Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Version of Xbox 360 Rumoured

Posted by Zonk on from the maybe-maybe-not dept.

Carlo Becchi writes "According to Engadget a new version of the Xbox 360 is on the way. The next version of the console is codenamed 'Zephyr', and sports a bigger disk (120 Gb), better manufacturing process (65nm) and HDMI digital out up to 1080p. From the article: 'The 120GB drive may or may not come bundled with the kit, we don't yet know, just as we also don't yet know how much a Zephyr 360 is going to run (we imagine it'll go for the same price as currently so they can keep up a little on their expanding margin).'" It should be pointed out at this point the whole story is a fairly convincing photo and leaks from 'a source'. Take with a grain of salt.

3 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. HD-DVD?? by masdog · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will it come with a built-in HD-DVD drive, or will I still be expected to pay $200 for that add-on?

    --
    My Sysadmin Blog
  2. And a price drop by glenrm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For the current Pro model? Maybe making it the core system... So everybody gets a HDD... I hope this happens soon...

    --
    Onward to the Aether Sphere!
  3. Re:Wii is not getting the same games by Osty · · Score: 3, Interesting

    To which EA will reply, have you not noticed that the games and control schemes going for the Wii are generally different? Or simply reply "fine then we're pulling Madden like we said". Microsoft is not the one in a position of strength here to make demands.

    Actually, I think it's the other way around. Microsoft's head start in the market (or its lesser specs in comparison to PS3, take your pick) has made the 360 the platform of choice for multi-platform developers. EA will never come to Microsoft and say, "We're not going to do Madden unless you give us HD-DVD." They're going to go to Sony and say, "Too bad we can't take full advantage of all that Blu-Ray space, but we have to work on the 360 as well and you two are close enough (unlike the Wii) that you get to be the Xbox of this generation and have all the crappy ports."

    Why should the 360 developer and user suffer with a limitation on storage that is needless?

    Because it's not "needless". Microsoft made the decision to go with DVD-9 for the 360, so that's what the developers get to use. Microsoft can't make the switch to HD-DVD unless they're willing to replace the drives of 7+ million 360 customers for free. That's never going to happen, so you suck it up and live with it. The 360 may end up with multi-disk games, or lower texture resolutions, or more compression artifacts, or what have you, but switching to HD-DVD is simply not a viable solution for the 360.