Xbox 720 Reportedly Due For 2013 Holiday Debut

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Reveal likely to occur during E3 in June.

The long-awaited successor of Microsoft's Xbox 360 could be preparing itself for a holiday 2013 launch.

According to "people familiar with the company's plans" who spoke with Bloomberg, Microsoft is planning to launch the Xbox 720 in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas next year.

The majority of speculation pertaining to the rumored next-generation console has referred to an E3 2012 reveal during June. Other sources have indicated that Microsoft will announce it at a separate event.

The source of Bloomberg didn't want to reveal their identify due to the fact that the information is purportedly based on a confidential Microsoft road map.

Earlier in the year, an all-but-confirmed leaked 56-page document detailed the Xbox 720 itself. The next-generation console is said to offer features such as a Blu-ray drive and the next version of Kinect, with a retail price apparently being set at $299.

The document leak was then pulled by a law firm who lists Microsoft as one of its clients. The latter then responded to the leak by not denying it, buy instead stressing the firm is "continually thinking about the future of the platform".

A holiday release for the Xbox 720 would make sense if the Xbox 360's commercial success during Black Friday is anything to go by. The platform sold 800,000 units last Friday, while total sales during the week of Black Friday equaled 960,000.

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43 Comments Comment from the forums
  • A Bad Day
    The next-generation console is said to offer features such as a Blu-ray drive and the next version of Kinect, with a retail price apparently being set at $299

    And what would be the price of the games to subsidize the 720's price?
    Reply
  • beardguy
    2013 Holiday!

    Launch that shit already. Seriously I'm excited, but this console is way overdue.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    otacon72The games are going to cost the same genius.
    There is no way MS could launch Xbox at that low price based on the components it has. And traditionally, console games tend to be more expensive than PC games, despite the fact that a lot more console games are ported to PC than the other way around.

    Care to explain why?
    Reply
  • bison88
    A Bad DayAnd what would be the price of the games to subsidize the 720's price?

    Doesn't Microsoft already do that making something like $5 per game sold? I don't see why there would be any change.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    $299 has to be a misprint. But hey, if that's the real deal, I'm buyin' it. Then again, there could be different models with different hard drive capacities. The $299 model might not be all that good when you look at the overall potential of the new console.
    Reply
  • A Bad Day
    bison88Doesn't Microsoft already do that making something like $5 per game sold? I don't see why there would be any change.
    And when the developers have to pay a licensing fee of $5 per game, what makes you think they won't try to increase the price to recover the loss?
    Reply
  • Rscpa7
    Thats nice, I'll keep my computer for gaming before I buy a crappy console.
    Reply
  • dudewitbow
    299$ is way to low to be much of a step for microsoft(meaning hardware will only be slightly better at this price, only to support basic 1080p, like the wiiu does), unless they have something else in plan
    Reply
  • Supply and demand and you price games at what the market will pay for.. Money isn't made from the hardware / console.. it's from the content .. games, subscriptions, licencing etc etc etc.. buy and xbox for 300 dollars and subscribe for the next five years , plus points etc etc.. cha ching
    Reply
  • DRosencraft
    Although the price of games have increased with the release of each new generation, looking at this launch price is not a good indication of if or what the price for games will be. They have two challenges to meet. One, they have to be able to make a profit for everyone involved - that should be obvious. But two, they have to keep games at a reasonably acceptable price range. Not saying the current price is all that great, but when these prices were set the power of the internet was not what it is today, which is to say, that there would be some very loud and angry complaints (think Win8 hate dialed up a notch or two).

    I say don't try to hard to tie that price tag of $299 for the console to any guess at game prices just yet. By the time the Xbox 720 is in actual production the price of its components will be down some. Not to mention that as it stands the components aren't exactly bank-busting. $299 is about the cost of the PS3 right now, and part of the reason for that is because they've sold that at a loss for most of its lifetime.

    Finally, I expect that, given the fact that the PS3 launched at $600 last generation, they probably would use that for some cover to up the price of the console a bit from $300 to avoid having to do the same of the game side. $400 for a console sounds a lot better than $70 or $75 for a game. The fact that the WiiU, and its reputation as being the less "hardcore" of the big 3 consoles, is already priced at about $300, that gives MSFT a little more cover to price the 720 console at a bit higher price than $299.
    Reply