Xbox 720 developer kit leaked

The current console generation has been the longest one yet. Usually, console generations last for about five years. The seventh generation, according to Wikipedia, had started in 2005 with the release of the Xbox 360. Seven years on, gamers and developers alike are beginning to see the limits of the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.

Recently, a supposed Xbox 720 “Durango” developer kit was posted on a developer forum, and was offered to the public for the price of $10,000. The developer kit resembles the traditional PC tower running a debug launcher, which caused many people to be cautious and skeptical about whether the prototype is authentic. EuroGamer’s Digital Foundry reached out to the source of the leak. After following up on the story with multiple developers who are working on next-gen projects, they came to the conclusion that the hardware was real.

The man who had leaked the shots, and uses the alias “DaE”, revealed to EuroGamer that Microsoft’s next-gen gaming console will feature an eight-core processor. The next generation console is also rumoured to include support for Blu-Ray, true 1080p and native 3D output, and is expected to be around six times more powerful than the current Xbox 360.

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DaE showing the Xbox 720 Devkit

DaE suggests that the current devkits were sent to studios in Feburary and feature Intel CPUs and a graphics card from NVIDIA. He also claims that the Durango kit has more than 8GB of memory, and that the hardware is 64-bit in nature. It is also worth mentioning that developer hardware typically features double the RAM of retail hardware so that the former can accommodate debugging tools and other systems. No official information is available on Microsoft’s next console. Sony has also been keeping quiet about the possibility of a PlayStation 4.

Nintendo has been the only company to announce their next generation console - the Wii U. Due to a lack of information from Nintendo, the only concrete facts we know about the machine are that the controller will have a tablet-like touchscreen, and that the console’s hardware will be at least 50 percent more powerful than the current generation consoles of their competitors - the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Some launch titles for the console are also known. Nintendo has also released the technical specifications of their next console.

According to earlier reports, the Wii U will release for about ¥30,000, which is roughly £250. For the sake of comparison, the MSRP of  PlayStation 3 (160GB model) is ¥24,980, and that of the Wii is ¥20,000. The newspaper also reports that the Wii U will support non-game content, including a car navigator, books, and a karaoke service with around 10,000 songs. An unnamed senior publisher spoke with MCV UK, stating that the Wii U “will definitely be less than £249.”