cvg

If you would have asked us a few months ago what we wanted to see in the Xbox 720 we would have thrown features at your face like integrated WiFi and a quieter beast altogether. With the release of the Xbox 360S, though, some of our qualms were catered for.

"But what's left?" we hear you cry. This is what's left. Sit down.

FEELIN' BLU
While perusing the idea of the PS4, we argued the case for digitally downloaded content in the content so that developers could break free from the boundaries of the disc.

The disc problem is one that hits Xbox devs particularly hard, with bigger games like Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey and Castlevania having to be crammed on to multiple discs.

We could go down the digital route again, but in the interests of variety and not walking before we can run, let's just say the 720 needs to welcome the Blu-Ray. It's the dominant disc of the future now, Microsoft needs to accept it and move on.

SILVER SADNESS
Basically if you don't have a Gold Live membership you don't have Live. Gamers want access to the internet for multiplayer. That's its primary appeal so, to us, stopping at Silver always seemed a bit silly.

Sure, having access to the Marketplace is important and having demos freely available for download is always a plus, but here at CVG we feel that every gamer should be given the chance to go out and kill his fellow man (virtually, of course).

While we don't think making Xbox Live free is the way to go (that could mean the loss of some of its finer features) we do think Silver members need to be given a bit more for their buck, or lack thereof.

Why not give them some limited multiplayer time at the weekend for example? Three hours maybe? Or three kills. No OK, that's not enough.

3D ME
It only took Sony to roll out full 3D on the PlayStation 3 for Microsoft to tell the world that the Xbox 360 was capable of 3D gaming as well (so there!).

Back in January Greenberg made reference to the '3D' XBLA game Scrap Metal, which uses old 3D glasses tech rather than the new breed used in films such as Avatar and Sony's 3D output.

It's safe to say then that the Microsoft commitment to 3D gaming hasn't really begun yet. We think it's the future though and, with Sony and Nintendo both embracing 3D technology, albeit in different ways, we think Microsoft are going to have to go full-on 3D with the 720 and put out the content to back it.

POINTLESS
We've never understood the whole points thing. Spend money on points that you then spend on products you could have just spent money on in the first place.

Actually, we do get it. It's so Microsoft can tie up more of our money in lumps so that we have to commit more to its products at a time. Well no more!

Let's get rid of the middle-man, the conversions and the frankly inconvenient system of Microsoft points so that we can all get on with our lives.

P-P-P-POWER
As always the main thing that's going to determine the success of next-generation consoles is going to be the kind of content they can pump out.

We want more power, bigger vistas, better looking games and more realistic physics. That means the 720 is going to need a faster processor, a top-end graphics card and bigger hard drives to keep all of the lush new content in.

We said last week that our PC brethren have been out-doing us console cronies for years now, and while we fully expect them to have moved on by the time we get our shiny new gear, but we need another technological leap so that we don't feel too left out.