While you’ve heard plenty of rumors state that the Xbox 720 is still a few years away, today’s rumor makes 2013 look like a definite possibility. Microsoft’s current console, the Xbox 360, is manufactured in Austin, Texas at Flextronics. The significance? It appears that the same facility is now beginning to manufacture the Xbox 720.
The rumor comes from IGN, who believes that Flextronics would currently be manufacturing the development kits to be sent to various companies. Companies have been rumored to have the “specs” of what the system will have for awhile now, and these development kits would allow them to hone in their games to be closer to a retail release.
Prior to reaching the manufacturing stage, Flextronics created a new testing group separate from the rest of the company. This team was solely dedicated to comprehensive marketing, software, and hardware tests of the next Xbox. With that activity concluded, Flextronics started building the hardware — but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see the Durango soon.
It’s interesting to see at least the development kits hit production, but gamers want to know when the future generation of consoles will be available. When do you think Microsoft and Sony’s next consoles will launch? Be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a comment below, or discuss the Xbox 720 in our forums.