You know Microsoft's got another Xbox on the way. We know Microsoft's got another Xbox on the way. Developers and publishers clearly know Microsoft's got another Xbox on the way. For the moment, though, all lips are sealed. The Xbox 360 remains immensely profitable, more profitable this year than any other, but the second a successor takes shape, you can look forward to a nose-dive in units sold. Hence the caution - lodging one foot in the door marked "tomorrow" is sensible, but you don't pluck a golden goose before she's squeezed out her final golden egg.
The very earliest we expect to hear about the next Xbox is next year, in fact, with a release pegged for early 2013. Really, there's no reason for Microsoft to rush. By launching a couple of Christmases from now, the new console would dodge a fight with Nintendo's Wii U and grant its older brother another puff on the holiday sales pipe. Sony's unlikely to release PlayStation 4 in the meantime, with Vita's launch to oversee and PS3's bills still being paid off.
If the Xbox 720's specifications are a mystery, it's possible to make deductions about the games that'll appear on it. You can confidently expect big franchises like FIFA, Modern Warfare and the Elder Scrolls to show their faces, and certain currently-in-development games look a tad suspicious, like they're edging backwards towards a brighter future. Here are some of the solider prospects.
Creative Assembly's Aliens game
We travelled all the way to lonely Horsham to learn precisely nothing about Creative Assembly's Aliens project in July. The developer wouldn't even confirm which platforms it's coming out for. Suggestive, that. "We're as aware as anybody of what's coming in next generation consoles," studio director Tim Heaton hedged. Evasive responses mostly come out at night, mostly.
Homefront 2
Announced only today for release in THQ's financial year 2014, the new Homefront seems a pretty safe next generation bet. It'll run on the latest version of Crytek's CryEngine, an engine that already looks a bit cramped and uncomfortable on current generation hardware.
Milo & Kate
Project Natal darling turned Kinect no-show Milo & Kate is a bit of a mystery. Some speculate that plonking a small child on a screen and allowing users to manipulate him with hand gestures raises too many, ahem, "ethical tensions" for Microsoft's comfort. Others suggest the manufacturer is just waiting for Kinect's kinks to fall out before committing such an ambitious product to shelves. A new Xbox with Kinect built in (as suggested by Epic) might work the magic.
Ubisoft has been very vocal in its desire for a new generation of consoles, with company CEO Yves Guillemot publicly badgering Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo over their failure to deliver the goods. Conversely, the publisher has kept cards very close to chest whenever the magic words "Assassin's Creed 3" drift across the press room. Is Ubisoft simply sparing Revelations' blushes, granting the sort-of-sequel a clean run at retail? Or is it sparing Microsoft's? Has Assassin's Creed 3 already been bookmarked for a next gen Xbox appearance?
31 comments so far...
Vegetunks9000 on 20 Sep '11 said:
unfortunetly Milo & Kate will never be. As much as we wish for it, it breaks our heart to know deep down, its not going to happen.
All of those are pretty much expected though. As is a Mass effect spin of game. Like Mass Effect Wars or something.
sadfacezombie on 20 Sep '11 said:
I wish to see these games as launch titles.
Doom 4
Half life 3
Fifa 20XX
Halo 5
Red dead 2
I hope to see some of these games as launch titles.
OXM ETboy on 20 Sep '11 said:
Half-Life 3 should have been in there. Doom 4 too. I'm tempted to update the feature...
KernowDevil23 on 20 Sep '11 said:
I personally see very little need for another Xbox for more than a few years. I would say nearer 4 or 5 years would be fine. Realistically, apart from making games look prettier, what can be done to wow us? As Skyrim is likely to prove, games of this generation can be made to be ludicrously huge in scope and still look better than almost anything we've seen before it.
We have motion control, wireless connections, media connectivity, digital content.....the list goes on!
Where do we go from here?
SidTheSloth on 20 Sep '11 said:
Looking at the list of games in the feature i have to say im in no rush...
Im surprised that in the list we have gears, halo, battlefield, think i saw homefront 2 is likely for the '720' too. Yay, a brand new shiny console to play the same endless barrage of FPS games that would admittedly be 'shinier and bigger with more layers and realism'.
If thats the best we can look forward to ill pass thanks!
Its the possibilities for things like assassins creed and new IPs not possible on current gen that will get me to hand over my notes, not those following the 'EA Sequel Cash Cow' strategy.
Mini rant over!
Waffles2541 on 20 Sep '11 said:
Knowing valves reputation its more likely that this will come out on Xbox1080...
Strike Z3R0 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Is it to early to ask for battlefield 4?
Waffles2541 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Or Bad Company 3 or Battlefield 2143
terry cheyne on 21 Sep '11 said:
one word
SHEN MUE 3
Guilty Sparks on 21 Sep '11 said:
I hope Bioware make an RTS game in the style of Halo Wars (set in the ME Universe)..... Once they finish the trilogy anyway
Grummy on 21 Sep '11 said:
Fallout 4. I'd be surprised if Fallout 4's release doesn't coincide with the '720's' release window as Oblivion did for the 360.
Bezza89 on 21 Sep '11 said:
I'm going earlier, and thinking a few ported titles;
Far Cry 3, Halo 4, GTAV, Medal of Honour 2, Jet Set Radio 3, Mirrors Edge 2 and a spin off multiplayer mass effect.
I'm probably more wrong than you all, but I'd like to be right.
Cokney Charmer on 21 Sep '11 said:
Not a bad list of Games for a 720 launch...but would hope MS could develop new IP Franchises for the console, then going back to the safety net of Halo and Gears
Should this story be true of course lol
OXM Jonty on 21 Sep '11 said:
Never stop dreaming!
CunningSmile on 21 Sep '11 said:
Ubisoft is particular have said they want a new generation not because they want better tech, but because people only buy new IPs in the first couple of years of a generation and Ubi are getting bored producing sequels. When the 720 launches I think there will be plenty of 3rd party new IPs without relying on the increasingly conservative and uninspired MS (seriously, they said they were treating Kinect as a console launch, but where was the launch line up of must have titles? It looked like the Wii back catalogue)
Spiderless on 21 Sep '11 said:
So am I the only one who would rather see a bunch of new IPs rather than sequels? The idea of Gears 4 or Halo 5 is downright depressing to me, I'd much rather see Epic and (insert developer here) create something new.
SidTheSloth on 21 Sep '11 said:
Far from it - see my little moan earlier in the thread...
Unfortunately we seem to be in a bad cycle right now for new ips/smaller games whereby everyone saves their cash for cod/battlefield/skyrim and the others hardly get a look in.
The article on here about the games you should buy but won't was pretty accurate. I'll probably get most of them but im surely in the minority. I know a lot of others will buy them too, but a lot will also wait until cheaper and then buy, means less money for the developers who then wont try again.
Enslaved, blur, lost odyssey, mirrors edge, eternal sonata, ruse, alpha protocol, darksiders, divinity, heck, even infinite undiscovery! All games i've really enjoyed that i wouldn't class as mainstream. Seems the gaming world is getting more and more unforgiving
Crackdown for me is a great example of good timing with a new ip on a new console, i remember buying it more out of curiousity as there was naff all about in the early days of 360 - think it came with beta access for something too to try and sell it (halo 3?). Its kind of worrying though if those in the industry are saying that they must wait for a new machine before any of their new games have a chance...
And please rockstar, to contradict myself & if we are talking unlikely launch titles, a new 'bully' game? Wasn't it originally developed for the previous gen anyway so loooooong overdue?
CunningSmile on 21 Sep '11 said:
As the Ubi guy I quoted earlier said the problem is probably the unusually long cycle of this generation. People buy new IPs when a console launches because there are fewer games about and we all want to see what our new toy can do. Fast forward 5 years and we all have a pretty good idea what the 360 is capable of (or at least what the devs can get it to do) and what sort of games we like to play on it. People stop buying new IPs because they are a risk compared to games we are pretty certain we will enjoy and if we don't buy them, no one will make them.
New console generation will mean new IPs, and that is frankly the only arguement I can see in it's favour.
BomBom on 21 Sep '11 said:
I would like to see Fallout 4 , mass effect not 4 actually but something worth switching xbox on, GTA5,borderalnds 2,
Decent_Jam on 21 Sep '11 said:
New IP definitely, and some more satirical comedy and 4th wall-breaking in games as well, just you know...FUN!
RTS is definitely a genre which needs looking at. Endwar was an interesting idea, there may yet be mileage...
I suppose it's likely the tech will fall back until the world economy isn't completely messed, as it seems to be.
Furie on 22 Sep '11 said:
The way this generation is going, the release games for the next generation are going to be lost within a mass of rereleased, higher-resolutioned and slightly fluffy remakes of current generation games and consolidations of trilogies (fingers crossed for a miracle of lawyerliness that means Mass Effect will show up as a single game across a single huge galaxy and completely redesigned to fit the third game's systems) into one release. Considering the quality of launch titles compared to games later in a console lifespan this may not be a bad thing.
Eaglet on 24 Sep '11 said:
I agree with you here 100% mate.
smp1987 on 24 Sep '11 said:
I would like to see games like star war the old republic crysis 3 a new splinter cell some really good PC spec games MMO ect
dx.nick.p on 27 Sep '11 said:
I think Rare would have to bring something pretty big to the table, such as a new (and much, much improved) Fable game, or something along the lines of a game like Kameo.
I'd be looking at Activision for Modern Warfare 4 or 5, depending on if they can squeeze another into the 360 after MW3.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is something that would certainly interest me, although part of me wonders if it would be a launch title - would Rockstar use something along the lines of Table Tennis again to see what they can do with the system first?
A new Tomb Raider game might also be worth considering. If they could get in there early and make it something special, they could possibly re-ignite interest in the franchise.
I'd ideally like a fair few new, and decent IPs. I enjoy Halo and GoW games, but, I'd really like to see MS come up with something truly original.
SidTheSloth on 27 Sep '11 said:
Something along the lines of uncharted - obviously exchange lara for drake? I don't really play on my ps3 much but uncharted is easily the one title i'd like on xbox (and being a hack n slash fan that's saying something with god of war/heavenly sword taken into consideration).
We have just cause though which if they ever nail it properly could be immense. Number 2 was a good game but just let itself down a bit in places...
CunningSmile on 28 Sep '11 said:
I'm really looking forward to the new Tomb Raider reboot, so please don't wish too hard for it to be delayed until the next gen.
Decent_Jam on 29 Sep '11 said:
Very much seconded, there must be something better we can come up with than 3s, 4s and 5s in franchises, surely?!
SidTheSloth on 1 Oct '11 said:
How about the game i've been waiting for since my C64?
A transformers RPG based on the 80'2 cartoon - maybe even with cel shaded graphics (not normally a fan but think it would work well?) - not a hint of michael bay in sight.
I'm sick to death of the fact that it has such awesome possibilities and every game has been no better than decent, and usually turd, and more importantly, an FPS?!
You could start off as a lowly custom transformer and work your way up, get enhancements (of course could also be a decepticon - maybe morality means you could switch?
), and with a skyrim/oblivion sized world to drive/fly around in you wouldn't be restricted by the ridiculous corridor design like on WFC etc.
Everytime a new transformers game is announced i get my hopes up for this. For the american pie fans, i expect filet mignon, and we get rump roast
Please santa, make it so...
buckleboff94 on 17 Oct '11 said:
HL3, Alan Wake 2 and Bioshock Infinite 2 maybe? and heres the killer blow- Star Wars Battlefront 3. Please. Don't make me beg. :'(
T-meredith on 16 Nov '11 said:
Bring the Unreal series back, haven't seen one of them in a long time
Fumps on 16 Dec '11 said:
I personally would love it if they made the games pretty much as they are but just much much bigger.
The graphics are fantastic already, we just need more gaming time. The single player missions are just too short, give us more Battles, more intence moments, more fun in all. I'd love another Gears of war with bigger missions & even larger maps for the online stuff.
Come on guys drop the whistles & bells. improve in what you are already doing.