Rumor: Microsoft to Launch ARM-based Xbox in 2013

[SteelCity1981]

People that say graphics, graphics, graphics is what it is all about are clueless. It's about gameplay to a lot of casual game players only the hardcore gamer which makes up very little in overall gamers care souly about the graphics. Wii got soo popular because of it's gameplay not because it has awesome graphics. Kinect got soo popular because of it's gameplay and not because of it's awesome graphics. That's what drives sales.

 

[zaznet]

He's talking about a totally new device that is not a gaming console. It's meant to compete with Apple-TV as a network-connected set-top-box that has all the media features of the 360/720. Something that will give you access to streaming/on-demand media currently available on the 360 like Last.fm, Hulu Plus, Netflix and Zune without needing to buy the full 360 or 720 console.

This new device would fill a segment of the market that Microsoft is missing out on. I hope they invite Apple, Amazon, Sony and Google media offerings to their platform as well. The current problems with a set-top-box that limits to one or few services is the inherent limitations of those services where specific titles are becoming exclusive to one provider over another. Not that all of them will sign on but being able to have the most inclusive media device will ensure it meets the needs/desires of a larger market share than something like Apple-TV.

 

[daglesj]

Actually a cheap stripped down ARM based 360 type box for Live only gaming and the media streaming side would work for me.

As long as it plays Defence Grid/Cattan etc.that's fine by me. I rarely buy the disc based games anymore.

 

[daglesj]

Really guys why is backwards compatibility so important? Especially with the original Xbox? Are you still playing all those games?

You already have the console that can play them perfectly. And if the 360 is so 'old and crap' then why do you need to play the old crappy games on the new 720 (whatever it's called)?

On one hand you want MS to move on and go forward yet you still want to hang onto the past.

It's one or the other. Lets have a clean slate and move onto a totally new platform please.

 

[bigbaconeater]

[citation][nom]swolern[/nom]Wake up Microsoft. The 360 is ancient and so outdated. The only people that use it anymore and little kids that can't afford a PC. And people like me that use it for Netflix and a paper weight. Come out with the next gen already or loose more life long console gamers, like myself, to the mighty PC that can produce eyegasm graphics.[/citation]

I have only ever played games on PC, but consoles do have their advantages. For example, 4 people can play games at once, not many people have 4+ networked gaming computers in their house.

 

[bison88]

Why the hell would Microsoft release an Arm based "X-Box" especially this late in the game? It would make no sense. It was laughable when former rumors suggested months ago that the X-Box 720 would have Arm processors, offering the only theory that you can have more than x86 and have dedicated smaller, and slower ones for everything. Absolutely stupid thinking but understandable for the industry who is straddling the Arm craze.

I'm suggesting given the rumor is "X-Box Device" maybe they're referring to a PS Vita/Nintendo DS kinda competition product. In that case it could and would make sense.

 

[beardguy]

I agree with everyone's sentiment regarding the Xbox 360. The thing is ancient now. And although it's impressive what developers have been able to push on such hardware, it is really showing it's age.

Almost every new game I run on my 360 that are visually impressive, have terrible lag and frame rate issues.

There is no doubt that consoles have stunted the evolution of gaming. If Microsoft is smart, they will release a beefy next gen console.

 

[daglesj]

I think the big worry MS and Sony have is does the world want $4-500 games consoles anymore?

I'm pretty sure that tablets and mobiles will have eaten up some of the market and the world economy isn't that great. It's certainly not as good as it was back in 2005-6.

Both will be looking to scale down costs dramatically I reckon. Some big gambles ahead.

 

[g00fysmiley]

[citation][nom]beardguy[/nom]I agree with everyone's sentiment regarding the Xbox 360. The thing is ancient now. And although it's impressive what developers have been able to push on such hardware, it is really showing it's age.Almost every new game I run on my 360 that are visually impressive, have terrible lag and frame rate issues. There is no doubt that consoles have stunted the evolution of gaming. If Microsoft is smart, they will release a beefy next gen console.[/citation]


didn't work so well for sony with the ps3, the sheer fac tthat is cos tmore than the 360 lost it plently of sales when parents went to buy thier kid a console and wanted to buy the cheaper one ... beefy consoles wouldn't work. I agree that consoles hold back pc graphics but really as long as the gameplay is fun then it can be 8 bit graphics for all i care, to many games now are focus on visuals not on game play imo

 

[DroKing]

[citation][nom]whysobluepandabear[/nom]Consoles are really ceasing to become relevant. They're literally just cheap PCs, enclosed in the same shell as the next person, to the next person. Why don't we all just agree that in 2012, your ass needs to get a gaming PC. I'm sick of hearing the money excuse - mostly because a lot of components are re-useable and able to be used for SO much more than a console. A gaming PC can be used for countless other applications than just gaming, music, or using some form of Netflix-like service. Never has PC hardware been so cheap - especially GPUs; and the CPUs are overkill for pretty much every game. So this new Xbox will probably launch around $450-600, and I cease to understand the point of it. We all know you can build a budget PC for around that price, if not less given you have some previous parts hanging around.[/citation]

Thats where you are wrong... Consoles are not cheaper than PC gaming at all. Consoles may only cost 250/300 bucks but what about inflated prices for controllers HDDs headphones....

PC is the cheapest route if you werent so freaking clueless.

 

[daglesj]

[citation][nom]DroKing[/nom]Thats where you are wrong... Consoles are not cheaper than PC gaming at all. Consoles may only cost 250/300 bucks but what about inflated prices for controllers HDDs headphones....PC is the cheapest route if you werent so freaking clueless.[/citation]

How many times have folks upgraded their PC since 2006 to keep up with the latest games? I don't really play games but I've upgraded mine at least 4 times since then. Is that cheaper than a console, headphones and a couple of controllers?

 

[beardguy]

"didn't work so well for sony with the ps3, the sheer fac tthat is cos tmore than the 360 lost it plently of sales when parents went to buy thier kid a console and wanted to buy the cheaper one ... beefy consoles wouldn't work. I agree that consoles hold back pc graphics but really as long as the gameplay is fun then it can be 8 bit graphics for all i care, to many games now are focus on visuals not on game play imo"

Yeah I agree about the PS3. The real problem is how old the 360 is. When it came out, spec-wise it was fine. But it should have never lasted so long, since obviously now it's way passed it's life cycle. Microsoft needs to strike a balance between specs and price.

The 720 needs to be powerful though. Like 4 or 8 cores and at least a 1GB dedicated memory gpu (maybe even 2GB). Hardware is getting so cheap, there is no reason they can't come out with a solid spec console at a low cost.

I also agree about good gameplay vs. graphics. But truthfully, better graphics help games to be more immersive. Of course, the game play has to match to make a great game.

 

[daglesj]

[citation][nom]daglesj[/nom]How many times have folks upgraded their PC since 2006 to keep up with the latest games? I don't really play games but I've upgraded mine at least 4 times since then. Is that cheaper than a console, headphones and a couple of controllers?[/citation]

Ouch! I guess the truth hurts and all those $300 graphics cards and $300CPUs all add up over the years huh?

Just how much have you spent on PC gear to stay current since 2005?

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]daglesj[/nom]How many times have folks upgraded their PC since 2006 to keep up with the latest games? I don't really play games but I've upgraded mine at least 4 times since then. Is that cheaper than a console, headphones and a couple of controllers?[/citation]

I don't know about you, but I sell my parts before I upgrade my computer, so I make back a lot of what is spent to get the new parts from the start of the upgrade.

[citation][nom]beardguy[/nom]"didn't work so well for sony with the ps3, the sheer fac tthat is cos tmore than the 360 lost it plently of sales when parents went to buy thier kid a console and wanted to buy the cheaper one ... beefy consoles wouldn't work. I agree that consoles hold back pc graphics but really as long as the gameplay is fun then it can be 8 bit graphics for all i care, to many games now are focus on visuals not on game play imo" Yeah I agree about the PS3. The real problem is how old the 360 is. When it came out, spec-wise it was fine. But it should have never lasted so long, since obviously now it's way passed it's life cycle. Microsoft needs to strike a balance between specs and price. The 720 needs to be powerful though. Like 4 or 8 cores and at least a 1GB dedicated memory gpu (maybe even 2GB). Hardware is getting so cheap, there is no reason they can't come out with a solid spec console at a low cost. I also agree about good gameplay vs. graphics. But truthfully, better graphics help games to be more immersive. Of course, the game play has to match to make a great game.[/citation]

I'd take one Sandy Bridge core over eight ARM cores. Obviously, core count doesn't matter. I'd also take a Radeon 6950 1GB over a Radeon 6450 2GB. Obviously, core count and VRAM capacity are not good measures for performance.Hardware really isn't cheap enough to get massive performance just yet. The minimum hardware requirements for 1080p at maxed out quality settings and AA in the most intensive games such as Metro 2033 and BF3 are the GTX 560 TI and the Radeon 6950 from Nvidia and AMD, respectively. Either card will cost around $200 for a 1GB model and another $30-60 for a 2GB model.

A CPU that can handle this level of graphics performance will cost at least $100. The system will need at least 4GB of system memory for the CPU, about $20. Case is another $40-80. Blu-Ray drive is another $50 or so and a decent hard drive is another $50-100, depending on the size and capacity. Of course, this is going by PC retail prices for PC parts. A console could probably manage with a weaker CPU and slightly weaker graphics because it would have a much lighter OS and more optimized games, but don't underestimate the costs.

 

[daglesj]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]I don't know about you, but I sell my parts before I upgrade my computer, so I make back a lot of what is spent to get the new parts from the start of the upgrade[/citation]

Yeah but I bet over the 7 years it's still cost you more time and effort that buying a console setup.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]daglesj[/nom]Yeah but I bet over the 7 years it's still cost you more time and effort that buying a console setup.[/citation]

More time and effort? Undoubtedly. However, can you honestly tell me that it's not time and effort well spent? A desktop can also do a lot more than a console can and that probably won't change any time soon, if at all. Furthermore, the desktop gets better with every upgrade, whereas the console is as good as it gets as soon as it's made. It never improves.

I'd rather spend my time and effort getting something out of it rather than not spending time and effort and getting less. As good as a console is, it never comes close to the quality and versatility of a decent desktop.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]bosquesgaoy[/nom]Thats where you are wrong...[/citation]

Instead of thumbing me down and saying I'm wrong, why don't you back up this claim?