Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter does not expect Microsoft to release Xbox 360’s successor anytime before 2014.
The industry analyst strongly believes that Xbox 720 will be skipping 2013 despite the speculation that suggest otherwise. The next-generation console was tipped to be announced at next year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), but Pachter has rejected the assumptions, claiming that if he was to put his money on the launch date of the new Xbox, he would definitely bet on the spring of 2014.
In an interview with the UK version of the Xbox 360 magazine, the Wedbush Securities analyst said that it simply makes a lot of sense for Microsoft to wait a couple of years before releasing Xbox 720.
In his opinion, spring 2014 seems like an ideal time for release as the company is expected to manufacture only a few million units at the time of its launch. This will allow the Xbox enthusiasts to get their hands on the next-generation console without having to compete with moms shopping for gifts during the holiday season.
There has not been any official confirmation of work being done on Xbox 720 by Microsoft. Despite all the rumours circulating around about Xbox 360’s successor, the company looks to be committed to unleashing the true potential of the current console. It is also a reasonable assumption that the company would wait until its rival Sony dishes out some details about Playstation 4.
Microsoft has been making a big deal about some of its latest entertainment applications such as SmartGlass in recent months. Pachter believes that the company will take these new developments into account while working on the new Xbox.
Shifting his focus away from the release date of the next Xbox during his interview with the UK magazine, Pachter went on to share his thoughts on what Microsoft’s next-generation console may offer.
“It’s pretty clear to me that Microsoft intends to allow the Xbox 720 to function as a cable TV box, allowing cable television service providers to broadcast over the Internet through the box, with SmartGlass as the remote controller, and with the Xbox 720 using Windows 8 to split the TV signal into multiple feeds, allowing consumers to divert different channel feeds to different displays within the home,” he said.
His speculation reflects the content of a 56-page PowerPoint document that was leaked on the internet in 2010. The report supposedly lifted the curtain off the next-generation console, claiming that Xbox 720 with an updated version of Kinect would be hitting the shelves in 2013 with the price set at $299.
Microsoft’s lawyers chased down the document and successfully got it removed from the internet, though the authenticity of the report remains disputed even today.
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