Xbox fans are all looking forward to the announcement by Microsoft on its video game console at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2016. In connection to this, EA's Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President, Blake J. Jorgensen mentioned the current consoles during it earnings call, since they are both part of the ecosystem.
Jorgensen does not have any direct knowledge of whether the Redmond-based tech giant will be launching a completely new Xbox system or a refreshed one. It has always been a tough one when a new system or platform comes around. Game developers need to start from the ground up when new hardware is introduced. It means that a higher cost for research and development must be allocated as well, Extreme Tech reported.
However, Jorgensen gave the community a hint. He said, "In terms of any mid-cycle upgrades, once again I can't predict. But what I can tell you is that what was heard I think publicly from the console makers is they're realizing that the compatibility issue across consoles is an important consumer issue. And as Microsoft has shown, they've tried to do with some backward compatibility on to older titles and new titles.
"I think that's going to be an important part of what a mid-cycle might look like if there is one, which removes a lot of the risk associated with what we've seen historically with console cycles. We don't spend a lot of time worrying about it, because we feel like our ability to develop for whatever new technology comes, the risk of that's been minimized because we've moved towards one single engine, Frostbite," he added.
The report mentioned that their interpretation of what EA's CFO said is that the gaming software giant is not expecting a completely new version from Microsoft and it must be just a revised one since it will just be a slim version after all.
Additionally, rumors about an Xbox One slim version was started about a month ago when a NeoGaf user name ekim posted his or her findings. An image of a new wireless module made its way online, which is very similar to the one currently installed on the Xbox One. The new hardware is being referenced as the existing game console's manual for further reading, which means that there is no new manual. No new manual also means no new Xbox console.
This year's E3 event will take place in Los Angeles on June 14 to 16.
