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If you’ve managed to somehow tear yourself away from the Xbox today, we’ve got some exciting news to reward you with. A leaked document reveals what the Xbox 720 could be capable of, along with the Kinect version 2.
While the company may have shunned rumours of a new console at this year’s E3 event, all signs are now starting to point towards a June 2013 reveal. A whopping 56-page document has leaked online, detailing the new console and its accessories.
For starters, the console is referred to as the Xbox 720, not the ‘Durango’ as we’ve previously heard. While there’s plenty of information available, we’ve scoured for the best parts and indeed the parts that we feel will feature in the finished console.
An image of a multi-talented box shows that the Xbox 720 will play DVD, CD and Blu-ray discs, as well as games (Halo Reach is pictured). We can also see a selection of apps including ESPN, Atari, Last.fm, Zune, Sky and abc. This seems to indicate an evolution of the current media centre features that Microsoft is really getting stuck into right now. Finally, the image also purports that the console will be able to interact with smartphones, tablets and glasses in some way.
The glasses are in fact augmented reality eyewear, called ‘Project Fortaleza’ in the document. These are to interact with Kinect and will be called ‘Kinect Glasses’. Microsoft describes them as a “breakthrough heads up and hands-free device”. Kinect Glasses appear to offer a new depth to gameplay, putting characters in your living room and so on, but they won’t launch until 2014.
Kinect will get an upgrade along with the new console, to Kinect 2. Microsoft states that accuracy will be higher and the accessory will be capable of tracking up to four players, as well as accessories. While Kinect currently only tracks our body movements, Microsoft looks to have plans to implement props to make games more fun. There will also be improved voice recognition, stereo imaging and a better camera.
The console itself is said to have a performance increase of 6x over the current Xbox 360, featuring “true” 1080p HD output and 3D support. The document alludes to Microsoft still not finalising plans for the processor, with certain slides showing either 6 or 8 ARM or x86 core processors clocked at an impressive 2GHz each. DDR4 memory will back up the processor, with 4GB expected to be the amount of choice.
While much of the document may show information that hasn’t been finalised, or could be changed within the next year, it does show us Microsoft’s line of thought for the new console. As for those debating the document’s authenticity; Covington & Burling LLP, an international law firm who act on behalf of Microsoft, requested that the document be taken off the web earlier today.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
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