It used to work like this:
1. purchase a game console.
2. Spend the next 5, six, seven, eight years enjoying it, unless Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo introduce the next console era.
quickly, that idea of a "console generation" could be no extra. A flurry of rumors imply that each Sony and Microsoft will introduce new and enhanced versions of their existing video game consoles as soon as this yr, and announce them this very month. Sony might also introduce the so-referred to as "psNeo" at E3 in l. a., and as for Microsoft...smartly, if these rumors are to be believed, Microsoft may additionally have as many as four distinctive Xbox gadgets to offer.
right here's what the rumor mill tells us about each and every one.
Xbox One SlimHow Sony's PS3 slimmed down through the years .
CNETThe existing Xbox One is large. It makes the rival PS4 look tiny by using comparison. however think about if Microsoft reduced in size it all the way down to develop into the smallest Xbox ever.
according to sources who spoke to Kotaku, Polygon and The Verge, that's exactly what's occurring: the Xbox One Slim (no longer a real identify) can be 40% smaller than the existing model. it is going to a llegedly be cheaper, too, and yet present 2TB of storage space -- double the capability of the highest-end Xbox One attainable now.
Rumor says it is going to include a slightly redesigned Xbox One gamepad, and can natively help 4K televisions as neatly. We do not have any leaked pictures of the new Xbox yet, however sources accept as true with it be slated to ship in August.
whereas it's normal for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo to free up slimmer models of their consoles all through their lengthy lifespans, such as the PS3 super Slim and Xbox 360 Slim, the subsequent rumor you're about to read is for whatever thing much distinct.
Xbox One VRin case you wait unless late 2017, say one of the most identical nameless sources, there could be a a whole lot more potent Xbox One on tap -- one which helps digital reality. The Xbox One VR (additionally no longer a real name), codename "Scorpio," is allegedly a beefed-up Xbox One with a brand new pix chip that gives the console four instances the horsepower. it really is sufficient graphical oomph, reportedly, to energy an Oculus Rift VR headset.
Microsoft doesn't have a VR headset of its own, and it denies hobby in making one every time quickly. (The Microsoft HoloLens is not a VR headset, and is probably years away). So it be at first unbelievable to hear that Microsoft may have an Xbox designed to assist virtual truth.
however anonymous sources aren't the most effective ones who're suggesting that Microsoft could have s uddenly taken an advanced interest in VR. A game developer at a "generic European studio" let slip to Ars Technica that his business became engaged on an Xbox One VR title for 2017, and the legit E3 exhibitor checklist now has a class for Xbox One digital reality developers.
The Oculus Rift VR headset. every Rift comes with an Xbox One gamepad.
James Martin/CNETbesides, Microsoft already had a partnership with Oculus: it offers Xbox One gamepads for every Oculus Rift sold, and is developing a VR version of its mega-ordinary video online game Minecraft for the Oculus platform.
An Xbox One VR appears like a likely foil for the psNeo, assuming it exists. It, too, is allegedly a beefed-up console with a brand new photographs chip expressly designed to support virtual truth -- most effective in Sony's case, it might be powering Sony's own playstation VR headgear.
And in line with Polygon's sources, that new VR-competent Xbox can be even more potent than the VR-able new PlayStation. while leaked files received by using our colleagues at huge Bomb imply the playstation Neo will boast raw performance of roughly 4.14 teraflops, Microsoft's "Scorpio" is allegedly concentrated on 6 teraflops.
because modern day psfour is somewhat extra potent than latest Xbox One, it could imply a role reversal for the two consoles.
Xbox One Mini and Stickif you agree with the sources of veteran Microsoft reporter Tom Warren, Microsoft has been working on a pair of Xbox One media streaming gadgets for years: one a small set-excellent field to compete with the Apple television, and the different a HDMI stick greater like a Google Chromecast.
And in case you consider Brad Sams, an additional Microsoft reporter who appropriately envisioned the Xbox One Elite Controller, Microsoft will truly announce both those streaming gadgets at E3 this 12 months for roughly $a hundred and fifty (approximately £104 or AU$208) and $a hundred (about £sixty nine, AU$138) respectively.
The usual Google Chromecast, next to the latest mannequin.
Sarah Tew/CNETThe Xbox One Mini (now not a true identify) is believed to be a tiny stripped down Xbox that would be able to play light-weight games and apps, taking abilities of the fact that Microsoft is unifying its windows and Xbox app outlets to make some windows classes purchasable on Xbox and vice versa. even though no rumor has yet corroborated this, it could most likely ditch the Xbox's optical power.
in the meantime, the Xbox Stick (yet an additional made-up name) is allegedly pegged as a way to flow video games from an Xbox in one room of your condominium to a tv in one more room the usage of instant expertise. That wouldn't be too plenty of a stretch, given you could already stream Xbox One games to a home windows 10 computing device.
Overarching Xbox visi onWhy 4 devices? We don't know for certain -- but they appear to revolve round a new Microsoft initiative, codename undertaking Helix, to convey the worlds of windows and Xbox a lot nearer together.
This March, we realized that Microsoft intends to free up every new game it creates for windows and Xbox concurrently. One month later, Microsoft announced that it might fulfill its lengthy-standing promise to let the Xbox One run windows apps -- no longer just games.
both announcements count on builders building so-referred to as "usual" apps set of equipment and practices dubbed the "accepted windows structure" (UWA).
however Microsoft needs new hardware to get builders excited sufficient to build those apps in the first vicinity. If Microsoft can inform builders that their UWA apps will run on a host of latest gadgets that buyers are more likely to have in their buildings, together with ones as affordable and portable as HDMI sticks, that may well be some critical incentive to build for Microsoft's platform -- where Microsoft gets a reduce of each sale.
If it really works, it may be relatively best for game enthusiasts too: In March, Xbox boss Phil Spencer imagined a future the place your game library would certainly not go out of date. historically, each new generation of video game consoles is never "backwards-suitable" with video games from outdated generations. They customarily do not work because of differences in the structure of the processors internal.
but when Microsoft can get developers to construct accepted apps that work across several types of hardware, console gamers might enjoy the identical improvement as modern day pc game enthusiasts -- whose video games simply retain looking more advantageous, in its place of going out of date, as they impro ve to more effective processors and snap shots playing cards.
Scroll down for a reverse-chronological look at the latest rumors.
might also 31, 2016CNET: Xbox One gets price cut ahead of anticipated new modelsMicrosoft cuts the Xbox One's expense to $299 through June 13 -- June 13 just so occurs to be the day when Microsoft will hold its E3 press convention.
can also 27, 2016Ars Technica: Developer: We're engaged on an Xbox One VR online game for 2017A online game developer at a "frequent European studio" tells Ars Technica that his enterprise is planning a brand new VR video game for 2017 a good way to allegedly work with the Xbox One -- a console which is rarely presently compatible with any VR headsets .
NeoGAF: reliable E3 website provides "Xbox One digital reality" filter, 4+ agencies registerNeoGAF discussion board person 00ich discovers that the entertainment application association, which sponsors E3, has notably created a category for businesses constructing VR application for the Xbox One.
Gamespot: GameStop expecting new console bulletins at E3Tony Bartel, COO of video video game retailer GameStop, corroborates the rumors with the aid of asserting he expects new game consoles to be introduced at E3 this yr.
might also 25, 2016Kotaku: Sources: Smaller Xbox One coming this year, extra effective Xbox One in 2017< p> Sources tell Kotaku that Microsoft will unencumber "at least two" new Xbox game consoles over the subsequent two years: a cheaper, smaller version of the current Xbox One with a brand new 2TB challenging drive this 12 months, to be introduced at E3, and a extra potent Xbox One next yr with a sooner GPU in a position to aiding the Oculus Rift VR headset.Polygon: Sources: Xbox One getting huge improve in 2017, slim mannequin later this yrPolygon corroborates the Kotaku record with its personal anonymous sources, and provides that subsequent yr's more potent Xbox One could be four instances as potent as the latest console, with a performance target of 6 teraflops, and is designed to be backwards appropriate with all latest Xbox One software.
in line with Polygon sources, the different cheaper, smaller Xbox One variant may be the sma llest Xbox ever made and is scheduled to ship this August with a redesigned controller.
The Verge: Xbox One slim rumored for E3 and more potent console expected in 2017Sources tell The Verge that the smaller, cheaper Xbox One outlined by means of Kotaku may be forty p.c smaller than the latest Xbox One and certain aid 4K video playback.
CNET: Microsoft may launch two tv streaming devices at E3throughout a video podcast, tech journalist Brad Sams claims that Microsoft is "going to be announcing at least two streaming gadgets at E3." He describes one of them as a streaming media stick the measurement of a Google Chromecast for round $a hundred, and the different as a $150 to $a hundred seventy five Apple tv competitor which may play lightweight games.
He also says that Microsoft is experimenting with bringing the Xbox interface to windows PCs as a alternative for the ancient windows Media core, and that Microsoft can be planning a different Xbox for subsequent 12 months with 4K video playback.
The Verge adds that Microsoft has "long been experimenting with a Chromecast-like device that could permit you to move Xbox One video games from a primary console in a living room to a 2d television somewhere else in a condo."
April 27, 2016Thurrott.com: Microsoft will announce new hardware at E3Tech journalist B rad Sams cites "sources within the business" that Microsoft will have a large hardware announcement at E3, and one after the other that the Xbox One will ship with a brand new controller with a different colour than the latest black gamepad.
April 19, 2016The Verge: Is Microsoft about to launch an upgraded Xbox One?The Verge's Tom Warren reviews that Microsoft has been testing "a lot of prototype Xbox devices" the use of beefed-up laptop accessories to make them sooner.
April 12, 2016NeoGAF: New Xbox One instant chip found in FCC filingswithin the Federal conversation fee's public database, NeoGAF forum member ekim discovers that Microsoft is attempting to certify new Wi-Fi radio modules, possible for a brand new rev ision of the Xbox One.
March 30, 2016CNET: The Xbox is at last becoming a windows laptop. Do you care?Microsoft confirms that it will unify the home windows 10 and Xbox One app retailers, allowing Xbox online game consoles to behave even more like home windows computers with the aid of working the equal applications.
March 4, 2016Gamespot: Xbox boss clarifies console hardware upgrade commentsXbox boss Phil Spencer clarifies that future Xbox consoles might not become upgradable PCs which require a screwdriver to substitute their components. as a substitute, he intended that it may not always take the seven to eight years of a typical console cycle before the Xbox becomes extra powerful.
March 1, 2016Gamespot: viable Xbox One hardware upgrade in the pipeline, says Phil SpencerAt a media event attended by CNET, Xbox boss Phil Spencer guidelines that Microsoft may not stay up for a brand new technology of online game consoles to introduce new hardware, and that the hardware should be would becould very well be upgradable.
CNET: don't cling your breath for an Xbox VR headsetXbox boss Phil Spencer explains why Microsoft believes it would not need to build a VR headset to go together with its Xbox One online game console.
CNET: You might not need an Xbox to play Microsoft's next technology of video gamesMicrosoft builders exhibit to CNET that the business's future in-apartment games will arrive on Xb ox and windows on the very identical day.
