Video game industry analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan says the upcoming Xbox 8 will likely sell at a huge discount since it will come with a two-year contract.
The biggest feature of the new console will be its ability to be "all-encompassing" for media entertainment needs.
Says Pachter (via CVG): "Console will have to be multiple purpose devices. The Xbox 720, this is my prediction, is going to be your television as well [as your game console]. You'll be able to tune into television through it.
You wont need a 'smart TV' when you've got an Xbox 720, it will be your television and your internet. It's going to be open architecture and I think it's real trick will be that one Xbox will be able to display television to as many screens as you have in your possession."
If true, Pachter believes the console will be completely integrated into Windows and Windows Phone, making for a wonderful ecosystem:
"The next Xbox will be Windows for sure, and you'll be able to open up multiple TV channels in different windows and you'll use SmartGlass to shoot off different channels to how ever many screens you want. That is happening, that I'm certain of.
"I'm pretty confident that in the US Microsoft is going to partner with a cable TV provider, so I expect that the console will be priced like a smart phone. Xbox 8 cost, Xbox 8 price, I expect you'll be paying $99 for the console with a cable TV subscription."
Source : Afterdawn
