The second Xbox 360 revealed: codename Zephyr

[SoulAssassin]

I've said this before but a guy I work with has a brother at EA and they physically have the new Xboxes there and have had them for months.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I've said this before but a guy I work with has a brother at EA and they physically have the new Xboxes there and have had them for months.

they've probably had them for a while ... they are called dev xbox360's

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
I've said this before but a guy I work with has a brother at EA and they physically have the new Xboxes there and have had them for months.

You serious, so what has he said? Like are they just upgraded Dev kits alone, or has he said much more about em?

 

[bigdog1218]

Wasn't this released in November? I think it was called the PS3. Sony and Microsoft are just going to burn each other leaving Nintendo as the sole survivor, again.

 

[James Bond]

Originally posted by: PricklyPete

Originally posted by: bigrash
Sweet!!! Pic of black xbox: link

OMGHI2U!

haha

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: bigdog1218
Wasn't this released in November? I think it was called the PS3. Sony and Microsoft are just going to burn each other leaving Nintendo as the sole survivor, again.

Lone survivor? Like that great console called the Gamecube?

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Dacalo

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: Dacalo

Originally posted by: blurredvision
A black 360??? Hell yes, I'm in for one. If it is black, has the larger hard drive, HDMI, cooler-running chipset (die shrink), and anything else, I'll definitely pony up for another one. I'll stick my current 360 in the bedroom and use it as a Media Center extender. I never thought I'd actually consider purchasing two of the same console, but Microsoft has done well with this one.....

You don't feel you got screwed? This is a good news for me since I don't own a 360, but I would think some owners would feel some kind of resentment since their less-than-a-year-and-three-month-old system is so much inferior. HDMI and larger HD? Hell yes!

No, i don't feel i got screwed. But i'm the generation where we see better products every year.

And i don't care for HDMI. I much prefer the VGA connection, since it frees the HDMI connection for other things. And as for the bigger HDD, again, i don't care, since mine isn't even at full capacity yet. If IPTV becomes more popular and i need it, then i may upgrade, but at this time, the 20gb is more than enough capacity for me.

Awww, you guys are so understanding. Why do I get the feeling that if this was Sony, people would be like, "Fvckers screwed us! They should have had those features when it launched the first place! We were guinea pigs!"

I don't think so. I think it's a generation thing. I'm the generation where buying a new computer every year or two is normal. My dad on the otherhand, is the generation that thinks a computer or TV should last you decades, and doesn't really understand that new technology evolves all the time.

 

[jlmadyson]

Rumour: Australia Gets Black, 120GB 360 In March

(Since Microsoft don't, and won't comment on "rumour and speculation", this one's still flying under the "RUMOUR" flag until we get official confirmation. Oh, and that's not a real picture of one of the consoles, it's for "illustrative purposes only")

There were whispers this morning that Australia was to see a new version of the 360 in March to help combat the launch of the PS3. Sound ridiculous? Perhaps, but calls to Myer department stores across the country have actually backed this up, with Myer staff letting me know that over the past week Microsoft reps have been over for tea, biscuits and a demonstration of the new units.

According to Myer staff the 360 itself is black, the controller is black and, probably most important of all, it comes bundled with a 120GB HDD (though any rumours flying around about HDMI also being included appear to be more than a little creative). It's going to be strictly limited edition, and will retail for AUD$749 (USD$584), which is $100 more than the current rrp for the 20GB Premium Pack.
Tack on the AUD$249 for the HD-DVD drive and you get...well, look at that, AUD$997, which is $2.95 cheaper than the PS3. Co-incidence?

In seeking official confirmation, Microsoft Australia will only say that:

We have seen all types of rumors like this appear on unofficial gaming websites and as a standard policy we don't comment on their speculation. Anything that is not announced on Xbox.com or in a press release issued by Microsoft is pure rumor and speculation.


So, yeah, standard MS response. We'll bring you any further info as it comes in.

More info coming in from Kotaku;

Looks like this might have some teeth to it. The stores are actually backing up this claim according to Kotaku. Although from the info they got it looks like a possible limted edition, no hdmi?

 

[BigJ]

Honestly, I don't see how they could release it in the AU. If anything, I'd expect them to release it in Europe or Japan.

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Honestly, I don't see how they could release it in the AU. If anything, I'd expect them to release it in Europe or Japan.

Well, if you look at the time it is right when the PS3 hits, as market share goes, yea that's a big question mark left their.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Honestly, I don't see how they could release it in the AU. If anything, I'd expect them to release it in Europe or Japan.

Um, why would they release it in Japan, whereas the 360 is struggling enough as it is? It's being outsold by almost every console. That doesn't make any business sense. It's aimed to counter the PS3 launch in Australia by topping it and still being cheaper than the PS3.

 

[mzkhadir]

HDMI Xbox 360 set for may 1st release - http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200702/N07.0216.1234.57890.htm

$479.99

 

[CKDragon]

The wait for the new version is killing me. I really want to play Crackdown and would be willing to shell out the $$$ tomorrow if I knew it wasn't going to be obsolete in a month. So I'm just bumping this in case anyone has news to share.

 

[Bitek]

Eh, a cooler system would be nice, but other than that, its of no use to me. I think the best strat for defeating the PS3 is through pricecuts. It may be useful to have this system for product attractiveness and high-end buyers to counter the PS3 thunder, but drop the $ on the premium to $300 for the majority of buyers. This would move close to Wii's pricepoint w/ a powerful system that will meet most users needs.

Only a fraction of homes even have HDTVs, and then a fraction of those have TVs that do HDMI and 1080p. $180 extra bucks for a 100gigs on the HDD isn't a good deal for most users.

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: Hafen
Eh, a cooler system would be nice, but other than that, its of no use to me. I think the best strat for defeating the PS3 is through pricecuts. It may be useful to have this system for product attractiveness and high-end buyers to counter the PS3 thunder, but drop the $ on the premium to $300 for the majority of buyers. This would move close to Wii's pricepoint w/ a powerful system that will meet most users needs.

Only a fraction of homes even have HDTVs, and then a fraction of those have TVs that do HDMI and 1080p. $180 extra bucks for a 100gigs on the HDD isn't a good deal for most users.

My hunch during this whole thing is they will drop the current premium down to $299 and make this new SKU $399. There is some evidence out this week in the UK where a few stores have started slashing the core's price. Thus imho, I believe they could be making room for the new SKU while MS decides to cut the core altogether. It's all just spectulation at this point.

 

[Bitek]

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: Hafen
Eh, a cooler system would be nice, but other than that, its of no use to me. I think the best strat for defeating the PS3 is through pricecuts. It may be useful to have this system for product attractiveness and high-end buyers to counter the PS3 thunder, but drop the $ on the premium to $300 for the majority of buyers. This would move close to Wii's pricepoint w/ a powerful system that will meet most users needs.

Only a fraction of homes even have HDTVs, and then a fraction of those have TVs that do HDMI and 1080p. $180 extra bucks for a 100gigs on the HDD isn't a good deal for most users.

My hunch during this whole thing is they will drop the current premium down to $299 and make this new SKU $399. There is some evidence out this week in the UK where a few stores have started slashing the core's price. Thus imho, I believe they could be making room for the new SKU while MS decides to cut the core altogether. It's all just spectulation at this point.

Sweet, if that's true its game, set, match for PS3. :brokenheart: I wonder if that's why in part MS downgraded their X360 sales figures for the FY ending in June? They knew some would hold off on a new sys on these rumors? The Wii is way up, but the PS3 is down, so that factor might be a bit of a wash.


As far as people being pissed @ MS, wtf? If they wanted this system @ launch, then they would have paid PS3 prices. The X360 success till now has made this possible and affordable. Sucks for somebody who buys in April, but I got mine in Dec, and I'll will have had ~$100 worth of fun by then. Whaaaa, Intel is dropping the prices on the C2Ds and it'll have a 4mb cache, I'll never buy again. Quit 'yer bitchin'.

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: Hafen

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: Hafen
Eh, a cooler system would be nice, but other than that, its of no use to me. I think the best strat for defeating the PS3 is through pricecuts. It may be useful to have this system for product attractiveness and high-end buyers to counter the PS3 thunder, but drop the $ on the premium to $300 for the majority of buyers. This would move close to Wii's pricepoint w/ a powerful system that will meet most users needs.

Only a fraction of homes even have HDTVs, and then a fraction of those have TVs that do HDMI and 1080p. $180 extra bucks for a 100gigs on the HDD isn't a good deal for most users.

My hunch during this whole thing is they will drop the current premium down to $299 and make this new SKU $399. There is some evidence out this week in the UK where a few stores have started slashing the core's price. Thus imho, I believe they could be making room for the new SKU while MS decides to cut the core altogether. It's all just spectulation at this point.

Sweet, if that's true its game, set, match for PS3. :brokenheart: I wonder if that's why in part MS downgraded their X360 sales figures for the FY ending in June? They knew some would hold off on a new sys on these rumors? The Wii is way up, but the PS3 is down, so that factor might be a bit of a wash.


As far as people being pissed @ MS, wtf? If they wanted this system @ launch, then they would have paid PS3 prices. The X360 success till now has made this possible and affordable. Sucks for somebody who buys in April, but I got mine in Dec, and I'll will have had ~$100 worth of fun by then. Whaaaa, Intel is dropping the prices on the C2Ds and it'll have a 4mb cache, I'll never buy again. Quit 'yer bitchin'.

Funny, you bring that up. That was my theory when the numbers revision came in and the fact they sold 300k last month in the US alone, if they stayed steady at 300k a month in the US alone from here on out until June that is all they would have to do to meet the 12 million. They wouldn't have to sale a single other box world wide. The numbers are a wash imo. They had to have some kind of basis for this. Here is a good article on the theory;


Why Microsoft Downgraded 360 Shipment Figures

 

[Bitek]

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: Hafen

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: Hafen
Eh, a cooler system would be nice, but other than that, its of no use to me. I think the best strat for defeating the PS3 is through pricecuts. It may be useful to have this system for product attractiveness and high-end buyers to counter the PS3 thunder, but drop the $ on the premium to $300 for the majority of buyers. This would move close to Wii's pricepoint w/ a powerful system that will meet most users needs.

Only a fraction of homes even have HDTVs, and then a fraction of those have TVs that do HDMI and 1080p. $180 extra bucks for a 100gigs on the HDD isn't a good deal for most users.

My hunch during this whole thing is they will drop the current premium down to $299 and make this new SKU $399. There is some evidence out this week in the UK where a few stores have started slashing the core's price. Thus imho, I believe they could be making room for the new SKU while MS decides to cut the core altogether. It's all just spectulation at this point.

Sweet, if that's true its game, set, match for PS3. :brokenheart: I wonder if that's why in part MS downgraded their X360 sales figures for the FY ending in June? They knew some would hold off on a new sys on these rumors? The Wii is way up, but the PS3 is down, so that factor might be a bit of a wash.


As far as people being pissed @ MS, wtf? If they wanted this system @ launch, then they would have paid PS3 prices. The X360 success till now has made this possible and affordable. Sucks for somebody who buys in April, but I got mine in Dec, and I'll will have had ~$100 worth of fun by then. Whaaaa, Intel is dropping the prices on the C2Ds and it'll have a 4mb cache, I'll never buy again. Quit 'yer bitchin'.

Funny, you bring that up. That was my theory when the numbers revision came in and the fact they sold 300k last month in the US alone, if they stayed steady at 300k a month in the US alone from here on out until June that is all they would have to do to meet the 12 million. They wouldn't have to sale a single other box world wide. The numbers are a wash imo. They had to have some kind of basis for this. Here is a good article on the theory;


Why Microsoft Downgraded 360 Shipment Figures

:Q


Hmmm, interesting times we live in.... This period might just be the most interesting saga in game console history next to the NES & Super Mario. PS3 tanks, Wii is a sleeper and the American X360 has a shot for world dominance. You can't write this stuff.

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: Hafen

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: Hafen

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: Hafen
Eh, a cooler system would be nice, but other than that, its of no use to me. I think the best strat for defeating the PS3 is through pricecuts. It may be useful to have this system for product attractiveness and high-end buyers to counter the PS3 thunder, but drop the $ on the premium to $300 for the majority of buyers. This would move close to Wii's pricepoint w/ a powerful system that will meet most users needs.

Only a fraction of homes even have HDTVs, and then a fraction of those have TVs that do HDMI and 1080p. $180 extra bucks for a 100gigs on the HDD isn't a good deal for most users.

My hunch during this whole thing is they will drop the current premium down to $299 and make this new SKU $399. There is some evidence out this week in the UK where a few stores have started slashing the core's price. Thus imho, I believe they could be making room for the new SKU while MS decides to cut the core altogether. It's all just spectulation at this point.

Sweet, if that's true its game, set, match for PS3. :brokenheart: I wonder if that's why in part MS downgraded their X360 sales figures for the FY ending in June? They knew some would hold off on a new sys on these rumors? The Wii is way up, but the PS3 is down, so that factor might be a bit of a wash.


As far as people being pissed @ MS, wtf? If they wanted this system @ launch, then they would have paid PS3 prices. The X360 success till now has made this possible and affordable. Sucks for somebody who buys in April, but I got mine in Dec, and I'll will have had ~$100 worth of fun by then. Whaaaa, Intel is dropping the prices on the C2Ds and it'll have a 4mb cache, I'll never buy again. Quit 'yer bitchin'.

Funny, you bring that up. That was my theory when the numbers revision came in and the fact they sold 300k last month in the US alone, if they stayed steady at 300k a month in the US alone from here on out until June that is all they would have to do to meet the 12 million. They wouldn't have to sale a single other box world wide. The numbers are a wash imo. They had to have some kind of basis for this. Here is a good article on the theory;


Why Microsoft Downgraded 360 Shipment Figures

:Q


Hmmm, interesting times we live in.... This period might just be the most interesting saga in game console history next to the NES & Super Mario. PS3 tanks, Wii is a sleeper and the American X360 has a shot for world dominance. You can't write this stuff.

Yea, I have no clue who is going to win this round honestly. However, like every other analyst seems to say lately, it's going to be much closer than the last.

 

[Bitek]

My post and a reply from another thread on the PS3. The business story of the console wars is facinating.

Originally posted by: preslove

Originally posted by: Hafen
Sony risks falling out of console battle

Part II of II, The console death spiral

Excellent articles from a business perspective on the PS3s troubles. Gives good insight into console economics, and outlines how the PS3 is currently in a world of hurt, and if Sony can't get units moving soon, they risk falling out of the next-gen wars almost entirely.

PS3s problems are compounded by the huge success of the Wii, and Sony is losing alot of devs to Nintendo. Compounded with the enormous cost to dev the games, w/o a sizable # of units in the field, the PS3 is risking having much of its software simply become X360 ports. W/o optimization, the hardware, which is the big selling point of the PS3, will never be realized, rendering the PS3 and expensive and underperforming catastrophe. This news forthe Euro market is about the last thing Sony needed at this moment (the bigger news being the cost is over $800 for Uk, Aust and others IMO.)

The Wii and X360 will be able to move their pricepoint, command exclusive killer apps, and could push the black hulk right out of he market. The Japanese market is Sony's ace in the hole, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. If MS had blundered so w/ the X360, they surely would have been out of the console business.

This did not escape the notice of the software makers either. They are faced with optimistically twice the cost to write a game for the PS3 as the 360 and only a fifth the market to sell it in to. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the second generation of PS3 games will have a lot more ROI calculations done on them before they get a green light. Many won't get that green light.

This is far more than a theoretical problem though, in talking to several game developers, the death spiral for Sony has already begun. Many are telling me they are not writing Cell code any more, just farming it out, the 360 is the development target now.

The problem there is that the 360 will be utilized fully and optimized for. If there are special features of the 360, they will get used, and every tweak and hack explored as well. This will then be shoveled off to some poor third party who has to make it work on the PS3, a very different architecture with a very different set of strengths and weaknesses.

I've been saying this for a while. The PS3 is very likely doomed. As Balmer once said "DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS"

Software costs lots of $ to produce & if you can't convince developers to write it for your platform, no matter what platform that is, you will fail. The lower costs of development on the 360 make it the obvious target for high end console game developers.

 

[NFS4]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/game-mag-says-black-xbox-360-is-coming-245472.php

 

[longhornlump]

Update: Engadget has the scoop on the limited-edition 'Xbox 360 Elite'! (Details below.)

Looks like Game Informer's black Xbox 360 rumor wasn't so much a rumor as it was a pending exclusive in their shiny mag. Of course, GI weren't the first outlet to whisper secrets about an elusive revision of the Xbox 360 -- actually, Engadget got pics of the console's (dubbed Zephyr) HDMI port, proving its existence. Now, GI's April issue has the deets.

This news has been floating around for a couple days -- first hitting NeoGAF and subsequently our tips line -- but, Kotaku has managed to get some pics of the page and even confirmation from GI that this isn't an April Fool's hoax. So, without further delay, the specs:

* Uh, it's black
* HDMI port and HDMI cable (oh, you bullies!)
* 120GB hard drive (but you told us 20GB was more than enough!)
* A $479 price tag (ouch!)
* No HD-DVD integration (yup), the "format's not proven" (pssst, and it's being outsold)
* The 120GB hard drive will be available for under $200 (uh, we certainly hope so!)
* It's coming in "late April"

Engadget adds:

* Dubbed the Xbox 360 Elite
* Limited-edition; probably a couple hundred thousand units
* Case, controller, and headset will be black; new packaging
* Confirmed: 3rd SKU; sold alongside Premium and Core bundles
* Elite runs cooler than other models
* Eventually Elite hardware (in white) will replace Premium; estimated to be in late summer or fall

Our questions:

* Where the hell is the built-in WiFi? Seriously. Our DS Lite has it built-in -- and DS is only $30 more than the 360's adapter! (Engadget: "There are no current plans to integrate WiFi into the Elite or future Premiums...")
* Will this be a third SKU, or will they finally pull the Core? Yeah, #3.
* Will the Zephyr Elite release come coupled with price-drops for the other SKUs? (Engadget: "Prices may remain the same with the 120GB / HDMI hardware upgrade in the Premium Xbox, but we may still see a price cut on the line when 65nm chips start shipping.")
* Does this model have the desirable, albeit delayed, 65nm chips? (Engadget: "not yet confirmed to have 65nm chips.")
* How pissed off will early adopters be?

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/20/hdmi-...-black-xbox-360-in-late-april-for-479/

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: NFS4
http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/game-mag-says-black-xbox-360-is-coming-245472.php

lol. and people thought the ps3 was overpriced.

 

[NFS4]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/20/xbox...dition-xbox-with-hdmi-and-120gb-drive/

pics

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: NFS4
http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/20/xbox...dition-xbox-with-hdmi-and-120gb-drive/

pics

(the image above is of the original 360 dev kit, FYI)