Microsoft is set to release Xbox 720 sometime in the near future and there are new rumors speculating that Microsoft has plans of changing the name of the gaming console from Xbox 720 to Xbox 8.

The rumors came about when Microsoft won against a complaint from a Chinese national who had filed a whole lot of addresses from both current and imagined products. Some of these addresses includes XboxPhone.com, XboxTablet.com, XboxLiveTV.com, XboxCompanion.com, Xbox8.us and Xbox8.org. Microsoft filed the complaint last March and the decision was made last June. The National Arbitration Forum, the one in charge of handling international business disputes, decided favorably for Microsoft thus giving the company permission to acquire these host addresses. The National Arbitration Forum stated in their decision that the Chinese national who acquired these host addresses did so "in bad faith" hence their final verdict over the matter.

This lead to the speculation that Microsoft is planning to change the name of the much anticipated Xbox 720 to Xbox 8. There are other people who are doubting this kind of strategy from Microsoft since there was already a leaked document before which talks about the possible specifications of Xbox 720. Microsoft has confirmed that the leaked documents were "true" and some of the specifications in the documents include the following:

  • Blu-ray disc drive
  • A new Xbox SmartGlass system
  • Internal Flash storage
  • Hard disk drive
  • A new hardware for its Kinect motion-recognition system
  • Much more powerful processor than Xbox 360.

There are also some people who are saying that the name "Xbox 8" would be utilized with the new software that would be utilized in the upcoming game console. Other rumors about the Xbox 720 includes a holiday season launch for next year and a selling price of US$299.