"Xbox 720" November 2013?????

[Luminous]

http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/23/micros...ch-rumor-2013/

For the lazy.....

Microsoft plans to launch its next-generation Xbox video game and home entertainment console ahead of the holidays next year, according to a recent report. The Los Angeles Times on Monday published a developer contract between Acitivision Blizzard and famed Halo developers Bungie. The firms are currently working on a new Massively Multiplayer Online franchise called Destiny, which will be a first-person shooter with a science fiction theme. While the fact that the companies currently have four titles planned for the series is exciting for gamers in itself, another tidbit may be even more titillating; the contract suggests that the first Destiny title will launch ahead of the holidays next year as an exclusive for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and its next-generation console, which the document refers to as the “Xbox 720.” An earlier report from an industry industry insider suggested that Microsoft will launch an ARM-based “Xbox lite” in late 2013 followed by a true Xbox 360 successor some time later, however this new information suggests that timeline may not be accurate.

The more interesting piece of info there is a Bungie made game as a launch title and an exclusive. I will preorder ASAP if that is the case!!! If the new Xbox does launch next November that means the 360 had an 8 year life cycle, which is pretty good, IMO.

Of course this could be just another rumor. I just hope the rumors of no disc drive and the inability to play used games is not true. Not that I worry about retailers losing out on used gaming dollars, but I like to trade and sell games with other gamers.

[NewportStark]

Interesting. I like Bungie so my attention is piqued.

[ShinobiWan1]

I wonder what it will be like?

[Hunter]

Yep, there's a lot more details on the game. It was supposed to go up in my news post on Fanbolt, but it's not up yet. Gah. Here's the info:

-Massively multiplayer style, sci-fantasy action shooter series codenamed Destiny with expansion packs codenamed Comet.
-Four games releasing in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
-Four expansion packs releasing in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020.
-The main games will be retail.
-There will be other DLC, subscriptions, microtransactions, and value added services.
-The first game will be an Xbox 360 and "Xbox 720" timed exclusive.
-Activision and Bungie are considering a PS3 version of the first game in 2014.
-The second game is targeted for 360, 720, PS4, and Windows PC, though the contract notes that some of those SKUs may be dropped if they decide they are not worthwhile or not technically feasible.
-Activision can terminate the contract without penalty if Destiny doesn't sell at least 5 million units in the first six months, or for any reason they please after the second expansion pack releases.
-Bungie is also working on a Marathon game, but currently no more than 5% of their staff (nor more than 5% of their key staff) can work on it, and the amount of employees that can work on it goes up slowly as they hit cumulative profit goals. There are also limits on when Bungie can release Marathon. For specifics on this see the contract images at the bottom since it's pretty lengthy.
-The game is targeting a rating of Teen/PEGI 16, but Bungie is not contractually held to hit this mark.
-The contract implies the game has in-game game masters, like those people who work for Blizzard and handle user requests in World of Warcraft while playing some kind of digital representation in the MMO world (or at least being accessible through in game chat).
-Bungie will receive a $2.5 million bonus if Destiny achieves a GameRankings.com rating of 90 or higher on Xbox 360 as measured 30 days after release.
-Bungie will also get a 20% royalty of the first $100 million in cumulative operating income, 24% on the income between $101-$400 million, and 35% on the income $401 million or above. These royalties are subject to a penalty of 2%, 2.4%, and 3.5% respectively if the games are delayed for reasons caused by Bungie within reason (i.e. if an earthquake destroys their studio they're not at fault, but if they just don't get the game done on time they are). These last two bullet points I'm leaving in the contract itself to cut down on OP length.

[Luminous]

Interesting info there Hunter.

So four retail games, four expansions, plus all kinds of other DLC and microtransactions.....not all that excited about that.

[NewportStark]

I didn't know before, but read today that the codename for the new xbox is Durango. For playstation its Orbis.

[Hunter]

Yep. There's also a codename Loop for a new Xbox 360 that will be smaller, cheaper, and serve as a consumer electronic device. Basically just for serving up entertainment with the ability to play games.