Microsoft Patent Shows Next Xbox Customizable Like PC

[exfileme]

Seemingly backing up the recent Xbox 720 documents, a patent describes a dual-system console that can be customized like a PC.

Microsoft Patent Shows Next Xbox Customizable Like PC : Read more

 

[whimseh]

Well that's pretty cool!

 

[Nesto1000]

I have a feeling that it's going to be a lot more expensive than a user built gaming machine when you max out everything, but if it gets close to real PC gaming then I'm all for it! That means better PC console ports at least!

 

[amuffin]

Game Developers: FML.

 

[therabiddeer]

If I wanted a PC, I would get a PC. Why is a console trying to be a PC even more? I already have to sit through exhaustively long install times and load times and downloading of patches... what happened to consoles being a console? Quick loads, no installing, no updates because of shoddy development, no constant purchasing beyond the initial sale, selling the game back actually being possible... I miss these days.

 

[ben850]

I thought people buy consoles because they're simple to use? Now they have to worry about which upgrades they need in order to play game X?

Throwing fragmentation into the console universe = bad idea IMO.

 

[fb39ca4]

Remember, these are all RUMORS!

 

[Guest]

Oh great, imagine the cost of upgrade parts, they already milk you over $100 for a 200 GB hdd, and not to mention how much they charge for "microsoft Flash drives" and shit.

I can foresee, a GPU upgrade costing well over $200.

 

[fb39ca4]

[citation][nom]TheRabidDeer[/nom]If I wanted a PC, I would get a PC. Why is a console trying to be a PC even more? I already have to sit through exhaustively long install times and load times and downloading of patches... what happened to consoles being a console? Quick loads, no installing, no updates because of shoddy development, no constant purchasing beyond the initial sale, selling the game back actually being possible... I miss these days.[/citation]
Yeah, I miss Gen 6 and earlier. You just plugged in the cartridge/inserted the CD and you were good. There was no such thing as a patch, so developers tried to squash every bug they could find as there was no fixing them after release. Now, release is the new Beta.

 

[bobusboy]

[citation][nom]ben850[/nom]I thought people buy consoles because they're simple to use? Now they have to worry about which upgrades they need in order to play game X?Throwing fragmentation into the console universe = bad idea IMO.[/citation]

There will be the low, medium and high versions

Games which are enthusiast level will be marked with a "requires enthusiast xbox" or what ever naming system they use. Normal games will be labeled normal, casual games named casual or entry.

Additionally I'm positive they'd design a system so that the game automatically scales down and then abck up based on the hardware it detects

 

[rodbowler]

Perhaps they are trying to pre-empt the Valve console. Then they can use patent trolling to eliminate this possible competition.

 

[Kami3k]

YES! The death of consoles! Though I didn't think it would be from them becoming PCs....

 

[darkavenger123]

So there'll be XBOX i3, XBOX i5 and XBOX i7.....hehe

 

[fb39ca4]

[citation][nom]darkavenger123[/nom]So there'll be XBOX i3, XBOX i5 and XBOX i7.....hehe[/citation]
Nope, they're using PowerPC CPUs. So we could have Xbox 720, Xbox 1080, Xbox 4K, etc.

 

[belardo]

So they may have a base 360-level model... then a 362 model and a 364 mode...
$100 / $300 / $500...

Screw Microsoft, Screw them killing PC gaming, Screw Windows 8.... Get a Playstation 3 or 4.
*I* will never ever ever buy an XBOX.

 

[kcorp2003]

[citation][nom]fb39ca4[/nom]Remember, these are all RUMORS![/citation]

i don't think so, this news is based upon a patent description.

 

[nuvon]

Damn MS, make it work first before patenting.

 

[Guest]

i bet microsoft will never use this, but is trying to patent it to avoid other manufacturers (steambox) from doing so

 

[rodbowler]

[citation][nom]nignogmyass234rffgg[/nom]i bet microsoft will never use this, but is trying to patent it to avoid other manufacturers (steambox) from doing so[/citation]

Yep, that's what I said..

 

[tomhuang03]

Whoa. This ought to be pretty awesome.

 

[alxianthelast]

Lost me at hardware doesn't update on a yearly cycle like Apple's hardware and OS updates.

That's entirely Microsoft's fault and something they could fix if they decided there was a need to more aggressively develop their OS software and APIs.

And I thought the point generally was to support the software APIs as they evolved.

Xbox 1 with 9.0c, Xbox 360, 10, 11 (didn't happen), Xbox 3, 11.1+

Not just giving GPU/hardware OEMs, which essentially is still Nvidia and ATI (but does that mean consumers will have the option of a discrete Nvidia GPU/hardware acceleration expansion module?) another platform to fight over rather than splitting them up between Xbox and Playstation again so that neither really wins in the long run.. which is and has been something utterly wasted on closed boxed consoles.

If I read right, and something that has been asked for since before Xbox 360 had a final design they have a single APU in the box, which is locked down, allowing you to buy and install your own OEM video card module.. great. Bluray module? nice, extra ram modules? excellent.

How are they supposed to overcome the long standing caveat of any of those 3rd party modules corrupting the integrity of the platform? as with the DVD drive in Xbox 360, and memory modules in general. Will OEM face restrictive licensing fees? of course they will, and thus greatly devalue the incentive for OEMs to keep competing with each other, on shorter cycles, with a large cut of their meager profits going to those licensing fees? even if at the end of the day it would allow developers to cater to niche power users throughout the consoles life and avoid the huge drop off once PC starts outpacing it, wait that's the caveat that breaks the system because devs always aim at the the most broad spec.. even now when cheap gaming PCs have much better specs than the bottom dollar Xbox 360. Giving people the option to upgrade the system at their own pace, again is meaningless while software (games and apps) has no incentive to keep up.

 

[pharoahhalfdead]

I hope they offer a SSD option instead of a HDD, other than that I'm not concerned about having an upgradeable console. If they're going through all this trouble they should just invest that money into pc gaming.

 

[southernshark]

It will be all awesome if it is true.

 

[kewlmunky]

So their console is really just a limited PC with software being programmed specifically for it that can do all the functions of a normal PC, just simplified. It has upgrade options, but very limited. Wait, isn't that a Mac? Looks like Microsoft turned the console market into what Apple has been trying to do with computers for years.

All hope is gone.

 

[alxianthelast]

Meanwhile.. I've also been asking.. while MS is busy making consoles (phones and tablets) having apparently evolved their hardware strategy to include 3rd parties.. and apparently having a whale of a time pissing off OEMs by dictating 'how it should be done', shouldn't Xbox 3 have modules that also work in PCs? Bringing Xbox and Windows together.. using the Same interconnect?

And here's a stupid thought.. why not just concentrate on making discrete graphics cards thinner and more modular and power efficient? defining a size and power cap so that if end user expansion cards are going to be supported by Xbox 3 as a middle ground platform that forces OEMs to make thinner graphics cards that can be used for both.. it would be better to start that now than wait until too much later on. A 3-4 slot beast don't need to exist... Mars II.. while if there are mobile versions of the chip.. why aren't there half slot designs? (heat being a real issue)

If the eventual pay off for PC gamers are thinner cards and the real option to have 4 thin cards.. I'll jump right on that bandwagon.

And if the interconnect isn't proprietary then OEMs can make GPUs compatible with both platforms, PC and Xbox 3. The constraint for OEMs being a power envelope and size in a contained module that JoeBob dumbass grease fingers wouldn't destroy between buying it at retail and installation. Very low risk when upgrading and availability of options for those upgrades, and games that support higher resolution and other features when a more powerful card is detected, would drive that market.

Would follow that mainboard and case makers just have to support a common interconnect and form factor, they seem all to eager to anyway because competition is so fierce in the PC space. And so long as the console doesn't end up an ugly box that consumers would be too afraid to open and upgrade (but they can still just phone a friendly geek to do it for them) then the benefits are too great to ignore.