Update: Microsoft's lawyers (Covington & Burling LLP) have had the document in question taken down from the source, tacitly confirming the legitimacy of the leak.
Sometimes we have leaks with small tidbits and then on the rare occasion you get the motherload. That just happened minutes ago as what looks to be Microsoft's entire game plan for the Xbox 720 (yes, even they're calling it that) has just leaked online.
The document is called "Xbox 720 9-24 Checkpoint" and looks to be about two years old, but it is full of some glorious details about what Microsoft has (or had) planned for the living room. Everything from the 720's architecture to its base OS (Windows 8) is online to be viewed. Ex-Microsoftie Shane Nokes also notes it's "an old discussion deck" but not necessarily that it's legitimate (though the amount of details suggests that it is).
We're still going over the massive slideshow, but here are some highlights:
- XTV - Xbox TV will be launched "Holiday 2012" and will be what it sounds like. Full support won't be till the Xbox 720 though in 2013. It will work on the Xbox 360, Phone and PC.
- Fortaleza (Kinect 3D Glasses) in 2014 with WiFi for living room; by 2015, it will have a cell radio/4G for use everywhere
- By 2015 "Xbox experiences served up form the cloud. Instantly on any screen."
- Xbox 720 Media Hub - "Record TV in the background and serve up to any device in the household.Stream your personal videos, music, photos and more and play them back from any device. Start and play your favorite Xbox games from other devices like phones and PCs with RemoteFX technology...Take your entertainment everywhere. Start on one screen but instantly pause and play it again from any other device makes it best way to enjoy your TV, movies and music when you’re on the go."
- Kinect v2 Sensor (2013) - Better 3D Play Space (closer, wider, deeper); Improved Voice Rec.; 4 Player tracking; Dedicated Processing; Improved HD
Some now are speculating that Monday won't be a Microsoft Tablet but an "XTV" announcement. That makes sense as Los Angeles is the entertainment home. Regardless, if Microsoft doesn't announce it Monday, you can bet that it's coming soon (if it's to be ready for the holiday season).
We're sure there are more nuggets in there, and we'll update as we go through it. We can imagine there are some nervous folks at Microsoft right now but honestly this is some fantastic stuff.
Source: Scribd (download removed at the request of Covington & Burling LLP); via Michael Gillett (Twitter); More slides after the break...
