RUMOR: Stripped Down Xbox Planned For 2013. This Won’t Confuse Anyone.

If it isn’t enough that Microsoft is dropping a new  Xbox with sexy new guts next year, they may also be releasing a stripped down version of their console. All next year, close to one another.

Joystiq:

Rumors of a new Xbox have been swirling for quite some time now, though they are now taking a slightly different shape. The next Xbox hardware won’t actually be a generational leap, according to anonymous blogger MS Nerd, posting on  Reddit. Instead, the console will actually be a stripped down version of the current Xbox, which will concentrate on “Arcade-style games” and Kinect apps. This is apparently the same ARM-powered console that MS Nerd first  discussed  in November of last year. The device will be “price-competitive” with Apple TV and is apparently slated for a late 2013 launch.

Meanwhile, the “true successor” will launch sometime after with the same media apps and support for more core game experiences. Furthermore, the next generation of Kinect will supposedly launch sometime around 2015. At this point, keeping track of the  next Xbox  is becoming something of a chore, with estimates for a new launch ranging from late this year all the way out to 2014. For Microsoft’s part, the company says there will be  no talk  of new Xbox hardware at this year’s E3.

How to confuse the mouth-breathing bastards that we all are: release multiple pieces of new Xbox hardware within the same year. Giving Soccer Moms nervous  diarrhea  during the holiday season as they frantically try to figure out what console they’re supposed to be blasting the other Moms in the tits over. There is no easier way. Which means that Microsoft is looking to confound next year.