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By 18 June 2012 | Categories: news

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Yet another Microsoft rumour to be leaked within the past week is one that concerns the company’s plans for its next generation Xbox (largely nicknamed the Xbox 720).
 
The information comes from a 56 page document that was leaked on document sharing site Scribd, but which has since been removed.
 
According to the International Business Times though, the 56 page document indicated that Microsoft’s next console would boast a Blu-ray drive, while supporting five different power states. Additionally, video acceleration will feature, while the new console would offer native 3D support.   
 
The new console is also slated as being accompanied by the second generation of its motion control technology, Kinect. According to PCMag, this would bring with it improvements to the device’s voice recognition and RGB camera while providing for a "closer, wider, deeper 3D play space,” along with four player tracking.
 
Coming 2013
 
Adding legitimacy to the document is the level of detail provided. For example, the Xbox 720’s proposed marketing tagline was revealed as being "All Your Entertainment. One Box," while the price suggested was at $299 (R2400), which would include the Kinect accessory.
 
And, in line with Microsoft’s assertion earlier this year that the next generation Xbox would not be announced at this year’s Electronics Entertainment Expo (it wasn’t), the document hinted at a 2013 release date.
 
Only teased in the document is a slide that hints at “The Road to Fortaleza.” This appears to refer to Microsoft’s plans to rival Google’s Project Glass with augmented reality glasses of its own, that within the next three years, may serve as wearable hubs for content stored on one’s Xbox.
 
According to the slide revealed within the document, the company was aiming to “serve up an Xbox experience from the cloud and on any screen.”
 
To the point
 
The leak follows Microsoft’s announcement of Xbox SmartGlass at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, which aims to bridge the gap between one’s TV and tablets, by using the Xbox as an intermediary.

It also follows expectations of Microsoft announcing a Windows 8 tablet, or at least tablet orientated services, of its own this week, either to rival the iPad or Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

In other words, it appears as though Microsoft is gearing up for a fight of note with its rivals, and one that might just prove almost as interesting, if not as brutal, as any found on its exclusive game franchises.    

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