Xbox 720 Blu-ray drive and constant web connection rumoured

The next Xbox will have a Blu-ray drive, and will be on sale in time for Christmas next year, VG247 reports.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, the site reckons Microsoft's upcoming console will use the high-definition disc format that currently works with the PlayStation 3, and will also require a permanent Internet connection.

In terms of hardware, the so-called Xbox 720 will sport two graphics processors, with one source reportedly stating the next-gen console will be "like two PCs taped together". Which sounds, er, great. Those two graphics chips are thought to work independently of each other to draw different objects at the same time.

You didn't need a rumour to tell you that the next Xbox will be able to chuck polygons around at a violent rate, though. A more intriguing tidbit is that the next generation of Kinect will reportedly be built directly into the console, which I guess would mean the console would need to have a decent view of your living room.

Constant connection?

Supposedly codenamed 'Durango', Microsoft's follow-up to the Xbox 360 is also rumoured to require an 'always-on' Internet connection, which is a controversial feature already present in some PC games and set to appear in upcoming titles like Diablo 3.

Forcing players to maintain an Internet connection helps fight piracy, but with the consequence that those with a non-existent or sketchy connection can have their game ruined.

The PlayStation 4, meanwhile, is rumoured to be packing some similar anti-piracy tech that would require discs you buy to be authenticated using Sony's online system before you could play. Games these days sure are fun!

Microsoft's previously said we won't see the next Xbox shown off at E3 this year, and it's not likely to go on sale this year either. That could leave Nintendo's Wii U with a free run at your Christmas cash this year.

Which upcoming console will you be buying? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook wall.