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Microsoft’s next Xbox will feature a Blu-ray drive, two GPUs and will require an always-on internet connection, claim VG247 sources.
Multiple sources have confirmed to the gaming blog that the new console will include two GPUs, described as being “like two PCs taped together”.
The parts are said to be equivalent to AMD’s 7000 series, but won’t operate in CrossFire as they aren’t structured in a normal PC configuration in which the cards draw alternate lines. In the next Xbox the two graphics parts will function independently, able to draw lines simultaneously.
In addition, the CPU will feature “four or six” cores, with one reserved for Kinect and another offered to the OS.
And perhaps most controversial is information which suggests the console must be connected to an always-on internet connection as an anti-piracy measure.
The next version of Kinect will also come as standard in the next Xbox.
And whilst Microsoft isn’t expected to announced the new console until next year, a Christmas 2013 release is being touted.
The inclusion of Blu-ray and Kinect seems a given, but the double GPU configuration sounds slightly confusing when you consider the size restrictions consoles face – and let’s not forget having to cool two GPUs.
Some form of internet-based anti-piracy would not be a surprise, but Microsoft would have to be careful not to alienate its customers with such a DRM system.
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