles is not really that profitable given the massive piracy problem on that console…

      • Carp?

      • Didn’t you know about MS’s new side project? It’s Carp as well as Tuna, COD, Haddock, Crabs and basically seafood.

      • So MS new Exclusive is a fishing game using Kinect prolly looking like a total twat to your neighbours

        ” there he goes again thinking he’s fishing in his front room” “time to call the men in white coats. the mental gimp”.

      • Whale oil beef hooked! :-o

      • Koinect. ^_^

    • Have you paid zero attention to what Microsoft has been doing for the past five years?

      Smaller developers hate them, and their idea of new IP’s are ghetto Arcade games.

      You will be getting three first party IP’s – Halo, Gears of War and Forza.

      I find Forza to be the best of those three, and Microsoft is so desperate they get the IP’s continued by other developers than the ones that created them.

      • Forza 5 would be ok if MS supported any USB wheel like Sony do. If they pull that propriatry BS again they will lose to GT6 and Drive Club from the get go.

        Otherwise I completely agree about MS exclusives being poor. Lets hope they haven’t just bought a bunch of timed exclusives once again, that pony is flogged and gamers are tired of it.

  3. What time is the conference? I think I read somewhere it would be 6pm UK time, but can’t remember.
    I’m just hoping to find a good enough stream, really looking forward to the announcement, and especially excited for the new COD gameplay.

    • Got my first exam that day so whenever it is I’m supposed to be revising instead. Terrible timing by Microsoft. ;)

      • My last exam is tomorrow, brilliant timing by Microsoft! :P

      • I’ve got my first exam tomorrow and then i have a break for a week until my next exam :)

        Also, i think i heard somewhere that the Xbox event on the 21st starts at 10AM in the UK.

      • I thought it was 10am local time, so I think it converts to 6pm this side of the pond, but I’m not 100% sure.

    • Sorry for the mistake, you were right, it’s 10am PDT, which is 5pm GMT and therefore 6pm BST.

      I think it’s being streamed here, in addition to many other places i’d assume:

      http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hub/reveal

  4. Yup, make it interactive with the system I’ll be getting rid of to make room for my PS4.

  5. At this point I’ve already decided what my first next gen console will be, Microsoft is really going to have to impress me to change my mind.

  6. I’m certainly interested. I’m getting a PS4 day one, but the next Xbox will have a huge impact on the new generation and it’s games, so it’ll be interesting to see what they’ve got cooking.

  7. It sounds like they plan to use their previous strategy of buying exclusive content whilst pumping out their own from the studios they own. It has proven to be successful in the past but i would prefer to see a lot of new IP from their studios to display what their console is capable of instead of timed stuff as that is just annoying. They are aware that most people hate Windows 8 due to it’s UI right? As they are making a mistake by having the dashboard either resemble it or use it directly.

    That said, it may actually end up being recieved well due to it being used to navigate menus for the Durango instead shouting at it because you can’t find what you are looking for on the PC. From what i’ve heard. Also, i hope MS will not rush it out just to compete with Sony as i’m sure they and everyone else wants to avoid a repeat of the Red Ring Of Death incident as i think the early 360 models were very prone to it. :S

    What is worrying is that the online DRM hasn’t been denounced. If that is a feature of the Durango, they are going to be fighting an uphill battle before the console has been shipped. Same with the PS4 and whatever Ninty has cooking if they have given up on the Wii U.

    • Same with the PS4? Didn’t a key figure in Sony (think it was Yoshida, not sure) say that they definitely wouldn’t make the console ‘always online’. Yes, publishers may be able to set their own ‘always online’ requirements, but it isn’t a PS4 system feature. MS will obviously confirm or deny this in their conference.

      • True but we’ve yet to see the console itself. I’m hoping Sony will refuse to allow any games that requires a constant internet connection. Hopefully, MS will confirm that they won’t be using that DRM.

  8. I’ll be getting PS4/Nextbox at launch. Unless Nextbox only has Forza then i’ll hold off.

    PS4 for multi-plats/exclusives.

    I hope 3rd party exclusives aren;t core franchise ones ala Dragon Age 3 that would piss me of. And may tint my view to my impending new PC.

  9. Good news albeit not the full story – which we’ll have revealed very soon. It’ll be nice to know what Microsoft is bring to the table so we get the full picture on the next gen consoles.

    I think a PS4 is a given, for me, but Microsoft could easily add to the fold if they bring out some lovely new exclusive IPs. I’m not interested in Forza, Gears of War or Fable (and the like) so it’ll have to be fresh stuff.

    • Same. I’m hoping for some good new IPs, not just Forza, Halo and Gears. The 360 has been really stagnant when it has come to strong new IPs in the last few years, they get kind of repetitive with the whole Forza, Gears and Halo hype (also Fable, but on a lesser scale I suppose). Still, maybe they have a few new great IPs ready to unleash?

    • Ntm the competition between the two means they will both be pushing to provide the most innovative, useful and fun features for us gamers, yay!
      I’m also looking forward to the xbox reveal, we’ll be able to draw some proper comparisons between the two once we know all the details. I’ll still probably stick with Playstation but there’s a lot to find out about both systems yet.

  10. I’ll be a bit late getting back to watch the stream (Got work) so I’m hoping I can watch it from the beginning on a certain webpage rather than catching the middle. (Or reading anything else about it) I know that’s an odd thing to do but I’m really interested in the announcement and want to see it all for myself first.

    Microsoft will have to do a lot to impress me though, I’ve felt for a while that their First Party line up could do with improving, and having DLC earlier isnt exactly a motivator as they think it is for many people I know. Whilst Halo, Gears, Forza, Fable have their merits they need to work on it, have Rare actually make games like they used to would help a great deal.

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