Xbox 720 in 2011? Count me in
This post is in response to a Sarcastic Gamer article titled Xbox 720 in 2011? Count me out.
Lono from Sarcastic Gamer is not keen on the idea of a new Xbox 720 being released in 2011. I am.
You’d think, by now, that Microsoft would have learned their lesson about being “first” and “quickest” to the market. Their haste to get to the starting line first resulted in a loss of over a billion dollars and a loss of unquantifiable consumer confidence, no matter what the PR spin on the Red Ring of Death fiasco is this week.
It is naive to assume that a 2011 release means Microsoft will make another RRoD-sized blunder with the design. Corporations learn from billion dollar mistakes.
I don’t want another new console to shell out $600 bucks for. Sony has repeatedly said that they plan on having a 10 year life cycle for the PS3 and I applaud them for that. Will Sony ever realize the potential of the PS3? Who knows, but at least one company is sticking to its guns and isn’t out searching for the next big thing.
By 2011, the Xbox 360 will be long in the tooth. Gamers want bigger environments, more detail, shorter loading times and the holy grail - 60 frames per second at 1080p. A PlayStation 3 with 256MB RAM will be hard pressed to stand up to an Xbox 720 with 2GB or more RAM and a GPU with several generations of improvements. Throw in a Forza/Gears of War launch title (and backwards-compatibility with my 360 controllers/steering wheel) and it’s a total must-buy for me and I’m willing to bet it’s the same for many more.
And you’re unlikely to pay $600 for it - the Xbox 360 launched at $299 and $399.
Sure, if the next, next-gen Xbox is launched in 2011 it will be six years from the 360’s launch, but what about people that aren’t early adopters? There’s a lot of us out there that didn’t buy an Xbox 360 until 2006, or 2007, or even more of us out there that still haven’t purchased the console yet. What about us, Microsoft?
That’s consumer electronics in a nutshell - and gamers have it pretty good. Millions of people are spending hundreds of dollars on iPods and mobile phones that are obsolete in less than a year. Your Xbox 360 has some serious legs in comparison.
Do you think the Wii will last longer than 2010? I highly doubt it.
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June 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
your ps3 only has 256MB of RAM???? man you got ripped off boy..
June 18th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Agreed, I think everyone else didn’t get ripped off though. All the otehr PS3’s I know have the 512mb.
I love readign 360 fanboy articles.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:02 am
So in 2011 you’ll be playing games with “more detail, shorter loading times and the holy grail - 60 frames per second at 1080p”
The PS3 can do that now, it will take some time to develop the software to fit the architecture that the PS3 has and then for the developers to make those things happen.
It would take the 720 3 years to run at it’s “fully imagined at the moment potential”
Have fun waiting….
June 18th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I see the PS3bot police are at the ready…well done.
PS3 : more detail, shorter loading times and the holy grail - 60 frames per second at 1080p in your dreams….there 10X more games running at
June 18th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Hate to tell you guys the ps3 does have 256 memory for the cpu… and 256 memory for the graphics card… they cant share theier memory so their stuck at that 256 number lol… dont start throwing made up facts out there calling it a 512 mb system… ps3 has hit its peek. The engines are their to take advantage of every core. being unreal3 and game bryo which was used on oblivian. PS3 is at its peek. Im gonna laugh is sony is foolish enough to stick to their 10 year life cycle. I upgrade my computer every 2 years with a new graphics card just so i can play the biggest and best of new technology in gaming. Microsoft has the right idea. If they come with a new console in the next couple of years they will dominate the industry with a system thats powerful and can really muster out some cg like games. This is espeacially if sony doesnt make a new console for a while…
June 18th, 2008 at 11:46 am
actually, the ps3 has 2 separate 256 MB ram… only one of which is the same as the dedicated 512 MB ram that xbox 360 has. obviously both are strong, but by 2011, they’ll both be significantly weaker than the next nintendo. really, i rather pay 300 dollars every 5 years than 600 every 10 for a system nobody will be able to program for the first 3.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:56 am
” seven Says:
June 18th, 2008 at 11:02 am
So in 2011 you’ll be playing games with “more detail, shorter loading times and the holy grail - 60 frames per second at 1080p”
The PS3 can do that now ”
HA HA HA REALY GREAT JOKE, YOU SONY FANBOYS ARE INSURMOUNTABLE !!! AND WITH HUGE IMAGINATION.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
And one more thing PS3’s processor is a single core processor not a mutli-core processor, it has 8 SPEs (a SPE is a kind of co-processor not a real processor) the only multi-core console in the market nowadays is XBOX360 with 3 dual thread totaly symmetrical cores. Have a nice day!
June 18th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
If the Xbox 720 is backwards compatible, I’ll buy it. If not, eh, I’ll still buy it, just not anywhere near launch.
June 18th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
The thing is, 6 years used to be good life for a video game console, but nowadays with development time and costs, no company should go for a 5-6 years console. Count me out.
June 18th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
[…] 720 in 2011? are you for or against it? Read against […]
June 18th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
“And one more thing PS3’s processor is a single core processor not a mutli-core processor, it has 8 SPEs (a SPE is a kind of co-processor not a real processor) the only multi-core console in the market nowadays is XBOX360 with 3 dual thread totaly symmetrical cores. Have a nice day!”
WRONG…. EACH SPE is like it’s own separate processor. EACH is considered a core. Why do you think the Ps3 has double the processing power????
June 18th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
What an ‘article’… Honestly, you make a point here that by 2011 games will be bigger and better, too much for the 360. But we have already seen 360’s true limits in 07. How far longer CAN it go without the raw graphical power, built in HDD, and DVD size limits?
Earlier is NOT better. It is for them of course, they want to make money. But, the thing is you want a console you will get a great experience out of for a long time. 360 is already losing the value factor, and by mid 09 it wont be such a worthy console for gamers and future gamers alike.
Just because a new console isn’t out yet, doesn’t mean the prior one is still alive and ‘popular’.
PS3, on the other hand, is just starting to get these factors in, being a worthy console on all terms. Just goes to tell you how much 360 is just a short term experience that you spend thousands on, while the PS3 is more at the same money spent in the long run.
Every “next-gen” console should now go on about 10 years.
PS3 is something that the developers have to catch up with, not vice versa, like the 360.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
“Hate to tell you guys the ps3 does have 256 memory for the cpu… and 256 memory for the graphics card… they cant share theier memory so their stuck at that 256 number lol… dont start throwing made up facts out there calling it a 512 mb system… ps3 has hit its peek. The engines are their to take advantage of every core. being unreal3 and game bryo which was used on oblivian. PS3 is at its peek. Im gonna laugh is sony is foolish enough to stick to their 10 year life cycle. I upgrade my computer every 2 years with a new graphics card just so i can play the biggest and best of new technology in gaming. Microsoft has the right idea. If they come with a new console in the next couple of years they will dominate the industry with a system thats powerful and can really muster out some cg like games. This is espeacially if sony doesnt make a new console for a while…”
Reached it’s peak!?!??! Haha you’re a friggin moron! I own both consoles and the PS3 has nowhere reached it’s peak. I’ve been playing MGS4 in 1080p for a couple days now. If the 720 comes out, yeah I’ll buy it. Why not? I got the money. No use not buying the latest technology. I honestly don’t think it will be pushing 2GB of ram though. And a few aspects of your “hardware specs” are wrong. And so was the other guy. You people are morons and I caught in the middle of this dumbass console war…
June 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I agree that Microsoft should put out a new system. The Xbox360 hit its peak a while ago and is indeniably obsolete. Miniscule hard drive, no built-in wireless, no next-gen format, and only the recent systems have 1080p HDMI output. TVs surpassed 720p a while ago. 1080p wasn’t part of Microsoft’s original short-sighted plan. Makes you wonder what other factors they didn’t account for when they built it.
A Microsoft spokesman himself said that the 360 had peaked in graphics. How much can you really get with the 360’s last-gen technology? It’s basically just a powerful computer. And we all know how fast computers go obsolete. PS3 is far ahead of the time, so far ahead that many developers don’t yet understand how to fully utilize the power. That you cannot deny.
I think it’s almost unfair to call the 360 next-gen. It’s taking the last-gen technology of the Xbox and improving it in the only way Microsoft knows how to: make everything bigger. They didn’t research or develop new technology. They just ran to the computer section of Best Buy, bought whatever was new, and hoped it’d last. Which it hasn’t.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
It’s 2008. If Xbox3 comes out in 3 years and it is graphically superior/more powerful than the PS3 while maintaining the 360’s ease of development, people should buy it. Why not? I don’t understand why MS fanboys bash Sony and Sony fanboys bash MS. Isn’t everyone here a video game fan or are we fans of just one company?
June 18th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
@ Tim Hanlon:
What makes you think the 720 WILL have 2GB RAM, a next-gen GPU, and backwards compatibility with 360 controllers? How do you know Microsoft isn’t out for a quick buck, or just consolidating by releasing an updated version of the dying 360?
If Microsoft made another console….oh man. I feel bad for you if you still think you’ll be able to salvage any part of your 360 when that time comes. Forget about the controllers, just save yourself some time and throw it all in the garbage. Now.
June 18th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
MGS4 does NOT run in 1080p.
The game runs at 1024×768 (or 720p), and is then upscaled to 1080p. Even GT5 Prologues doesn’t run at full 1080p (it’s horizontally stretched).
The only full-1080p games out there are Super Stardust HD, NBA 08, the PixelJunk series and a few other PSN games.
Wipeout HD will be the first “major” title to realize 60FPS at 1080p. Until then, however, anybody that tells you that their GTA4 or MGS4 runs at 1080p is either lying or lacking correct information.
BTW, I am not hating on the PS3 (it’s my fav. system, and I also think the 360’s graphics have peaked). But I still want to set things straight; most titles on the PS3 will run at 720p, even in a few years. SOME will come out in 1080p (I’m hoping FF13 will).
June 18th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Here comes the sony defenders to save the day. Idiots, 256 mb system memory and 256 mb graphics memory. Imagine the rsx being a stripped down version of 7800 sli with only 256 mb memory. Let’s see the ps3 trying to cut costs on the system when nvidia will screw them like they did the original Xbox. the ps3 will stay expensive for a long while. Each spe doesn’t count as a core so whoever said that was an idiot. Don’t talk crap, makes you look stupid. Not that we didn’t know that anyway.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
10 years in computer technology years is an age! By the time Microsoft bring out their next console (which will work this time) the launch title graphics will blow the PS3 away. It wont be just that though, people are forgetting Microsoft is a major software company; Xbox Live! 2.0 will be amazing, it will integrate with everything; your tv, your phone, the internet, your friends, your facebook account, your fridge, the works. It will also be very MMPORG friendly in an attempt to woo PC players and Halo 5 will have battles of 300 players in one massive arena. Couple this with a motion-sensitive device and a massive expansion of the XBLA and it will be a machine for everyone.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
And by the way, I will quite happily buy this in Mid-2010, and every 5 years onwards from then, as programers will soon be able to cope better, having got over the hurdle of changing from single to multicore programming, and will therefore be able to get the best out of consoles much sooner than the 3-4 years it takes at present.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Its interesting to read all these comments.
“And one more thing PS3’s processor is a single core processor not a mutli-core processor, it has 8 SPEs (a SPE is a kind of co-processor not a real processor) the only multi-core console in the market nowadays is XBOX360 with 3 dual thread totaly symmetrical cores. Have a nice day!”
I’m sorry but the cores can act independently when programmed correctly distributing different aspects of a game to different SPEs. Therefore rendering your comment obsolete. Also believe that most of the games made at the moment are made on the 360 then ported to the PS3. However games like WarDevil which are specifically made for the PS3 can get 1080p graphics at 60 frames a second. Which the 360 isn’t even capable of achieving.
Finally, its all well and good saying the PS3 has less memory but have any of you actually looked at the specs?? The 360 has 512 MB GDDR3 of RAM @ 700MHz but the PS3 has 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz and 256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz. Therefore the PS3 can access the RAM much quicker than the 360 so it doesn’t need as much RAM. It also has a higher bus rate allowing it to transfer more data from the HD to RAM to the CPU so it doesn’t require as much RAM as the 360.
I believe that the PS2 is still doing very well against all three next gen consoles so why can’t the PS3 stand up against MS next money scam the 720??
June 18th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Microsot’s rushing to make a new console because the Wii has caught up in selling units althpugh it came a yer later. Sony and Microsoft may tell themselves to believe that the Wii is just a fad. But they cannot deny that the Wii has sold so much, It’s still difficult to find them after three years. And now Microsoftad sony are going to loose money on a lawsuit because the Wii’s motion-sensetive remote is pattented.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
It all depends on the details, on whether I’m getting it or not. This is not a 360 v PS3 article, this is a “Hey is 720 coming out too soon” article. So PS3 fanboys, please leave the premises.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Hey, where you from Danielle? Liverpool here
June 18th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Personally, I can’t wait for a new Xbox console. Roll on 2011. I own both an Xbox360 and a PS3. Have had both since their NZ launch. Both are awesome, and so will the next Xbox.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Nice rebuttal article my man. It was a good read and you hit exactly what I wanted to say myself. I think the dude over at sarcastic gamer needs is slightly imature when understanding marketing and retail choices…..
June 18th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I personally like the 360 because of the games, what is a game if it only looks good but plays like crap? maybe later on Ill buy a ps3 for some of their game but xbox 360 seems to h00 ave a better games list. I am in it for the games and since xbox 360 has a lot of games I enjoy to play I picked that one first. If the 720 has crappy games to start out with ill buy a ps3 and wait for better games.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
There are certain guarantees in life. Time, death, and flame wars. Gotta love it.
Either way 2011 is 3 years away. I see no reason to have a 10 year console. nothing else in the world is 10 year anything no a days. 10 years HDTV’s weren’t anywhere near what they are now. Hell even toasters have evolved.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I just have to say this about fanboy-ism. I’ve been called a fanboy by a few of my friends, but what it all boils down to for me is the games. PS2 stomped the hell out of the Xbox, no one can argue that. IMO the PS3 and the 360 are almost equal in their capabilites, but (multi-platform games aside), hands down 360 has the games this time. Honestly, the machine that’s more powerful, has the winning bluray inside, has part 13 of a tired series doesn’t matter. I’m not saying the PS3 sucks, but i bought a 360 when it came out, and I still know I made the right choice. As far as a 720 coming out in 2011, all I can say is … I can’t wait!! It’s obvious to me that Microsoft knows what they’re doing and I’m confident they will not let us down. As for Sony … they need to pull their heads out of their asses if they wanna be on top again. And stop putting custom “Sony made” parts in your machines and leave it up to the people like Nvidia and ATI who know what they’re doing. Programmers will love you for it.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
BTW … It kills me when Sony fanboys make meat-head statements like “the PS3 has twice the processing power as the 360″ or “Bluray won, so that makes the PS3 better” Please … you have to pull your heads out of Sony’s ass as well. At least fans of the 360 aren’t dumb.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:04 am
PERFECT!!!!!!!!
PERFECT!!!!!!!!
PERFECT!!!!!!!!
PERFECT!!!!!!!!
PERFECT!!!!!!!!
PERFECT!!!!!!!!
June 19th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Every single freaking time it has to turn into a fanboy vs fanboy war!!! Oh well, it’s entertaining if not a little annoying
Anyway, 3 years is a long time in gaming, sure I’ll be changing consoles.
…and is is seriously going to be called an Xbox 720? I was wondering how they would rename it…
June 19th, 2008 at 1:16 am
who cares i hate microsoft wiv a passion they havnt got a clue wat there doing thats y they lost billions of pounds($) They must have the software staff workin on 360 cus look at vista its shit xp was good but that was b4 they tried to make a quick buck in the console industry……you will neva get msg4 its got apple all over it………
June 19th, 2008 at 2:18 am
600 $ equals 10 $ a month in a five year console cycle. A 10 year cycle would half that price saving 5 $ a month… So what would you rather? Save 5 $ a month (about the price of a burger) or play games on state of the art hardware?
Three things count against not wanting a new console in 2011: Moore’s Law, rational financial thinking and (well functioning) financial markets.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:39 am
The 360 launched at 29 and 399? is this guy fucking stupid? get your facts straight. The 360 launched at 499 and 399 being that the 399 deal was a GIANT rip off but was then given a PRICE CUT to 400 and 300 for the 360’s when they introduced the 360 Arcade bundle.
June 19th, 2008 at 3:42 am
People, chill out will you.
Different consoles for different people, a big shout out for people who enjoy gaming in general!
Anyone else longing for the days when you took the time to spell correctly?
June 19th, 2008 at 5:37 am
In the USA, the xbox 360 launched at 399 for the premium, and 299 for the core.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I am pleased to not have to wait longer than 2011 to get a new console. I’m getting old. I’m 40 now, and by that time, I’ll be 43. I want the goods ASAP. I’m not into Wii and party type games. I want realistic graphics!! I hope they make it happen.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Wow - what a response.
I’m away on holiday in sunny Cairns, Australia - expect replies when I get back on Wednesday the 25th of June.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:30 am
“Have fun waiting”, well as a ps3 owner I guess you know what it’s all about.
It took them about 2 years to optimize the graphic on the 360, the ps3 might be more powerful but the 360 still runs better because of the bottleneck they created with the gpu. And btw, I want to congratulate you ps3 owners, you just got your first good exclusive game ever, n1. Tho I’m not much for solid snake, little big planet will be good tho, then you will be legit to say you have 2 good games on the console.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:47 am
Well to all you people who are continually arguing about which console is more powerful, I have two comments to make.
1. THIS ARTICLE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT CURRENT CONSOLE IS BETTER, ONLY THAT IT DOSN’T SEEM LIKE SUCH A BIG DEAL THAT TH NEXT XBOX MAY BE COMMING OUT IN THE 2011-2012 REGION.
2. The Xbox 360 is the more powerful console, BUT it’s processing power over the PS3’s is very marginal, so much so this it is pretty much unnoticable, the 360 has GPU with 48 unified 5D (10 flops per cycle because of MADD) piplines that are dx 9+ (don’t know what else to call it, more cabable then dx 9, but less so than dx 10) with a clock speed of 500Mhz plus a daughter core that can do AA, Z stenciling and apparently cloth and water physics.
Compaired to the PS3s GPU which has 24 piplines with 2 4D ALUs each (which turns out as 24 16 flops pixel shader piplines) running at 500Mhz thats right not 550Mhz, plus the GPUs RAM clock speed is 650Mhz.
With the CPUs the PS3 has the clear advantage, this helps even out the feild in the graphics department, but the 360 still has a slight lead over the PS3, plus on the XDR, in the PS3 there are apparently bandwidth bottle necks.
So in the end it all evens out, so dont fret purchasers, your choise rests between these to console lies with games only, or buying a ‘cheap’ Bluray player.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:14 am
Also, how has the xbox 360 peaked its graphical capability exactly? Gears of War 2 is MUCH better looking than Gears of War and runs just as well, and more can still be done after that. No, the xbox 360 has not peaked its graphical capability, nor has the PS3, they are equal as I sad before.
All of you must understand, there is no point to these petty squabbles, those who say one system is vastly superior to the other have no understanding of the hardware these consoles possess and those who say that one has maxed its capability are just as ignorant, leave your hurtful comments aside, especially if you know nothing about your comments in the first place. You all must learn that you bought your console because you knew you would enjoy it, let no one tell you otherwise.
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:16 am
Finally this coment refers to James and Sentry. You two are obvious PS3 fanboys who, cannot seem to accept that the consoles are about even in terms of processing power power and must try and state that the PS3 is FAR superior than the xbox 360, strangly xbox 360 fanboys seem not to this the PS3 is a grate deal weak than the 360, they seem to consider it an equal. So it seems that a comment made by a person who posted earlier is actually right, xbox 360 fanboys might be more knowledgeable in computer hardware when it comes down to it.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
All Playstation 3’s have 256mb’s of Ram. I remember researching trying to decide wich is better. Wii has 512, Xbox 360 has 512. Xbox 360 was going to have 256, but bungie developers said that it wasn’t enough, and 512 would be much better. I remember being so excited about 360. I can’t wait ’till the next one. It probably won’t be 720, unless they extend Xbox Live to support another planet. 360 was based on xbox being a global community.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I am looking forward to a new one coming out my 360 is a piece of junk i have to let it over heat 2 times a week so I can get video on and since its not the 3 red rings they don’t cover it and it happen one month out of warranty. Typical Microsoft throw it out to make money and fix it later (remember Vista) Hopefully they will learn and use decent solder and make the fan big enough to cool the unit instead of downsizing it to slam a dvd player in it. Which is why the 3 all the problems started
October 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
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