Xbox World won't be around for the Xbox 720 release date in fall 2013, but the folding magazine is still speculating on specs for Microsoft's new video game console.
"Durango promises four hardware cores, each divided into four logical cores," said the magazine in an 8-page Xbox 720 spread.
Whether or not Xbox 720 will be a true 16-core powerhouse is anyone's guess, but Xbox World promises it'll be "a spec greater than anything even the most hardcore PC gamer has on his desktop."
In addition to a quad-core processor, Xbox 720 could have 8GB of RAM, which would be a significant jump up from Xbox 360's 512 RAM of shared RAM.
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Toys within the toy
Microsoft also intends to one-up Kinect, its controller-free gaming device, when Xbox 720 comes out.
"Kinect 2.0 tracks up to four players," said the magazine, "and can read even the smallest movements of your fingers thanks to advancements in camera technology and processing grunt."
Such advancements could lead to augmented reality games, although the magazine said this particular feature won't be ready until 2014.
Still, Xbox World illustrated the potential of AR games, saying it "would work alongside Kinect or Omnitouch to turn your living room into a virtual reality environment in which game characters could appear."
All of these Xbox 720 specs require massive storage beyond what a DVD can handle, so the next Microsoft system is said to use a Blu-ray drive, as "broadband isn't up to the job" yet for cloud gaming.
Abandoning the Xbox 720 name
The cover to this second-to-last issue of Xbox World included a prototype based on the rumored Xbox 720 specs and has the name Xbox 720 in big letters.
However, inside the pages of the magazine, it speculated that Xbox 720 may not be the name Microsoft goes with in the end.
"Don't expect the next Xbox to be called Xbox 3 or Xbox 720," said the magazine. "Apple has changed the rules for branding, so when the next generation arrives, it'll almost certainly just be 'Xbox.'"
Following Apple's lead seems to be a new trend for Microsoft, as the company's CEO recently foresaw future Microsoft hardware beyond its Xbox consoles and the single Surface tablet.
Via Xbox World
