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The next generation Xbox console will require an always on internet connection and won’t support second hand games, sources with first-hand experience of the console have told Edge.
Next-gen Xbox games will continue to ship to retail – now on 50GB Blu-ray discs – but will include a one-time use activation code, essentially wiping out the second hand games market for the platform.
Regarding the system’s specifications, Edge’s source goes along with information already reported: an AMD eight-core x64 1.6GHz CPU, a D3D11.x 800MHz graphics solution and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. In addition, Microsoft is expected to ship the console with the largest storage hard drive capacity featured in an Xbox to date.
The source also indicates that Sony’s PlayStation 4 will be the most powerful of the next generation platforms, not only in raw terms, but also because Xbox developers are required to utilise approved development libraries and must contend with greater OS overheads.
Kinect will also feature, with a new version of the motion-control hardware said to ship alongside the new Xbox. Sony too will update its PlayStation camera tech to offer similar features, says Edge.
Sony is expected to announce the next generation PlayStation at an event on February 20, whilst an analyst has pointed to an April reveal for the next Xbox.
The growth of Steam indicates irradiating the second-hand market may not be such a bad move for Microsoft, although gamers will want to see game prices fall in-line with what publisher’s charge on Steam’s digital store.
Source: Edge
