Did Ballmer let new Xbox 360 slip out?
(Credit:
Engadget)
A few days ago, we reported on a rumor going around that there would be a new, upgraded Xbox 360 in 2010 that would incorporate Microsoft's Project Natal technology. Well, we didn't expect Microsoft to come right out and tell us a new one was coming--and a few Microsoft execs did indeed deny that a new 360 was in the works. But a few blogs are reporting that CEO Steve Ballmer let word of new Xbox 360 slip out in a speech he gave Tuesday at the Executives' Club of Chicago.
TG Daily was the source for the original story, and I have to say the quote sounds pretty dubious.
"Rumors can be confirmed," the article declares, "as Ballmer stated openly during a speech on the recession to those in attendance at the Executives' Club in Chicago, a new Xbox 360 will hit the store shelves in 2010."
The only problem is the quote that follows this quote is rather ambiguous.
"The new device will be equipped with technology that is 'really, really close' to an actuality. The console, which was described as having a 'natural interface,' will have a built-in camera with the ability to recognize movement and voice."
Read it a couple of times and it's really pretty unclear whether Ballmer was talking about a new console or just the concept of Project Natal. We're betting he was talking more about the new technology coming to fruition in 2010 and not necessarily a whole new Xbox 360.
But that didn't stop both CrunchGear and Gizmodo from posting entries with the headline, "Ballmer confirms Project Natal Xbox 360."
Now, there's nothing wrong with a good, attention-grabbing headline (I'm a sucker for them). But we're going to proceed a little more cautiously with this one and await word on whether Ballmer really let it slip--or whether something got jumbled in the translation.
Comments?
(Source: TG Daily)
Update: While Microsoft reps are still trying to figure out just what Steve Ballmer said (they've requested a transcript of the event), Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, said there would be no new XBox 360 for 2010 and he reiterated that Project Natal would be compatible with all existing XBox consoles (no new hardware except the camera will be required). However, that doesn't mean Microsoft won't continue making tweaks to the XBox 360's components, upgrading chips and other parts as it's already done.
Microsoft passed on this statement to me regarding this post:
"As the Xbox team stated at E3 two weeks ago, we are not even halfway through the current console generation lifecycle and believe Xbox 360 will be the entertainment center in the home for long into the next decade. Project Natal will be an important part of this platform, but we have not confirmed a launch date at this time."
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter. 
Here is my beef!
Why is it that counsel producers feel the need to give us a "new system" every 5 years or so. I feel that X-Box has made tremendous leaps and bounds(in a good way) in the last few years. Their new dashboard added extreme value to the system and actually made me get another year?s subscription for X-Box Live. I would have thought twice, had they not released the new dashboard, but once I saw it, to me it felt like a brand new system all over again.
I personally feel that Project Natal will have the same effect on me as a gamer, and I would never turn my back on Microsoft( even though many of you have experience RROD [red ring of death]), hell they are a software technology company of course they are going to make better gaming experience than that of Sony, a hardware company. That in and of itself is another ball of wax that can be discussed off the boards of crave.
People just don't have the money to buy a 400 dollar system anymore, and by creating these nice add-ons to systems is an economically smart alternative. I mean look at Rock Band, it?s a game right?, and ALL of us have gone out and bought a 200 dollar game, some of us even bought Rock Band 2 another 200 game (with a new set of instruments) 59.99 *without instruments . I would much rather spend 200 dollars on an enhancement or game than have to get a NEW system where you have the potential of old games, not being able to be played on the NEW system anymore. I experienced this with some old X-Box games not being able to be played on a new system.
I strongly hope that they do not come out with a new system as these few things are among the many concerns I have if they do, I know I wont be able to offord a new 400 dollar system! I shared my peace
if you're worrying about buying your next console what you can do is save $1 a day for the next 4 years and you will have enough to buy the console and all the release games.
when is this company going to come out with something that works?
but 6 times? wow.
I love my xbox360, it's the first thing I turn on when I get in my house second to my laptop.
Use the PS3 as an example, SONY (arguably) made the misstep of emphasizing hardware with eye popping tech spec without making it easy to develop software for the platform. My personal feeling is we're not hitting the limits of the X-box 360's hardware, most people just want better games. Resolution higher than 1080P is going to be some what of a point beyond diminishing return. Most of the X-box or PS3 games have been very first person shooter oriented, having a gesture based control will expand the console to cover a much wider variety of games. and that's the key in capturing the audience, not raw power of the CPU/GPU. Wii's popularity stemming from the Wiimote, and PS2's continoued strong sales in the face of the new PS3 are perfect examples of these facts.
At this stage of the market competion, the processing hardware doesn't play as much role in winning the market as software support. This is especially true considering the expansion options on the current X-box (standard USB interface, wifi connecitivity), things like Natal can be added without forcing the customer base to upgrade their core system. This is a good thing in two folds. On the one hand, this prevents alienating current customers. On the other hand, this will also reduce the cost on the software vendors by allowing them to benefit from their existing knowledge base of the X-box 360 system.
At the end of the day, only geeks care about CPU MHz rating, size of the available RAM and the texel processing power of the GPU inside of the console. For everyone else, it's the cool games that keep people coming back.
- by Fire Balls June 22, 2009 7:13 AM PDT
- WE NEED A BIGGER HARDDRIVE!!!!! 120GB is a joke for storage when you start looking at storing games in the HD (at 8GB a pop + downloadable content for the game) and when downloadable games come arround. We need more space!! 500GB maybe?? I mean come on.
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