Report: Next Xbox coming before Thanksgiving 2013

The next Xbox will be out in time for Thanksgiving sales in 2013, according to sources familiar with the launch timeline.

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Assuming we don't all die in fire due to Mayan prophecy, the next Thanksgiving will fall on November 28, 2013. If a new report is to be believed, that means we're less than a year from the launch of Microsoft's next console, which is said to be aiming for the holiday season.

Bloomberg cites familiar parties who declined to be identified. They claim that the next Xbox will be out in time for Thanksgiving sales, but that the company has not yet decided if it will debut the machine at E3 or at its own dedicated event.

We've heard scattered tidbits about the next Xbox, code-named "Durango," including a recent domain that would seem to tie the console to Windows 8. Analysts have been predicting a 2013 launch for the next console, so this news doesn't come as unexpected, but it is one more indication that the next generation is (finally) on its way soon.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 30, 2012 8:15 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Report: Next Xbox coming before Thanksgiving 2013.

    The next Xbox will be out in time for Thanksgiving sales in 2013, according to sources familiar with the launch timeline.

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      November 30, 2012 8:35 AM

      I think people are gonna be shocked with the next gen systems when they realize they likely won't bring massive graphic improvements. Wii U is getting a lot of hate lately as its specs are revealed, but I don't think we are going to see a huge leap in processing power with the next wave of systems. I dont see it being anything like the jump from non HD - HD gaming in terms of graphics. I expected enough power to allow console games to have higher detail and textures - which has been showing its age on current systems - either from lack there of or bad performance. But thats about it. Features and functionality will be the battle for the next systems. Not power. Calling it now.

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        November 30, 2012 8:40 AM

        Lol we'll see about that.

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        November 30, 2012 8:49 AM

        I kind of think the exact opposite. I have a feeling we will be blown away (or especially people without high end PC's will be blown away). I think MS knows that the 360 stayed relevant possibly even longer then they originally planned on and they probably know their next box will probably be around even longer. If they are smart they want this thing to last for possibly 10 years. They should put as much horsepower in there as possible. If you look at the demos Epic and Square Enix put out... these are developers who probably have an idea what the next generation will be able to do. Those demos show the kind of scenes they are targeting for next gen.... and if the next systems can do what those demos showed in real time. People will be absolutely blown away.

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        November 30, 2012 8:55 AM

        Hopefully, the next-gen focus will be A.I, better physics..etc

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          November 30, 2012 9:09 AM

          Yes, I think graphics can always get better, but after a while just more polygons and cleaner textures don't make as much of a difference. But when they start doing particle effects with hardware physics, better AI and post processing effects... that will make a big difference. I hope that is the focus as well.

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          November 30, 2012 9:13 AM

          Which will be impossible without vastly improved hardware.

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        November 30, 2012 9:14 AM

        It is not hard to do a more powerful but still-affordable console than the Wii U.

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        November 30, 2012 9:17 AM

        Why do you think they wouldn't? I keep hearing all this doom and gloom but history has shown that Microsoft and Sony tend to take graphical leaps and bounds with their next Gen systems. If we get 1080p 60fps with AA that will be a huge improvement. It's a southern islands based GPU (HD7000) so I'm not worried about it landing with a plop. We have no ideal what sorts of improvements they've done to the architecture but console GPU's tend to be more powerful than their direct PC counterparts.

        You have seen the next gen Unreal demos? That is not running on something barely faster than the WiiU.

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          November 30, 2012 9:22 AM

          Those same next gen Unreal demos are also running something on way faster than what is in the next xbox and PS4.

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          November 30, 2012 10:22 AM

          I would rather game devs stayed away from 1080p and concentrated on getting better graphical quality at 720/1080i resolutions. I realize 1080p is going to be a heavily promoted feature on the consoles anyway, but devs will get a lot better performance if they don't double the pixel count.

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          November 30, 2012 10:39 AM

          [deleted]

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            November 30, 2012 3:57 PM

            I predict developers will use a resolution between 1080 and 720 so it's higher than the current games this gen but not as slow as running true 1080p. A lot of games this gen don't even run 720p. Also most games will run at 30 fps instead of 60.

            However, both MS and Sony will make a lot of noise about 1080p at 60 fps with AA .

            The problem with 60 fps is it's so easy to put more stuff to the game that makes it look better or play better and bloat it to the point where it can't run at 60. Then it's like well, we could take out and cut all this hardwork that looks and plays awesome so it runs at 60 fps, but you can't see 60 fps in a screenshot, OR we can just run at 30 fps and give the designers and artists more room to do what they want.

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            November 30, 2012 8:07 PM

            the only way to game... Id adjust to 60hz if I have to...

            but with 144hz that shit is ghetto as fuck to go back to 30fps console non-sense.

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          November 30, 2012 5:55 PM

          Only some will fall on te sword for 60, just like always. 30, if you lock on it, is fine for most games.

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            November 30, 2012 8:08 PM

            I disagree completely. Its total shit. It really is, once you game at 120hz, you cant go back...

            It just makes me sick to look at now. such a copout to get better graphics without having the power to back it up.

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        November 30, 2012 9:48 AM

        I don't see that as long as Moore's law is around and the vigorous competition between MS and Sony.

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        November 30, 2012 10:06 AM

        As someone with quite a bit of console and high end dev exp, I fear for the future, if we increase the detail level by a massive leap, the amount of people required to develop a AAA will be ridiculous. Currently some of the biggest games in terms of gfx and sales requires hundreds of people to work on it in a 2-3 year span or 100 in a 4-5 span, I think the future holds a lot more middleware and outsourcing.

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          November 30, 2012 10:33 AM

          Definitely scary. The increases from the last generation in terms of how much resources were needed to ship a game were bad enough. It's going to further the process of adding more overhead and people to projects. It'll also further the consolidation of studios as smaller ones go under or merge with larger studios.

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            November 30, 2012 11:16 AM

            What Im seeing is development timelines that are too short, not allowing for a team to prepro and gel properly because the publishers wants the game NOW. So they hire a megateam, lots of contractors, no benefits then lay them all off to wither and die when the games comes out. And most of the time, the game doesnt turn a profit so the studio is in BIG trouble.

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          November 30, 2012 5:57 PM

          High end games are going to be more and more like movies. Cost a ton, market a ton, better make a ton. It's a cycle.

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          November 30, 2012 9:48 PM

          I don't think it will increase too much for the next gen or two. Developers are already creating ultra high resolution meshes and then using those for the creation of normal maps over a low resolution mesh. There is nothing stopping them from just taking those ultra high res meshes and using them in-game (other than the fact that current gpu's just can't handle it). Also most of the newest graphics improvements are coming from more advanced screen space effects, and things like sub surface scattering, not an increase in the amount of detail.

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            December 1, 2012 7:33 AM

            Polycount and texel density are at the bottom of the list of things that eat development/artist time.

            It is detail of animation, scene complexity/lightning/interactivity, scripting, environment size and the overall "dynamicness" of the production. If the tools/hardware/workflow isnt optimal, its the iteration cycle/testing delay. Then once you get a lot of people working on the same project you really need to focus on development and maintainenance of a solid asset and production pipeline/tools and avoid pipeline stalls between departments. As there become more departments, there become inter-departmental issues.

            I think that next-gen engines and platforms will have a distinct focus on better workflow for game development. This will hopefully translate into better and more games.

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        November 30, 2012 10:40 AM

        power allows for features and functionality. when we talk specs, it's just about graphics - things like connectivity, innovative multiplayer, AI, animations, those all require power to work optimally and creatively.

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        November 30, 2012 10:41 AM

        Even if that's the case, it's fine by me. Tired of slow menus.

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        November 30, 2012 11:41 AM

        I just hope they have sense enough to give it a decent amount of memory if they're planning another long cycle.

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        November 30, 2012 3:48 PM

        I think the graphical leap will even impress the PC gamer crowd. Which will be good, because it means it'll be a reality on their platform also. Considering they always complain that this generation held back the graphics of PC, they should really want it to blow them away.

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        November 30, 2012 5:52 PM

        It's all in the ram. Think of what 360 games would look like with 1GB.

        Assuming the bus could handle it.

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      November 30, 2012 8:39 AM

      That sounds about right I think.

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      November 30, 2012 8:40 AM

      [deleted]

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        November 30, 2012 8:48 AM

        Why an 8?

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        November 30, 2012 8:50 AM

        my friend and i were talking about this and we settled on "Xbox ∞" because it's an 8 sideways and it's just stupid enough that some morons at a marketing agency got paid tens of thousands of dollars to come up with it.

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        November 30, 2012 10:14 AM

        SurfBox

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        November 30, 2012 3:29 PM

        NetflixBox

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      November 30, 2012 8:46 AM

      Sources for this report include, Bob from down the street, and Larry who worked at gamestop last christmas.

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        November 30, 2012 9:09 AM

        I heard Larry is at the Home Depot now... so... don't go try to get an interview or something.

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      November 30, 2012 9:28 AM

      The problem with the next gen hardware is that even though it will be 5x more powerful (or whatever, I just pulled that out of the air), diminishing returns in graphical improvements are going to kick in. For incremental graphical improvements, hardware requirements go up much more substantially.

      The next gen consoles won't have the same wow factor over what is available now as the 360 and PS3 did when they first came out.

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      November 30, 2012 9:28 AM

      Okay I have to ask why is everyone in the gaming media always commenting on how long this particular generation has gone on? Are you guys all really ready to shell out 400-500 dollars for new systems? I mean I just don't get why people are so inpatient for new systems, what exactly is so wrong with the ones we have now? Yeah new stuff is fun and higher graphics and better AI, physics etc is exciting but the (finally) comment at the end of this article just seems to me a bit much. I for one am not excited to pony up nearly another grand for the next generation. I have a job before those come on saying "well get a job" but I also have a mortgage payment, student loans and general living expenses and I for one am quite happy with how my current PS3 and 360 are running. Maybe we should be asking game developers to work on smarter ways to utilize the current systems instead of waiting for new ones to come out. It doesn't feel to me that they've pushed what the in particular the PS3 can do. Just look at what GTA V appears to be able to do with current gen. Why can't other developers do that? Okay rant done, it just grates on my nerves when the gaming media wants to push new hardware out as fast as possible in a very tough economy and don't seem to understand the economic ramifications. Same goes for the push for everything to be digital. Not everyone lives in high speed internet areas.

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        November 30, 2012 10:00 AM

        At how many frames per second does GTA 5 run on consoles? If it's like GTA 4, it'll be so slow that driving around quickly won't be fun because it feels so damn choppy, and because the viewing distances are gimped.

        As for the upgrade costs: a few hundred $/€ is not 1 grand. :p And if you don't to upgrade, I'm sure the game developers will continue making games for the old systems for a few more years. When the PS3 came out, PS2 games were still big business.

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        November 30, 2012 10:00 AM

        [deleted]

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        November 30, 2012 10:15 AM

        [deleted]

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        November 30, 2012 10:41 AM

        I think it's the excitement of something new and promise of more power. Some gamers are expecting not just more graphical fidelity but that with more horsepower means being able to do more with gameplay. I for one am excited just like I'm loving my Wii U, I'm looking forward to eventually getting my hands on the other consoles.

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        November 30, 2012 10:45 AM

        no one is impatient - it's been seven (eight by launch) years. developers DO work in smarter ways to utilize current systems, but there comes a point where evolution has to happen.

        again, seven-eight years. original PS2 only lasted six. xbox1 lasted only four.

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          November 30, 2012 4:04 PM

          This is what I was thinking. The 360 has been out for quite a long time now. Even the PlayStation 1 had only been in the States for about 5-6 years before the PS2 came out. The next generation is far from being "in a hurry".

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        November 30, 2012 3:20 PM

        Yep, I am. Game developers always push the envelope and compete harder with new generations.

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        November 30, 2012 3:45 PM

        People are so impatient from not getting something new that they bought WiiUs. Think about it.

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          December 2, 2012 5:31 PM

          We call these people.../cough Stupid.

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        November 30, 2012 4:02 PM

        game developers have been coming up with smarter ways to use the harder for years. It's not magic, at a certain point you're struggling trying to wring a few extra drops of water from a dry cold compress instead of just soaking it again. It's not like GTA is leaps and bounds beyond everything else. Look at Halo 4 squeezing more out of the console than multiple previous games. It's impressive, but it still looks old compared to PC hardware that's years old itself.

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        November 30, 2012 4:10 PM

        I shelled out the money for my console six years ago. That's an eternity in technology time. Yes, I am willing to pay that again for a beefier console.

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        November 30, 2012 4:24 PM

        This generation is dragging on much longer than the previous. I'm not exactly rich, but with all the money ive blown on hookers, blow and £300 jeans in the past, i'm sure i can pony up the money for a new generation of consoles.

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        November 30, 2012 4:33 PM

        6 year old tech is REALLY showing it's age - I recently went from PS3 / 360 gaming (5 years of it) back to 1440p PC glory, and the difference is insane.

        Yes, we're ready, I can't go back.

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          November 30, 2012 4:53 PM

          Yeah, to put things in perspective, this was more-or-less a top-end phone when the Xbox 360 was released: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black-RAZRV3-closed.jpg

          We've come a long way since the 360 came out.

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            November 30, 2012 4:59 PM

            haha wow, you're right that is old.

            I really think that many people just don't realize how big of a difference there is between a current generation console and a high end PC. My brother was a huge BF3 360 fan and refused to switch to PC - was bugging me to get the 360 version for months.

            Then one night he comes over and I show him what BF3 is supposed to look like. No joke, he sells his 360 / all games within a week and builds himself a PC, and buys BF3.

            Not to mention technical limitations start affecting actual gameplay - the max player limit for BF3 on 360 / PS3 is what, like 32 or something?

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        November 30, 2012 6:16 PM

        Because in a world of 1080p Hi Def TVs its time to get some 60 fps1080p antialiased performance as a baseline. Its really as simple as that for me.

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          November 30, 2012 11:40 PM

          Unfortunately that is still unlikely to happen

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        November 30, 2012 8:11 PM

        what? economic ramifications? of people going out and buying awesome new shit?

        Dont get mad because you live in BFE and use dialup. We are trying to move FORWARD with our technology not stagnate and ride horses and shit to the market.

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        November 30, 2012 9:53 PM

        a lot of us (here on shack) are pc gamers, and since no one develops for pc anymore we need a new generation of consoles to come out to stress our pcs again. the main development platform has been the same for 'too long' so video game graphics have plateau'd

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        December 2, 2012 7:24 AM

        You single out the gaming media but we, the game consumers, are the ones clamoring for new consoles and inspiring that coverage. Plus, the media can only cover what MS and Sony do, and those guys clearly seem to think it's time too.

        As somebody who has a very nice gaming PC and all the current generation consoles, holy shit yes we need new console hardware. Sometimes it's easy to forget how damn old the current gen is in tech terms. Comparing my current gaming PC built in 2011 with the one I built in 2006 for the same budget is a RIDICULOUS difference.

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          December 2, 2012 10:49 AM

          Well clearly I am in the major minority regarding the new systems. I guess I'm just not all that excited to spend another 400-500 dollars on a new system when my current one's are doing just fine. But maybe it's just a sign that I'm getting older and my priorities have shifted a little. Granted once actual details about the new systems come out I might get excited again, but I think the idea of my rant was more about the gaming media constantly commenting about needing new systems instead of just being happy with what we have and being patient for Sony and Microsoft to release the next gen when they were ready. Not saying that Sony and Microsoft aren't doing exactly that, but for the last 2 years or so we've been hearing nonstop about where's the next gen, why are they taking so long with next gen? And all that, when I was perfectly happy to sit and wait and enjoy what was already out there. But like I said I'm in the minority regarding this. Let's just hope that this doesn't kill Sony since they are having financial issues anyway, it seems unlikely that they can sell a new system at a lose like they usually do which I think will increase the price depending on how much a leap forward the technology is compared to the PS3. Microsoft will be okay because of the sales of PC, but Sony doesn't have that luxury anymore so it makes me a bit nervous.

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        December 3, 2012 9:18 AM

        [deleted]

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      November 30, 2012 9:55 AM

      I'm honestly hoping their build quality is better than the launch X360. I might have to wait 6 month to see. I must say that so far, all my Nintendo systems still work to this day but my Gen 1 X360 and PS3 both took a shit within a year.

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        November 30, 2012 12:15 PM

        Yeah, I boycotted the 360 this whole generation for that reason (was never going to buy that at launch but given the consistent issues, even after hardware revisions, decided I wasn't going to do it at all). Hopefully the issues that plagued the 360 won't show up some other way next gen.

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      November 30, 2012 11:12 AM

      I'm not expecting much. I just want all games to be 1080p native @ 60FPS. I'm also expecting built in online community stuff like Miiverse (which is fantastic). 9th gen will be all about 4K or VR.

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      November 30, 2012 6:01 PM

      Think I'll let my 5 year old get excited about this news.

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        November 30, 2012 6:03 PM

        sick burn

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        November 30, 2012 6:10 PM

        Unfortunately MS new studio logo looks like they only make games for fifteen year old boys.

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        November 30, 2012 8:13 PM

        PC gamers benefit. Id say almost every new release is a console port. If theres new consoles, pcs get new awesome shit to. thats why im excited.

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      November 30, 2012 11:15 PM

      [deleted]

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      November 30, 2012 11:30 PM

      Im glad people here are not all saying yay new system to start with. I for one and not ready for a new one system just yet. Yes the new updated hardware will be nice to say but, the xbox and ps3 arnt just done yet the games that are coming out next year look amazing. I look at GTA5 and the Last of us and they arn't on any new system they are running on the ones we have now. Yes lets make everything faster and improve AI and such but, I don;t really know if I'm willing to spending the $300-$600 if that's what its going to cost me to get all the new hardware specs.

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      December 1, 2012 10:20 AM

      Woot, better looking PC games here I come!! (only good point)

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      December 2, 2012 6:17 PM

      yehh... just not so sure i wanna be dippin my bollocks in this.. though i am curious.

      someone release some PS4 tidbits or rumors or something already so i can start up my hate machine.

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      December 5, 2012 11:41 AM

      Really interesting to see how this one turns out. I have a Wii U, and prefer to be a single console gamer however if Wii U fails to get much in the way of ports from the Durango/Orbis then I'll likely switch platforms to Durango.

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