Microsoft recruitment further suggests Xbox will pack PC power

Forget the leaks – it seems that Microsoft's careers site is the go-to place for getting the lowdown on the new Xbox.

The team over at OXM have been digging into some of the recent postings, and have found a few things that might (take salt as appropriate) further confirm that Microsoft's new console is heading down the PC architecture route.

One advert for a hardware design verification engineer calls for someone with a "deep understanding of modern PC architecture" who will be involved in the Xbox team.

There are also a few hints at the evolution of Kinect too, with a posting for a new member on the Xbox Israel team who will be "passionate for electronic design of 3D imaging cameras which will serve millions throughout the world". Flap flap, wink wink.

Xbox Ki-next

Further to that, the X86 processing architecture we've been hearing about is given another strong nod with an ad asking for someone with "experience with both X86 and ARM ISAs". Pretty explicit if you ask us.

And as if that wasn't enough to speculate over, there's also an advert for someone to "perform testing on wireless products that use 802.11x and proprietary RF protocols", which could confirm what wireless specs we can expect on the new Xbox.

Sony has described its upcoming console as a "supercharged" PC (despite Nvidia having different words to say about that) and Microsoft will obviously want to ensure its console is at least technologically equal.

However, we're less enthusiastic about the advert for an Xbox Live service engineer, which asks for someone who can "understand the future of networking and how the network interacts with cloud-based applications". It's not a definite hint at an always-online console, but it does make us wonder...

One thing we do know for sure - all will be revealed on May 21.