Next Xbox to launch in November for $499, claims Xbox tipster

Paul Thurrott – the technology blogger who accurately revealed that Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox announcement would take place on May 21 – has posted new information about the unannounced console, stating that Microsoft plans to launch the next Xbox in November for $499.

According to Thurrott’s latest post, Microsoft will offer two pricing models for the next Xbox – a standalone offering for $499, and a $299 version that “requires a two-year Xbox LIVE Gold commitment at an expected price of $10 per month”.

The console will include a Blu-ray drive, Thurrott claims, and will be based on the “‘Core’ (base) version of Windows 8” to create a “common apps platform” for app developers.

The next Xbox must also “be internet-connected to use”, Thurrott alleges, but it still isn’t clear whether the console must remain connected to the internet at all times. “This is source of the ‘always on’/’always online’ rumors and isn’t as Draconian as many seem to believe,” he says.

As previously rumoured, Microsoft also has plans to launch a third-generation Xbox 360 console later in the year that will be “significantly less expensive than the current models,” Thurrott states.

Again, though, details over the new Xbox 360 remain muddy, and it isn’t known whether the console will be required to allow for backwards-compatibility in the next-gen Xbox, as has previously been rumoured.

Plans to launch a smaller Xbox entertainment set-top box, however – allegedly codenamed ‘Yuma’ – have been scrapped, Thurrott suggests.

The box, which was first rumoured back in November 2012, was alleged to have provided access to “casual gaming titles” and “core entertainment services”, and was expected to be a low cost alternative to the full next-gen Xbox.

Microsoft confirmed last night that it will be hosting an “Xbox Reveal” event on May 21, where the firm is expected to announce its next-gen Xbox.

Source: WindowsITPro.com