AMD Still The Go-To For Next Gen Xbox Console Processor
Rumor has it--er, has had it--that the Xbox 720 “Durango”, which is potentially slated to debut in May, would have AMD silicon inside. A Bloomberg report further points to that rumor as being highly likely. Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg says that the Xbox 720 will run on an AMD “Jaguar” SoC, which means that the Xbox will shift from IBM’s Power PC technology to an x86 architecture.
That’s great news for game developers, who previously had to deal with creating games for the PC and then retooling them for consoles. (Sony’s PlayStation 4 will also have an AMD Jaguar SoC inside.) Now, they can easily port games from the PC to next-gen consoles.
Unfortunately, that means that the Xbox 720 won’t be backwards compatible with older titles. Your collection of Xbox 360 discs? They’ll be coasters if you upgrade to the new Xbox--unless of course Microsoft comes up with some sort of emulator to allow previous games to run on the new hardware.
Always-on Kinect? Creepy
Usually when the rumor mill churns just before a hot new product release, the leaked features are exciting, but it seems as though every time we hear something about the new Xbox, it’s a mixed bag. The hardware sounds great, but Durango will reportedly require an always-on connection (with always-on Kinect!), will lock out used games, and will not be backwards compatible with older titles that you purchased new. Eh, maybe your $500 could be better spent on something else.
That’s great news for game developers, who previously had to deal with creating games for the PC and then retooling them for consoles. (Sony’s PlayStation 4 will also have an AMD Jaguar SoC inside.) Now, they can easily port games from the PC to next-gen consoles.
Unfortunately, that means that the Xbox 720 won’t be backwards compatible with older titles. Your collection of Xbox 360 discs? They’ll be coasters if you upgrade to the new Xbox--unless of course Microsoft comes up with some sort of emulator to allow previous games to run on the new hardware.
Always-on Kinect? Creepy
Usually when the rumor mill churns just before a hot new product release, the leaked features are exciting, but it seems as though every time we hear something about the new Xbox, it’s a mixed bag. The hardware sounds great, but Durango will reportedly require an always-on connection (with always-on Kinect!), will lock out used games, and will not be backwards compatible with older titles that you purchased new. Eh, maybe your $500 could be better spent on something else.
