Report - Next Xbox priced at $500

Tech journalist Paul Thurrott has revealed some all important details about Microsoft's next console, currently known as Durango, setting a price and a release date for the highly anticipated machine.

"Durango is going to be expensive - $500, $300 with a subscription - that kind of thing," Thurrott told What The Tech's video podcast.

"Originally, they were going to announce this thing on April 24. Now they're going to announce it on May 21. We know there are events occurring this year where we're going to learn more about Durango. E3 is going to occur, Build is going to occur in San Francisco in June when they're going to talk about the developer story because it's a Windows 8 device. It's going to have the same, or basically the same, developer tools and developer APIs."

Those interested in the technical side of the console can check out GamesIndustry International's breakdown of its leaked specs here.

Thurrott also revealed that according to his notes, the console would require a constant internet connection, a topic that has fired up the gaming community recently, and that a cheaper, $99 Xbox 360 would also be released this year, and was codenamed Stingray.

Thurrott is well known for his reporting on Microsoft systems and runs Supersite For Windows, where he recently commented on the "always online" controversy.

"Folks, the next Xbox is going to require an always-on internet connection. I don't know the specifics of what that means," he wrote.

"This piece of information had been communicated to me, along with some other relevant tidbits, in January. It's true."

"Will Microsoft change this requirement in the wake of early outrage? Frankly I think we're too far along in the development process of the next Xbox, codenamed Durango, to make such a change. More to the point, I think that an always-on Xbox is directly in keeping with Microsoft's strategy for all next-generation platforms."