Microsoft has made no secret of the fact that they are already hard at work on the Xbox 720, or whatever they plan to call the successor to the Xbox 360. A filing to the U.S. Patent Office may reveal what Microsoft has planned for its next gaming platform and it describes a multi-component gaming system that incorporates both handheld devices and console devices by wired and wireless connections.
The patent’s abstract describes the system as a process "to take advantage of another gaming component's processing capabilities and memory capacity, each gaming component is capable of utilizing another gaming component to process gaming applications."
Hardware permitting, each gaming component would be capable of rendering audio and video information provided by another gaming component. Also, any single gaming component is capable of utilizing another gaming component as an adjunct processor to increase system speed. System memory may also be shared among the devices.
In english, if I'm on my Xbox handheld I could use the processing power of my Xbox 720 or PC to make video content, games, or other applications run faster through my handheld. Sounds intriguing.
The fear from early commenters around the net has been that this would cause console developers to have to program to the lowest common denominator as they do currently with PC's. However, if Microsoft does go this route, I would think it more likely that all console software would be made only assuming the power and system specs of the console it is designed for and that anything outside those parameters would be clearly designated as such. In other words, my version of Mass Effect 720 isn't going to look any better than yours just because I have the processor of a more powerful PC to leverage than you.
Of course this whole thing could just be smoke and mirrors intended to throw off the competition and get them chasing shadows or just an opportunity to sew up a possibly lucrative future idea.
Who knows? We'll keep our collective ear to the ground on this one.
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