New XBox 360 in August

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ACCORDING TO KNOW-IT-ALL EDN newspaper in China, Pegatron Technology (bastard offspring of Asustek, in case you’re wondering), has managed to grab the highly-denied “Blu-Ray for Xbox360” deal of the year.

We imagine Microsoft denied the existence of such unit, not to shield its upcoming launch from the competition’s prying marketeers, but rather because its staff were responding in default “mirror” mode whereby hacks that asked the Vole if they had plans for a BD add-on, they received a 100% flat/honest “No”. True. All things considered, it won’t be an add-on.

The newspaper adds that Pegatron will assemble Microsoft’s console with the in-built BD player, with units hitting the market in Q3/2008 – Mid-summer, as it were.

This goes head-on with Dean Takahashi’s info on the Xbox 360 “Jasper” platform that is scheduled for August of this year. We'd already mentioned this platform over here, btw. The Jasper will feature a shrunken 65nm ATI graphics core and “smaller memory chips”. This does make more sense if you’re using the new GPU core to aid you in decoding HD on Blu-ray, too.

So that’s about it, major Xbox 360 platform overhaul coming this summer, with some time to spare for Christmas - Blu-ray, faster graphics and what is likely to be an all-round cooler console – and the thing is assembled by Pegatron Technology.

This Xbox 360 "Ultra" (our word, not the Vole's) should be able to do a bit more than trail the PS3. Should make for an interesting holiday season this year. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/05/05/xbox-360-overhaul-come-august

Aww I just bought one aswell....

Not the updated version but a cool mod none the less



http://uk.gizmodo.com/2008/05/26/xbox_360_joins_glowinthedark_c.html#more

Now it has a Wii mote on the way too.

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With an unlikely PS3 motion-sensing controller popping up at one peripherals maker earlier this week, it's little surprise that - just days before E3 is due to kick off - that one appears for the Xbox 360. This one from hardware maker Motus Games, however, looks a lot more real and there's even a few videos of it in action.

Codenamed Darwin, it's unclear whether the company plans to make it themselves or license it to third parties but it sure looks like an intriguing proposition, moving beyond the capabilities of the Wiimote. According to the company:


"Darwin uses a number of sensors that allow it to know where it is. As you move it knows where it is (kind of like a personal GPS bus using a different kind of technology). It is self-contained, meaning what you hold is all you need, no IR strips or other devices for a reference point. The result is, it very reliably and efficiently tracks your most complex motions."

Even more intriguing is that controller splits into two allowing for three kinds of gameplay: two-handed for wannabe Jedis and axe murderers, one in each hand or, two player.

http://uk.gizmodo.com/2008/07/11/motus_shows_off_xbox_360_motio.html

Although there's nothing official from Microsoft, UK online retailers are jumping the gun by cutting the cost of the Xbox 360 console as a 60GB version waits in the wings to be launched next month. Microsoft announced US-only price cuts last week.

Play.com has reduced the cost of the 20GB Premium console to £169.99, a saving of £30 on the RRP, while Amazon UK is selling the same model for £179.99.

Internet-famous modder Ben Heck just completed a teardown of the new 60GB Xbox 360. And while Microsoft is only advertising the 40GB storage bump over the old 20GB model, he found that there is one notable difference which will further prevent the old RRoD problem. And it has to do with RAM.

While the system is still utilizing a 65nm CPU, Microsoft has eliminated potential heat issues by removing the memory chips residing on the underside of the motherboard. (It would seem that Microsoft simply doubled the capacity of the topside memory.) The bottom-mounted memory is well-documented as a source of heat issues remaining in the modern Xbox, so this update is definitely a good thing, even if Microsoft's rumored upcoming design combining the CPU and GPU onto one chip should run the coolest of all.


http://gizmodo.com/5034190/the-60gb-xbox-360-is-a-little-bit-different-and-better

According to the people who made Gears of War, X Box 360 is now reaching the upper limits of what it can do graphically, though to a PC Gamer this is probably no surprise,
the 360 has an ATI Xenos GPU (which is an early version of a 2900 or with almost the same specs) and the PS3 has the equivelent of a 7800GTX, which is provided by Nvidia.

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In a recent interview, Gears of War franchise senior producer Rod Fergusson suggested that Xbox 360 is reaching the limits of its graphical and technological potential.

"I'm not the technical guy", he said. "All I know is that with the two to three more years of optimization that we've had, we're much further along than I think, three years ago, we thought we were going to get."

"So I think we're certainly approaching the upper end of it, as far as what developers are able to do with it, but just looking at all the demos we saw today -- ours and others -- it's clear that all the games just keep improving, and keep pushing that bar."

"There will be games in development that won't ship until 2010, and I'm sure they'll look killer, just because, again, they'll have more time with it, and learn from mistakes and optimizations of others. So, I don't know; I think we're getting up there, but I still think there's room to grow."

http://www.megagames.com/news/html/console/epicproducerxbox360approachingitslimit.shtml

I am now curious to see how far they can push the 360, and also the PS3?

Another good article on consoles can be found here http://www.custompc.co.uk/features/601944/pcs-versus-consoles.html which talks about resolutions and settings and how they get these consoles to upscale gfx to HD quality.

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Neither console produces bad-looking graphics, but if you have a decent PC and monitor, it's unlikely that you'll be impressed by a PS3 or 360 game. In particular, if you're used to gaming above 1,280 x 1,024 with AA and AF, you'll notice both 360 and PS3 games suffer from horrible aliasing. In Call of Duty 4, power lines, vehicles, buildings shimmer and crawl so vigorously that it might actually make you skin creep too. At first, we thought that this aliasing was noticeable only because we knew it wasn't there when we played the game on a PC with AA enabled, but even in the console-only titles, we found that the aliasing problem was obvious.

Several factors make aliasing noticeable on the consoles. The first is the fact that while 720p counts as HD in the lounge, at 1,280 x 720, it's a low resolution by PC standards. This small number of pixels is then also usually spread out over at least a 26in screen, so each pixel is bigger than those on a PC display, where 1,280 x 1,024 is confined to 17 or 19in panels. Finally, there's the fact that while the consoles might be outputting a 720p signal, the games are often rendered at lower resolution and upscaled just prior to output. The forums of 3D tech site Beyond 3D (The Neverending Upscale Discussion Thread * Summary=#457 - Beyond3D Forum) are buzzing with pages of detailed discussion, but suffice to say on 360 and PS3, Call of Duty 4 is rendered initially at just 1,024 x 600.

Price cuts in America have over the last few eeks have seen it overtake PS3 and for a day or so WII too. The UK price cuts are upon us, with Woolworths offering 360 for a bargaintastic £130!!



So if you are planning on buying one, wait a few eeks and save yourself thirty quid

http://uk.gizmodo.com/2008/09/15/woolworths_slashing_xbox_360_p.html

PS3 FTW

X Box 360 Slim on the way?



http://uk.gizmodo.com/2008/09/30/rumour_xbox_360_slim_could_app.html

slam indeed tony

Microsoft to provide extended warranty for "E74" Xbox 360 Failures

Microsoft has extended its warranty to cover the “E74” error which saw an increase in occurrences being reported since November of last year. Joystiq broke the story after conducting a survey of its readers. The survey results showed a significant increase in customers suffering from the “E74” error since the launch of the “New Xbox Experience” which launched in November 2008.

When the E74 error, occurs one of the lights on the “Ring of Lights” on the front of your Xbox 360 console flashes red and you receive the error code and message: "E74. System Error. Contact Xbox Customer Support". In addition to the bottom right portion of the indicator ring repeatedly flashing on and off, lines or snow will become visible across the screen. Microsoft conveniently lets the victim know in nine languages that they need to contact customer support when the error occurs.

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While the majority of Xbox 360 owners continue to have a great experience with their console, we are aware that a very small percentage of our customers have reported receiving an error that displays "E74" on their screen. After investigating the issue, we have determined that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console. As a result, we have decided to cover repairs related to the E74 error message under our three-year warranty program for certain general hardware failures that was announced in July 2007.

Up until this point there was conspiracy theory that Microsoft may have changed the system diagnostics test to report Red Ring of Death error as E74 instead to save money. The E74 error was not covered under the 3-year extended warranty set in place for the Red Ring of Death issue. Customers were forced to pay £67 for the repair if the error occurred later than 12 months after purchase.

http://www.dailytech.com/Microsoft+Extends+Warranty+for+Xbox+360+E74+Failures/article14853.htm

Never liked the XBOX- good job really.

I bought one for my kids a few years ago when they really wanted one. TBH i wish i had never got it, its been back three ties now to get fixed from the Red Ring Of Death nonsense and has scratched a few of their games too, which dont come cheap either.

First and last console i but from Microsoft.