The Xbox 720 will allegedly be revealed next month (on May 21st) and sport a price tag of $500, according to esteemed tech blogger Paul Thurrott.
On the latest episode of What the Tech podcast, Thurrott shared some inside information on the next Xbox, saying that the console will launch this November for $500. There will also apparently be a $300 option for those willing to go with a subscription model.
He also addressed the recent talk of the console being always-online, supporting the likelihood of that being the case. "The thing that interests me, going back and looking at some of the stuff I got a long time ago, it actually says ‘must be internet-connected to use’ in the notes. And that’s all I have, but it does say that," Thurrott explained.
On a slightly more positive note, Thurrott claimed that the new console will be first and foremost a gaming device, putting all of the extraneous entertainment functions to the side. There were originally plans to release something of the sort, but has since been tabled. "We have talked for a while about this notion that there might be another version of the Xbox that was just aimed at entertainment—a non-gaming device. That device was code-named ‘Yumo’ and they’re not making it. They may make one in the future, but it’s not happening this year."
As far as backwards compatibility goes, Thurrott suggested that this new Xbox won't be able to play Xbox 360 content. Apparently this is largely due to the fact that the company plans to launch a cheaper version of the Xbox 360. "They're also going to sell a new Xbox 360 code-named 'Stingray' that will be $99," he said. "I don't actually know this for a fact, but based on the fact that they're making one—I don't think that the new Xbox will play 360 games. But that I don't actually know, that I'm guessing."
That's a whole lot of info, but once again, we must remind you that this is merely rumor until Microsoft provides conformation, and by the sound of it, it looks like we'll be getting just that in a month's time.
[Via]
