Weekend Roundtable: Quick Reactions to the Xbox 720 Leak

I ‘ve never been one to give supposedly leaked information (especially gaming information tidbits that come from NeoGAF) much of my attention. But for every hundred or so rumors there is one with some credibility. And that’s what many believe the most recent “Xbox 720″ leak to be. Between numerous outside sources confirming the leak’s validity, and Microsoft’s recent dishing of cease and desist orders to websites hosting the presentation, it appears that this leak was indeed a true one.

With that, it warrants a discussion of its contents. And what’s inside this glimpse into the potential benefits of the Xbox 720 is nothing short of mouth watering. Blu-ray support, Kinect 2 ready (with supposedly sharper motion capture, improved voice recognition, and four-player support), a far more powerful processor, an incredibly intriguing set of augmented reality glasses, and an astonishingly low price tag of $299.00 are all detailed as aspects of the upcoming Xbox 360 successor.

The document goes on to describe the goal of the Xbox 720: to become the one-stop media powerhouse for every entertainment system. So what has retroactively become the goal of the Xbox 360′s lifespan will now become the planned destination at the start for the next Xbox. This was certainly to be expected. Nonetheless, the Xbox brand’s main demographic is still those who wish to use the device as one that plays games. If the documents plans come into fruition, I don’t see why anyone in that crowd should shudder.

To start, the document promises 6x the processing capabilities of the Xbox 360. I have no clue what that means. If it can keep up with the visuals goals that developers like Square and Epic Games have shown, then that’s enough power for me. That is the standard the majority of gaming enthusiasts expect from both Microsoft and Sony.

But where Microsoft can separate themselves is with the Kinect. The first iteration of the Kinect is both a failure and a success. It is a success because many people have found it entertaining, and have shown their appreciation with their wallets. Yet is also a failure for not living up to its many, lofty promises and whilst attracting minimal developer support. Simply put, the gameplay value of the Kinect is limited by its technical flaws. Motions are always a bit off, voice recognition is spotty, and outside of Dance Central, no major developer has developed a truly beloved title for the game because of these problems. But if the hardware limitations of the Kinect are removed by its successor, than developers undoubtedly will come back to the hardware. And an improved Kinect might remind us why Project Natal excited us in the first place.

And then there’s this “Fortaleza” project and the promise of augmented reality glasses. The information on this concept is scarce in the document, so commenting much on it would be silly. But it is a very interesting idea based off of the scant information we have at our disposal. To see Microsoft pursue such a potentially innovative piece of hardware is at least encouraging.

More encouraging than that is the supposed price tag. If the Xbox 720 (if it’s called that stupid name) costs this little and offers this much, I don’t see how it won’t be a success. Whether you yearn for gameplay, media, or innovation; this leak has everything one would hope to see from a next generation system. Here’s hoping it will all be there when it’s unveiled.

Nick Simberg

First off, there’s no way it’s gonna be called the Xbox 720. Maybe the Revolution or the Dolphin or Project Natal or something… but not the Xbox 720. It’s just way too dorky and even more predictable than the PS3. Maybe the “Xbox Kinection” or something. Now THERE’S a dorky name for ya. Keep it. I don’t mind. Second, if there’s anything that the Virtual Boy, the 3DS, and those hacky VR movies from the 80’s taught us, it’s that the world isn’t ready for the kind of immersive 3D environments promised by these glasses. Gaming is still a thing that we need a big, visible-to-everyone-in-the-room screen for.

On the other hand, Microsoft isn’t done with the Kinect. It sold like crazy (especially compared to that abandoned Sony peripheral and main Kinect competitor, the PlayStation Move), even though any game that tries to get people to do something more than “DANCE!” or “WAVE!” flops both critically and commercially. The recent Kinect Steel Battalion is proof of this. The current Xbox dashboard, however, leads me to believe that the Kinect is going to be a big part of their plans for the future of whatever game console they happen to announce at E3 2013. This document further support that. Note to self: get a bigger living room.

Finally, on the TV/multimedia side, Microsoft has been trying for years to make the 360 into the only piece of hardware you’d need connected to your TV. Unfortunately, between HBO GO, Netflix, Hulu Plus, ESPN, and who knows what else on the horizon, we’re going to be paying separate monthly charges for each one instead of rolling that all into an actually worthwhile Xbox LIVE Gold account – which, for the money we’re currently paying, can’t begin to compare to a PlayStation+ membership. Now if only Sony could keep their servers up …

Jayson White

I’m not sure how I feel about alternate reality glasses, which will probably end up being a huge selling point for the Kinect 2. It’s intriguing, but then again so was controlling characters with a gesture of your hand, and look how that turned out. Microsoft has had plenty of time to review the Kinect’s shortcomings, however, and if the leap from Vista to Windows 7 is anything to consider then the future of motion control might not be so bleak.

Going through the document, I didn’t see a clear mention of the oft-speculated integration of the Kinect 2 into the Xbox 720 — or whatever they end up calling it. Still, it’s interesting to consider that it might no longer be a peripheral but just a pair of lenses on a box. If Microsoft goes in this direction, I see no way for an improved Kinect to fail, at least off the bat, though developer support will be crucial to its growth.

One more thing: this leak might very well be legitimate, judging from Microsoft’s demand to have the original document pulled from ScribD. If it is, and the 720 actually ends up being 6x as powerful as the 360 like the document claims (like Steve said, whatever that means), Sony and certainly Nintendo are in for a hell of ride. If this is future of Xbox, sign me up, but just don’t make me wait too long. Here’s to hoping a 2013 release isn’t just a pipe dream.