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Microsoft Unveils Smaller Xbox 360 Model, Kinect Details
E3 kicked off today, and Microsoft took advantage of its early keynote presentation to show off a ton of new games and features for the Xbox 360. The biggest news for the very near future is that they're releasing a smaller, revamped version of the console, with immediate availability. It's black, it comes with a 250GB HDD and built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi support, and it's priced at $299. Microsoft also put a release date on Kinect, the motion control scheme formerly known as Project Natal: November 4 in the US. It will launch with 15 games, mostly casual-oriented, several of which were demonstrated on-stage. Many new Kinect features were shown as well, such as the dashboard interface, video chat (with support for playing movies both parties can watch), and a partnership with ESPN to provide live and on-demand sports, all controllable with hand gestures and voice commands. (It presently includes college football and basketball, soccer, the NBA, and MLB.) Also notable is a partnership with LucasArts for a Kinect Star Wars game, a fitness game from Ubisoft, and a Forza racing game that uses Kinect and allows players to inspect the cars with an impressive level of detail. Engadget's liveblog of the event has a bunch of pictures from the demonstrations, or you can read a more detailed play-by-play at Ars.
Kinect is exciting and I'll get it but the biggest announcement had to be the ESPN agreement. That's a cable killer right there depending on how blackout/regional rules apply.
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Custom kinect port = it uses some proprietary connector so you won't be able to use it with anything else, will it even be possible to connect it to an original 360?
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Who couldn't use more RAM?
And switch out the dvd for a blueray player.
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. " -Voltaire
The primary cause of the old RRoD problem was excessive heat. The Falcon revision released a few years ago made great strides in reducing red rings, and the Jasper revision that came out about a year ago all but eliminated the red ring issue.
Considering this new version has better cooling and is based on 45 nm production, it will generate even less heat than the Jaspers. The chances of it having the same problems are practically nonexistent.
Living With a Nerd
You've got it all wrong. Kinect will be compatible with every version of the 360. The difference is, if you don't have a slim version, you need to hook it up via USB for the data and then a seperate power connector to plug into the wall. The "Kinect Socket" on the new revision would provide data and power, negating the need to plug the hardware into the wall.
That being said, I personally don't see myself spending the money on it.
Living With a Nerd
Speaking from personal experience, my Jasper revision 360 sits in an enclosed space next to my PS3 Slim (inside my entertainment center, behind a glass door that stays closed unless we're changing discs.) I haven't had a single problem with it, and it gets at least 2-4 hours of use a day, either through gaming or Netflix. I've had my Jasper for a little under 9 months at this point, sitting in that enclosed space. ::shrug::
Living With a Nerd
That's all fine and well, except the new revision won't be compatible with external hard drives. Sooo...yeah.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can just transfer your profile, saved games, arcade games to a regular old USB flash drive and then transfer all that stuff to a new console.
Call me crazy but I'd say built in wireless N, smaller form, and quieter (claimed) cooling/running are new features especially when it's being sold at the same price even though you don't have to buy some wireless adapter for ~$60 (for MS's version?).
I also don't think it's positioned as a must buy for current owners so much as, if you're going to buy a new 360 to get into console gaming or replace and old one you'll want to get this one.
Do you consider sounding like a small jet turbine to be a problem?
I do.
I'm wondering if that problem has gone away yet.
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Does Blu-Ray matter at this point?
I don't like using my consoles for other things. I used my PS2 as a DVD player for years, but it wasn't as nice as a real DVD player, interface wise. I've used my PS3 once or twice as a Blu-Ray player, but the interface isn't as nice as a stand alone device.
The big reason the PS3 having Blu-Ray was so great was because the console cost $500 or $600, and a Blu-Ray player cost $400 to $700. It was like buying the Blu-Ray player and getting a console for free. The PS3 also supposed updated profiles that older hardware wouldn't.
But at this point, there will be $100 players this Thanksgiving. It's not a bad feature, but I'm not sure it would really move any additional XBox 360s.
It would increases the fees to make the thing thanks to licensing though. And like additional RAM, games couldn't take advantage of it without writing off all of the millions of units already sold, so the storage wouldn't be useful for games.
A separate little box (like they did with the HD-DVD player) would work much better, in my opinion.
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On one hand, I own a release model 360 that is still running fine and has yet to RROD on me. Admittedly, I don't use the console nearly as much as hardcore gamers (or even casual ones, for that matter), but I don't typically take any special precautions with it other than keeping it in an open area and not leaving it on top of carpet.
I also have a part time job fixing 360s and, in my experience, the failure rate on the newer models is still significant. Probably not as high as the originals, but I wouldn't go pushing my luck by keeping the newer models in enclosed spaces. For every Wii or PS3 we get in, we get about 4-5 360s.
As opposed to the PS3 Slim, which actively removed features, you mean?
Do you really want a blu-ray player, AND an HTPC, AND an Xbox 360, etc. cluttering up your living room (or in the case of some slashdotters, mom's basement ;))? I for one, do not. I do like components for my stereo system, but when it comes to blu-ray, HTPC, and gaming consoles - those are all tasks well suited for a single device.
So yes, Blu-ray would be a valuable feature at this juncture.
I'm sorry, I can't picture current Xbox 360 owners lining up to buy new consoles for this incremental upgrade. The few people left who are into gaming but don't yet own an Xbox are the only real market for it, and personally I've been holding out hoping that they (Microsoft) will finally concede that HD-DVD was a huge mistake and release an Xbox 360 with blu-ray. NIH (not invented here) has never been a problem for Microsoft (since they usually copy everyone else - poorly), so why is it a problem when it comes to Blu-ray?
I might buy this Xbox - but then again, I might wait a bit longer. I already have a rack full of AV components so do I really need another box to further increase clutter?
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I'll admit, I was really impressed with the linked video. Until I watched it again and realized that it's faked. The person "controlling" the action isn't quite in sync with what's on screen. Sometimes the actor is slightly ahead of the "game" (could be lag, I thought) and other times isn't keeping up with what's on screen.
Even the linked video comments that the video is likely a scripted demo. But I'm not convinced it's real yet. (I'm sure it works, but clearly not ready for prime-time, nor even E3.)
LANs do not have a significant amount of latency compared to an Internet connection. While wireless does have a bit more latency than wired, you are talking differences in microseconds. If you have DSL or cable, your very first hop probably has a latency in the 10-40 millisecond range.
So if you've got lag, it is a net issue, not a LAN issue.
Does Blu-Ray matter at this point?
Actually, yes, it does. Two of my (non-geek) friends are looking at buying PS3 specifically because of BluRay support - and said that otherwise they would have probably taken Xbox.
Many motherboards I've seen have a jumper than controls whether or not banks of USB ports get power when the computer is sleeping (S3). In addition, there is a BIOS setting that describes the HW sleep mode (S1 or S3) used when the software requests sleep. (In S1, a lot of stuff is still on, while in S3, much more stuff is really off.)
In addition to that, the amount of power the MB (and thus USB stuff) can draw while in sleep mode depends upon what the power supply provides when it is "sleeping" (how much "standby" power).
So indeed there are lots of variables in play here.
And technically, the Xbox 360 doesn't charge controllers over USB when it is off either. It's just that, if you request it to turn itself off while charging, it stays on, just turning off the display, until the controllers are charged.
No, it isn't fixed. They probably work fine in the US and other temperate countries, where half of the year it's cold and the other half the AC is on; but in a warm country (like here in Brazil) the problem is still very much alive. My cousin went through three 360s; the newest, a Jasper, didn't get the RRoD but is showing Error E74 even after replacing the whole cooling solution and adding huge heat spreaders to the NAND and other hot chips.
Awww come on now! Look at the history of overpriced peripherals and how well they take off. I'm sure this one will do just as good as all the others have in the past. The SEGA CD was a huge success (don't look it up, just trust me) The 32x breathed new life (**cough**) into cartridge games. Sony's EyeToy (a.k.a. a freaking web cam) changed the world with it's "interactive, you're in the game" fun, at least Sony and the 15 people that bought it did. overpriced peripherals do one thing, and one thing only. Fracture a market. Is it sad to say I'm more excited to see what the hacking community comes up with once they've got drivers for the Kinect running on a PC.