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Microsoft Job Posting Muddies New Xbox Waters
Update: A marketing position has surfaced on Microsoft's career page, featuring details that some believe point to the release of a new Xbox console within the next 18 months.
The posting features the following line:
"Over the next eighteen months Microsoft will release new versions of all of our most significant products including Windows (Client, Server, Phone and Azure), Office and Xbox, along with completely new offerings like Microsoft Surface."
Some people believe that timeline confirms that new Xbox hardware is arriving early 2014 at the latest. However, the timeline also supports the company's earlier stance, which is that any previous mentions about a new Xbox were in reference to the upcoming Xbox 360 fall update. That release window does fall in line with the 18-month timeline, after all.
While it's fun to speculate about when new Xbox hardware will be coming, this shouldn't be taken as evidence one way or the other. It's difficult to believe that a high-level Microsoft spokesman (see below) would accidentally reveal previously unannounced hardware in an otherwise unremarkable podcast segment about Hotmail's new branding.
New hardware is coming, just don't assume that this is any kind of smoking gun.
Original story: A day after Windows Live general manager Brian Hall's comment about a new Xbox made the Internet rounds, Microsoft said today it was taken out of context. The company says Hall was referring to the upcoming dashboard update due out later this year, not a whole new console.
In a statement sent to Game Informer, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "The comments to The Verge were not understood in their intended context."
"When Brian mentioned a ‘new wave of products,’ he was referring to the full lineup of products coming later this year from Microsoft, including Windows 8, Office, Windows Phone and of course our fall Xbox update which will bring a host of new consumer experiences like Xbox Music, Videos, Games on Windows 8 and Xbox SmartGlass."
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