A now removed job posting on Microsoft’s careers website has revealed that Microsoft intends to launch the successor to the Xbox 360 by 2014.
The posting was for a Central Marketing Group director and read, “over the next eighteen months Microsoft will release new versions of all of our most significant products including Windows (Client, Server, Phone and Azure), Office and Xbox, along with completely new offerings like Microsoft Surface”.
18 months from August 2012 would be January-February 2014. This timeline suggests that Microsoft may seek to launch the Xbox 360’s successor during the Consumer Electronics Show’s week — a show that they dropped out of this year. If they were to launch during CES’ window, it would steal even more thunder away from a show that is already hemorrhaging major vendors.
Another Microsoft job posting revealed that the new Xbox, or a system update to the Xbox 360, will include extensive support for Skype.
“The team you’ll join is responsible for Skype in the living room (broadly the home), across various devices but with a focus on the large screen and the next generation of Xbox.”
These revelations come after a recent statement by Microsoft general manager, Brian Hall, that hinted the release of the new Xbox isn’t that far off.
“We’ve operated Hotmail for about 16 years, we obviously have Exchange and Outlook that people use at work, and we just decided it was time to do something new and bring the best from each of those and put them together and release it right in time for the new wave of products that we have coming out with Windows 8, with the new version of Office, with the New Windows Phone and the new Xbox,” Mr. Hall told The Verge.
Microsoft was quick to retract Mr. Hall’s comments in a statement: “When Brian mentioned a ‘new wave of products,’ he was referring to the full line-up of products coming later this year from Microsoft, including Windows 8, Office, Windows Phone and of course our fall Xbox update which will bring a host of new consumer experiences like Xbox Music, Videos, Games on Windows 8 and Xbox SmartGlass.”
Technology mega-pundit Charlie Demerjian’s, of Semi Accurate fame, findings also hint at a sooner-than-expected release date of the new Xbox. In a January post, he revealed the new Xbox’s CPU/GPU/APU codenamed Oban was in full production. Mr. Demerjian believes that this chip will be a Power PC CPU plus a ATI GCN/HD7000/Southern Islands GPU.
Mr. Demerjian also claims that when he approached a Microsoft rep with his findings they responded with “I am going to fucking rip someone’s head off”, giving him the putative confirmation he was after.
