Add on to that list a newly-revealed Microsoft patent application from 2005 for a "multi-component gaming system" in which "the processing capabilities and functionality of each gaming component in a combination are augmented by the processing capabilities and functionality of other gaming components in the combination." In plain English, the patent seems to be proposing a way to connect portable gaming devices (including PDAs and cell phones) and consoles in a way that increases the processing power of all the connected devices. The more "gaming components" in the network, the more computing power is generated.
Is this a hint at a super-networked Xbox 720? A new portable Xbox Lite? A way of linking Windows Mobile PDAs to the 360? It could be all or none of these things, but our money's on the none -- the whole concept requires too much processor coordination and network throughput for our comfort. Still, it never hurts to dream -- and it never hurts to have those dreams protected by patents just in case they one day become realities.
[Via Xbox360Fanboy]
