XBox 2, er... XBox 360 REVEALED!!!

[BobMurdoch]

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=9fb7e7f6-c861-454f-ad4e-84756ca02044

Aargh. Another sleek black box in my component stack is about to get goofy looking.

I like the wireless controllers (well the no wires part at least... I like my bulky old school controller (XBox Mag calls it the Duke)). WHITE????? Blech. Ya just know they will fade to a french vanilla beige over time like every other "white" PC I've had.

At least they left me my hard drive as an addon. Unfortunately, most developers won't support something that is optional so I wonder if the hard disk will get as much use as the Original XBox got.

Last mystery remaining...... will it be reverse compatible? My guess is no, since nothing leaked out of the MTV taping touting that it would...... I guess we may have to wait until E3 next week for that official word......

[BobMurdoch]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0505100203may10,1,6429107.story?coll=chi-business-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

And another story and another pic I found.........

[BobMurdoch]

... and a link to an ad Microsoft is using to ramp up the hype even more ....

http://64.191.55.6/video/xbox-scene/XBOX_Final_30_with_audio.mov


Note: Right click the above link and left click on Save As: to find a folder on your computer to save to so it can initialize the download of the file.......

I also replaced the link... this one loads much faster

[BobMurdoch]

Whoa, here's some much better photos......

[BobMurdoch]

Hmmm. November is shown as the unofficial launch month (which fits as November 15th was the launch date in 2001 for the first XBox, with September 1st being the first date that most sites allowed preorders to start - look for the infamous "bundles" to come back as you are forced to buy 3 games, an extra controller, or some other accessories in order to get one of the first ones off the line. )

http://gamesradar.msn.co.uk/news/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=35690&subsectionid=1586

This article notes that the faceplate will be customizable so you can ditch the white if you hate the look (Yeah, I'll be doing that....... Gimme my black back - although if you want to give me a color shifting green neon (Xenon?) glow we can talk)

[BobMurdoch]

One of the first games available is announced as well.....

Perfect Dark Zero.

You Nintendo 64 old schoolers will remember this one. At the time it was the best First person shooter (not named Goldeneye) for that platform.

http://gamesradar.msn.co.uk/news/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=35696&subsectionid=1586


Sorry about the post blitz, but I'm as psyched about this as I was for my first HD PVR, so I figured there were a few more like me out there who are interested in this. I'm psyched that some REAL HD videogames will be coming down the pike real soon.

[mwgiii]

Short article from Business Week:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_20/b3933061_mz011.htm?chan=tc

A Sony PR hack has a zinger for Microsoft.

[mwgiii]

All you ever wanted to know about XBox 360.

http://xbox360.ign.com/

Debut MTV Thursday 9:30 Eastern.

[BobMurdoch]

What's the zinger? The article just seems to talk about how Microsoft came late to the current party (20 months after Sony), and how they are trying to return the favor to get a 1 year headstart on the next generation of hardware.

Unless I missed it.....

Sony should be REAL concerned. Apple stole their thunder (The IPod blew away their Walkman/Discman business), and now Microsoft is trying to do the same with XBox 360 vs. the PS3. Sony's bulletproof brand has been getting dinged pretty hard the last few years. Other than the successful PSP launch which hurts Nintendo's dominance in that market, they have had a tough time.

It will be interesting to see how many of these consoles Microsoft can produce. If they can sufficiently supply the channel for XMas 2005, they could get out to a real solid headstart. Also, the XBox will ship with a standard DVD drive. Sony is trying to put their BluRay drive (the next generation of HD DVD) in their unit, but announcements over the last month may preclude that, as it looks like HD DVD and BluRay may get together to come up with a unified next generation spec. Good news for us since it will avert a format war, but bad news for Sony as it will take 12-18 MORE months to hammer out the details of a unified format. This will force them to either delay the PS3 launch or go back to a standard DVD drive. (Or even worse, try to keep to the proprietary BluRay spec which might introduce compatibility problems with DVDs designed to work on the unified format's specs)

[BobMurdoch]

All you ever wanted to know about XBox 360.

http://xbox360.ign.com/

Debut MTV Thursday 9:30 Eastern.

Thanks for the heads up on that site. Here's another photo which will be useful to us folks that have to make room in our component stacks...... It shows the dimensions of the old console as well as the new.......

[mwgiii]

The PR guy calling the XBOX 360 Xbox 1.5.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 24 months.

Microsoft is taking a huge chance launching 9-12 months before Sony (remember Sega Dreamcast). If the PS3 is really all that the rumors claim, it could be a couple of steps above the XBox 360. Microsoft will either have to rush XBox 3 or hope they have moved enough units to keep software sales up.

Another big question mark is Nintendo's Revolution. Nintendo has stated they will launch when Sony does. Very little has been leaked about the Revolution other than it will change the way games are played. It will definitely be a make or break for Nintendo. They will either be a strong competitor or relegated to a niche player.

We will know a lot more about the PS3 & Revolution @ E3 next week. BTW, Sony scheduled their pre-E3 press conference 2 hours before Microsoft's.

[BobMurdoch]

OK. I went right by that comment about XBox 1.5......

Dreamcast failed because they didn't market it well and they didn't have enough games and programmer support at launch.

Microsoft is investing BILLIONS in this project as they see it as a beachhead into American living rooms for their "media center" technologies. If they add PVR and mp3 playing functionality they could blur the lines sufficiently and get casual gamers interested as well. This whole MTV stunt is a way to get a week's worth of press all to themselves before Sony can steal their thunder next week.

XBox hooked me with their optical TOSLink surround sound support and HDTV capabilities as well as the hard disk. Some said they were "overengineered" from the start (which is why they lost anywhere from $50-200 on each console sold during its lifespan), but I like setting the bar higher. BluRay support could be good as a way to jumpstart acceptance of HiDef DVDs, but their lack of a well implemented hard drive kept me away. Burnout 3 with my own music, blows away Sony's offering with the developer's choice of music (which was awful). XBox 360 will let you override the music soundtrack for ANY game (WAAAAYY cool... Imagine playing your own favorite music during Quake 4 instead of the minimalist Nine Inch Nails track (if it is similar to Quake 3).

Either way, the next 2 years WILL be fun............

[BobMurdoch]

Just a program reminder...... MTV has the debut of the new platform tonight at 9:30..... My 921 will be workign overtime tonight with a double dose of Smallville in HD, the MTV show, and the NBC slate (thank God for distant waivers)

[Lee L]

I noticed something funny. Don't laugh, I only have Paint on my computer here.

[BobMurdoch]

Ya know, I noticed the same thing........ If they aren't backward compatible, that will probably be how it looks in my component stack. I'm out of inputs on my A/V Receiver (Who woulda thunk that 6 wouldn't be enough........ DVD, VCR, 921, GameCube, Laserdisc, XBox are already taking up slots (yes, I still use the laserdisc..... a bunch of old movies that haven't been released on DVD yet.... mostly Criterion Collection type discs.......).

I might have to kill the VCR connection and run it through by DVD Recorder if I have any old tapes to watch (assuming that Macrovision doesn't scramble the signal running it that way)

[mwgiii]

Wow. What a disappointment.

I don't know what kind of hype Microsoft was trying to create with MTV but that did nothing to make me want to go buy a XBOX 360.

I hope they do a better job next week at E3.

[BobMurdoch]

Yeah, that sucked. After the super bowl fiasco and now this, MTV is showing they have lost their ability to make something "cool". They waste 8 minutes on a band, 10 minutes on commercials, and a story about "professional gamers" playing a Perfect Dark Zero deathmatch that didn't show any of the screen. The capper was Fez from That 70's Show getting screen time as part of the team. Blecch. The blipvert preview of games was too quick and didn't show anything off..... They didn't show the controllers. the only thing interesting was the customization part which gave us a hint of the types of faceplates you can get to get rid of the icky Apple Wannabe White standard faceplate.

No mention of custom soundtracks, a hard release date, or anything of note other than the name officially being XBox 360 (Man, I hate that name.......).

I did get chills from the Samsung commercial with the Halo 2 theme playing and a tagline bragging about the XBox 360 having full HD gaming capability. THAT'S what has me interested along with expected continued ingame surround sound support.

Bring on E3!!!!

[mwgiii]

Let the hype war begin:

Nintendo released more info on Revolution yesterday.

http://cube.ign.com/articles/613/613340p1.html

HD Games, WI-FI out of the box, 3 DVD cases wide, & backwards compatible with the GameCube.

[Nick]

Thanks for the heads up on that site. Here's another photo which will be useful to us folks that have to make room in our component stacks...... It shows the dimensions of the old console as well as the new.......It has the front profile of a lite-days mini-pad.

The original X-Box "looka lika man". The new X-Box 'looka lika a girl'.

[n8dagr8]

It has the front profile of a lite-days mini-pad.

The original X-Box "looka lika man". The new X-Box 'looka lika a girl'.

Thanks, Nick. I was thinking it and was wondering if anyone else was, too.

[satellite_king2002]

Dont get me wrong, i am an avid xbox entusiast, but I cannot figure out why the designers opted for the white color scheme. White is the easiest color to get dirty, especially when the the product will be handled daily for hours on end. I have heard that you can opt for the different casing, but market the white box?
:nono2:

[BobMurdoch]

They are mimicking the whole Apple notebook look (or they are trying to upsell and get you to upgrade the faceplate).

On an unrelated note, here is a link to a site which goes into much more detail than the show on MTV did.......

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/xbox360/default.htm

[BobMurdoch]

Console Specs Peripheral Info Dev Interviews


Xbox 360 Fact Sheet

May 2005

Product Overview

The Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system places you at the center of the experience. Available this holiday season in Europe, Japan, and North America, Xbox 360 ignites a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition.

Xbox 360 gives you access to the games you want to play, the people you want to play with, and the experiences you crave—when and where you want them.

Key Highlights

Hardware, software, and services: Unveiled to the world on MTV on Thursday, May 12, 2005, Xbox 360 represents a dramatic leap forward in high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences. Fusing powerful hardware, software, and services, Xbox 360 fully engages you in a gaming experience that is more expansive, dramatic, and lifelike, where the possibilities are limitless and your imagination knows no boundaries. The next generation is here.
Industrial design: A merger of form and function, Xbox 360 wraps powerful technology in a sophisticated exterior. Two of the most innovative design firms in the world—San Francisco-based Astro Studios and Osaka, Japan-based Hers Experimental Design Laboratory Inc.—came together to craft a sleek, stylish system that conveys the very essence of Xbox 360.
Xbox Gamer Guide: The Xbox Gamer Guide is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects you to your games, friends, music, movies, and downloadable content. Available at a touch of the Xbox Guide Button, the Xbox Gamer Guide gives you instant access to the experiences and content you want, from the gamer card of the player that just invited you to play online to new downloadable content for the game currently running.
Personalized interface: Xbox 360 lets you create your own unique system and experience. With interchangeable Xbox 360 Faces, it's easy and fun to change the appearance of your console. Switch on your system and customize the look and feel of the Xbox Gamer Guide and Xbox System Guide with unique "skins." From sleek and sophisticated to fun and funky, pick the Faces and skins that show your personality.
Ring of Light and Xbox Guide Button: Divided into four quadrants, the glowing Ring of Light and Xbox® Guide Button visually connect you to your games, digital media, and the world of Xbox Live™, the first global, unified online console games service. Featured on both the wireless and wired controllers, the Xbox Guide Button puts you in control of your experience. In addition to bringing up the Xbox Gamer Guide and the Xbox System Guide, the Xbox Guide Button lets you turn the system on and off without ever leaving the couch.
Xbox Live: Xbox Live is where games and entertainment come alive, the only unified place where you can play with anyone, anytime, anywhere. And the best just got better. Connect your Xbox 360 to your broadband connection and get instant access to Xbox Live Silver. Express your digital identity through your Gamertag and gamer card, talk with others using voice chat, and access Xbox Live Marketplace—all right out of the box, at no extra cost. Upgrade to Xbox Live Gold and enter the exciting world of multiplayer online gaming. With intelligent matchmaking, access to all your achievements and statistics, video chat and video messaging, and an enormous selection of games, Xbox Live Gold delivers your competition, on your terms.
Xbox Live Marketplace: Keep your favorite games fresh with instant access to new content. Xbox Live Marketplace is a one-stop shop to download new game trailers, demos, and episodic content, plus new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins, and more. Accessible to everyone who establishes a broadband connection with their Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace lets you personalize and extend your experience, on demand.
Games: Xbox 360 redefines what games look like, sound like, feel like, and play like to engage you like never before. With Xbox 360, epic worlds are alive with detail, from thunderous skies rumbling over a mountain range to tiny blades of grass rustling together in the breeze. Vibrant characters display depth of emotion to evoke more dramatic responses, immersing you in the experience like never before. You’ll see all Xbox 360 titles at 720p and 1080i resolution in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing for smooth, movie-like graphics and multi-channel surround sound.
Digital entertainment: Amplify your music, photos, video, and TV. Watch progressive-scan DVD movies right out of the box. Rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive and share your latest digital pictures with friends. Make the connection, and Xbox 360 instantly streams the digital media stored on your MP3 player, digital camera, Media Center PC, or any Microsoft® Windows® XP-based PC.



Xbox 360 System Performance Specifications

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU Three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
Two hardware threads per core; six hardware threads total
VMX-128 vector unit per core; three total
128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
1 MB L2 cache

CPU Game Math Performance 9 billion dot product operations per second

Custom ATI Graphics Processor 10 MB of embedded DRAM
48-way parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines
Unified shader architecture

Polygon Performance 500 million triangles per second

Pixel Fill Rate 16 gigasamples per second fill rate using 4x MSAA

Shader Performance 48 billion shader operations per second

Memory 512 MB of 700 MHz GDDR3 RAM
Unified memory architecture

Memory Bandwidth 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
21.6 GB/s front-side bus

Overall System Floating-Point Performance 1 teraflop

Storage Detachable and upgradeable 20GB hard drive
12x dual-layer DVD-ROM
Memory Unit support starting at 64 MB

I/O Support for up to four wireless game controllers
Three USB 2.0 ports
Two memory unit slots

Optimized for Online Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features with broadband service, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, gamer profile for digital identity, and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies, or listening to music
Built-in Ethernet port
Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g
Video camera ready

Digital Media Support Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
Ability to stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras and Windows XP-based PCs
Ability to rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive
Custom playlists in every game
Built-in Media Center Extender for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Interactive, full-screen 3-D visualizers

High-Definition Game Support All games supported at 16:9, 720p, and 1080i, anti-aliasing
Standard-definition and high-definition video output supported
Audio Multi-channel surround sound output
Supports 48KHz 16-bit audio
320 independent decompression channels
32-bit audio processing
Over 256 audio channels

System Orientation Stands vertically or horizontally

Customizable Face Plates Interchangeable to personalize the console




Availability: Holiday 2005

[cdru]

High-Definition Game Support All games supported at 16:9, 720p, and 1080i, anti-aliasing
Standard-definition and high-definition video output supported
How is that any different then current XBox games with the HD otuput adapter? Or for that matter, PC games in general. Most computer games support 1024x768 if not significantly higher resolutions right now and have for years.

[Scott Greczkowski]

I am not impressed with this XBOX. I saw a few gaves that looked cool, but could probably be done on the standard XBOX.

This looks like XBOX 1.5 with all the add ons built in (Wireless, Media Center Extender, XBOX Live) etc...

Last nights special on MTV did not impress me at all, and seemed like it was thrown together.

[BobMurdoch]

I agree that the MTV show was a waste (hmm. I've used that phrase a lot recently, they must be losing their touch), but I am looking forward to the leap in visual quality. This new unit will be on par with a good PC now, so games like Half Life 2 will shine.

cdru, there haven't been many HD games capable of 1080i due to hardware constraints (they tend not to run that smoothly). The only game I have that I know of that is 1080i is Dragon's Lair which is a cel shaded type game, and doesn't require as much processing power as some of the 3D engine based games.....

Even Halo 2 isn't true HD, contrary to popular opinion.

Yes, PCs have had the capability for years, but I haven't seen many 57" widescreen computer monitors lately, which explains my excitement at getting that on my TV.

[Nick]

"Over 256 audio channels"

First, two, then eight, now 256! :eek2: I'm running out of places to put speakers! :eek:

[BobMurdoch]

"Over 256 audio channels"

First, two, then eight, now 256! :eek2: I'm running out of places to put speakers! :eek:

It's the 256 lengths of speaker wire that will break you.......

[JohnGfun]

Any word on estimated Price $$$? I'm happy with my XBOX and Would Like a new one when they come out!

[BobMurdoch]

The last one debuted at $299. I would expect close to the same. With the graphics processor they are including, some have estimated it would have an initial price of $499, but that would be suicide (Plus most initial preorder bundles of the original XBox pushed the $500 mark after the console, extra controllers, memory pak, and 3 games were included......)

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/default.htm

Another good link with more details

[BobMurdoch]

The other thing I've heard is that games will start to approach the $59.99 price point for some releases.... No big deal to me, but I know that will put some off........ If you really hate that, wait 6 months and it will be $39.99 or wait a year and it will be $19.99 for any given title

[Steve Mehs]

I've never been an avid gamer but I'd have no problem laying down $300 for a gaming system that would get a few hours of playing a week, preferably a Xbox, if not PS2, if the games weren’t so expensive. $50-$60 for the latest titles, first on the list would be the entire GTA series followed by the Halos.

The new Xbox looks horrible, yet another thank you to Apple and cell phone manufactures for turning electronics into fruity fashion accessories. :rolleyes:

[BobMurdoch]

Amen, Steve. Once something is successful, everyone tries to mimic it..... Sony does well with their Wega TVs and now all of our components are silver. Blech.

One thing I saw that I don't like.... The hard drive is NOT built in. It is an "addon". Uh oh. Storage add ons have failed every time (Sega CD, PS2s hard drive, etc....). Well, at least I'll have custome soundtracks on all my games now. I'm guessing the drive will connect to one of the three usb ports.

[John Walsh III]

I too was underwelmed by the MTV special. I have to see much more to buy the new XBOX.

[MarkA]

No way will it be backwards compatible. Ever use a program called Virtual PC for Mac? That's what backwards compatibility would be like. Microsoft moved from an Intel-x86 platform (used by Windows XP on the desktop) to an IBM-PowerPC platform (used by MacOS X). Which many said wouldn't be likely, but remember Microsoft already has had Windows NT for PowerPC, they just had to update it for the Xbox 360, it's not a totally new product. (I'm assuming it'll be running Windows, remember that the Xbox just runs a customized version of Windows 2000)

[BobMurdoch]

Since they went with a standard DVD-ROM drive instead of HD DVD or BluRay, I can't see WHY they wouldn't be able to make it reverse compatible.

You're gonna have a LOT of ticked off Halo 2 players if you don't.

[mwgiii]

The other thing I've heard is that games will start to approach the $59.99 price point for some releases.... No big deal to me, but I know that will put some off........ If you really hate that, wait 6 months and it will be $39.99 or wait a year and it will be $19.99 for any given title

There have been some rumors on the game boards of some AAA next gen titles going for $59.99 and $69.99.

It had better be a kick ass game and not end in 15 hours for me to drop 60-70 for it.

[John Walsh III]

I agree with Scott. The MTV special was a letdown. I was excited for it when they showed a commercial for the next generation Madden. I will wait to see what the games look like to decide whether to buy one. I currently own, PS2,PS1,Dreamcast, SNES,NES.

[mwgiii]

Just announced, XBOX 360 will be backwards compatible with "prior system's top-selling games".

Whatever that means.

[BobMurdoch]

I've heard pessimists say that that will mean only 20 or so titles. I think it means what the PS2 had to go through, that although MOST PS1 games would play on the PS2, there were a few that wouldn't run properly.....

The big problem are those games that used the hard disk heavily. As the hard drive is only an option on the 360, they will have to work on the memory cards or have access to the optional hard drive in order to work properly.

[BobMurdoch]

G4 had a two hour special last night on the PS3, X360, and Revolution press conferences. More shows start at 7 pm east coast tonight through Friday.

Wow, did they break out the good makeup for Morgan Webb. She looked model gorgeous last night.

[Lee L]

I've heard pessimists say that that will mean only 20 or so titles. I think it means what the PS2 had to go through, that although MOST PS1 games would play on the PS2, there were a few that wouldn't run properly.....

The big problem are those games that used the hard disk heavily. As the hard drive is only an option on the 360, they will have to work on the memory cards or have access to the optional hard drive in order to work properly.


Everything I have seen at MS's official Xbox 360 page indicates that it will come with a 20 gig drive that is upgradable.

[BobMurdoch]

Yes, it looks like it is built into the side of the unit (I had visions of a separate box with a USB cable going to the front of the case).

I'm wondering if they will sell a stripped down version without the drive, which would be bad since they will have to dumb down the games to make sure they will run on the XBox 360 "Lite". Then again, if this IS standard it will be great, since we would most likely be able to upgrade the drives over the next few years if we fill them up.

The BIG question to me still remains the backwards compatibility issue. Any offical word on what they are promising here? The switch from Nvidia to ATI may wind up being the main hangup here as they will have to issue patches tfor all the games to get them to work, I'm guessing.......

[Lee L]

No real word other than some "Top Titles" about compatibility. Iwas actually hoping a little more would come out during E3 but they pretty much got everything out right before.

As far as uprading a hard drive, that would be cool, but how would you do it? There is only one place to plug it in and the 360 certainly does not have the space to copy the entire drive into memory, then copy back? I would also assume that MS does not want these drives to be able to be put into a computer easily for hacking reasons so there may be some hardware limitations on that. I'm stumped unles there is some temporary cable or maybe you can use 2 xbox 360s?

[BobMurdoch]

They referenced the "upgradable" hard drive during the E3 presentation. How they do this, I don't know, but those memory card slots could probably be used to transfer save files and the like.

Also, it looks like the hard drive WILL be standard after all, which will make sure that they don't have to dumb down games to make them run off the disk drive only like we feared.