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Xbox 360

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Xbox 360 is the most likely name, according to most industry sources, for Microsoft's as-of-yet unnamed successor to their Xbox video game console. Other potential names included NeXtBox and Xbox Next, and Xenon (the system's code name during its development). Significantly, the Intel processor of the Xbox has been replaced by the IBM PowerPC architecture as the basis for the platform, due to its reduced heat output, improved performance and reduced latency.

The console is expected to be released in late 2005 in the U.S., and the launch in Europe is expected only a few weeks later. In March 2004, Microsoft announced a new game development software strategy dubbed "XNA", believed to be for the Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 will compete for marketshare against the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Project Revolution. The Xbox 360 will be officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, a week before E³.

Announcement

The Xbox 360 will be officially revealed by Microsoft on Thursday, May 12, 2005 at 9:30 P.M on MTV [1] but the program was recorded in 5 May. It will be broadcast in the following countries and local times:

Country/Region Airdate
North America Thursday, May 12, at 21:30
Japan/Asia Friday, May 13, at 11:30
France Friday, May 13, at 19:00
Germany Friday, May 13, at 19:00
Netherlands Friday, May 13, at 19:30
Italy Friday, May 13, at 23:30
Poland Friday, May 13, at 21:00
Portugal Friday, May 13, at 20:00
Romania Friday, May 13, at 20:00
Scandinavia Friday, May 13, at 22:00
Spain Friday, May 13, at 21:30
U.K. Friday, May 13, at 20:00
Australia Friday, May 13, at 19:00

Rumors

  • The Xbox 360 will be compatible with Xbox games, but an optional hard drive will need to be acquired.
  • In a Q&A session with the game development community, Pete Isensee, Development Lead, Xbox Advanced Technology Group, detailed the Xbox 360's specifications. The console is powered by one customized 3.0-3.5 GHz CPU, based on the IBM POWER3 microprocessor, but operating with three cores. The GPU is a custom 500 MHz ATI chip, which is rumored to be a generation ahead of the X800 series. The console has 512 MB of unified memory.
  • The PowerPC cores can issue two instructions per clock cycle per core. The CPU peaks at approximately 72 GFLOPS.
  • Unlike the Xbox, the basic version of the Xbox 360 is rumored not to have a hard drive.
  • In November 2004, The Inquirer reported that three separate versions of the Xbox 360 may be released: a standard Xbox 360, the Xbox 360 HD with a built-in hard drive and additional multimeda functionality, and the Xbox 360 PC which would incorporate an entry-level PC, a CD burner, a wireless keyboard and mouse and a special multimedia edition of Windows XP.
  • If the Xbox 360 does come in a version with a hard drive, Halo "2.5" is rumored to be a launch title. Xbox 2 and "Halo 2.5"
  • I Love Bees-style marketing (the use of an alternate reality game) is apparently being used with OurColony, that supposedly rewards visitors with glimpses of Microsoft's next-generation console.
  • Loose-lipped focus group attendee confirms Microsoft is evaluating marketing material for the "Xbox 360" name.
  • Various sources on the Internet confirm that the following picture is the real console [2] and it has some similarities with these pictures revealed on OurColony [3] [4]. Gamespot, quoting internal Microsoft sources, confirms this picture as a internal prototype, but state that several other prototypes exist [5]. We were also contacted by a source close to Microsoft that verified the first image was indeed of a working Xbox 360 prototype -- one of around a half-dozen designs -- but not of the final console.
  • The Xbox 360 will ship with wireless controllers, according to Microsoft internal sources. In WinHEC 2005, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox 360 joystick would be USB and Windows Longhorn compatible. [6]
  • The central "X" button on console's controller is confirmed by one US developer to be the "Xbox 360 Button", providing one-click access to Xbox menus during gameplay, DVD, CD and other media playback - aligning it with the "interactive" button on traditional set-top boxes. [7]

Unconfirmed specifications

According to Beyond3D website, the final specifications revelead in MTV Studios are:

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU

  • 3 symmetrical cores at 3.2 GHz each
  • 2 hardware threads per core
  • 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core
  • 1 MB L2 cache
  • CPU Game Math Performance
    • 9 billion dots per second

Custom ATI Graphics Processor

  • 500 MHz
  • 10 MB embedded DRAM
  • 48-way parallel floating-point shader pipelines
  • unified shader architecture

Memory

  • 512 MB GDDR3 RAM
  • 700 MHz DDR
  • Memory Bandwidth
    • 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
    • 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
    • 21.6 GB/s frontside bus

Audio

  • Mulitchannel surround sound output
  • Supports 48khz 16-bit audio
  • 320 independent decompression channels
  • 32 bit processing
  • 256+ audio channels

Controller

  • Each controller has 4 numbers around the X Jewel, they light up to designate what controller "port" you are currently using.
  • There is a new "Live Button", which allows you to instantly bring up the Xbox Live menu.
  • The Black and White buttons have been moved to above the left and right triggers.

Xbox Live Subscriptions

  • Universal Features
    • Free Xbox Live weekends
    • Access to MMOs (additional fees may apply)
    • Avatar for your gamer profile (1)
    • Motto for your gamer profile (1)
    • Personalized look for the Xbox system guide (1)
    • Offline achievements (1)
    • Online achievements
    • Access to other players' gamer cards via Live
    • Cumulative gamer score (1)
    • Location/language profile (1)
    • Reputation
    • Recent players list
    • Free and premium download game content
    • Free and premium downloadable movies, music, tv
    • Downloadable demos/trailers
    • Microtransactions
    • Custom playlist in every game (1)
    • Play music from portable devices (1)
    • View images from digital camera (1)
    • Strem media from Windows XP (1)
    • Interactive screen savers (1)
    • Track information for CDs (1)
    • Communicate with voice, video or text
      • (1) Also available offline
  • Gold Service Features
    • Seamless transition to Xbox Live account from Xbox to Xbox 360
    • Multiplayer online gameplay
    • Enhanced matchmaking using cumulative gamer score, reputation, location/language profile and skill level.
    • Gameplay style profile (casual, competitive, etc.)

Media

  • Support for DVD-video, DVD-Rom, DVD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-Rom, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 cd, JPEG photo CD
  • All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i
  • Anti-Aliasing support will be required in every game
  • Customizable face plates to change appearance
  • 3 USB 2.0 ports
  • Support for 4 wireless controllers
  • Detachable 40GB drive
  • Wi-Fi ready (Xbox 360 consoles will automatically detect and link with other Xbox 360 consoles within range)

References

See also


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