Next-gen Xbox finally confirmed by Microsoft

After years of build up, a Microsoft representative finally spilled the beans on Microsoft's upcoming new gaming console. Speaking toThe Vergeon a recent podcast, Microsoft general manager Brian Hallmentioned"the new Xbox" when discussing Microsoft Outlook.

“We’ve had Hotmail and operated Hotmail for about 16 years, we obviously have Exchange, and Outlook, that people use at work," he said. "We just decided it was time to do something new and bring the best from each of those and put them together and release it right in time for the new wave of products that we could have coming out with Windows 8, with the new version of Office with the new Windows phone and the new Xbox.”

No further details were discussed, however we felt compelled to write a news post about this simply because we're so exasperated by all the secrecy. Frankly, we're assuming most people who read this will be more surprised that Microsoft hadn't announced it yet. The industry at-large has long since moved past the days of wondering whether Microsoft would release a follow-up to the Xbox 360.

Just a few months ago, a huge document released which purportedly leaked Microsoft's plans for a next generation Xbox console and Kinect camera, which Microsoft reportedly tried to get some websites to take down.

Analysts have said that we can expect the lid to be pulled off the Xbox One sometime in 2012. We're just not quite sure when that will be. Most analysts we've heard from now agree that the console itself will launch in 2013.