The user interface of the Xbox 720 may be very similar to Windows 8, according to a former Microsoft executive.
In an interview with IGN due to be published on Friday, ex-VP of Windows Sales Joachim Kempin revealed he strongly believes the next generation Xbox will sport an interface reminiscent of Windows 8, possibly to the extent that a touch screen will also make an appearance.
He revealed, "I think the other thing they will try, there’s no doubt about it, is it’s going to be more Windows 8-like; maybe it even gets a touchscreen, who knows?
"Most of what’s in there today really is Windows, right? I wouldn’t be surprised if the next round of interface comes even closer to Windows 8 than it is today."
It's a move Kempin feels is necessary; in order to convince people to buy the next generation console, he asserts that Microsoft needs to show an evolution in its design processes. Unfortunately, he also feels it's clear that the preoccupation with the barely profitable console part of the business is endangering Microsoft's other endeavours, particularly the PC.
"On the [Xbox hardware] itself there is no profit," he explained. "So the profit comes from all the other sources; royalties from game developers, maybe the next Halo version, maybe a new Kinect system and what have you.
"So when you look at that…God…it is such a small portion for their company. It would really be better if they would just spin that whole thing out and let other people run it on their own and not get distracted by it. For me that whole environment is a distraction for the company.
"They need to find out how to get this whole PC environment into the 21st century and to have an interesting, modern interface like they have on Windows 8 isn’t enough. It just isn’t. You have to make these devices work together.
"You can breathe some oxygen into that very stressed PC environment by doing it right, but nobody does, or at least not Microsoft so far. It’s frustrating. Think about it; they spend 10 billion bucks a year on research and development but what do you really get for it? A new version of Windows and Office? Hallelujah! And maybe once every three years there is a new version of Xbox. And Halo, you know, is normally a year and a half or something like that and is that good enough? I don’t know..."
