Don't bother waiting in line to buy a Sony PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii: Microsoft might already be hard at work on the next-generation Xbox. OK, to be fair, at this point the Redmond software giant is just looking "seriously" at designing its own chips, or so reports GameDaily today; its story quotes a New York Times report.

Microsoft has had a long relationship with Intel, though it used an IBM PowerPC-based design for the CPU of the Xbox 360. But now it looks like the house that Gates built might be starting a new project, which the NYT report suggests could be called the Computer Architecture Group. These efforts could be split between the HQ in Redmond, Washington and the MS campus in Silicon Valley.

What all this means for gamers is unknown, but two things are clear: First, it is never too early to think about the next gaming console, and second, the days of Skynet might be drawing a little closer...

Post by Peter Suciu