Xbox 360 Final Specs and Xbox Live Details

[saunders45]

2 types of Xbox Live:
Xbox Live Silver (no subscription required)
Xbox Live Gold (subscription benefits)

Features for Gold service
(S) Also for Silver
(O) Also for Offline

- Seamless transition to Xbox Live account from Xbox to Xbox 360
- Access to MMOs (additional fees may apply) (S)
- Free Xbox Live weekends (S)
- Multiplayer online gameplay
- Avatar for gamer profile(S)(O)
- Motto for gamer profile (S)(O)
- Personalized look for Xbox System Guide (S)(O)
- Offline achievments (S)(O)
- Online achievements (S)
- Access to other players' Gamer cards via Live (S)
- Cumulative gamer score (S)(O)
- Location/language profile (S)(O)
- Reputation (S)
- Enahnced matchmaking using above
- Skill level matchmaking
- Gameplay style profile (casual, competitive, etc.)
- Recent players list (S)
- Free and premium download game content(S)
- Free and premium downloadable movies, music, tv (S)
- Downloadable demos/trailers (S)
- Microtransactions (S)
- Custom playlist in every game (S)(O)
- Play music from portable devices (S)(O)
- View images from digital camera (S)(O)
- Strem media from Windows XP (S)(O)
- Interactive screen savers (S)(O)
- Track info for CDs (S) (O)
- Communication with voice, video or text (S)

The Hardware:
1. Support for DVD-video, DVD-Rom, DVD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-Rom, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 cd, JPEG photo CD
2. All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
3. Customizable face plates to change appearance
4. 3 USB 2.0 ports
5. Support for 4 wireless controllers
6. Detachable 20GB drive
7. Wi-Fi ready

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
- 3 symmetrical cores at 3.2 GHz each
- 2 hardware threads per core
- 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core
- 1 MB L2 cache

CPU Game Math Performance
- 9 billion dots per second

Custom ATI Graphics Processor
- 500 MNz
- 10 MB embedded DRAM
- 48-way parallel floating-point shader pipelines
- unified shader architecture

Memory
-512 MB GDDR3 RAM
- 700 MNz DDR

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

Audio
- Mulitchannel surround sond output
- Supports 48khz 16-bit audio
- 320 independent decompression channels
- 32 bit processing
- 256+ audio channels


To sum up the important stuff regarding XBL:

There will be two versions of Xbox Live. Silver is free (everyone gets it), and Gold is a paid subscription, like the current XBL. It looks like Xbox Live will be free on the weekends for everyone; Gold members will get it all the time, obviously. Current Xbox Live accounts will carry over to the 360 and become Gold Xbox Live accounts. Both Gold and Silver members will be able to download demos, trailers, and other content through XBL.

This info seems pretty legit, and some insiders have confirmed that this is indeed a real leak. At this rate, you have to wonder if Microsoft will have anything left to reveal at the MTV unveiling on May 12. :p

[GFLPraxis]

This has been posted three times already. I'll post this for the THIRD time.

1) Detachable 20 gig hard drive? Those shots show 40 and from other leaks nothing is included, its sold seperately.

2) "500 MNz"? Whats MNz?

3) "CPU Game Math Performance"? Did they make that term up? "9 billion dots per second"? What the heck?

4) 3 USB 2.0 ports- where are these?

5) 3.2 GHz contradicts other sources.

6) There is no onboard audio processor on the XBox 360.


I CALL FAKE.

[edesignuk]

Those specs are insane, in a good way :eek: :cool:

[Uma888]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v352/uma888/homerdrrol.bmp

[combatcolin]

detacable face plates?

Hmm, could be cool - could be very naff.

Shame we don't know the most important aspect, price.

[combatcolin]

Actually know i've thought about it the most important aspect is when is Halo 3 out?

[Abulia]

2. All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasingYou have my attention. :)

But, as Praxis has said, I smell some BS in the air.

[GFLPraxis]

Microsoft has already announced that all games will support 720p and 1080i, and that is a requirement for developers. Mandatory HD and XBox Live support.

[gangst]

why can't IBM get 3.2 GHz triple core processors??!!

[Tech^salvager]

why can't IBM get 3.2 GHz triple core processors??!!
IBM has these
The cpu is developed by IBM.

[Tech^salvager]

This has been posted three times already. I'll post this for the THIRD time.

1) Detachable 20 gig hard drive? Those shots show 40 and from other leaks nothing is included, its sold seperately.

2) "500 MNz"? Whats MNz?

3) "CPU Game Math Performance"? Did they make that term up? "9 billion dots per second"? What the heck?

4) 3 USB 2.0 ports- where are these?

5) 3.2 GHz contradicts other sources.

6) There is no onboard audio processor on the XBox 360.
Where does it say there is a audio processor there? from what I see it dosen't.

Also the USB port for all we know could be in the back. We didn't see any back shots of it yet.

Also wht 3.2ghz does not go with 3ghz from gamespy it does stay around 3ghz area and since stuff can change in specs it could be true.

[gangst]

IBM has these
The cpu is developed by IBM.

yea i already knew that, typo, i meant why cant Apple get these cpu's

[AnewMac]

Wont we know for sure on May 12 or 13th? Come on fellas, lets wait until the end of the week, and then we can complain or shout for joy. I am more concerned with when the thing will ship. Hopefully by Christmas 05, the PS3 better hurry up as well. If they miss Christmas, they will take a hit. Its a great time to be a consumer!

[GFLPraxis]

yea i already knew that, typo, i meant why cant Apple get these cpu's


These CPU's aren't G5. They are the only IBM processor that runs at 3 GHz and up. PowerPC's, but not 970's. Much lower performance per clock cycle than normal G5's.

They may run at 3.0 GHz but they are much slower than a 3 GHz G5 would be.

[GFLPraxis]

Wont we know for sure on May 12 or 13th? Come on fellas, lets wait until the end of the week, and then we can complain or shout for joy. I am more concerned with when the thing will ship. Hopefully by Christmas 05, the PS3 better hurry up as well. If they miss Christmas, they will take a hit. Its a great time to be a consumer!

PS3 and Revolution are both 2006 products. The XBox 360 is being rushed out the door so it is the only one to come out this year.

[JzzTrump22]

If all thats true then holy crap!

[vouder17]

i am sorry but i might sound like a bit of a hater...which i am i guess. But i dont really like the Xbox. i am not buying an Xbox...maybe the whole Xbox scene is bigger in US than here. but some of my fav games are on PS2 and will most prolly get released on PS3. i am also not a big supporter of Microsoft.
Dont get me wrong the specs look good, but the whole console doesn't look very appealing..and also cos i am a hater...

[AnewMac]

PS3 and Revolution are both 2006 products. The XBox 360 is being rushed out the door so it is the only one to come out this year.


Thanks for the info. I thought I read that hear a while back. Maybe I should search next time :rolleyes:

[topicolo]

i am sorry but i might sound like a bit of a hater...which i am i guess. But i dont really like the Xbox. i am not buying an Xbox...maybe the whole Xbox scene is bigger in US than here. but some of my fav games are on PS2 and will most prolly get released on PS3. i am also not a big supporter of Microsoft.
Dont get me wrong the specs look good, but the whole console doesn't look very appealing..and also cos i am a hater...

Wow, what brilliant insight. Thanks for contributing to the thread. :rolleyes:

[broken_keyboard]

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
- 3 symmetrical cores at 3.2 GHz each
- 2 hardware threads per core
- 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core
- 1 MB L2 cache

Sounds like a full featured CPU. Even if it isn't suitable for a desktop computer for some reason, hopefully IBM learned a lot making it. Maybe some of those lessons learned can feed through to the G5.

[Dr. Dastardly]

I also heard this thing is going to be pretty much a Windows Media Center computer. Pretty much be able to "tivo" and even store photos and movies on it.

Not that I would really use it for that but damn, thats alot of bang for your buck if they sell them in the range of $300. Anyone know the price point or an educated guess.

[GFLPraxis]

I also heard this thing is going to be pretty much a Windows Media Center computer. Pretty much be able to "tivo" and even store photos and movies on it.

Not that I would really use it for that but damn, thats alot of bang for your buck if they sell them in the range of $300. Anyone know the price point or an educated guess.

About $300. Remember, like I said, those aren't full fledged G5's though. Don't think it's all powerful.


And remember, the base $300 model will NOT be able to TiVo.

TiVo requires two things:
1) A hard drive to store video on
2) A TV Tuner to actually record TV.

The base XBox 360 has neither. I wouldn't be surprised if after putting the hard drive in it you can transfer videos across the network though.



It's not a full Windows Media Center PC. It just has a WMC type interface and connectivity if you have a WMC PC.

[zimtheinvader]

Apparently the price is $399 (normal, no hdd or hdd is optional accessory hence no out-of-box backward compatibility) and $499 (hdd included, backward compatible, ect. ect.) I forget where this was reported, maybe Gamespot or IGN? Seems perfectly reasonable anyway, the original debuted as rather more expensive than its console peers, and if the specs are true backwards compatiblility makes it nearly irressitible! Now just include Doom3 Redux or Quake 4!!

[GFLPraxis]

Apparently the price is $399 (normal, no hdd or hdd is optional accessory hence no out-of-box backward compatibility) and $499 (hdd included, backward compatible, ect. ect.) I forget where this was reported, maybe Gamespot or IGN? Seems perfectly reasonable anyway, the original debuted as rather more expensive than its console peers, and if the specs are true backwards compatiblility makes it nearly irressitible! Now just include Doom3 Redux or Quake 4!!

Firstly, there actually has been no announcements of price. Market analysists are predicting $300. Any numbers you hear are all speculation.

Backwards compatability isn't that easy- you need an x86 core (no way this thing can emulate the XBox 1, don't make me go technical on you :p ) AND a hard drive, explaining why you need to buy the more expensive model.

Personally I'm still thinking $299 for the base model. The specs aren't that outstanding.

They cut out a dedicated audio processor, are using standard DVD over the next gen formats, removed the hard drive, etc, to save money. To STILL have it at $399 base would be rather crazy.

[combatcolin]

Anything more than £300 in the UK is dead in the water before the engines start.

The xBox was this price and went no where before the price was cut.

The Saturn was £400 at first and look what happened there.

Good job i have a mortgague to stop me from buying everything (xBox 2, DS, etc) going!

Think the only hardware spend for me this year will be a monitor, WOW is looking very cramped on a 15" CRT. :(

[Symtex]

Firstly, there actually has been no announcements of price. Market analysists are predicting $300. Any numbers you hear are all speculation.

Backwards compatability isn't that easy- you need an x86 core (no way this thing can emulate the XBox 1, don't make me go technical on you :p ) AND a hard drive, explaining why you need to buy the more expensive model.

Personally I'm still thinking $299 for the base model. The specs aren't that outstanding.

They cut out a dedicated audio processor, are using standard DVD over the next gen formats, removed the hard drive, etc, to save money. To STILL have it at $399 base would be rather crazy.

What's an xbox thread without GFLPraxis. *sight*

xbox 360 will have backward compatibility with the higher end model. This is the most believable rumors right now.

[JRM PowerPod]

i am sorry but i might sound like a bit of a hater...which i am i guess. But i dont really like the Xbox. i am not buying an Xbox...maybe the whole Xbox scene is bigger in US than here. but some of my fav games are on PS2 and will most prolly get released on PS3. i am also not a big supporter of Microsoft.
Dont get me wrong the specs look good, but the whole console doesn't look very appealing..and also cos i am a hater...

I agree, i don't like the XBOX either. PS2 definitely reigns supreme in Australia. Gran Turismo vs Project Gotham? Man you'd have to be joking. There is no comparison, GT4 rules, PS2 rules and PS3 will send M$ packing.

Bill will be really confused. Release something early and it turns out no good, take for ever to release something (Longhaul) and it also turns out no good.

Apple's the one experiencing the Halo effect in Australia, not the XBOX

[saunders45]

I agree, i don't like the XBOX either. PS2 definitely reigns supreme in Australia. Gran Turismo vs Project Gotham? Man you'd have to be joking. There is no comparison, GT4 rules, PS2 rules and PS3 will send M$ packing.

Bill will be really confused. Release something early and it turns out no good, take for ever to release something (Longhaul) and it also turns out no good.

Apple's the one experiencing the Halo effect in Australia, not the XBOX


Except PGR came out 3.5 years befor GT4. And PGR2 came out about a year befor GT4. Compare GT4 to Forza.... Forza smokes GT4. And I hate racing sims, but GT4 is not as fun as Forza, or as deep.

[GFLPraxis]

What's an xbox thread without GFLPraxis. *sight*

xbox 360 will have backward compatibility with the higher end model. This is the most believable rumors right now.


Which is PRECISELY what I said.

[GFLPraxis]

Interesting article at TeamXBox...



The Internet - which is short for “rumor mill” - has been speculating on this year’s E3 since last year’s E3. According to the ‘Net, Halo 2.3 will be released on the current-gen to set up the story behind Halo 2.5 on the next-gen, the Xbox 360 has more processing power than a Sun Microsystems workstation, and you won’t need an IT degree to get your PlayStation 3 online. Frankly, we can’t wait for the truth. We already know the actual specs of the Xbox 360 (although you’ll need to wait until Thursday night), but we won’t really know about Microsoft’s real plans and the software coming up the pipeline until the show actually starts. SO, before you go believing another thread such as: “OMG! THE XBOX 360 HAS AN ACTIVE CAMOUFLAGING SYSTEM!”, wait for the truth to come out after the show starts.

[kuyu]

Interesting idea to let everyone play Live free on the weekends. That's effective marketing, especially if you can buy the Gold subscription via the X360.

Once again, M$ is convinced that there is no money in hardware. They've finally built their trojan horse. A computer that will only run their OS, their software, and 3rd-party games which they get royalties from.

In business terms, the X360 will be a "star" product until Revolution and PS3 debut, at which point the X360 will become a "cash cow."

I bet M$ breaks even on this new console. Sony will lose money on the PS3. Nintendo will once again be the only profitable game company, and will make billions in profit (while haters everywhere will keep saying "big N is finished, they should sell themselves to Sony").

[Symtex]

Interesting idea to let everyone play Live free on the weekends. That's effective marketing, especially if you can buy the Gold subscription via the X360.

Once again, M$ is convinced that there is no money in hardware. They've finally built their trojan horse. A computer that will only run their OS, their software, and 3rd-party games which they get royalties from.

In business terms, the X360 will be a "star" product until Revolution and PS3 debut, at which point the X360 will become a "cash cow."

I bet M$ breaks even on this new console. Sony will lose money on the PS3. Nintendo will once again be the only profitable game company, and will make billions in profit (while haters everywhere will keep saying "big N is finished, they should sell themselves to Sony").


I think Nintendo will break even for awhile. They make money in the handheld market. I think this is where Nintendo should stick at. They . Overall they will still be profitable but it's no longer the Nintendo I remember. They will no longer dominate the market. If the so called "Revolution" is too far streach from the "leaders", it will be hard for 3rd party to develop for the big N. You will see rush port on Nintendo while Sony and Microsoft will have Fully optimised for their hardware type of product.

Now it doesn't mean Nintendo will not survive. Apple has survive for so long with only have 4% of the PC market. This is the road they are heading.

[GFLPraxis]

I think Nintendo will break even for awhile. They make money in the handheld market. I think this is where Nintendo should stick at. They . Overall they will still be profitable but it's no longer the Nintendo I remember. They will no longer dominate the market. If the so called "Revolution" is too far streach from the "leaders", it will be hard for 3rd party to develop for the big N. You will see rush port on Nintendo while Sony and Microsoft will have Fully optimised for their hardware type of product.

Now it doesn't mean Nintendo will not survive. Apple has survive for so long with only have 4% of the PC market. This is the road they are heading.


Yes, and what would a console thread be without Symtex wishing for Nintendo to die... :rolleyes:

Why will Nintendo break even? The GameCube made a huge profit. More than Sony made with the PS2. Despite the fact that the PS2 outsold it 3x.

Nintendo has NEVER took a loss or broke even in any generation. The GameCube never lost money at any point in time.

And since the Rev can play all GameCube games, the controller can't be that different. No problem with porting there. The same GameCube API should make development easier.

If the Aries rumor is true...third party support shouldn't be a problem.
Considering how excited the id software guy is about the Revolution, we could see a lot of Revolution exclusive games...

[ijimk]

I am still curious to see some of the new games comming out for th xbox 360. How many games will launch with the system?

I want to see the xbox 360 and the nintendo revolution before i invest in my next console. I am throughly done with sony. These two spark my intrest the most. Sony can keep its PS3 for all i care.

[combatcolin]

Don't know about the control pad being the same Praxis, but i'll bet the port will be.

[Symtex]

Yes, and what would a console thread be without Symtex wishing for Nintendo to die... :rolleyes:

Why will Nintendo break even? The GameCube made a huge profit. More than Sony made with the PS2. Despite the fact that the PS2 outsold it 3x.

Nintendo has NEVER took a loss or broke even in any generation. The GameCube never lost money at any point in time.

And since the Rev can play all GameCube games, the controller can't be that different. No problem with porting there. The same GameCube API should make development easier.

If the Aries rumor is true...third party support shouldn't be a problem.
Considering how excited the id software guy is about the Revolution, we could see a lot of Revolution exclusive games...

I do not wish Nintendo to die. I wish they change they philosophy about the gaming industry. Being different is good but being too different is a very high risk. You have to look at it from a developer perspective and not a gamer one. Let me elaborate.

With the cost of game productions raising in the last few years, Publisher are trying to maximise their investement. It's not secret that games are costing around 15-20 millions to produce. The publisher will first make their game to try to reach the most gamers : Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox. platform. Even company like EA, in order to cut cost, are developing for Ps2 and porting poorly to xbox to save money.

So being radically different will increase production cost for "Nintendo Revolution" which will cause little developer not to port their IP to that platform. Creativity is one thing. Nintendo never lack in that departement but you also need to facilitate the workers of the gaming industry to bring their IP to your platform.

Nintendo has a ol' philosphy and approach to the gaming industry : make the same first part title (Zelda, Mario, Metroid Prime) and hoping that it will move hardware. If I take a look back at this generation, the Gamecube hardware was very good. I have nothing to say against that. My only pet peeves was the c stick. It felt ackward and was hard to use. Zelda, Metroid and Mario did not move hardware at all. All of those who bought Zelda was already a Gamecube owner or most of them. Even though Metroid Prime was a pretty good title, it went out of the public eye rapidly. Also the refusal to go online hurt Nintendo real bad. Even if they believe in the single player experience, they have to give what player wants : Multiplayer mayhem. If i remember some of the title on N64 that moved hardware was : GoldenEye and Perfect Dark. the multiplayer aspect of the game were very good.

Nintendo is alot like Apple. They have a certain vision of the game that is not mainstream anymore. They will contiue to exist but will be dead last again in the console war. They will still make profit but publisher will start to lose interest in it because there is more money to make with other platform. It's all about money now, not creativity.

[buryyourbrideau]

Except PGR came out 3.5 years befor GT4. And PGR2 came out about a year befor GT4. Compare GT4 to Forza.... Forza smokes GT4. And I hate racing sims, but GT4 is not as fun as Forza, or as deep.

yup

i just rented forza the other night and im already at level 20

this game SMOKES GT4 in all aspects!

[GFLPraxis]

I do not wish Nintendo to die. I wish they change they philosophy about the gaming industry. Being different is good but being too different is a very high risk. You have to look at it from a developer perspective and not a gamer one. Let me elaborate.

With the cost of game productions raising in the last few years, Publisher are trying to maximise their investement. It's not secret that games are costing around 15-20 millions to produce. The publisher will first make their game to try to reach the most gamers : Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox. platform. Even company like EA, in order to cut cost, are developing for Ps2 and porting poorly to xbox to save money.

So being radically different will increase production cost for "Nintendo Revolution" which will cause little developer not to port their IP to that platform. Creativity is one thing. Nintendo never lack in that departement but you also need to facilitate the workers of the gaming industry to bring their IP to your platform.

Nintendo has a ol' philosphy and approach to the gaming industry : make the same first part title (Zelda, Mario, Metroid Prime) and hoping that it will move hardware. If I take a look back at this generation, the Gamecube hardware was very good. I have nothing to say against that. My only pet peeves was the c stick. It felt ackward and was hard to use. Zelda, Metroid and Mario did not move hardware at all. All of those who bought Zelda was already a Gamecube owner or most of them. Even though Metroid Prime was a pretty good title, it went out of the public eye rapidly. Also the refusal to go online hurt Nintendo real bad. Even if they believe in the single player experience, they have to give what player wants : Multiplayer mayhem. If i remember some of the title on N64 that moved hardware was : GoldenEye and Perfect Dark. the multiplayer aspect of the game were very good.

Nintendo is alot like Apple. They have a certain vision of the game that is not mainstream anymore. They will contiue to exist but will be dead last again in the console war. They will still make profit but publisher will start to lose interest in it because there is more money to make with other platform. It's all about money now, not creativity.

You're being incredibly shortsighted here.

You're assuming the Revolutionary feature will make it harder to develop for. You're further assuming companies wouldn't want to develop for it. You're assuming Nintendo will be dead last. This is normal for you, you've said the same stuff each time.

Have you read the Aries rumor yet? It's an example of what Nintendo could do. A standard controller with every button from the GameCube...+ pressure sensing grips and gyroscopes within the controller and voice controllers + a really cool online system. Developers don't need to use the extra features if they don't want to. The game he claims to be developing (a new Vectorman game for Sega) doesn't use the pressure sensing, for example.

Increased developer costs? GameCube API. Not a lot new to learn.
Zelda and Metroid DID sell GameCubes. IGN recommends that people buy a GameCube *JUST* for Metroid. At $99 people can afford to buy for one game.

And about third party developers:

The id software guy has already said how excited he is about the Revolution, and even better...

http://www.nintendonow.com/index.php?categoryid=4&m_articles_articleid=2546&PHPSESSID=47145bf18002d59a9969f4840c64570c


Square Enix has thrown their support behind Nintendo.

SquareSoft has hinted at it...Majesco, EA, and others have dev kits at this point and seem to be behind it...

Lack of third parties? Hah.

[kuyu]

So being radically different will increase production cost for "Nintendo Revolution" which will cause little developer not to port their IP to that platform. Creativity is one thing. Nintendo never lack in that departement but you also need to facilitate the workers of the gaming industry to bring their IP to your platform.


I understand where you're coming from with this one, but I truly believe the Revolution will shine in this department. For one, Nintendo has publicly stated that the Revolution uses the same API's as gamecube. Thus, if you know how to develop for gamecube, you already have the resourses to make Revolution games.

Secondly, the interesting parts of Revolution (microphone, gyros, squeezable grips, heat pads, the huge unknown feature) are optional for developers. There will be joysticks and buttons too. Thus, any developer can make their game solid, then experiment with these new input/output systems.

Nintendo has, in this generation, already proven that they are a great company. Again, they made a profit while their competition did not. To date, their revenues from the DS hardware alone are already over $750,000,000! The X360 and the PS3 will be sold at a loss (because they are both Trojan Horses for M$ and Sony), while Nintendo will make a few bucks off each Revolution (it's just a game system=cheaper).

Think about the goals of each company. M$ wants an X360 in every home so they can sell us movies, songs, software, etc. Sony wants a PS3 in every home so they can sell us memory sticks, hi-def TV's, Blu-ray discs, MP3 players, etc.

Nintendo, on the other hand, wants a Revolution in every home so they can sell us... games. It's as simple as that. :)

[Drgnhntr]

I have always been a little skeptical of why the xbox360 was coming out so soon. I think Kuyu has made a good point of what microsoft's goal really is. This same thing was mentioned in an article from the washington post.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&e=2&u=/washpost/20050512/ts_washpost/microsoft_throws_prime_time_party_for_next_xbox

From the article:

Though the MTV-watching world will soon find out what Microsoft has in store for its next generation, even Xbox's founder Blackley said that the next generation of video games "will see a more incremental increase in technological wizardry compared to previous turning points in the video-game industry. . . . You're not going to see any giant technological advance in this generation."

Instead of radically expanded graphics, expect the next Xbox to let players buy more downloadable content, said P.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research.

"This is more an Xbox 1.5 than an Xbox 2," he said. "It's like an Xbox with a broadband cash register built in."

As a result of such sentiment, some analysts voiced skepticism this week about whether the video-game market is ready for a new game console this holiday season.

"I wonder if there's going to be enough time to get consumers really excited," said Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Morgan.

Analyst Schelley Olhava of research firm IDC said much the same, noting that the Xbox game Halo 2 is one of the best-selling games in the country, and the game came out only last year after extended delays.

"I question whether Microsoft might be coming out too soon with the next Xbox," Olhava said.

[Symtex]

I have always been a little skeptical of why the xbox360 was coming out so soon. I think Kuyu has made a good point of what microsoft's goal really is. This same thing was mentioned in an article from the washington post.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&e=2&u=/washpost/20050512/ts_washpost/microsoft_throws_prime_time_party_for_next_xbox

From the article:

Sure X360 is a trojan horse for Microsoft. There is no doubt about that. They want to be at the centre on the living room. They always had that vision : a device that would act has a media hub.

I think it's a brilliant move by microsoft. Remember how Sony got all the market ?The built-in DVD player help Sony's platform tremendously. there was other reason but I remember the cost of DVD player alone was more expensive then a PS2.

I think the High-End version of X360 will have Tivo features and WebTV access. Xbox users have been asking for those type of features so MS is going to bank on it. You cannot blame them for it.

As far a Revolution is concern, I'm still waiting for E3. It's good news that SE will support Nintendo. I reserved the rest of my comment for after the reveal

[Drgnhntr]

Sure X360 is a trojan horse for Microsoft. There is no doubt about that. They want to be at the centre on the living room. They always had that vision : a device that would act has a media hub.

I think it's a brilliant move by microsoft. Remember how Sony got all the market ?The built-in DVD player help Sony's platform tremendously. there was other reason but I remember the cost of DVD player alone was more expensive then a PS2.

I think the High-End version of X360 will have Tivo features and WebTV access. Xbox users have been asking for those type of features so MS is going to bank on it. You cannot blame them for it.

As far a Revolution is concern, I'm still waiting for E3. It's good news that SE will support Nintendo. I reserved the rest of my comment for after the reveal

Well, I am not sure that I agree with you on how that worked for sony. Personally, I don't know anyone that uses the DVD drive in their Xbox or PS2 to watch movies. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I just think more importantly that the included DVD drives allowed developers to use the larger capacity disks to make better games. Which is what it should all come back to, better games. How does being a media hub make games better? I am waiting to see the official announcement tonight, hopefully that will clear a few things up.

[Symtex]

Well, I am not sure that I agree with you on how that worked for sony. Personally, I don't know anyone that uses the DVD drive in their Xbox or PS2 to watch movies. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I just think more importantly that the included DVD drives allowed developers to use the larger capacity disks to make better games. Which is what it should all come back to, better games. How does being a media hub make games better? I am waiting to see the official announcement tonight, hopefully that will clear a few things up.

It doesn't. It has nothing to do with game but an entry into the consummer living room. The xbox is just more then a gaming console.

[Abulia]

As usual, an Xbox thread turned pretty ugly pretty quick with the usual piling on. :rolleyes:

Any news from the MTV broadcast yet?

[GFLPraxis]

I have always been a little skeptical of why the xbox360 was coming out so soon. I think Kuyu has made a good point of what microsoft's goal really is. This same thing was mentioned in an article from the washington post.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&e=2&u=/washpost/20050512/ts_washpost/microsoft_throws_prime_time_party_for_next_xbox

From the article:


There's also the fact that Bill Gates is convinced that Sony only beat them because of an early launch date.

[GFLPraxis]

As usual, an Xbox thread turned pretty ugly pretty quick with the usual piling on. :rolleyes:

Any news from the MTV broadcast yet?

5 hours and 45 minutes till it airs.

[zelmo]

As usual, an Xbox thread turned pretty ugly pretty quick with the usual piling on. :rolleyes:

Any news from the MTV broadcast yet?

I thought the broadcast wasn't until 9.30p EST tonight?

[GFLPraxis]

I thought the broadcast wasn't until 9.30p EST tonight?

6:30 PST for me. But it aired in Germany IIRC.