New Xbox release date 2015 - report

UPDATE: Ben Peterson, the design student whose web portfolio is at the centre of the next Xbox in 2015 story currently doing the rounds on the internet, has confirmed to Eurogamer that it's all fake. "I'm a student designer, it's not real..." he told us.

ORIGINAL STORY: Dubious evidence has surfaced suggesting the next Xbox will launch four years from now, in 2015.

The web portfolio of unknown designer Ben Peterson (via ZDNet) shows abstract pictures of a black product labelled "Microsoft Xbox".

The accompanying text reads: "Microsoft Xbox: Confidential / Collaboration with Microsoft's IEB Design group investigating future user experiences and hardware for 2015. *Work samples only permissible in person.* (March 2011)."

Exactly who Ben Peterson is and what his role on the project may be is unknown; unfortunately his name is common and shared by many on portfolio library LinkedIn.

There's also a question-mark hanging around why he'd post such a thing to his online portfolio; surely Microsoft protects the identity of a new console with fortress-thick walls of NDA documents.

Could this be an elaborate viral marketing stunt? Does it makes sense for Microsoft to begin building speculation this far in advance - especially after committing every PR-tongue to Kinect and how the motion-sensing camera will elongate Xbox 360 life for five years?

Job vacancies linked to new Xbox hardware were spotted earlier this month. Coincidence?

Handle with care.