Talk about one hell of a rumour! According to an unnamed source who spoke with Develop, Electronic Arts last month received the next Xbox console from Microsoft to test with.

Which studio at EA got their hands on the box wasn't disclosed, but the tech apparently was still fitted inside a PC case, something that isn't unusual for new hardware that's still in development.

Still, the source claims that's enough to find out how the next Xbox will work and how to make games fof it. This is what the source had to say:
Neither Microsoft nor EA have responded to the rumour nor requests for clarification.

The source also stated he/she guesses the new console could be launched by the end of 2012 with possibly some mentioning of it at E3 already next month.

Microsoft has said numerous times in the past that we shouldn't expect a new console before the Xbox360 reaches the age of ten. This suggests a new Xbox successor won't arrive before 2014.

Of course it's possible that recent developments, like Nintendo's announcement of Project Cafe and the many rumour surrounding Apple, change the company's strategy. Also, by launching the X360 early, they managed to be quite a lot more successful than with the original Xbox.

Last month also someone said that a new Xbox 360 SKU would surface in 2013 with a built-in Kinect. Maybe we'll hear more about this at E3, but for now let's keep it as gossip and rumour.

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