Don’t you just love the rumor roundabout? We live in such an age where technology plays such a huge role in our everyday lives that the public is literally chomping at the bit to snap up the latest gadget or piece of kit, if not only in the hope that it can make our lives a bit easier, but to hold our heads high knowing we have the latest tech. The technology industry has been focusing on Cupertino based Apple in the last few weeks with iPad, iPhone and iTV murmurings floating about, but today is Microsoft’s turn to get some of the rumor action.
The video game industry is huge, no one can deny that. A vast proportion of gamers like to enjoy their experience on a dedicated console, with most either opting for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Sony’s PlayStation 3 – some of the greedier individuals actually go for both. No one can deny that the Xbox 360 has been a huge success, with an estimated 57 million units sold worldwide. The same can be said about the PlayStation 3 with approximately 56 million units sold across the globe. But what about the next generation of consoles? Considering the Xbox has been in retail production since the end of 2005 and the PlayStation 3 a year later, surely the time has come from Microsoft and Sony to be thinking about introducing a new, enhanced console to the market?
If rumors are to be believed then we will ultimately have the option of the new Xbox 720 console. Does that mean it is going to be two times better than its younger brother? The United States Patent and Trademark office might be the place to gain a small amount of insight into that. They have recently approved an application which was filed in 2007 which relates to a patent application for recording media on gaming consoles. The application, filed on January 5th 2007 is assigned to Microsoft Corporation and was eventually accepted by the office on December 27th last year. The information relating to the patent says:
An integrated gaming and media experience is disclosed, including recording of content on a gaming console. A digital video recorder (DVR) application running alongside a television client component allows users to record media content on the gaming console. The DVR application also integrates itself with the console menu. Once integrated, users can record media content while playing games. Alternatively, users can record content when the gaming console is turned off. The recorded content can include television programming, gaming experience (whether local or online), music, DVDs, and so on. When in the recording state, users can also switch between various other media modes, whether gaming, television, and so on.
With the release of a new device we could see a combination of gaming, television and movie all fused into one console. Recent updates to the Xbox 360 Dashboard have introduced various third party applications by content providers which allow premium LIVE subscribers to view TV and movies through their console but the possibility exists that these same providers may not be to happy about users having the ability to record directly on the device.
(via RegHardware)
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