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Post by trog @ 02:59pm 13/05/05 | 33 Comments
Microsoft have just sent out a pre-E3 press release about their upcoming next generation console, the Xbox 360. Its many features include a free out-of-the-box Xbox Live service (called 'Silver', with the premium service being called 'Gold'), HD support for all titles, and a heap of other cool stuff.
Not only does Xbox 360 promise to deliver the ultimate home entertainment experience, it is also set to bring friends and family closer to home through the addition of real time video and voice chat. Australians can make new friends around the corner or across the globe in an extension of the Xbox Live online service, a worldwide community of nearly two million users.
Check out the full press release for the rest of the information (there's quite a bit there, so let it digest). There's also a release movie. Technical specifications are also available.



xbox 360





Latest Comments
ravn0s
Posted 03:06pm 13/5/05
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=5734&type=wmv

unveiling vid if anyone is interested.
orbitor
Posted 03:11pm 13/5/05
I have to say, the Xbox 360 sounds pretty much like an xbox running XBMC...except with massively more powerful hardware of course. MS have definitely been playing with modded Xbox's I reckon ;)

If it does everything it says it does in the article well, I'm up for one!
Midda
Posted 03:22pm 13/5/05
Any word on the pricing yet?
trog
Posted 04:24pm 13/5/05
    Xbox 360 System Performance Specifications
    Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
  • Three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
  • Two hardware threads per core; six hardware threads total
  • VMX-128 vector unit per core; three total
  • 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
  • 1 MB L2 cache
    CPU Game Math Performance
  • 9 billion dot product operations per second
    Custom ATI Graphics Processor
  • 500MHz processor
  • 10 MB of embedded DRAM
  • 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines
  • Unified shader architecture
    Polygon Performance
  • 500 million triangles per second
    Pixel Fill Rate
  • 16 gigasamples per second fill rate using 4x MSAA
    Shader Performance
  • 48 billion shader operations per second
    Memory
  • 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM
  • 700 MHz of DDR
  • Unified memory architecture
    Memory Bandwidth
  • 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
  • 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
  • 21.6 GB/s front-side bus
    Overall System Floating-Point Performance
  • 1 teraflop
    Storage
  • Detachable and upgradeable 20GB hard drive
  • 12x dual-layer DVD-ROM
  • Memory Unit support starting at 64 MB
    I/O
  • Support for up to four wireless game controllers
  • Three USB 2.0 ports
  • Two memory unit slots
    Optimized for Online
  • Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features with broadband service, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, gamer profile for digital identity, and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies, or listening to music
  • Built-in Ethernet port
  • Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g
  • Video camera ready
    Digital Media Support
  • Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
  • Ability to stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras and Windows XP-based PCs
  • Ability to rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive
  • Custom playlists in every game
  • Built-in Media Center Extender for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
  • Interactive, full-screen 3-D visualizers
    High-Definition Game Support * All games supported at 16:9, 720p, and 1080i, anti-aliasing
  • Standard-definition and high-definition video output supported
    Audio
  • Multi-channel surround sound output
  • Supports 48KHz 16-bit audio
  • 320 independent decompression channels
  • 32-bit audio processing
  • Over 256 audio channels
    System Orientation
  • Stands vertically or horizontally
    Customizable Face Plates
  • Interchangeable to personalize the console
    Availability: Holiday 2005
    #########
    The information contained in this fact sheet relates to a prerelease product that may be substantially modified before its first commercial release. Accordingly, the information may not accurately describe or reflect the product when first commercially released. This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes only, and Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the fact sheet or the information contained in it.
    Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox, Xbox Live, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
    The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.


last edited by trog at 16:24:24 13/May/05
fpot
Posted 04:23pm 13/5/05
Now all we need is a date and price.
rogue_squirrel
Posted 04:26pm 13/5/05
i wish my name was mei mei bong

when it say 3 symetrical cores running at 3.2ghz, does that mean 1 cpu that can do 3 things at once?

last edited by rogue_squirrel at 16:26:37 13/May/05
Midda
Posted 04:31pm 13/5/05
Kind of odd, they've gone all out with their HD support, but still arne't using 24-bit audio...
Tim Tibbetts
Posted 04:46pm 13/5/05
Price - no idea

Coming out everywhere before the years end
dangles
Posted 05:19pm 13/5/05
i think i was reading somewhere, where it said it doesnt come out in asia pacific until 2006.
partyhat
Posted 05:24pm 13/5/05
US - November Release.
GB
Posted 05:42pm 13/5/05
You would think that if they didn't release globaly before christmas, then they're kind of cutting themselves out of a big chunk of chrissy pie.
Tim Tibbetts
Posted 05:50pm 13/5/05
They are releasing it globally in 2005 as per this

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/12/news_6124231.html

However, Bach did make one thing abundantly clear--the Xbox 360 will arrive by Christmas 2005 in all territories. "The last thing I'll say is just to confirm we will be launching the next generation in North America and Europe and Japan this holiday season," he said.


Edit - Actually, that doesn't confirm Australia for 2005..but generally we're considered to be the same as Europe for release dates etc.

last edited by Tim Tibbetts at 17:50:26 13/May/05
ravn0s
Posted 06:01pm 13/5/05
The Xbox 360 will launch globally this 2005 holiday season in North America, Europe, and Japan and in calendar year 2006 in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/xbox360/console.htm

looks like we get it next year
Tim Tibbetts
Posted 06:02pm 13/5/05
Ha...well don't we suck balls.
Goody
Posted 06:05pm 13/5/05
only small balls. and mtv special is on at 7.30 tonight. (can never have too many reminders).


Tim Tibbetts
Posted 06:10pm 13/5/05
I want to find somewhere online that has it, I don't have pay-tv
E.T.
Posted 07:29pm 13/5/05
Just watched the MTV launch thingo. I want that 30 minutes of my life back. MTV sucks so much ass. Most of the 30 minutes was taken up with phone logo and ring tone adds. I think I saw around 5 minutes dedicated to the Xbox 360.
Tollaz0r!
Posted 08:05pm 13/5/05
Wow, that is alot of power.
Sony or Nintendo will have to do something truly special to best that, Sony more so then Nintendo.
BoDGie
Posted 08:53pm 13/5/05
ACA reckon it's only going to cost $600?!?!?
ravn0s
Posted 09:04pm 13/5/05
some info on nintendo revolution from IGN:

The Electronics Entertainment Expo 2005 is still days away, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from debuting its Xbox 360 console on MTV. And now Nintendo has followed suit, revealing some new, meaty details about its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution.

In a recent New York Times article, Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs Perrin Kaplan describes the console as "very, very sleek." The system, which is reportedly tiny, will stand horizontally. Its width will reportedly be no more than three DVD cases stacked flatly on each other, or slightly more than an inch. That makes the console theoretically smaller than Apple's recently released Mac Mini computer.

Although Nintendo has historically selected proprietary media formats, such as the GameCube Optical Disc, for its platforms, the publisher is with Revolution opting for a more standardized medium. The new console will play standard DVD media, according to the company. Nintendo has not yet revealed if Revolution will as a result be able to play Hollywood movies on DVD, but that seems very likely at this point.

At the Game Developers' Conference in March, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that Revolution would offer Wi-Fi online connections out of the box and would be backward compatible with GameCube, or able to play GCN software.

According to recent information, Revolution will also be able to play high-definition games and regularly go online.

Finally -- something of a no-brainer given the popularity of the Wave Bird pads -- Revolution's still-secret controller will be completely wireless. Controllers for Microsoft's Xbox 360 are also wireless. Upon hearing this news, puppies everywhere let out a collective cry.


Creepy
Posted 09:13pm 13/5/05
BUT WILL THERE BE A NEW PLUMBER GAME!?!?!?!???!??!
bLaZe
Posted 09:20pm 13/5/05
wow, it can do neally half the stuff my pc can.
Tim Tibbetts
Posted 09:40pm 13/5/05
wow, it can do neally half the stuff my pc can.
Yet will cost like 1/4 of the price!
0z
Posted 09:57pm 13/5/05
one thing that gets me is why they don’t incorporate edram into pc gpus :(

surely the benefits would justify the larger die size / heat
Midda
Posted 10:17pm 13/5/05
I hope the Revolution is as revolutionary as they say. I really hope it kicks arse, for their sake. They need something to keep their heads above water.
Ecstasy
Posted 10:49pm 13/5/05
when it say 3 symetrical cores running at 3.2ghz, does that mean 1 cpu that can do 3 things at once?

...
Three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
Two hardware threads per core; six hardware threads total
VMX-128 vector unit per core; three total
128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
1 MB L2 cache

High-Lighted the answer for ya. So 6 'things' at once. :)
rogue_squirrel
Posted 10:51pm 13/5/05
nintendo sell more untis overall than sony and microsoft combined... i still think they can do better though...NINTENDO POWER, cant wait for the revolution.

http://nintendoinsider.com/site/EEEFylpkElFffmiBlr.php
rogue_squirrel
Posted 10:52pm 13/5/05
thanks extacy...
Morgan
Posted 10:55pm 13/5/05
I think so too midda. If these rumours are true nintendo are headed on the right track I reckon.
Mantorok
Posted 11:03pm 13/5/05
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Neon, a lightsynth by Jeff Minter that's built into the Xbox 360:
http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/neon.php
Mantra
Posted 11:40pm 13/5/05
That is some crazy grunt! Beats my Atari 2600 hands down... reckon it must be time to upgrade/
Dan
Posted 06:58am 14/5/05
It's water cooled ffs, even my PC isnt water cooled.
DrFrag
Posted 03:59pm 14/5/05
Availability: Holiday 2005

wtf? I'm on holiday now! Or is "Christmas" now a swear word in the USA, along with "hell" and "bum"?
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