1up are reporting a rumour that a new Xbox 360 console is set to launch along side Project Natal and will be released around Fall 2010. The new system won’t be the next generation of the Xbox but rather an upgraded 360. Old 360 games will still run on the system but they could take advantage of a possible graphical upgrade. Future 360 games could take advantage of this new hardware as well but obviously they won’t perform as well on the current console.
This could explain how Microsoft is going to deliver on the ten-year lifespan they have been bragging about recently. In my opinion, any graphical difference between the systems is a terrible idea. I don’t want to have to buy a new 360 so that I can play the games at their best, if that is indeed the case.
I understand if Microsoft wants to re-brand the console for marketing purposes when they bundle it with the Natal. However, upgrading the actual hardware will just separate the market between the old system and the new. When I play a console game I want to know that I’m getting the same experience as everyone else. I don’t want to have to think about how much better the game would look if I gave Microsoft another few hundred dollars for an upgraded console.
Nothing is confirmed at the moment, so we can only hope that this is just a re-packaging rather than a slight upgrade. I’m purely speculating here but it might be possible that this will just be the original 360 with the Natal part built into the same case, instead of the seperate add-on Natal that we’ve seen so far. That would make a hell of a lot more sense from a marketing perspective.
If this turns out to be the 360 equivalent of a DSi I won’t really mind as much, but I’ll be really pissed off if I have to buy a new 360 to get the most out of my games.
Well this explains the rumour about Project: Natal costing $250+ at retail.
Too put it short: It’s way too early to replace the “old” Xbox just in order to shove this thing down our throats. I can understand MS wanting to earn some bucks by releasing this thing but for how long will the gimmick(s) of Natal really keep the money flowing in? It seem like the casual market already got dried up by everybody and their grandparents buying a Wii, I don’t think they’ll pony up another few hundred bucks just in order to buy something which will look the same for many people.
I feel NATAL will go the way of the Wii. It will get its usage but since it will differ from the PS3’s Wii rip-off system, it won’t get much major support. And I’m hoping the PS3 motion wand will at least make it easier to port games to the Wii since the control systems seem to be quite similar. I really just want more decent games for my Wii, I’ve got enough coming for my 360 and PS3.
Seeing as I don’t own a 360 anymore a Natal-360, depending on pricepoint might be an option. I wonder if my 360 tag is still in effect?
They aren’t going to upgrade the system’s graphics, they are integrating the CPU and Graphics into one chip. This is known as Valhalla.
I assume they will be moving to a smaller die process, which reduces energy requirements and costs (more chips per silicon wafer).
I think this will allow them to have a more effective cooling solution than the original and current design.
This may reduce latency in CPU to GPU communications, but I doubt it will affect performance by any measurable amount.
@Playing Mantis: Well that’s not what 1up are saying and they’re the ones that started this rumour. It is just a rumour though and I hope you’re right.
The new chip and natal built into the same case and re-branded so they can market it to casuals makes more sense to me than an actual upgrade.
An incremental upgrade (as a system) would be a terrible idea. If they can come up with a way to expand the RAM for existing machines that is affordable and easy, then maybe.
Even if they do combine CPU/GPU onto one chip, there isn’t going to be much room inside to store the natal components.
The Sega Saturn had an expansion port, and there were 2MB and 4MB RAM carts available in Japan that allowed some games to have more sprites (mostly Capcom fighting games).
If they could somehow create a ram cart for 360, that plugs into the multi-av port or into the memory card slots…I don’t see any other way to do it.
The 360 is capable of running 6 threads simultaneously (1 being reserved for OS use). Even in the PC space, not many games are currently running 3 threads.
@Playing Mantis: I’ve never really been interested in the technical side of things so I don’t know much about whether or not it would work. If they can’t fit it in the same case then I can’t see it being easy to sell to the Wii audience.
It just seems to me that marketing natal as a seperate add-on would be a really bad idea. I don’t really care how well it sells though, as long as I don’t have to buy one to get the supposed upgrade.
I play my 360 at my desk, using my monitor. There’s no room for jumping around hitting virtual balls or bending over like an elephant so the full body motion wouldn’t really benefit me.