Xbox 720: 7 Things We Hope To See In Microsoft's Next-Gen Console

Posted on Monday, January 28 @ 14:08:00 Eastern by Alex_Osborn

I'm not a betting man, but if I was, my money would be on a fall 2013 release for the next Xbox. It's hard to believe, but Xbox 360 owners have been gaming on the same piece of hardware for over seven years now. That's right, seven. As such, Microsoft's gaming box is really starting to show its age, especially when compared to the ever-evolving PC gaming market.

Last week we took a look at what we'd like to see Sony do with the PlayStation 4, so this week we're going to steer the discussion toward the competition (it's only fair) and highlight the next-gen Xbox, which I'll simply refer to as the 720 from here on out—as an aside, I really hope they don't call it that. So without further ado, let's jump right into Game Revolution's seven-item wish list for the Xbox 720.

7. Blu-ray Drive

Remember the days when multiple discs was a cool thing? The PSone RPGs that came in those extra-thick CD cases totally made it feel like you were getting more bang for your buck—which often proved to the true. However, in today's day and age, having to swap discs is viewed more as a nuisance. It is totally possible that Microsoft will go with some sort of proprietary disc format to circumvent the need to have a Blu-ray drive, but why do that when you can steal a bit of the thunder away from Sony?

It stands to reason that Microsoft would want to refrain from doing something like this simply to encourage consumers to purchase digital content through their video marketplace and make use of their numerous streaming services, but giving Sony even the slightest advantage in this arena could be a mistake. Let's face it, more options for the consumer is (almost) never a bad thing.

6. Kinect 2.0

When Microsoft first showed off the Kinect several years ago, it made a bunch of promises, many of which the company have yet to fulfill. The Kinect is undisputedly an interesting piece of tech; however, its limitations hold it back from truly revolutionizing the way we play games. There's no doubt that Microsoft plans to build upon this controller-free platform in the future, so it's safe to assume we'll see a more accurate version of the peripheral around the launch of the 720.

Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather play games comfortably on the couch with a traditional controller in my hands, but if a Kinect 2.0 means innovation for the industry and creative new game concepts, I'm all for it. As long as Microsoft doesn't simply continue to shovel out half-baked casual games for the platform and shows an interest in the hardcore gamer, I'll be satisfied. I mean, that's all you can really ask for, right?

5. PlayStation Plus Equivalent

Despite the fact that the PlayStation Network doesn't support cross-game chat and a number of other bells and whistles that are currently available on Xbox Live, many gamers are beginning to fall in love with Sony's service simply because of PlayStation Plus. While playing games online is totally free for PlayStation gamers (a move I'd love Microsoft make but will likely never happen), people are still giving Sony their money so that they can get access to free games.

The Xbox Live Arcade is loaded with incredible titles, and I'm sure gamers would be willing to shell out even more in subscription fees to get access to some of these games. The subscription business model is where we are headed, and I think it'd be foolish for Microsoft not to take a page out of Sony's book in this regard. They don't have to do away with the Xbox Live tiers, either. (Perhaps make some tiers free!) Just add a third option called "Xbox Live Platinum" that costs $100 a year, which offers all the goodies that come with Gold in addition to a handful of free games every couple of weeks.

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Tags: next-gen, xbox 720, Microsoft

Comments

Ranim
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
I hope they relax the authentication and exclusivity policies, because that bullshit is simply unacceptable and its completely unnecessary. We're waiting for Dragon Born because of the shitty deals they try to hamfist on games.

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Lien
Joined: Feb 2008

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 2:22 pm
You forgot number 8: make a better name then xbox 720.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 2:33 pm
Ah, that's a great one. What would you suggest?

I'd like it if they took a page out of Apple's book and just call it the Xbox.

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KaiserKold
Joined: Apr 2007

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 3:05 pm
I agree. It's simple and already established. People know that name already, so...

@213EDD: Backwards compatibility SHOULD go without saying, I think. If the 360 titles aren't playable on the new console, it would be a deal breaker for me and a lot of others.

More than anything on this list, I wan't Xbox live to be more competitively priced. Personally, I think you should be able to play and chat with your friends straight out of the box. Things like downloading movies, demos, apps, etc. should all be included with a subscription. That's never gonna happen, though, but I think Xbox Live Gold should at least be a bit cheaper. Right now, the price is absurd.

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Ivory_Soul
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Honestly, just Xbox 2. I think the whole degree thing should go. The name was innovative at the time, but by 2025 are we going to have the Xbox 1080 or 1280? Xbox 2 seems the best choice at this point, especially if they don't want people thinking it is an "upgraded" Xbox 360.

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Lien
Joined: Feb 2008

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Xbox 1080 sounds cool actually. It reminds me of that 64 game.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:11 pm
You mean Xbox 3? :D

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Ivory_Soul
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
No Xbox 2, think of it as a reboot.

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Klandathu
Joined: Apr 2008

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 9:52 pm
XXXBox.

Get it? Three x's because it's the third Xbox?? And also XXX is the rating given to hardcore pornographic movies? It's a pun that works on a number of levels. Feel free to use it for whatever purposes you see fit, be they nefarious or virtuous. It is my gift to you all.

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MasterRabbi
Joined: May 2007

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 5:47 am
Let's make the numbers oscillate, so that the 4th generation is the XBOX-360. You could use DJ's on turntables to sell it. I can see the marketing campaign now...

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213EDD
Joined: Sep 2007

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 2:52 pm
You forgot backwards capability.

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Ivory_Soul
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Companies are trying to get away from this. There are too many consoles to make for that now. I know Xbox 1 games will not be playable, I mean they didn't even finish making all the Xbox games compatible, just a select few. They actually stopped updating the list about 5 years ago. They will probably do what Sony is doing, re-release games in HD for the next-generation. So in 3-4 years we will see things like Gears of War Double HD Collection, or Halo Mega HD Collection will will have all the 360 Halo games.

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:13 pm
Agreed. I don't think we'll see backwards compatibility from either Sony or Microsoft.

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SolidSevchinko78
Joined: Jun 2012

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 3:49 pm
One request from me please PLEASE Microsoft make sure your hardware is good before launching your next console. Meaning it doesnt crap out not long after releases like with 360 and the RROD

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Alex_Osborn
Joined: Jan 2012

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:12 pm
Yeah, hardware with a lower fail rate is a great one.

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R0ADK1LL
Joined: Jul 2009

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
The first PS3s had backwards compatibility & it added an extra cost. The second gen ditched the chip as well as fan noise & a few USB ports after realising that consumers didn't really use the features, even though they had begged for them pre-release.

As far as naming goes, I don't think they can just call it Xbox. Too many people will be confused & buy some old Xbox game thinking they've got a bargain, only to find out that it's the wrong console (unless they're crazy enough to build in two generations of backwards compatibility). They could go with Xbox 3 but would you rather have a PS4 or an XB3? Surely higher numbers are better! An Xbox 1080 must be 270 times better than a Playstation 4!

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wildmario
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:46 pm
I am hoping to see a better name than the Xbox 720.

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wildmario
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Crap, someone else said it first.

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elmoreoocyte
Joined: Apr 2012

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Aside from the aforementioned free (or at least cheaper tiers of) XBL, I have to say MicroSoft needs to embrace Blu Ray. I know quite a few people who bought PS3's as a Blu Ray player, and then subsequently bought games because they could.

That's money in the bank and a foot in the casual market door.

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De-Ting
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 6:10 pm
Again, no. The controllers are obsolete. Give me some next-gen controllers.

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BigTruckSeries
Joined: May 2006

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 6:46 pm
CONTROLLER - Make a controller with triggers and shoulder pads that don't give out so easily. I had to replace 2 controllers due to Mortal Kombat.

NAME - Xbox 8 or XBOX HD will due. I really don't give a ****, I'm buying it anyway.

1st Party exclusives - I don't wanna see any more Halo or Gears games. Something new is in order.

Here's an idea - make games that are COMPLETE so I don't have to spend $20 more every other month for DLC.

Since 2006 I only got hit with RROD once. It's not that big a deal. Besides all this stuff is failure prone cause CHINA is making it.

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cereal13killer
Joined: Nov 2008

Posted: Jan 28th, 2013 at 8:42 pm
I'm less concerned with things like the new consoles name, the hardware is most important.

Like others have said, the console needs to be durable, top of the line and not suffer from hardware failures. Moreover, I think Microsoft needs to get away from the tiered Xbox system they've introduced with the 360s. Microsoft is heavily pushing digital content, therefore they need to design/sell a standard unit that meets the needs of all it's users; the idea of an "arcade model" won't cut it for the next generation. The new xbox needs a standard 250+ gig HD, it also has to be quieter, have more than 4 USB ports (for the various accessories that will introduced alongside the new console), improve its streamlining features and allow for integrated voice recognition features (sans kinect 2.0).

I'm not in favour of though redesigning the controller because I think it's good the way it is, I just wish they would take advantage of preexisting hardware (chatpad/bottom of controller expansion).

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drathbone
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 12:55 am
How about stop charging companies ridiculous prices to submit a patch for a game (I think I read somewhere upwards of $10,000 for a simple update/bug fixes). Something like Dungeon Defenders could have been amazing but Trendy had a hard time justifying the costs to make it as vast and awesome as the PC version.

TLDR: Prob buying a PC next gen

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Lok-Nar
Joined: Feb 2012

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 1:53 am
How about converting gamerscore achievements into Microsoft points. The more you play and unlock, you earn points for DLC items like skins or avatar items.

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Squiggy
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 2:26 am
I want the next Xbox's controller to basically be the Xbox 360 controller with Nintendo's D-pad (unlikely because Nintendo has it protected), Sony's pressure-sensitive buttons (but without that squishy feel), and an accessory play-and-charge cable that actually transmits input, so as to connect to a PC without having to buy a separate wired controller or an expensive wireless adapter.

Also very unlikely, but I want to see support for mouse/keyboard play. Would it ruin balance? Not if Microsoft separates matchmaking by input. Have a matchmaking group for controllers, one for mice/keyboards, and one for both, for those who either don't care or wish to prove the superiority of one style over the other.

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elmoreoocyte
Joined: Apr 2012

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 6:07 am
I think I'm the only person alive who still prefers a wired controller or mouse/keyboard.

Also, it would be awesome to see the controller vs mouse/keyboard debate finally end on an "even" playing field.

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Ivory_Soul
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 6:51 am
Please don't say it's because of lag, that is completely irrelevant in this day and age. Wireless technology is pretty much flawless, the only issues are in the hardware itself. Some people say the same about CRT vs HD screens. Some say there is noticeable lag in an HD screen, yeah, if you have one from maybe 8 years ago. Lag is usually in the fraction of milliseconds range and is unnoticeable.

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cereal13killer
Joined: Nov 2008

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Maybe they don't like batteries?

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Jobin_Wendy
Joined: Mar 2012

Posted: Jan 29th, 2013 at 7:42 am
I want a dedicated subscription-based way of legally streaming NFL games to my console. Oh, and I would like to not have to be a sucker with a DiSH package that costs $300 to get it. Oh, and PS3/4 needs HBO Go support, hardcore.

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ByoDyne
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jan 30th, 2013 at 1:38 pm
How about getting rid of discs completely? With the price of usb drives nowadays it would be so easy to sell games using those. As long as they don't go to a strictly download only system. Some people (myself included) don't have their systems connected to the intertubes. And instead of a hard drive, put in a SSD.

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