(Image Source: Gaming Revolution)

BY MADISON MACK

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN


Rumors about the next generation Xbox has the tech media doing 360’s. IGN reports the rumors are sprouting from some credible sources and expects the console to hit the markets sometime in 2013.

“The chipset for the next Xbox console will go into production later this year. It will be based on the AMD Radeon 6670 HD and will help make the system 6 times more powerful than the Xbox 360”

That GPU is already a year old and many in the tech community, like The Tech Report, worry the next Xbox will already be underpowered by the time it’s released.

“I suppose a 6670-class GPU might make sense if Microsoft intends the Xbox 720 to be an uber-cheap device meant to double as a Joe Everyman's media hub (and do a little gaming on the side). Still, if there's any truth to this rumor, games might not make a truly substantial leap in visual fidelity for a long, long while.”

SoldierKnowsBest notes the next Xbox may never be able to compete with high end gaming PCs but says it will still be way better than its predecessor.

“But I think Microsoft, the way they have the development kits, the developers for it will be able to produce way way better results than the current platform even though the GPU may be older than some of the new ones out there.”

And Kotaku adds some a few rumors of their own.

“Microsoft will upgrade its disc technology for its next Xbox from DVDs to Blu-Ray discs … One source familiar with Microsoft's plans for the new Xbox said Microsoft plans to ship their new Xbox with a new version of its red-hot Kinect hands-free sensor system...”

Microsoft remains tight lipped about the future of the console so details about the next gen Xbox are scarce. But Gamespot’s Start/Select uses its power of “super deductive journalism” to make a few guesses.

“Six terabyte hard drive! Six USB ports! Six DVD drives! Six built in Kinect censors! And to accommodate all these, six foot wide! Hopefully however, this won’t be six times more likely to red ring.”

IGN reports developers will start receiving development kits based on the system’s final configuration in August. And Gizmodo points out 2013 is still a long, long ways away.

“On one hand it's nice to see the rumors of the next-gen Xbox starting to solidify, but on the other hand, waiting until 2013 to get our hands on one is going to be arduous.”