Despite the disappointment inherent in Microsoft’s keynote speech at CES due to no mention of the next version of the Xbox 360 (informally dubbed the Xbox 720), apparently the next version is still not too far away.

 

According to technology site Fudzilla, the production of the System on a Chip (SoC) that will be utilised by the Xbox 720 has apparently already begun as of late last month.

 

The site elaborates that, according to its sources, the chip’s code name is Oban, and it is being produced by IBM and Global Foundries for Microsoft.

 

Fudzilla adds that the initial production would likely find their way to developers first, and cites that the appearance of an Xbox 720 for retail availability in 2012 was “unrealistic.” The good news though, is that full scale production was expected to be under way by the end of this year, thus making a 2013 launch seem that much more likely.

 

If IGN is right, then the next Xbox will be well worth waiting for, as the games sites reported that the Xbox 720 (or whatever it ends up being called) will be six times more powerful than the current generation.  

 

A 2013 launch would also see it following up Nintendo’s new Wii U, which has claimed to be returning to its hard-core gamer roots, and thus could possibly offer stiffer competition to a segment that Xbox 360 has traditionally catered for.