Leaked images may prove that Microsoft is planning to slim up the Xbox 360 sometime this year.
Over the years, console makers such as Nintendo and Sony have redesigned the first versions of their machines to reduce cost of production. Through Chinese forum A9VG, two images of a rumored "slim" Xbox 360 have surfaced, fueling talk that Microsoft may do the same and announce a redesign sometime in 2010.
One of the images gives a full view of a supposed more compact Xbox 360 motherboard while the other focuses on the new combination of the CPU and the GPU into one chip. The changes made, if these images are not fakes, would most likely be something more than the incremental redesigns Microsoft has been regularly doing to cope with the issues that caused the RROD fiasco.
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
There are even more rumors that Microsoft will announce a price cut on the Xbox 360 this year, and a new slim model could allow the company to do that more easily. Everything makes sense about this, especially with the release of Microsoft's Project Natal coming up, as it could bundle the two together and market the 360 to a new audience. You know, the audience that's used to flailing their arms around wildly while playing games on the Wii, a console the size of a TV dinner.
So they'll put the effort in to make a console that doesn't have such a high failure rate? kinda like what they should have done from the start? My 360 has only broken once. No other product would allow me to be so happy that it has only broken once.
Lets just hope that halving the size doesn't double the heat factor. By that I mean a smaller console means there's less space for hot air to disperse, because as we all know Microsoft has no idea how an exhaust system is supposed to work. Nevertheless, I won't be picking one up, I'm already on my fourth Xbox.
Daystar Clarion: So they'll put the effort in to make a console that doesn't have such a high failure rate? kinda like what they should have done from the start? My 360 has only broken once. No other product would allow me to be so happy that it has only broken once.
Yeah no kidding right? This is why I never buy a next gen console immediately. I always wait for a couple of years before buying so they can work out the bugs. There used to be a time when companies would make sure a product worked perfectly before releasing it. Now they rely on paying customers to test the product for them. Granted I know not everyone is as patient as I, but I only play single player anyway, and I can't afford to spend $60 on new games so I'm happy to wait for price drops.
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
This make sense if this rumoured photo of the 360 Slim is to be believed.
Apart from it's smaller size, the most obvious features are 3 USB ports but no MU slot or apparent place for an external X-Box 360 HDD.
The extra USB port on the front and the recent announcement of USB storage support seems to address this problem somewhat, IF this photo is genuine.
LeonLethality: Just another move in the "copy the other guys success" scheme that the big three seem to be doing...
Making an electronic device smaller and more efficient over time is only a natural progression of Technology. Calling Microsoft out on downsizing their consoles and saying they are copying Sony/Nintendo in doing so is just stupid.
Also: Natal may be considered a motion control, but the method in which it achieves it is very different then that which is used by both the PS3 and the Wii.
This is what a typical post on that forum looks like to me. Didn't even bother to look for the pictures when all I could see were a few words and numbers seperated by tons of blocks.
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
This make sense if this rumoured photo of the 360 Slim is to be believed.
Apart from it's smaller size, the most obvious features are 3 USB ports but no MU slot or apparent place for an external X-Box 360 HDD.
The extra USB port on the front and the recent announcement of USB storage support seems to address this problem somewhat, IF this photo is genuine.
What an ugly piece of hardware.
Seriously that looks... words fail me, it is the worst looking console (well console remake) I have ever seen.
You were expecting something else weren't you?....perv. I'm not even black O.o Besides, i doubt the reduced size is going to do wonders for heat dissipation, and considering I'm on my 3rd elite, I'd rather not take the chance :/
Huh if the picture is to believed (the one supplied by Jamash i couldn't navigate the Chinese website to find the damn pictures) the new XBox 360 slim looks kinda tacky kinda like what the new PS3 Slim looks as well. If spend a lot of money on a new console i want it to look damn imposing!
I really don't see the point of a "Slim" 360. Honestly, the massive PS3 is one thing, but the 360 is relatively light. Plus the ones I've seen in pictures are uuuuugly. EDIT: I just looked at the Chinese website, and my meager training in Chinese has not paid off. I did sort of understand some guy who was talking about CoD6 though.
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
This make sense if this rumoured photo of the 360 Slim is to be believed.
Apart from it's smaller size, the most obvious features are 3 USB ports but no MU slot or apparent place for an external X-Box 360 HDD.
The extra USB port on the front and the recent announcement of USB storage support seems to address this problem somewhat, IF this photo is genuine.
What an ugly piece of hardware.
Seriously that looks... words fail me, it is the worst looking console (well console remake) I have ever seen.
Why do I get the impression that if Apple were to ever make a console, it would looks like that piece of uninspired crap.
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
This make sense if this rumoured photo of the 360 Slim is to be believed.
Apart from it's smaller size, the most obvious features are 3 USB ports but no MU slot or apparent place for an external X-Box 360 HDD.
The extra USB port on the front and the recent announcement of USB storage support seems to address this problem somewhat, IF this photo is genuine.
In my opinion, Wi-Fi is a bit of a fad, and in my house I've got my 360 and PC hooked up with a long Ethernet cable, since it's a lot faster and much more stable than wireless, plus it's more secure.
In my experience, my wireless signal kept fluctuating from 48Mbps to 0.5Mbps, which isn't ideal for gaming. Now that I've gone back to wired it's 100Mbps all the time.
I also hate the idea of my console having an internal wireless device which I would never use or be able to disable (easily).
I like the way it is at the moment, with an optional, external wireless adapter for those who wish to use it.
In my opinion, Wi-Fi is a bit of a fad, and in my house I've got my 360 and PC hooked up with a long Ethernet cable, since it's a lot faster and much more stable than wireless, plus it's more secure.
In my experience, my wireless signal kept fluctuating from 48Mbps to 0.5Mbps, which isn't ideal for gaming. Now that I've gone back to wired it's 100Mbps all the time.
I also hate the idea of my console having an internal wireless device which I would never use or be able to disable (easily).
I like the way it is at the moment, with an optional, external wireless adapter for those who wish to use it.
My room is very far from my modem. So I had to buy the Wi-Fi adapter which was $99.99 "well spent" since I barely use the system. Good thing the Wii has Wi-fi
price cut? isnt it already $199? I hope this doesnt shake things up too much in terms of war between PS3 and Xbox. I love my ps3 more than my 360, i dont wanna see it go the Dreamcast way.
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
This make sense if this rumoured photo of the 360 Slim is to be believed.
Apart from it's smaller size, the most obvious features are 3 USB ports but no MU slot or apparent place for an external X-Box 360 HDD.
The extra USB port on the front and the recent announcement of USB storage support seems to address this problem somewhat, IF this photo is genuine.
Thats ugglier than the PS3 slim. Jesus, who the fuck is in charge of aesthetics? all of this only matters if that pic is legit.
Daystar Clarion: So they'll put the effort in to make a console that doesn't have such a high failure rate? kinda like what they should have done from the start? My 360 has only broken once. No other product would allow me to be so happy that it has only broken once.
QFT. Too bad my friend and I (we share X360s) are on our 4th X360. Well, technically, he's on the 4th. I cut my losses, got out of that viscous cycle and defected to the PS3 :P
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
This make sense if this rumoured photo of the 360 Slim is to be believed.
Apart from it's smaller size, the most obvious features are 3 USB ports but no MU slot or apparent place for an external X-Box 360 HDD.
The extra USB port on the front and the recent announcement of USB storage support seems to address this problem somewhat, IF this photo is genuine.
Thats ugglier than the PS3 slim. Jesus, who the fuck is in charge of aesthetics? all of this only matters if that pic is legit.
I wouldn't be surprised if that was just a dev kit or a prototype. I know for a fact that sometimes dev kits can look nothing like the actual console. For example, the PSP dev kit is basically a very small desktop computer with a full size DVD drive. You have a big thick cable coming out of it connecting it to a handheld PSP unit.
Some 360 dev kits are purely run on emulation and are essentially big beige boxes like computers of old... So don't take that picture too seriously. If it is indeed what Microsoft intends to sell to consumers, then I'll definitely agree that it does look like a piece of shit.
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Rumor: Xbox 360 Slim in Production
Leaked images may prove that Microsoft is planning to slim up the Xbox 360 sometime this year.
Over the years, console makers such as Nintendo and Sony have redesigned the first versions of their machines to reduce cost of production. Through Chinese forum A9VG, two images of a rumored "slim" Xbox 360 have surfaced, fueling talk that Microsoft may do the same and announce a redesign sometime in 2010.
One of the images gives a full view of a supposed more compact Xbox 360 motherboard while the other focuses on the new combination of the CPU and the GPU into one chip. The changes made, if these images are not fakes, would most likely be something more than the incremental redesigns Microsoft has been regularly doing to cope with the issues that caused the RROD fiasco.
Over on Joystiq, system modder/artist Ben Heck speculates that the new motherboard could include some kind of functionality for an internal hard drive, and notes the lack of a slot for memory units, which goes along with the recent announcement of Xbox 360 USB storage support. Microsoft may be moving away from memory units completely with the Xbox 360 slim (again, if it's even real).
There are even more rumors that Microsoft will announce a price cut on the Xbox 360 this year, and a new slim model could allow the company to do that more easily. Everything makes sense about this, especially with the release of Microsoft's Project Natal coming up, as it could bundle the two together and market the 360 to a new audience. You know, the audience that's used to flailing their arms around wildly while playing games on the Wii, a console the size of a TV dinner.
(Via: Kotaku)
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