Xbox 360 life cycle to be a 'little longer than previous generations'
by Dustin Burg 
{ Jan 12th 2009 at 12:45PM }
Talking with Mercury News, Microsoft's Robbie Bach quelled our fanboy fears (or hopes) of a new Xbox console releasing anytime soon, admitted that they're in no hurry to release the 360's successor anytime soon.
"The life cycle for this generation of consoles - and I'm not just talking about Xbox, I'd include Wii and PS3 as well - is probably going to be a little longer than previous generations," admitted Bach. "Just coming up with something that's faster and prettier isn't going to be sufficient." Well said.
So, if our math skills are up to par, we'd say a new Xbox revision should be headed down the pipeline sometime in 2011. Yeah, about then, give or take a year.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alien Lord @ Jan 12th 2009 12:56PM
Fine with me, I can wait a couple more years to upgrade as all three of my 360's a purring just fine (even the launch system I've got).
Pos @ Jan 12th 2009 1:03PM
Will buy the day its released!!! Like i did with the 360. Wonder how its going to be... Blue ray will probebly not be supported if even alive in 20011 or 2012. Maybe the old game cases will come back with some type of Flash memory.
Would make piracy hard then. And more $ for MS.
Seb @ Jan 12th 2009 1:14PM
Phisical media's days are numbered. Disc, cartrage or stick, they'll all be gone in the future.
Jeramy @ Jan 12th 2009 3:55PM
i don't ever comment much anymore, but that is the stupidest fucking thing i have ever heard. optical media is cheap and has high storage capacity. devs are quick to complain this gen about having only 9 gb of space to work with, so an adoption of blu-ray next gen is inevitable (unless they choose a proprietary format, which would be kind of silly).
and as for seb, considering how fucking long it takes me to navigate the xblm and the fact that broadband still has a ways to go for market penetration, physical media isn't going anywhere anytime soon. when i'm able to download 5 gb in 10 minutes (which wouldn't be near a full game by then) i'll consider changing my stance.
Taylor. Yes, Taylor. @ Jan 12th 2009 4:06PM
I think physical media will die sooner than we think, for consoles. MS doesn't want blu-ray because they don't want to support sony, and they have a lot of interest in downloadable content. With 1TB hard drives already available for less than $100, i imagine a system where you can download games, or take your HDD to game stop to load a game. The 360 HDD is already pretty portable, they could recess the connector and that would be easy.
And broadband is still not everywhere, but lots of places have it. I have a 10mbit connection, so i could download a game pretty quickly already. Faster than i could get to the store, thats for sure. Obama (please no political stuff) is on his way into office and he has been really big on spreading broadband to every corner of the country, so in a few years maybe we will have much more availability.
Either way, i would love downloadable games, and they already distribute xbox originals that are almost the same size as current gen titles, so its not like it's that unreasonable. Give it a couple more years and it will be the norm.
-Taylor
Alex @ Jan 12th 2009 4:32PM
I hope for the love of God there will never be 'download only' games. What will game shops do? It took me just under a week to download a 720p Matrix (6.01GB) from Marketplace on my ridiculous 1MB connection. Games of the future will be probably double that.
Jeramy @ Jan 12th 2009 4:40PM
digital distribution is coming--i'm not denying that. but i wouldn't bank on it overtaking retail anytime soon. yes, broadband is growing in coverage but this is meaningless unless everyone in the coverage zones subscribes. there are still people out there with dial-up, believe it or not. hell, even my bare-bones dsl connection, while broadband, wouldn't make due. if ms, or any of the big three for that matter, decided to forgo physical media for games, they would be alienating a hefty portion of the market, including the more casual gamers who wouldn't bother with downloads regardless of bandwidth.
don't forget also that people still love to be able to hold their entertainment media. with digital distribution i wouldn't be able to loan a game i've finished to a friend. and take note that cds and dvds are still selling (even though itunes is selling like hotcakes--and song downloads are even manageable on dial-up). physical media also occupies retail shelves, which lure people in and create a market presence. i'd be willing to wager that the xbox 420 will have full digital distribution, but don't expect that disc drive to up and vanish.
Jeramy @ Jan 12th 2009 4:51PM
oh, and i'm pretty sure the avoidance of blu-ray has little to do with a sony grudge. as far as i know, sony's gaming division and home video division (whatever their proper names are) aren't interconnected like that. plus, there are about thirty million other members on the blu-ray board. the hd-dvd vs blu-ray saga did give us some lulz in the console wars, but ms would be very silly to forgo blu-ray if they stuck to physical media (spolier alert: they will)
Conor @ Jan 12th 2009 1:21PM
I'm pretty content with what I have to be honest.
I don't really need things to get much prettier, more innovative and original games/ip's would be better.
Dirty @ Jan 12th 2009 1:43PM
Agreed.
Odog4ever @ Jan 12th 2009 2:14PM
Yes on the more innovative and original ips. The next jump in gaming is going to be on the software side anyway: smarter A.I. I'm talking just shy of sentient. (We don't need a Terminator/Matrix situation!)
M @ Jan 12th 2009 5:51PM
Ok, so did you buy Mirror's Edge?
Conor @ Jan 13th 2009 7:23PM
@ M
Yes I did play Mirror's Edge, I thought it was really good if a little frustrating and on the short side.
The perfect rent =)
The sequel will be a must buy I'd say.
bioadam @ Jan 12th 2009 1:25PM
Microsoft can come out with the next Xbox whenever it wants so long as it is quieter. Unlike Alien Lord's Xbox 360s, mine doesn't purr. It roars.
Avada Kadavra 9 @ Jan 12th 2009 1:28PM
My first 360, which was the first gen got it right when it first came out, lasted me a good 3 years before it bit the big one - not bad better than most but I take very good care of my consoles and games. When it died, few months ago I went to get another one, an elite. It apparently was born with a life threatening disease because it is already in console heaven within a years time. But lucky me I got the bestbuy warranty and they gave me a new one right away, no having to send it into Microsoft and wait forever. I guess this is the newest with the better chip set in it, even running games on it from the CD it runs so quiet and smooth it is insane, seriously it runs as quiet as the PS2.
webster1990 @ Jan 12th 2009 1:46PM
I take it this means they are planning for 3-D gaming for the next generation then?
we can only hope.
and wish that it wont cause seizures of migranes when it does come.
myabsolution @ Jan 12th 2009 2:00PM
God I HOPE NOT.
3-D is the biggest gimmick ever. Wearing glasses is sooo not cool and I would never purchase any console that made me wear that.
Plus youre right we would get terrible migraines.
eP @ Jan 12th 2009 2:12PM
I don't understand the re-found infatuation with 3D tech. I was discussing the resurgence of 3D with my family and friends and comments ranged from: "No one gives a shit." to: "Waste of money."
Who is going to want to buy ANOTHER new TV (for $2,500-$5,000) and 5 sets of those ridiculous glasses at $50/ea so Barney can be a pedephile in your own living room?!
2d in HD is plenty immersive... Hell, I'm still playing my 360 on a 12 year old 32" CRT and I still get blown away by how good certain games look on it...
DJcube @ Jan 12th 2009 1:52PM
Makes sense with the current economical status.
myabsolution @ Jan 12th 2009 1:54PM
yup... releasing a NEW console during these times would be virtual suicide.
Microsoft has profits and value from selling the 360s, they aren't going to risk that with a huge gamble of making a new console right when people arent buying anything.
Im expecting a new console november 2011 or 2012
Michael Paul @ Jan 12th 2009 1:55PM
The what-technology-will-we-use decisions will likely be made just in time for that technology to be obsolete on-delivery. I predict reviews like "GTX 280 GPU? How passé now that the GTX 900 is shipping."
Ah, too bad 'console' means black box without stuff like slots for upgrades. Oh, wait, that'd make them 'computers'...
Michael Paul @ Jan 12th 2009 2:29PM
Ummm, so what brought on the comment lock? I've read similar comments before about the 360's GPU compared to graphics cards shipping at the same time. And upgradeable consoles (except for PS3 HDs) are usually not done because people are supposed to compare consoles to appliances instead of computers.
Just wondering...
Haohmaru @ Jan 12th 2009 2:34PM
My guess is that you were mistaken for an elitist PC-gaming troll, which I know you're not. :P
Haohmaru @ Jan 12th 2009 2:31PM
I don't even want to THINK about any new consoles right now. The current HD offerings still feel "new" to me, especially now that developers are starting to take full advantage of the 360 and PS3's horsepower.
Mokano40 @ Jan 12th 2009 2:38PM
It would be nice if the next console were compatible with all of the accesories for the X360 like the controllers, AC supply, video cables, Hard Drive, also backward compatible with games, the way they could sell a version with only the console in it !!!! how cheaper would that be, we will just change the console itself.
Jeramy @ Jan 12th 2009 4:03PM
it's not a terrible idea in theory but imagine how many parents/uninformed would buy the cheaper package because of the price difference and the subsequent frustration they'd feel when they open it to find a box they can't do anything with. hell, people are already confused enough with multiple sku's.
ryuk @ Jan 12th 2009 2:41PM
if the stock market doesn't crash by then
Tann @ Jan 12th 2009 2:45PM
well it can't be 2010, since that's when gears 3 is probably going to come out, possibly the year after, but i personally don't think so, not untill end of 2012.
B-rad @ Jan 12th 2009 4:04PM
Here's my prediction. Halo 3 Recon will come out in November 2009, Gears 3 will come out November 2010, and Halo 4 will launch the new console in 2011.
Jeramy @ Jan 12th 2009 4:06PM
yeah, because assuming your predictions are correct tann, who would want to release a high profile game as a launch title, right?
B-rad @ Jan 12th 2009 4:18PM
sarcastic much?
Tann @ Jan 12th 2009 4:39PM
i was meant to say it should come out end of 2011 at the earliest
And i'm sure they said that gears would stay on 360, the first 3 at least.
yolarrydabomb @ Jan 12th 2009 6:44PM
I rather wait until 2015
next xbox should have some nice features
Bulit-in Mic on controller (why not? the controller is in front of your face)
New type of format disc drive thats not HD or Blue Ray. (disc spendless)
NXE 2.0 - More things with your avatar! Web Browser.
Order Full Games online. (but they dont stay forever. I rather have hard copys)
Remote Desktop - have control to your computer with keyboard and mouse to your 360 (or whatever next one is)
Matt @ Jan 12th 2009 11:28PM
For the last couple years I've felt pretty confident of a Holiday 2010 release for the next Xbox. I still think that's feasible. They have to maintain that "first to market" position over Sony. Pushing it to 2011 may still allow for that as I'm certain it will be at least 2012 before the next Playstation hits.
Deck @ Jan 13th 2009 1:48AM
I am very happy about this. I love the 360, and really don't have any desire to be buying a new console any time soon. I am quite content with the way things are now.
And I think he was dead on when he said making "something nicer and prettier isn't going to cut it" or something to that extent. Plus the 360 looks gorgeous... how much farther can they even go with technology at the moment? My guess is they need to wait little bit longer so technology comes along that will really go farther.