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Xbox 360 - Backwards Compatible
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GFLPraxis said:
While they haven't made pricing announcements, they have said that a "Detachable and upgradeable 20GB hard drive" will be standard as noted in their spec sheet.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/factsheet.htm
They have a separate page for accessory specs, which is where it would be if it was not included.
How about the XBox 360 compiles the game on first launch of an old XBox title, instead of having the general consumer do the task of searching for and downloading a re-compiled game? Seems like an offal waste of time and money to have to send out the millions of copies of re-compiled games. Perhaps make it manditory to buy the HD in order to play backwards compatible games. It could be a patch of sorts.
What I don't understand about this whole situation is how can Microsoft and Sony have so much influence on companies like IBM, ATI, and Nvidia to basically force them to produce some of the most powerful and amazing technology on the planet. Yet Apple has to be fed whatever is coming down the line. Both of the machines make a brand new Dual 2.7Ghz G5 PowerMac look like junk, I am talking about the tech specs here not the external casing.
I am very jealous now, and I don't like to be jealous. I am a Mac user, my machine should be making people jealous. If Sony and Microsoft can get special triple-core CPU's and CELL processors then why can't Apple. If Sony and Microsoft can get special Graphics Cards that can totally blow you away then why can't Apple.
I am very jealous now, and I don't like to be jealous. I am a Mac user, my machine should be making people jealous. If Sony and Microsoft can get special triple-core CPU's and CELL processors then why can't Apple. If Sony and Microsoft can get special Graphics Cards that can totally blow you away then why can't Apple.
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=656
anyone remember that? wonder if there will be any truth to the rumor.
anyone remember that? wonder if there will be any truth to the rumor.
joeboy_45101 said:
Are we identifying with the machine a bit too much?
It's just a tool, not an iCon....
AidenShaw said:Are we identifying with the machine a bit too much?
It's just a tool, not an iCon....
It's all about the box. I am a firm believer that the software has to be great, but it's still all about the box. The total package, it's design, and the way it works. The processor in the Xbox 360 is a not so distant cousin to the current G5. Hell, all of the demos at E3 for the Xbox 360 are being run on PowerMac G5's. And the things that I have seen from the CELL processor are absolutely mind-blowing.
It would be a dream to see something from Apple and IBM that could actually be called the world's most powerful personal computer. Maybe two dual-core G5 processors running at 3.2Ghz or some type of CELL processor made up like a G6. And one of those new Graphics Processors from ATI or Nvidia. Pack all of that into a PowerMac and then I will be impressed.
pull your head out of your ***!
jesus. these systems are coming out NEXT YEAR!!!! ya dumbass. the demos that these new consoles are running on are using POWERMAC G5s. get a clue. in december when the 360 comes out and in the SPRING OF 06 and the SUMMER OF 06 for the nintendo revolution, look at what the powermacs will be. christ.
joeboy_45101 said:
jesus. these systems are coming out NEXT YEAR!!!! ya dumbass. the demos that these new consoles are running on are using POWERMAC G5s. get a clue. in december when the 360 comes out and in the SPRING OF 06 and the SUMMER OF 06 for the nintendo revolution, look at what the powermacs will be. christ.
Anarcho-Commie said:
Wow! You're a real class act. It's amazing to me how many people buy into this whole Culture of Stupid being sold to the public right now.
I wasn't stating anything that really hasn't been stated before in previous threads. The PowerMac line is ironically underpowered. People don't want incremental updates, they want something amazing. The hardware inside the Xbox and Playstation 3 are breath-taking. These are not incremental steps. It seems to me that Apple is playing politics with it's customers, I don't understand the logic. They just don't seem to want to have the fastest and greatest machine possible in their arsenal. And unfortunately it doesn't seem like IBM wants to push the PowerPC platform to it's limits with the chips they are providing Apple. If it wasn't for Apple's commitment to the PowerPC architecture in the past then there probably wouldn't be any use or mention of it today.
Eric_Z said:
True, but Sony might pull a PS1 and include the previous console's processor in the new one. The PS3 might have a PS2 processor inside the box and emulate the PS1. Just a guess. Otherwise...
Using the Cell to emulate the Emotion engine seems...problematic. At least they don't have the graphics card incompatabilities Microsoft has, and the Emotion Engine is much slower than the XBox.
dancefreak said:
It certainly is true. Look at Microsoft's XBox web site. Silver offers free downloads, Gold is for online play. Silver will allow online play on the weekends though.
To quote:
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 Marketplaceall 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.
GFLPraxis said:
The price is going to be higher than we normally would expect for consoles, more than probably in the 600 to 1000$ range depending on the PS3 and model. The machine itself will cost MS minimum 1000$ each (more likely up to 1500$) so they don't want to lose to much money on it.
Bonte said:
How can you say that? This thing is using stripped down G5's and a next gen graphics card (a $200 next gen graphics card should give performance like $500 current gen, throw in bulk discount...), I doubt it will cost $1000. People are taking Microsoft's hype at face value.
GFLPraxis said:
The hard drive is essential to microsoft's online plan. THe rumors of a version w/ no hard drive likely began with leaks that the drive was removable. I highly doubt there will ever be a version sold that does not include a hard drive. I'm sure we'll eventually see versions with different sized drives, especially after more of the media center functionality becomes utilized...but for the first cycle, and with a likely limited supply, there will probably be only the one version.
I could be wrong...I admit that, but I just don't see it happening any other way.
GFLPraxis said:
I already knew that...silver access to community/gold access to play--I read the same press releases you have and saw the 360 presentation at E3 on Thursday....but where does that say anything about Silver allowing online play on the weekend? That's the part I was disagreeing with you on.
I'm sure they'll have the occassional promotion to try to gain paid subscribers, no different then when HBO offers a free weekend on cable or sat. They'll have the ability to turn on or off access for sure, but aside from the potential for a special promotion, I haven't heard anything about free weekend gaming for silver members. From a business perspective, it wouldn't make much sense anyway...especially since this machine is being heavily marketed to an older audience that will likely do most of their online gaming on the weekend anyway. Plus what you posted still doesn't support what you're saying. I admit I could have missed something somewhere within all the pr surrounding E3, but so far I'm not convinced.
GFLPraxis said:
Microsoft will be losing a lot per machine. They still lose money with the xbox sold today.
That said, I would be surprised if it costs more than $299. Maybe it will be $349 at first and then drop when the PS3 comes out.
Sony is going to have a hard time selling the PS3 for less than $500--which will already be a big loss per machine. But anything over $500 will be a tough sell. It's going to be an interesting year.
wrong, wrong wrong - MS owns the silicon
It is *not* using a PPC970 based system, it doesn't even have OOE!
It's a piece of custom silicon based on three PPC cores that owe more to embedded PPCs than even to the G3. Glue a mutant VMX engine to each core to handle the parallel computations often found in games.
Get someone else (TSMC) to build your silicon. Same thing with the graphics - it's not a general purpose card with 256MiB of high speed VRAM, it's a custom chip with 10 MiB of VRAM and shared memory.
There is no middleman - Microsoft owns the silicon, and pays the lowest bidder to build it.
GFLPraxis said:
It is *not* using a PPC970 based system, it doesn't even have OOE!
It's a piece of custom silicon based on three PPC cores that owe more to embedded PPCs than even to the G3. Glue a mutant VMX engine to each core to handle the parallel computations often found in games.
Get someone else (TSMC) to build your silicon. Same thing with the graphics - it's not a general purpose card with 256MiB of high speed VRAM, it's a custom chip with 10 MiB of VRAM and shared memory.
There is no middleman - Microsoft owns the silicon, and pays the lowest bidder to build it.