Sometimes working in this industry is like watching a Tennis match. You’ll see stories go back and forth for months with no solid resolution. Hopefully one such example of this back and forth has finally reached an end today. For anyone still hoping, praying, or just blindly stating that the next Xbox will see a 2012 release – Stop it. Today a spokesman from Microsoft France has laid the claim that 2012 won’t see anything new for the Xbox:
[quote]”We’re in an industry that talks a lot, that likes telling stories,” Delmas told French site Lepoint.fr. “I am not convinced that things will happen this year. The Xbox 360’s cycle is not over at all. The proof is that we haven’t price cut this year. Afterward, what will happen at E3, it’s still too early to say. What’s certain is that there will be nothing new in 2012.” – Cedric Delmas, French Marketing Director for Microsoft [/quote]
We’re barely into 2012 and we’ve already seen dozens of rumors about the next generation Xbox, some speculation is good but this has gotten a little out of hand. Given that the Wii U is confirmed for a release this year it seems like people are execting Microsoft to pull a major stunt at E3 in an effort to steal Nintendo’s thunder. That’s also not happening:
[quote]”If we wanted to counter Nintendo, we would have to be in a position to release something immediately, and that is not at all the case,” Delmas said. “We’re not here to counter Nintendo and they’re not here to fight the other manufacturers. Nintendo has put itself in a different cycle. It’s going forward to its own rhythm, with success as we have seen with the Wii, and now it’s their turn to present their innovation.” [/quote]
So there you have it, confirmation that 2012 will just be another year in the life-cycle of the Xbox 360. Frankly I’m glad, I’m not ready to fork out major money for a new piece of hardware when my 360 has just gotten a whole host of new features. Remember all those TV channels? Yeah, they’re still brand new.
360 users, this is the year to kick back and enjoy the twilight years of this generation. Watch how it culminates and most importantly, reap the rewards of 7 years of experience. So remember, stop talking about the ‘720’ and start enjoying your 360!
