New Xbox 360 form factors on the way

Robert Hallock 9 Mar, 2010 at 11:27am ET Article published in Gaming

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said during a speech at the University of Washington that his company may release new Xbox 360s with form factors and components designed for different price points and usage models.

“In the case of the TV we’ve got both strategies. We actually have a TV implementation in some senses built into Windows. It works really well for small screen TVs that you might call a PC, but for that big screen device here’s a piece of hardware that we build, there’s no diversity,” Ballmer said, according to the Gearlog website. “You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form-factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it’s going to [be] important.”

Though the executive did not elaborate further on what those plans might entail, distinct possibilities include a slimmer/smaller Xbox 360, or an Xbox 360 armed with a Blu-ray drive.

Practically speaking, new form factors are something of an inevitability for the company. Aside from core hardware revisions to improve margins, add HDMI and resolve the famous RRoD issue, the Xbox 360 design has not changed much since inception. As the console stretches into the second half of its 10-year lifecycle, new and improved designs could ignite fresh demand as the new Slim design has done for Sony’s PlayStation 3.

Comments

9 Mar 2010 ~ 12:20pm Cliff_Forster A slimmer version? I sincerely hope with new and more efficient chips to power that thing. Its too hot and loud as it is now, a smaller enclosure is a recipe for disaster.
9 Mar 2010 ~ 1:23pm AlexDeGruven Most of the chip manufacturers have gone through a die-shrink in the last few years, making their processors and other related hardware use less power and run cooler, while still providing the same, if not better, performance.

To make a slimmer 360, I can imagine that they'd be using some of these new shrunk parts.
9 Mar 2010 ~ 4:18pm Tim Microsoft needs to focus on making the Xbox run right and not overheat, rather than making it "look pretty". If die shrinks can do it that is fine, I imagine they'd be able to go a size or 2 smaller by now.
9 Mar 2010 ~ 5:44pm Pete I would love if microsoft made a new slimmer xbox 360, it would greatly help increase the sales of natal as families prefer the smaller more compact devices like the wii to the big and bulky xbox and ps3 also if they added a blu ray player then they could steal a few ps3 users who use the ps3 as a blu ray player, the problem with that however is that you would have to make two different versions of a game (blu ray version and dvd version).

So yea really excited about this although i'm not sure if i'd be able to get it, i didn't swap my old ps3 for a slim when that came out and also my xbox has been working fine.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 8:49am AlexDeGruven

Pete wrote:

I would love if microsoft made a new slimmer xbox 360, it would greatly help increase the sales of natal as families prefer the smaller more compact devices like the wii to the big and bulky xbox and ps3 also if they added a blu ray player then they could steal a few ps3 users who use the ps3 as a blu ray player, the problem with that however is that you would have to make two different versions of a game (blu ray version and dvd version).

So yea really excited about this although i'm not sure if i'd be able to get it, i didn't swap my old ps3 for a slim when that came out and also my xbox has been working fine.

A Wii-sized box with a BluRay drive and 1080p would be a truly killer setup.

I don't think Microsoft would be expecting too many people to do a swap out just for the smaller form-factor. There would have to be a real value-add (like a BluRay drive) to get people to swap out.

With a small form-factor, they're probably going to be aiming for more Wii consumers, and people who haven't updated from their previous-gen consoles yet.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 12:24pm mirage

AlexDeGruven wrote:

A Wii-sized box with a BluRay drive and 1080p would be a truly killer setup.

I think you are describing PS3 slim
10 Mar 2010 ~ 12:26pm AlexDeGruven

mirage wrote:

I think you are describing PS3 slim

Even smaller than that, really. The Wii is such a great form factor, very unassuming.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 12:30pm Cliff_Forster I'm with Tim on this one. Make the damn thing functional before you go get cute by packing more heat into less space.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 12:36pm Thrax You don't make a smaller console unless you've already die shrunk the hardware.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 12:39pm Snarkasm Also, it's been functional and heat-death-free for two years now. Get off the goddamn horse, its bones are dust already.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 12:44pm mirage

AlexDeGruven wrote:

Even smaller than that, really. The Wii is such a great form factor, very unassuming.

Wii can be so small because its computing capability is much less than XBOX and PS3. But I have hope after seeing Tegra 2. In a couple of years, I think XBOX/PS3 class computing power will fit in a handheld while a chip like Fermi can be used for running the next generation console without a CPU.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 1:07pm Cliff_Forster

Snarkasm wrote:

Also, it's been functional and heat-death-free for two years now. Get off the goddamn horse, its bones are dust already.

au contraire,

I have seen the updated units fail, two in my household, and I just had a friend of my Son's come over and tell me how his that he just purchased new in Jan has already red ringed.

Snark, if you were building a system, would you stuff a triple core CPU and a fairly high end graphics card into a mini ITX enclosure?
10 Mar 2010 ~ 1:19pm primesuspect Snark, the RRODs aren't finished. There are still problems going on, even with the new revisions.
10 Mar 2010 ~ 1:59pm Snarkasm Mini ITX, no, but I did stuff a quad and two graphics cards into an mATX build. Watercooling!

I haven't seen or heard any reports of Jasper-class 360s with the updated heatsinks RRoDing, but I've been lucky and careful with my Elite since I got it, so maybe I'm just less jaded. RRoDs from crap refurbs that get sent back multiple times I can see, but I thought they fixed that process and threw the new heatsinks on about a year ago before shipping. :shrug:
10 Mar 2010 ~ 7:35pm ardichoke

Thrax wrote:

You don't make a smaller console unless you've already die shrunk the hardware.

Or unless you're Microsoft and don't give a shit as long as the gravy train keeps on running.
17 Mar 2010 ~ 2:21pm Cliff_Forster This is a leaked photo showing the new 360 "slim" mobo.

Apparently the GPU and CPU have been combined onto a single chip, just needing a basic extruded aluminum heat-sink with a downdraft fan to cool.
17 Mar 2010 ~ 2:42pm Snarkasm My depth perception may be off, but that doesn't look like it would be much thinner than current boxen.

But it's probably my depth perception.
17 Mar 2010 ~ 2:55pm Cliff_Forster

Snarkasm wrote:

My depth perception may be off, but that doesn't look like it would be much thinner than current boxen.

But it's probably my depth perception.

Yeah, its really hard to tell from that photo. It looks to me like its one of those low profile extruded aluminum heat-sinks that you might use on a 45 watt CPU in a HTPC. I'm not sure how that compares with the current model in terms of height.

Honestly, I hope they get it right and it works nicely, runs cool and is quiet. I would consider picking one up if they make some major improvements in design, if only for a few fighting games I miss playing and a couple other exclusives. I hope they get it right.

I also read somewhere that part of the shrink might be due to a new system where local storage is not required. Cloud memory stores all your game saves, and such like valve is doing with certain steam titles. All your purchased live arcade content, stored on the cloud too. Point being, local storage is not required so that cuts down on the form factor a bit. We will see.
17 Mar 2010 ~ 3:12pm Jengo Sorry, but until the RRoD is gone for good, making a smaller console is the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard. Ive even gotten a RRoD on the newer Jasper Chipsets, which is ridiculous. im pretty sure you wouldnt buy a new Motherboard from a company that releases nothing but crappy motherboards. Same thing goes with consoles.

Sorry but microsoft has no excuse, they knew about their crappy hardware since before its introduction to consumers, I dont know if i can trust a company that knowingly puts out crap.

Dont believe me? Here you go:

http://games.venturebeat.com/2008/09/05/xbox-360-defects-an-inside-history-of-microsofts-video-game-console-woes/