Recent reports have hinted at a 2013 launch for the Xbox 720 of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) while the PlayStation 4 of Sony (NYSE:SNE) may be introduced by 2014. However these reported release schedules for the Xbox 720 and the Sony PlayStation 4 remains speculative since no official announcements were made for the supposed release dates for the two devices by their respective manufacturers. A recent report also indicated that the launch schedule will for upcoming game consoles may occur in the next few years.

The upcoming Halo 4 is considered as a worthy successor to the first three Halo games. Due to the advances in graphics and the game itself, it may be necessary for the Xbox to be updated by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which may point to a possible release of the Xbox 720.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently filed a new patent that is reportedly designed for the upcoming Xbox 720 game console of the company. Some patents are not given approval and there are times when they offer different results from what the companies initially intended the patent to offer. The latest patent filing of Microsoft for the Xbox 720 is reportedly linked to the use of biometrics to allow the game console to recognize the users.

The most recent reports about the Xbox 720 of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have indicated that production of the upcoming game console has already started in Texas. These reports were supposedly disclosed by unnamed sources. The manufacture and the testing of the supposed Xbox 720 will be handled by Flextronics, which is the company that manufactured the first version of the Xbox and the Xbox 360. The company was also responsible for producing the Zune digital media player of Microsoft.