There have been a ton of rumors about Microsoft"s plans for the next version of its Xbox game console over the past several months. Today, a new rumor from the game business themed web site MCV claims that the next Xbox won"t have what has been an important hardware part in previous game consoles.
The article claims via unnamed sources that Microsoft is telling its partners not to expect any kind of disc drive for its next game console. However, there will apparently be some kind of solid state storage support for the console, although it was not clear if it would have a standard SD port or if Microsoft will feature its own proprietary solution.
The article also claims that Microsoft plans to launch its next game console sometime in 2013, which has been rumored in the past. However, it could not confirm when Microsoft will actually announce its plans for the console. Many in the industry believe that Microsoft will reveal more at E3 in June.
If there is no disc drive in the next Xbox, it could be bad news for brick-and-mortar based game retailers who may not be able to sell any physical copies of games anymore. Naturally, when contacted Microsoft said it would not comment on rumors and speculation.