Xbox 720 May Have Windows 8 Style User Interface
The Xbox 720 may be using an interface similar to Windows 8.
A rumor has been flying about that Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 720 may have a “Windows 8-inspired” user interface, said Luke Karmali of IGN on February 7. According to the Examiner, Karmali states in an interview with former Windows VP Joachim Kempin:
“The user interface of the Xbox 720 may be very similar to Windows 8. [I] strongly [believe] the next generation Xbox will sport an interface reminiscent of Windows 8, possibly to the extent that a touch screen will also make an appearance.”
According to IGN, Joachim Kempin said:
“I think the other thing they will try, there’s no doubt about it, is it’s going to be more Windows 8-like; maybe it even gets a touchscreen, who knows? Most of what’s in there today really is Windows, right? I wouldn’t be surprised if the next round of interface comes even closer to Windows 8 than it is today.”
Joachim Kempin feels the move is necessary. In order to convince people to buy the next generation console, he asserts that Microsoft needs noticeably change with the times. Unfortunately, he also feels the focus on the console part of the business is endangering Microsoft’s PC market.
Kempin elaborated in detail:
“So when you look at that…God…it is such a small portion for their company. It would really be better if they would just spin that whole thing out and let other people run it on their own and not get distracted by it. For me that whole environment is a distraction for the company. They need to find out how to get this whole PC environment into the 21st century and to have an interesting, modern interface like they have on Windows 8 isn’t enough. It just isn’t You have to make these devices work together. You can breathe some oxygen into that very stressed PC environment by doing it right, but nobody does, or at least not Microsoft so far. It’s frustrating. Think about it; they spend 10 billion bucks a year on research and development but what do you really get for it? A new version of Windows and Office? Hallelujah! And maybe once every three years there is a new version of Xbox. And Halo, you know, is normally a year and a half or something like that and is that good enough? I don’t know…”
The future of consoles is extremely hard to predict, as Atari has learned with its Lynx and Jaguar consoles, so there is no telling where Microsoft is heading from here.
Are you excited about the Xbox 720 using a user interface similar to Windows 8?
I was saying it would have this when MS updated their TOS for W8 RT: @ign Xbox 720 to have a Windows 8-inspired UI? go.ign.com/YWzuti
— Wayne Winkler (@wwinklerjr) February 7, 2013
