Rumors are circulating online that Microsoft's next video game console will require an all-ways online Internet connection in order to function. Edge Online reports the new Xbox will be absolutely committed to online functionality, but games will still be made available to purchase in physical form on 50GB Blu-ray discs. One major negative for consumers is that these game discs are believed to ship with activation codes, which will have no value beyond the initial user, thus ruling out sales of second hand games. The site also mentions that improved Kinect hardware will also ship alongside the new Xbox.
Our source has also confirmed that the next Xbox’s recently rumoured specs are entirely accurate. That means an AMD eight-core x64 1.6GHz CPU, a D3D11.x 800MHz graphics solution and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. As of now, the console’s hard drive capacity is said to be undecided, but Microsoft’s extended commitment to online delivery suggests that it will be the largest unit it has put inside a console to date.
Though the architectures of the next-gen Xbox and PlayStation both resemble that of PCs, several development sources have told us that Sony’s solution is preferable when it comes to leveraging power. Studios working with the next-gen Xbox are currently being forced to work with only approved development libraries, while Sony is encouraging coders to get closer to the metal of its box. Furthermore, the operating system overhead of Microsoft’s next console is more oppressive than Sony’s equivalent, giving the PlayStation-badged unit another advantage.
