THE BUZZ: Last week, there was talk about development kits being put together for the next Xbox console. Today comes another source claiming the same thing.

EGM’s TAKE: Last week it was semiaccurate.com; today, tech site Fudzilla claims that their sources are collaborating that information. According to the site, the new main SoC (System on a Chip) indeed began production last December, is indeed code-named “Oban”, and is indeed being produced by both IBM and Global Foundries.

Fudzilla also says that their source backs up the information that the next Xbox will be based around a PowerPC CPU and a custom ATI 7000-series “Southern Islands” GPU.

Finally, Fudzilla’s sources also put the first batch of development kits as hitting in late March or—more likely—April.

So, are Fudzilla’s sources and Semiaccurate’s sources the same? If so, then who knows what to think about all of this. If not, then things do get more interesting, and these timeframes and information start to carry more weight to them. Unlike the various random “the new systems are coming out at this point” kinds of comments, this information not only feels more realistic—as it would put the system’s launch in 2013—but also seems to show more technical detail versus rampant speculation.

Source: Fudzilla