According to a report filed by Kotaku, the next Xbox, codenamed “Durango”, and commonly referred to as the “Xbox 720”, may require a new version of Kinect in order to use the system. The source of the information is a person who goes by the name of SuperDaE, who first gained attention when he reportedly tried to sell an Xbox Durango development kit, and more recently revealed supposed information on the next Playstation, which is rumored to be unveiled on Feb. 20.
According to the information, the next Xbox will require Kinect to function. A new and improved version of Kinect will ship with every Xbox 720 sold, and will not be an optional accessory like the original Kinect is for the Xbox 360. With the new Kinect being mandatory, developers are free to make games that utilize it, because they will know that every system has one.
The new Kinect will reportedly be able to track up to six people in the room at all times. The new camera will be able to independently track thumbs, so it can tell whether a player's hand is open or closed. The camera can also read facial expressions, being able to tell if the player is angry, sad, happy, etc.
Game installs will supposedly be mandatory as well, the system shipping with a 500gb hard drive. Reportedly, players will be able to install games in the background, and play while it’s installing. It will be able to simultaneously run more than one game or application, similar to the way smartphones or PCs can.
Now, none of this information has been confirmed from Microsoft. This could all be a hoax, but the source has been surprisingly well informed in the past. The next Xbox could very well ship with none or very few of these features.
[Via Kotaku]
More details on this story as it developes.
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