The long wait for the third of the next-gen console will finally end on May 21st as Microsoft officially unveils their next generation of Xbox. And while we expected Microsoft to unveil the console before E3 so that show would focus on the games, we didn’t think that Microsoft would come into this announcement having spent the last three or so months losing the PR battle.

Typically, we would be focused on some of the technical capabilities of the console in a hardware unveiling, it will be the features of the Xbox 720 that will be focus of attention.

Over the last few months, we’ve seen rumours and reports about all sorts of features that are angering gamers. We’ve seen multiple reports of the NextBox being always-online and requiring a constant internet connection at start-up and gaming that will prevent you from using the system when disconnected for three minutes. The other very prominent rumour is that the 720 will ship with the Kinect 2 and require it to be configured prior to using the system and connected to the console at all times.

Other rumours that Microsoft haven’t address include the claim that used games would not be playable on the 720 and that online gaming will continue to be made available only through the paid Xbox Live subscription service.

None of these four rumours are going away and none of these four rumours are pleasing gamers. Microsoft has let these rumours linger for months and former employee Adam Orth practically confirmed the always online  rumour. Of course, Orth had to deal with the consequences of telling gamers to “deal with it” when it came to always-online. Whether he was in trouble for his condescending tone, mimicking Microsoft’s condescending attitude toward gamers or effectively giving away info on the 720, we don’t know but it’s probably a combination of all three.

As it stands, we won’t know anything officially for almost four weeks for 1:00 PM EDT on May 21st. I do expect there to be plenty of news and rumours in the interim.