Xbox 720 Will Cost $99 (80) and Comes with a Cable TV Subscription, Analyst says

Well-known analyst Michael Pachter has predicted a rather interesting fact about the upcoming Xbox 720 next generation console, saying that the device might be sold for a small sum of money, like $99 (around €80), alongside a subscription to a cable TV operator, just like how phones are sold by carriers.

Next-generation consoles are expected to appear, or at least be announced, next year. Until then, quite a lot of people have begun speculating on the new devices, with rumors covering things like their release dates, prices, or performances.

Now, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has shared his predictions about Microsoft’s next Xbox console, the oft-rumored Xbox 720.

According to him, the console will be sold regularly but also through a special subscription plan in collaboration with cable TV operators, at least in the U.S.

"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," Pachter said during his panel at the Develop conference, via IncGamers.

"You won’t 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.”

According to Pachter, the console will run on a Windows operating system and has full support for recently announced technologies like SmartGlass.

"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. I expect you'll be paying $99 for the console with a cable TV subscription."

As of yet, however, Microsoft has declined to talk about the next Xbox, saying that it’s currently focused on the Xbox 360, which is now being sold in the U.S. for just $99, provided you get it with a 2-year subscription to Xbox Live Gold.

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