Speaking to high-school students at the company's campus in Redmond, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked about the Xbox successor and the next generation console war, among other topics.

In response to the first question regarding the next Xbox, Ballmer said:

"When you see the new Xbox, you're going to think it's un… -- well, let me say it politely -- unbelievable. Just unbelievable. The graphics, what it can do, the way things look, huge innovation. Rumors are that we'll see that product sometime soon. I couldn't comment, of course, on those rumors. But it's an amazing, amazing innovation."

When asked about the next-generation war and how he thinks the Xbox successor will perform against Nintendo and Sony, Ballmer said:

"I think we’re going to blow by Sony with our next box. I absolutely think we’re going to kick their backsides, so to speak. I think Xbox 1 has been a fantastic product. We’re not market leaders yet. There’s Sony, there’s us, there’s Nintendo. When we get Xbox 2 in the market, there’s going to be Xbox and the other guys."

In what it is by now his trademark style, Ballmer raised his voice until he noticed he was pulling off a Jerry Maguire, as the audience laughed and applauded. "I'm feeling a little frisky on this topic right now!" said Ballmer and concluded his answer.

This is not the first time Ballmer goes on record about the Xbox successor. Last year, Ballmer said in an interview with C|Net News.com that "We've generated something brand new. I bet we can take Sony next generation. I am betting we can take Sony in the next generation."

Finally, the same person who made the previous question asked what would make the Xbox successor stand out over Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Revolution. Here is what Ballmer said.

"Why do people buy one game console over another? As we say around here, 'Duh, it's the games.' Partly they're great games because they have great graphics, they have great processing, they have great this, they've got great that, but it's about getting great games. So, there's two parts to that: Number one, we have to make sure we have a great environment, software environment for people to write games, games that connect to one another, games that are social, games that are hard-core. We've got to make sure we let people write great games. But then, number two, we, Microsoft, have to write a number of really great games to show it off. What is 'Halo 2?' It's the greatest video game ever written. It shows off Xbox 1, and we’ve got some more games coming that will be the greatest video games ever written, and they’ll show off Xbox 2."

We’d like to thank Todd Bisshop, from the Seattlepi.com.