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1UP reported on Monday that Microsoft plans to release a new Xbox console as early as next year, featuring beefed-up Xbox 360 hardware and built-in Project Natal technology. From the 1UP report:

Microsoft will not only release Natal as an add-on for the Xbox 360, it will come standard with the next Xbox console.

Yes, there will be a new Xbox console next fall.

However, the new console won't just be an Xbox 360 with a camera, though -- we've heard it will be considered a new platform and carry a new name (Xbox Natal?). It's not clear what sort of upgrades we might see, but some have suggested it will be an slight upgrade of the current Xbox 360 technology.

1UP speculates on the idea that Microsoft could try a similar move such as the one done by Nintendo, which basically built the Wii around the GameCube hardware, with the motion-sensing "Wiimote" being the real addition:

Current Xbox 360 games would be playable on it, but future games would be able to take advantage of the added muscle. Similar to what we see in the PC space, games played on the more advanced Xbox would look or perform better, but publishers will still be able to support owners of both systems. Some developers have complained that they've already maxed out the Xbox 360; perhaps this will give them room to expand.

Make no mistake, we wouldn't be talking about the sort of hardware leap we've seen with Xbox (or most other) platforms in the past, and we're not talking about Microsoft ending one console cycle and starting another. We're talking about an evolution of the Xbox 360; similar hardware but upgraded, repackaged, and rebranded.

Over recent years, we have received information on Microsoft's future plans for the Xbox platform, and that's why, among other topics, we extensively covered 3DV Systems' Z-Cam. Avid TeamXbox.com readers know we were the first publication to report that Microsoft signed IBM to create the CPU for the Xbox 360 (at a time when no one would believe Microsoft and IBM would work together or that the Xbox platform would use a non-x86 CPU) and that Microsoft was doing research on video-based motion sensing.

Today, I can tell you that I have obtained the first details on the next Xbox (info that we'll reveal in the coming weeks) and that's why we can confirm that the rumor reported by 1UP is false. Microsoft is NOT launching a new, upgraded Xbox 360 disguised as a new Xbox in 2010 (although built-in Natal technology is a possibility for a new edition of the Xbox 360, similar to the Elite or Arcade flavors).

It's not our intention to tease you, but for now the only thing I'm going to say about everything I heard regarding the next Xbox is that it won't launch until a certain type of television becomes more widespread because... (be sure to check out our Twitter account to learn more)

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