Xbox Next details! Get yer Xbox Next details here! @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on March 09, 2005

News: Microsoft has revealed some of the features of the Xbox Next at GDC.

Microsoft has dubbed the next generation of consoles the HD Era according to their showing at the Game Developer's Conference. Some concrete Xbox Next details have begun to emerge as well (but those waiting on a name must still wait), including the first details of the Xbox Next on-screen guide.

Here is what Microsoft said the Xbox Next guide will include:

Gamer Cards Gamer Cards provide gamers with a quick look at key Xbox Live information. They let players instantly connect with people who have similar skills, interests and lifestyles.

Marketplace Browseable by game, by genre, and in a number of other ways, the Marketplace will provide a one-stop shop for consumers to acquire episodic content, new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins and new community-created content.

Micro-transactions Breaking down barriers of small-ticket online commerce, micro-transactions will allow developers and the gaming community to charge as little as they like for content they create and publish on Marketplace. Imagine players slapping down $.99 to buy a one-of-a-kind, fully tricked-out racing car to be the envy of their buddies.

Custom Playlists This feature eliminates the need for developers to support custom music in games. The guide instantly connects players to their music so they can listen to their own tracks while playing all their favorite next-generation Xbox games.

"In the HD Era the platform is bigger than the processor," Allard said. "New technology and emerging consumer forces will come together to enable the rock stars of game development to shake up the old establishment and redefine entertainment as we know it."

For the techheads in the house MS also said that the Xbox Next will be "A well-balanced system that will deliver more than a teraflop of targeted computing performance" and it will feature a "multicore processor co-developed by IBM" and a "custom-designed graphics processor co-developed with ATI."

If anyone can translate that I'd love to hear it in English.

We'll have more on the HD Era as we hear about it. Hopefully someone will come up with a name that doesn't sound quite so much like a marketing slogan as well.