I occasionally go back over old threads and this one just begs for an update.
There will be a new Xbox361 (in Microsoft powerpoint) and called Xbox365 in one cite released this holiday 2012. The digitimes rumor of a PS4 (must be a PS3.5 if released in 2012) now in hindsight has more weight and it has a Kinect Interface supporting a depth camera.
Xbox361=Xbox365=Xbox Infinity=Xbox project 10
Is a Xbox360 with 1080P HDMI pass-thru, low power modes, updated interfaces and likely more memory. = XTV like Google TV support
http://controversy.typepad.com/vide...nfinity-shown-behind-closed-doors-at-ces.html
"According to reliable sources, the Xbox Infinity (which has a slight chance of being called Xbox 365 when it launches) has in fact been revealed to major developers at the 2012 CES! The reason these developers have not mentioned anything to the public or the media is because the developers have signed a contract preventing the console from being discussed publicly. And from what I'm told, the Xbox Infinity is still on schedule to be released in time for Christmas of 2012 in North America. I'm looking forward to seeing the Xbox Infinity in action at the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo!"
Xbox365 is the XTV Xbox 361 and is scheduled for Christmas season 2012 in North America
365 is indicating the same that PS3.5 indicates, newer hardware. HDMI pass-thru, low power modes and
newer hardware is going to require emulating the older hardware not the 3 PPC processors.
XTV with HDMI pass-thru implies always on low power modes. Low power modes require hibernate, the ability to turn off parts of the console hardware at will.
Low power modes would be very very hard to implement in older hardware designs. It's probably easier and cheaper to trash the older designs and start over.
My speculation is based on economics, would it be cheaper for both Microsoft and Sony to use exactly the same SOC....how much would it cost to include 6 plus SPUs Vs. the savings in one SOC for both. Both will have to emulate Xbox360 and PS3 respectively IN ANY CASE. Considering how tiny SPUs are at 32nm, AMD producing everything but the 2 1PPC+4SPU wafers and IBM assembling the AMD parts with the IBM manufactured PPC & SPUs = Oban and economical. Also, using the same interfaces (updated AMD hardware) as the PS4 and Xbox720 in the PS3.5 and Xbox365 insures common interfaces and accessories that can be used by all. This insures economy of scale where it matters, for LCD glasses for instance. Xbox has 10 megs of eDRAM used by the GPU and PS3 needs very fast memory for SPUs. Both can be supported with a faster down-scaled custom GPU and wide I/O ram inside the SOC. Since PS3 and Xbox360 will have to be emulated, more than 512 meg memory is needed. My guess would be two 500meg custom packages for a total of 1 Gig (Extra memory for the OS above that needed for emulation.
1) The 2010 Xbox 720 powerpoint is old and some newer indication that Xbox361 is still valid was needed. There are three for Xbox361=Xbox365=Xbox Infinity= Xbox Xfinity=Project 10 all released Christmas season 2012.
2) It is a new SOC with upgraded hardware using PPC processors so it will need to emulate a Xbox 360 not emulate PPC processors. There are two cites and common sense for this.
3) IF Sony is doing the same and the Digitimes rumor would indicate this then Sony will have to do the same most likely with exactly the same AMD hardware. That the Digitimes rumor has a PS4 (Has to be a PS3.5 if released in 2012) with a Kinect interface also supports the same hardware in both as does microsoft-sony.com and sony-microsoft.com. Both the Digitimes rumor and Microsoft domain registration occurred the same month; July 2011. This is the least supported with only one cite by a source that is considered unreliable.
XTV=> is 800 million new CE connected to internet market between now and 2016
PS3 will have HTML5<video>, Playready DRM and WebMAF by end of Oct.
Both Xbox and PS3 will have full browser support by the end of the year for the first time ever. WHY? How are they going to make money? What does this imply?
This is hindsight for the most part given the Xbox 720 powerpoint and a review of old rumors that now make sense.
The recent 56 page Xbox 720 powerpoint document mentioned a cheaper Xbox361 to support XTV with 1080P HDMI pass-thru coming 2012 holiday season. IF Microsoft is releasing a XTV refreshed Xbox then Sony is most likely releasing a similar model. Have there been any reports supporting this?
The answer is yes if you assume News bloggers have been confused assuming new models coming out in 2012 are Xbox 720 or PS4.
Digitimes Rumor: http://kotaku.com/5817874/report-the-playstation-4-will-have-kinect+style-motion-controls
"Taiwanese component makers tell tech site DigiTimes that Sony is readying a new home console for 2012. But that's not the interesting part. These component manufacturer sources tellDigiTimes that the PlayStation 4 will feature body-movement controls like Microsoft's Kinect. That's the interesting, if not unexpected, part. The PS3 currently has PlayStation Move motion controls, which are similar to the Wii's motion controls.
The report states Foxconn and Pegatron Technology will assemble the PS4 for Sony. Foxconn and Pegatron Technology both assemble the PS3, which was originally manufactured in Japan.
Sources told DigiTimes that the PS4 will go into production at the end of 2011 for a 2012 launch. Apparently Sony will manufacture 20 million PS4 consoles for 2012."