There has been a lot of confusion lately regarding the current state of the Xbox 360. Just a few weeks ago at E3, Microsoft announced that the console would have a life span stretching to 2015. Just the other day though, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that there were plans in motion to introduce a new Xbox 360 in 2010. Apparently, it has been one giant mix up.
As reported on IGN, Steve Ballmer has made a statement regarding his recent comments.
“I confused the issue with my poorly chosen words. There is no news in my comments. Things are as reported after E3. Sorry.”
With this being said, we can expect our current Xbox’s to last us another 5 years. This then brings up the question on what Ballmer was talking about in the first place. Most likely he was referring to a Xbox bundle which includes the new Natal technology.
Source: IGN
I’m not sure the 360 has another five years in it – PC capabilities are already far beyond that of the current generation of consoles, and they will only continue to advance.
What if Sony releases another console before then, with vastly superior capabilities?
Only time will tell.
I think modern consoles have a lot more longevity, though, perhaps because of the ease of hardware updates and the sheer variety of functions current systems have. I reckon maybe late 2010 to 2011 we’ll start seeing morsels of new-console information creeping through.