Xbox 720 Rumored to Launch in 2013 with Physical Media

Although Microsoft has yet to officially spill the beans on their forthcoming next-gen system, that hasn't stopped dozens of publications and sites from speculating as to what this exciting new piece of tech might contain. However, most have been blind stabs in the dark — unsubstantiated rumors that have been proven false by contradictory rumors.

Nevertheless, the Xbox 720 rumor train is chugging along, and today we have yet another expose on the new console. However, while this is still a rumor, it might just be the juiciest one yet, as it potentially reveals quite a lot about the console.

The Xbox 720 details come to us by way of Xbox World, a publication that is, unfortunately, going the way of Nintendo Power. However, as a sort of last hurrah, the magazine is revealing any and every piece of next-gen Xbox info they have at their disposal. According to the publication, this is what Microsoft will reveal before and during E3 2013.

Probably the most important piece of information coming out of Xbox World is a proposed official name for the console: Xbox. Thus far we have been calling the console the Xbox 720 — or using its codename Durango — but apparently Microsoft will be dropping the numbering system for this third device. At some point naming based on degrees was going to have to end, but the question is — if this next console is called Xbox, what do we call its successor?

Xbox World also claims (based on current dev kits) that Xbox will be sporting a quad-core CPU and 8 GB of RAM. The purported dev kit that went on sale earlier this year featured similar tech, but it wasn't nearly as powerful. Once again, gamers are going to be discussing the console's inferiority when compared to high end gaming PCs, but that can only officially heat up when true specs are released.

As far as bells and whistles are concerned, the publication claims that Xbox will feature a Blu-ray disc drive (finally!), a next generation of Kinect, what they call an "innovative" controller, and support for AR glasses later in the console's life cycle. We've been hearing claims about this Kinect 2.0 for quite some time so that seems likely, but as far as the other features there hasn't been much evidence to support those claims.

Xbox Kinect

In fact, discussion hasn't even broached talk of what type of controller the next Xbox might be working with. Obviously, if the Wii U takes off, both Sony and Microsoft will consider ways to ape that concept, but we figured the Vita and Smart Glass were those answers.

And finally, Xbox World provided a digital mock-up of what they believe the console will look like based on their previously held knowledge. The mock-up can be seen over at CVG, and it looks surprisingly similar to a router or an Apple TV. It's definitely a sleek design, but you have to wonder how large the console will be.

If it wasn't already implied, all of this information should be taken with a grain of salt and treated as rumor. Nevertheless we wouldn't be surprised to hear Microsoft announce these details verbatim next June.

What do you think of these new details regarding the next Xbox? What about the design?

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Source: Xbox World (via CVG)