Microsoft reportedly won't offer subsidized next-gen Xbox, will show off IllumiRoom

With the next-generation Xbox's announcement just a day away, Microsoft is finalizing its presentations and announcements. One thing that won't be announced – if a report is accurate, at least – is a subsidized version of Microsoft's next console.

Paul Thurrott, who has broken much of the news about the next Xbox, says Microsoft won't offer a subscription-based version of the console that would subsidize its overall costs despite earlier rumors to the contrary. Thurrott previously said Microsoft was planning on providing two methods to purchase the console: a standard one-time cost of $499 or a cost subsidized through the requirement of a Xbox Live subscription that would include a one-time $299 purchase and monthly $15 rate for two years.

The latter method of purchasing the console has been scrapped, Thurrott said in a tweet, though he didn't clarify further. Thurrott's tweet also mentions that Microsoft Research's IllumiRoom project will be part of the presentation.

News of IllumiRoom's supposed appearance at the event follows a Sunday report from The Wall Street Journal that indicated Microsoft would include "specialized [3D] glasses" that would go along with technology that "blend images of the real world with that of a game." IllumiRoom works by projecting images across a room that work in conjunction with content that's displayed on a television.

Whether IllumiRoom will actually launch alongside the next-gen Xbox is unclear, as Microsoft previously called the project a "proof of concept," and several reports indicated it was relatively early in development.

Source: Paul Thurrott on Twitter