I imagine this is a bid to throw something else new out there and see if it catches, all of this tech will likely go into the xbox 720 anyway, this is just something for the unsuspecting mums in the world to buy for birthday presents
Xbox TV device due in 2013?
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Microsoft reportedly developing set-top box for 2013 that will support casual games, exist alongside Xbox 720.
The next gaming-focused hardware from Microsoft may be an "Xbox TV" device. Multiple sources reportedly familiar with Microsoft's plans have told The Verge that the company is currently developing an Xbox-branded set-top box for release in 2013.
The device is reportedly part of Microsoft's two-SKU plan for its next-generation Xbox hardware and is being billed as a "low-cost" alternative to the long-rumored Xbox 720. The Xbox TV device will supposedly run on a modified version of Windows 8 and support casual titles instead of "full" Xbox games.
According to the sources, hardware specifications have not yet been finalized, though it appears that the Xbox set-top box will feature a chipset that enables the device to be "always-on." The device will reportedly boot up "quickly" in an effort to offer "near-instant access" to TV and other entertainment channels.
Lastly, the Xbox set-top box is reportedly just one part of Microsoft wider effort to make sure the systems and services for its next-generation Xbox are capable enough to run on a range of devices. Microsoft is also believed to be working on a proprietary smartphone and Xbox-branded tablet.
A Microsoft representative provided GameSpot the following comment:
"Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend the console lifecycle by introducing controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships," reads a line from the statement. "We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention."
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
123 comments
ugh, What's gotten into Microsoft lately what's next... Xbox Chair, Xbox bed, Xbox t.v, Xbox talk show, Xbox channel with Xbox related cartoons?
4 Like Why not just make a simple pure gaming console with beefed up graphics and sell them at a reasonable price. Sounds easy enough but they need all these added features to get more money from us through subscriptions etc.. All i ask is for a console that works and doest get RROD, E74, dvd drive errors etc.. They put a man on the moon in 1969 im sure in 2013 they can build a simple gaming console that works, right?
1 Like 'hardcore gamers' makes me giggle every time I hear/read that term. especially when one refers to themselves as a hardcore gamer.
xbox 360 was its best before you could do things like netflix and all that back with the very first dashboard... just about gaming and no party chat. real online gaming good days now we got pc gaming for that
1 Like This is perfect for all the hard core gaming Xboxers!. Wasn't there a survey done a couple of year ago to see what most gamers where doing on there consoles? And according to those statistics Xbox owners were watching more TV than actually playing games (Oh! Is that what hard core gamers do now -a-days?). You guys should be mad happy.
@Serpentes420 Smart Glass has been out for almost 2 months. As far as I know, there's not any game compatibility yet. As of right now it's just a glorified controller.
Rather dull i think 2 why not just 1, or are they going to came up with like most peripherals that you need to have the 2 if so you can count me out.
i came here just to read the user comments without reading the article...and I got what I expected. always a chuckle to see such closed mindedness and negativity. Consoles are for gaming? ok, that's so 20th century. yeah, and mobile phones are for making phone calls...
1 Like The Xbox Total Entertainment System.
Sounds great ... except ... I kinda have all of these things on my PC already. If you make the Xbox 720 into a machine that does everything, then you've just re-invented the PC, without as much customisation.
Consoles are for games. Keep it simple and concentrate on that, because that's the charm of consoles -- user-friendly simplicity. With all of the dashboard "improvements" recently it's harder than ever just to play music or videos from the default system players. Hell, pretty soon you'll have to go through 10 menus just to play the game in the CD tray!
@MooncalfReviews Good for you. Not everyone has a media-centre PC, or their PC connected to the TV and stereo. I know people who haven't touched games on their consoles for a long time, but use it as a HD device for Netflix.
PS, the word "console" means "box" or "container" or "cabinet", of French origin dating back to the 1700s. In fact console meant "musical cabinet" in the 1800s, "radio cabinet" in the 1920s, and "television cabinet" in the 1940s. "Gaming console" is from the early 1970s.
Knowing Micro$oft they will make you buy a subscription. There is already something out called the Roku!!
2 Like Microsoft keeps pulling toward these gimmicks. Eh when will all these companies just focus on gaming!
Gaming as i see it works as alternative way of expression and now we have to abdicate part of its uniqueness mixing it with all kinds of this mess of a pop fest.
Don´t polute our minds in our free time please....
I wonder if this includes its people watching patent that forces you to buy a license for large audience viewing.
Alright! I can't wait to never buy this! A shovel ware TV! Just what I always never wanted. Can you feel my enthusiasm for this? WHERE ARE THE GAMES?! "...re-inventing the console with a new dashboard..."
Now this is just my opinion, but I would not call "my first blocks" reinventing the dashboard.
I want it all!!!!
Give me 24 hour personal Music stations.
Give 3000 channels of nothing to watch Tv
Give me the ability for my Xbox to talk to my Microsoft Surface.
Give me the ability to have 1 terabyte of downloaded games/movie/tv shows.
Give Me Give Me Give Me!!!!
Oh and can it be under $300 thanks.
This comment has been deleted
@Whole-Lotta @Upat3am Someone who gives up a little liberty for a little security deserves neither and receives none
1 Like I have been waiting for the Xbox and the Ps3 to Start putting channels into there lineups. Ps3 got Neon Alley it's all right. So I'm excited to see what Xbox will come up with.
3 Like Soon you'll be playing an Xbox 360 on your Xbox Tv while eating your Xbox breakfast in your Xbox House within Xbox City... With a Tesco at the end of the road... Every city has now has a Tesco
i'll be gettin the real 720 (duhh), if they can keep the price under $400 it would be great, under $350 tho would be LEHGEND
2 Like Good. Keep that stupid casual crap off my Xbox 720 and make it do exactly what I want it to do - play hardcore games.
3 Like I just want to say that's a gross picture and I hope it's off the main GS page soon, haha.
Dont think of this as a game console. Not every one pays for cable or even has a game console to watch apps. Some folks have the internet instead and will pay for netflix/Hulu or HBO Go. What a great way for folks to get into television cheep with out the pricy premium of cable.
3 Like Will i still be able to play games?
At this point it is already a pain in the ass to wade through the quagmire of ads and other nonsense just to find the game I want to play
1 Like Three strikes and your out Microsoft!!! MS TV FAILED, MS tivo device FAILED... Now this.... Windows 7 phone FAILED, Windows 8 phone not doing so well.
Microsoft does not need to be an device for every person to be a profitable company. Trying to fight everyone and collect all the profits is not going to get them anywhere. Microsoft WILL NOW lose its exclusivity with its hardware manufactures by competing with them. Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo, Samsung, and even Sony. Why should the only have Windows PC when Microsoft is competing AGAINST them I can imagine these companies using a Linux OS, or even a new company using something like IBM's OS/2.
first xbox fails with that wack azz prephrial the kinect trying to mimick the wii u motion controlls now they are coping the wii u with Nintendo TVii but with this crap LAME man microsoft is a sad sad company
@TRAVISTOUCHD0WN this is more like apple TV. MS is so far behind but by adding a ON-LIVE they are trying to kill 2 birds with one stone.
@TRAVISTOUCHD0WN Just a question, why the hell would anyone look to Nintendo for anything to do with TV? Beside, MS has a much greater amount of entertainment apps on the 360 I'm sure don't exist on any Nintendo console. It actually makes sense MS is doing something like this, and people should have this coming a long time ago.
@TacticaI @TRAVISTOUCHD0WN I have a wii in the bedroom connected to the spare TV. My girlfriend uses it for fitness steps, and watches BBC iPlayer on it sometimes to catch up on programs. As the wii is wireless, unlike my Xbox (which I *want* to be wired for gaming connectivity), it can be well away from the modem/Xbox/PC hub without wires trailing through the house.
Not everyone is a teenager living in their parent's home you know... :-)
I want my 360 wired as as I play a lot of MW2 online and a wired connection is more stable.
A wireless connection is adequate for many things, including bufferable films and non-twich online, and that's why it's fine for my g/f to use a wireless wii.
My 360 isn't new, but it is the Jasper (stable) chipset and has a HDMI port though I use VGA and a monitor.
All I'm saying is there is a market for a non-gaming 720 that will work as a media centre - music, radio, tv, film, casual games - without having the hundreds of dollars of hardware required for playing the super-games.
@Stonedwolfed @TRAVISTOUCHD0WN I was being facetious, hinting that there are more and better options on the 360. Again, it's a little obvious (even more so with Smart Glass) that Microsoft wanted to head in this direction. I don't see where Nintendo or the Wii come into the conversation...or teenagers for that matter. I wonder how many were looking forward to new Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land last week though.You completely lost me with the wires thing, I only have a power plug and an hdmi cord attached to my 360 at the moment. The same as a cable box, but you must have an old 360. If you wanted it wired, why are you evening touting about the Wii's wireless capabilities?
3 Like While I have no use for this device, if it keeps the cost of the 720 down, (or whatever it's called), I'm all for it.
3 Like @Bleak5170Agreed, if this means that the 720 will be a pure gaming device with all it's resources dedicated to classic hardcore and AAA gaming, and the casual stuff and tv-channels relegated to the "low-cost"-device mentioned above. Then I'm all for such a separation :)
@MrDouglas @Bleak5170 I do not see Microsoft splitting the abilities instead for people who do not want to pay for a more expensive device is not what this is about. 720 will also reach out to the casual gamer as well.
@Ravenlore_basic @MrDouglas @Bleak5170 It won't reach out the casuals if it's several hundred dollars.
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