Microsoft Firefights Steve Ballmer's 'New Xbox' Report

Balmer never said it.

Posted by Staff
See that 'journalist' over there? Watch me wind her up!
See that 'journalist' over there? Watch me wind her up!
Here is how TG Daily reported some of Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer's speech at the Executive’s Club of Chicago yesterday, "The new device will be equipped with technology that is 'really, really close' to an actuality. The console, which was described as having a 'natural interface,' will have a built-in camera with the ability to recognize movement and voice."

See the use of the word 'console'? See the quotation marks? Yes, Ballmer didn't say it... TG Daily did.

Yes, we can see that's he's talking about Project Natal - the new motion control tech that Microsoft has already stated will be compatible with current Xbox 360s.

TG Daily, however, which kicked off the story by reporting the quote direct from Chicago, states: "a new Xbox 360 will hit the store shelves in 2010."

Microsoft's Major (Larry) Nelson has leapt in to quash the rumour, stating: "A few people have emailed me regarding something Steve Ballmer said earlier today about a new Xbox coming in 2010.

"As the Xbox team stated at E3 two weeks ago, we are not even halfway through the current console generation lifecycle and believe Xbox 360 will be the entertainment center in the home for long into the next decade. Project Natal will be an important part of this platform, but we have not confirmed a launch date at this time."

Nevertheless headlines such as 'Ballmer Confirms Natal Xbox 360 In 2010', 'Microsoft CEO Confirms New Xbox 360 In 2010' and most hilariously, 'Steve Ballmer Confirms "New" Xbox 360 For 2010' with the sub-head 'Ballmer confirms new SKU, with possibly new hardware, coming next year' from IGN, which then goes onto to deny its own report.

So, in short, Ballmer confirmed nothing at all about a new Xbox.
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Comments

Andy P 19 Jun 2009 12:21
1/3
In fairness... Major Nelson didn't exactly deny anything, either...
S 19 Jun 2009 13:20
2/3
Lets think about this. Not even halfway through it's cycle, time to go back to the PC, if the xbox is not going to be upgraded it is already outdated by the PC. Two, we expect them to change ti and upgrade it. Three, the centre of home entertainment, well does it have blu-ray, built in DVR etc. Four Sony has been selling it's PS2 along side it's PS3, it does not mean no new edition of the machine.

If the camera is stuck outside the xbox, then it is likely it might be smaller then the current case, so it is easy to place around the TV with a clear shot of players. The xbox360 will be able to be put in a smaller case in 2010, and there has been plans for a smaller xbox we have read about before. A functionality speed increase could also be possible. If they want to be the center of home entertainment, a home server version might be possible, but next year blu-ray functionality should be cheaper and smaller, enabling them to put a blu-ray 360 in a wii like box, with wii price, and a camera.

Meanwhile, over at Sony.. But who is going to be using the Intel Larrabee mega GPU/CPU, is it going to be Nintendo?
S 19 Jun 2009 13:33
3/3
I should have said "If the camera is stuck inside the xbox" but spell check is what it is..
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