Xbox 720 release delayed due poor processor quality - report

Xbox 720 hasn't even been unveiled by Microsoft yet, but a fresh report suggests that the reveal itself could be delayed due to a manufacturing issue that has led to 'painfully low' processor quality.

Tech news site SemiAccurate has stated - by way of OXM - that Xbox 720 will house AMD manufactured processors, rather than the Xbox 360's IBM chips. The site claims that the processors were due to enter production this December, but delays have set in.

The site also claims that AMD's Xbox 720 processor goes by the internal codename 'Oban', and is being developed at several locations in the East, but that the build quality is - as the site describes it - 'painfully low'. The site's source went so far as to say the build quality wasn't even up to "horrid" yet.

This could mean delays in the Xbox 720 launch - which may sound daft as we don't even know when it's due in the first instance - but the site also claims that proper processor testing takes about eight weeks before they are shippable. A source has told the site that Microsft is currently targeting a September 2013 launch for Xbox 720.

The report also claims that date Microsoft can submit chips for testing before the end of the year is November 8, meaning it will miss the rumoured December production schedule. SemiAccurate estimates that Microsoft needs to enter full production by February 2013 to hit the rumoured September release date.

Cheers again OXM.