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The original Xbox launched belatedly in its hardware cycle—a twelvemonth-and-a-half later on the PlayStation 2'southward first sales, and three years later on the sick-fated Dreamcast'south introduction. Determined not to be late to the party the next time effectually, Microsoft planned to introduce the Xbox 360 in late 2005, putting it five years subsequently the PS2 and right in line with where the next generation, historically, should brainstorm.

Naturally, this would give the tardily-launched Xbox a short life span, just such is the price of existence "on time" for the adjacent round. If Sony had kept to their Bound 2006 launch promise, it would have been in relative lockstep with the outset of the new generation. Instead, Sony's substantial delay gave Microsoft a year'south head start (more in some regions).

Xbox 360 Jasper

The result of all this is that the current Xbox 360 is probably going to exist effectually a whole lot longer than the original Xbox. A typical five-year span before the next generation would mean a launch of what I'll telephone call "Xbox Next" tardily in 2010, but with the PS3 and Wii striking the market belatedly in 2006, 1 could safely push that to 2011. What's more, games of the current generation are bigger and more resources-intensive than earlier, taking longer to bring to market place and requiring longer-term sales to exist profitable.

When will the next generation brainstorm? When will the side by side Xbox arrive? Only a small team inside Microsoft, surely working on the specs and design of the Xbox Adjacent, have whatever idea. And they're not talking. If you enquire me, I would say a launch in time for the holiday flavor of 2011 is reasonable, and a launch a year afterwards in 2012 is equally possible, just anything beyond that is unlikely.

So, given that launch timeframe, what will the hardware be that powers the future Xbox, and why? I don't have any inside information, but I do have a few ideas that make sense. Who knows, maybe Microsoft is listening… Continued…

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