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Rumours of a successor to the Xbox 360 releasing in 2012 are “silly”, analyst Michael Pachter has told IndustryGamers.
A recent Edge report rumours that the next Xbox will be out by the end of 2012 with Ubisoft Montreal already in possession of target development boxes. However, Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter doesn’t believe the Xbox 360 will be replaced so soon.
“Those rumors are silly,” said Pachter. “Microsoft is still selling a ton of Xbox 360s, and they won’t replace the existing one until sales begin to slow. I think the rumours are based upon leaks about modifying the current Xbox 360 to allow it to operate Windows 8. I fully expect a new model of Xbox 360 by holiday 2012, but don’t think we see a new console altogether from Microsoft until 2014.”
Pachter isn’t always right – in fact he’s been wrong on many an occasion – but he raises a good point; why would Microsoft replace a platform which is currently selling so well?
Bringing out a new console whilst on top would give Microsoft a strong platform on which to launch a successor, however. Microsoft could repackage the Xbox 360 as a budget/Kinect-driven family gaming system and make room for a high-end core gamer system.
