Loop: Blog leaks details of Xbox 360 successor

by Steven Mostyn - Nov 9 2011, 09:27

Are you an Xbox 360 owner keen to know where Microsoft is planning to take your videogame future? If so, this next hardware-based news snippet is likely to ignite a fire of intrigue beneath you…

Specifically, blogging enthusiast MSNerd has this week claimed to have discovered that the Xbox 360’s successor (codenamed: Loop) will have a smaller form factor, will run on the Windows 9 core software, and will be powered by ARM processors.

Citing a (convenient) mixture of “rumors, tips and speculation” the post outlines that the next Xbox console “will use a Zune HD-like hardware platform” and will be custom designed by Microsoft and two unnamed partners based on ARM architecture.

The upcoming gaming and multimedia device will also be equipped with “a ‘main’ processor with multiple dedicated assistive cores for graphics, AI, physics, sound, networking, encryption and sensors”.

Going all-out in terms of prediction, MSNerd also offers that the system’s low price point will encourage greater adoption rates in Microsoft’s groundbreaking controller-free Kinect gameplay peripheral.

Although all of the blogger’s information is presently unsubstantiated, it is perhaps worth noting that MSNerd has good form when it comes to leaking accurate details regarding Microsoft’s dealings.

For example, the tech blog provided advanced information on Microsoft’s Courier tablet—which never moved into production—and also provided insider insight surrounding issues Microsoft experienced with Windows Phone, Zune and Kin.

Whether accurate or not, these particular rumblings will probably be lost to time, not least because Microsoft is not expected to replace the Xbox 360 until 2015.

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