The second Xbox 360 revealed: codename Zephyr
By Ryan Block 
posted January 5th 2007 8:51AM
posted January 5th 2007 8:51AM
posted January 5th 2007 8:51AM
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Complaining about this is like some one who bought a DVD player three years ago and is now complaining that new DVDs come with up converting capabilities.
I just got my xbox360 for christmas.
let me say that i regret not getting this console at launch. besides the obvious bad manufacturing,(red ring of light, my first console suffered this on my third day and got it returned for a new one) this is one sweet rig. I dont need HDMI as i dont have an HDMI inputs in my receiver. I use my HD cables to my television and my audio through the optical cable.
120 gig? Well i still have 12.7 gigs on my HDD. Demos i download i delete as i wont play them again. I cant see myself buying videos on there as i can stream it off my pc which i do. As far as renting HD movies, a lot of people are complaining about superman returns download speeds. reports of 2 days worth of downloading, or about 14 hours of consecutive downloading. I wont be missing much when the new one comes out, thats my two cents.
People who are waiting to buy it, i say wait a bit longer and get the better version. I could easily return mine for a full refund but i wont.
At Bill Gates' keynote at CES 2006, he mentioned that the updated 360 would have an internal HD-DVD drive. Not sure if they put that part in the webcast, but here's a link anyway.
http://www.microsoft.com/winme/0601/25904/CES_Keynote_MBR.asx
I really dont understand all the complaining from the current Xbox360 owners.
All the backlash can be summed up in one word: Jealosy.
This new update doesn't hurt you (or me, as I am a 360 owner) in any way. It really bothers me how fickle people these days are, how every 360 owner was perfectly content until a slightly upgraded version is leaked (and who knows if it is legit or not). NOW your system isnt good enough for you? Nothing has changed!!!
What do you want a bigger hard drive for? downloading movies? PLEASE! Do it on your PC for free, its easier and you can get better movies. HDMI? I can kind of understand that, but does it really make that big of a difference to you?
...Ok, had to get that off my chest.
Dude you're an idiot. We have every right to be pissed. 9 FUCKING million people bought 360's and were told by Microsoft that they are "future proof", and that any adjustments could be made by software updates and new cords and accessories.
How can you not comprehend this? If they do come out with this "version 2" crap, then they blatantly lied to every person who bought a 360. This is most certainly not "future proof". I just talked my buddy into buying a 360 two FUCKING weeks ago. He's going to be pissed (like millions of other people) if he finds out he could've waited a couple months and gotten the "version 2".
How can you people not understand our frustration? I still think it's all bogus and fake...but if it's not, then their are 9 million people who have every right to be pissed off.
"Future proof" means that updates and upgrades will take care of EVERYTHING. It certainly does NOT mean that 3 months down the road they will be releasing a new and improved 360.
By the way,I'm a very happy 360 owner who couldn't care less if the 360 is upgraded to something better or more.I'm not a high tech person who has to have or needs the latest or greatest.I don't knock people who are high tech and need the latest and greatest either.I understand that.Everyone has their interests.Component is fine with me.20G harddrive is fine with me.No HDMI is fine with me.I knew what I was getting when I bought the 360 and don't have one complaint.I don't ever want a game console to be so important in my life that I am consumed by the bullshit that goes with comparing each and every aspect of the consoles.For people that do,I'm sure it's an interesting and fun hobby for them and I wouldn't be arrogant enough to knock them for it.I got my 360 10 months after launch.I didn't know why my 360 wasn't noisy until I found out the later 360's being produced had a different harddrive.I can't remember but I think the noisy first harddrive was by Hitachi and the quiet second harddrive was by Samsung.Look it up to be sure.Just like other people have said,things change during a products lifecycle,get reworked,whatever.It's only a game console.I'm not speaking directly to you Ryan I'm speaking to people in general.All I care about is I'm playing some pretty cool games in HD and am having fun.If I'm easy to please,I guess I can consider myself lucky.Sorry for the longwinded boring novel but I had time to kill.Ny apologies for putting anyone to sleep.
I`ve been waiting for the 65nm 360 but had no idea they were going to upgrade so much other stuff. Cool...VERY cool.This will grab even more market share from Sony.MSFT got the best free advertising ever after the Rose Bowl...did anyone see the USC player raving about his 360 and Gears Of War ? MSFT should send him some freebies for sure.
your ps2 not having a built in ir didnt matter because you could get it as an addon which is not the case with the hdmi connector on the new 360 so your analogy is crap. Also microsoft deceived people that they would add hdmi capability if the market demanded it without telling saying btw we cant add it to the old models they should have just said that a hdmi cable was not possible.
to be honest this release was always gonna happen, there is no way anyone who reads online blogs regularly shouldnt have known about a v2. I mean even pre release they were talking about a basic version and a power version, not to mention all the talk of the 65nm processor
come on now, the original xbox had i think 5versions, the ps3 has a couple already...it just is common sense that this was gonna happen
and to those complaining, its still probs gonna b 6 months before this is released, and it will probably be a hundred bux more expensive so they can cover overheads
at the end of the day, this is a very good upgrade to an already excellent product in the face of improved technology available to them, well done M$ [couldnt avoid that bit, had to be done :P]
dev
I was under the impression that the 360 is incapable of 1080p output, with only 1080i native support. There was some article posted some time ago that stated a firmware upgrade for 360 that allowed 1080p output, but that would have to be through software, not hardware unlike with the PS3. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here. Also, my friends are going to be pretty pissed off when they learn about this. They replaced their 360 about 3 months ago, because the first one they bought on launch date kept locking up and freezing randomly. Now, with this update version of the 360, and most likely at the same price as the 360 Premium version if with 120 GB HDD, they will probably trade their 360 into Gamestop or EBGames at a loss. Also, if they did add HD-DVD built-in, wouldn't that piss off a lot of 360 users that bought the $199 add-on? If you think about $399 + $199 (maybe a bit less) combined into one, it'd probably be the same price as the 60 GB PS3 version, or slightly less. That's too much of a price premium for me. I'm sticking to my PC for the meantime.
wow, this really sucks, u spend 400 bucks then later on they upgrade it and expect people to just buy the new one. im pissed a microsoft, i would like to see if theyy will let us launch system people get like a 400 dollar trade in, even a 300 dollar trade in would be nice. but like cmon that ridiculous :(
This is a bunch of crap to do this. The bigger hard drive / new CPU design doesn't bother me as much as the HDMI that will not be available on the current system. A bigger hard drive can be bought, not a big deal. It will get even better if they include the HD-DVD, that will piss me off more. I don't want to have addons to a system when it can be included, they are getting like Sega was back with Sega CD/32X. As far as Nintendo / Sony doing this; with Nintendo, the DS Lite didn't add any new features to the system, just made it smaller. With Sony, the PSone was released 5 years after the original and really just made it smaller. The PSTwo Slim system was released 4 years after the original. Neither of these release added anything new the system, they actually took features away; the PS1 along the way lost the RCA cables and parallel ports and the PS2 lost the Hard Drive connection, but added the network adapter. Other than that, the only thing revisions did was redesigns interally to hardware. Now we have Microsoft, in just a little over a year making a major revision to the console like this. I'm not a fan boy of any system, I actually realise that all system will have good games on them and I just buy them all, but I don't like have something like this come along 15 months after the first one was relased....I can see Sony doing something like this now releasing a system that has the scaler chip they screwed up and didn't include....hopefully they can find a way around that through software for movies at least.
sticking to your pc- Although I do enjoy company of heros on my pc- I picked up a console, so i wouldnt have to keep upgrading my video card to keep up with "next gen" games. consoles were to compliment my gaming experience...between pc gaming and console gaming who has the time- besides-> all that gaming makes some / most of gamers fat a$$e$$ ... look around. going out side for fresh air is nice- hitting the gym or playing sports is better. it's sad to see awesome baseball fields empty on the weekends in the summer 'cause kids are glued to the games
My thoughts exactly. MS better be offering cheap upgrades to us who have already bought the system or I'm never buying another 360 game again (not even Halo3 - I hate Halo anyway), and switching to PS3.
You can't just randomly add features to your hardware!!
I shall be very, very, ve-he-he-herrrryy pissed if this is real.
I am not happy at all. If this turns out to be true Microsoft better do something to keep the early adopters happy...
Why should early adopters be pissed (if this is true...) ? I had my 360 for more than a year, it allready deserved its money! It's not like a price of a car or something, is it ? If I was expecting allways the latest stuff, I would by my gadgets when ? A month prior to my death ?
If this comes to be a nice addition I'll buy another...
Face it!
Things get CHEAPER - FASTER - BETTER all the time!!!
I LOVE THE SMELL OF COMMERCE IN THE MORNING!!!!
BOO-YAH!!!
Ross, the slimmer PS2 isn't the only revision Sony did to the machine, they bundled the network adaptor with the original (well a revision that didn't have changed features) after the Xbox came out, then they revised the unit to have an IR sensor for the next revision (no longer needed a dongle for a remote)oh and that unit supported progressive scan DVD playback that mine doesn't, then the most dramatic change was the slimline unit. It seems that some people are turning a blind eye to reality here when it comes to Sony.
I love my xbox 360 with the 20gb hdd just as much today as I did yesterday before I knew about this new version. I don't get how all these folks suddenly feel M$ is screwing you! You guys must HATE intel, amd, nvidia and ati, those guys keep coming out with new and better stuff every 6 months, you must feel screwed all the time!!!
Can someone explain me if I need a HDMI output if I use the 360 just for games ?
I would buy it when they have the HD-DVD drive built in.
And u can see movies. Instead of using thier external drive.
So.. Wait. People are supposed to be pissed about Microsoft trying to update their system and giving their customers more for less? Were people really that pissed off when Nintendo updated the DS to the DS Lite? OR when Apple updates thier iPods every year or so? I mean, MS isnt leaving you in the dust with the old version, im sure you will still be able to play 360 games. You just wont get the possible 120gig drive or the HDMI. It isnt like they are cutting old xbox users off from buying new games, going on Xbox Live and whatnot until your purchase the new and improved V2. They are just trying to compete with the PS3 and come out with a better system. and I dont see any problem with that, in fact, i love that they are doing this.
If it's not already in the immediate pipeline, you would imagine this disclosure will put substantial pressure on MS to release Zephyr as quickly as possible. I for one am waitig. I was just about to buy my Xbox 360 to go with my new 42" Sharp Aquos, but with HDMI looming, and a quiter, cooler version on the way, its really a no brainer. I just hope it comes quick because I'm dying to dive into HD gameplay.
Also, when Zephyr releases, it may drive down the cost of the original version for those bargain hunters. Lets just hope MS has the sense to support simultaneous HDMI and audio optical connections.
I find it very intersting that everyone is trying to compare this to the DS Lite and the Slimline PS2. That's just about the worst analogy possible. This is only comparable to having the SlimLine having a Hard Drive and component outputs, or the DS Lite being able to play DVDs. However, those never happened, so the point you guys are trying to make is moot. With the PS2 and the DS the only real changes made were to the look. The DS Lite has a brighter screen, and the slimline has a network port, but I don't think it's the same situation with the Xenon and Zephyr.
It's not like you couldn't buy a network adapter for the fat PS2 because it does seem like you won't be able to get your own HDMI cable for the Xenon 360s. For the 120 GB HDD, which will probably be upgradable. If this release comes out before fall 07, they will have just lost a large number of customers. And before anyone says, "Why would that happen, it can still play the same games, etc." it's because, if given the choice of this system, even if for a higher price back in Nov 05, the people who got the Premiums on launch day would have gotten this one instead. It's a choice that should have been given, or the possiblity of such a choice coming should have been announced by a 360 Rep.
Crap. I just ordered my 360 this week. If it had not already been shipped I would cancel the order. I was sure that I had waited long enough, I just did not expect MS to put the final blade in the PS3's back yet
Not a blind eye, just looking at the difference in features. What would you consider more of an upgrade: doubling the HDD capacity and adding HDMI output, or adding an IR sensor and adding an ethernet port.
And don't forget the amount of time between the upgrades. I actually considered getting the slimmer PS2 because of how old my original PS2 was, which was years after I'd bought it. And that slimmer PS2 was part of a price drop.
So how is the USB HD-DVD drive even working now without HDMI? Wasn't everyone making a big deal about how you couldn't watch HDCP protected movies without the handshake between a HDMI output and input?
Maybe Sony made the right choice with waiting so as to not make everyone rebuy their consoles huh huh huh?
I would have to agree with the comment made earlier that all of you who are complaining, had better have a big HDTV capable of 1080p. Sure there are HDTV's with HDMI capability that only go up to 1080i, but in those cases the differences are not there when switching between HDMI and component.
And if you had read the article, it did say that it was UNKNOWN wheither the new HDD would be included with v2, so even if they do, chances are good that they will release the 120GB HDD separetely for us "early adopters".
As for the HD-DVD drive being built-in with v2 or not, if they don't offer some discountto trade in v1 consoles, it's still cheaper to get the external one than to shell out another $400 for a new console.
ok 360 owners, don't lose your heads over this.
1- This is rumor and speculation until it's announced
2- This isn't due out until the summertime (which isn't my definition of "soon")... remember the 65nm chips were delayed until later this year and there's no telling if this will happen a 2nd time. MS isn't going to do 2 upgrades to the 360.
3- The HD upgrade should be welcome news, the question is whether MS will make it easy or a pain in the ass (nevermind the cost) and I expect the HDDVD add on to drop in price.
I don't see how any current 360 owners were shafted and new owners unless the newer ones waited until May or June to buy their soon to be outdated 360 without it being discounted. 6 months of playing Gears of War or other games is worth not having HDMI.
If the 360 v2 comes out as expected: 120 gigs, HDDVD, HDMI (port) for $400, the only remaining ps3 hardware advantages are: "wifi" and "bluetooth".
I wouldn't trade the last year with my 360 with the possibility of getting a HDMI port for the same price a year later...
But that's me...
Wow, I like how the colors in that image are tainted by the picture quality, but the new hdmi ports are jet black, and cannot see any part of the inside like you could with the other 360 ports.
I vote fake. Picture is layered with blue, all except those fake ports.
I hope this is true lol. I'm getting a 360 later this year, and my room is packed as it is, so it would have very little ventilation room, so it being cooler would be a hell of a good thing for me.
ye..many pissed ones will come..including me if there is not gonna be the cable or adapter. and i'm gonna mail about this to microsoft. and if there is no cable/adapter coming, i stop supporting microsoft then..damn them! damn bill!
What is the problem with you morons? Did you think your launch 360 had HDMI? Didn't Microsoft say the hard drive was external so it could be upgraded and eventually would be? Do you really expect them to upgrade yours for free? I am hooked up to a Samsung 61" DLP in 1080P and it is true 1080P in the dashboard - looks amazing. The games are upsample from 720P and look a bit better than they do on a 720P television but not by much. HDMI is not required. The VGA cable is also usless for a television. Sure the 360 upscales DVD's over VGA, but if you have a 1080P television it will upscale on its own ;) All of these people bitching do not have a 1080P television. When you get one feed it a 1080i signal and a 1080p signal and I promise that you will not see a difference because the 1080p set cannot display 1080i so it deinterlaces the signal into a 1080p by using a frame buffer.
I was pretty interested to read the comments to see what the reaction would be to this, assuming people would be upset that their consoles were being made obsolete less than 18 months after purchase. Can anyone imagine if an image of a (somehow visually noticeable) upgraded PS3 showed up?
A few thoughts:
1. This is completely different than the newer version of the PS2, which came after probably more than 50-75 million PS2's had been sold, 5-6 years (at least) after the original launch. It was mostly a cosmetic change, adding the IR port and the ethernet slot while even losing the HDD capability. This new 360 is simply a better version of the console being released.
2. People are comparing this upgrade to what happens with processors, GPU's, etc. The thing is, that's a risk you take when purchasing a computer, not a console. For 25 years, consumers have seen consoles released that weren't upgraded until the next generation. Heck, that's how we got the term "next-generation" for video games. So when MS says the next generation is now, do they mean that the original 360 is or the version 2? If this is in fact true, and Sony is producing a PS3 (not the PSX3) with different internal specs (say, for upscaling), the landscape of console buying is going to completely change.
I'm starting to have less and less time for gaming, and thus don't own any of the 3 new consoles. But I know I'd be pretty pissed if I had one (360 or PS3) that was being rendered inferior within a year and a half of buying it.
The primary focus here for me is whether or not the price is going to be the same as the current premium Xbox 360.
If it costs more, that'd be a waste.
Since most HDTV owners don't even own 1080p capable TVs, the 120 gig HD is the only thing of any real interest....for those who expect to download lots of HD movies off the market place. Gaming experience won't be any different though. Good to see MS has been planning a newer version of it's existing console, this may be a first (not including portables, of course) and will definitely not be the last time we see this. Cudos!
so now we know why amazon sold the xbox 360 for 100.00!!!!! to thin out inventory and get some crazy publicity- they were gone in 29 seconds!
This is why you also buy things from Costco. Love that when the new XBox comes out I'll be able to get my full $$ back for the old 360 - even if its a year from now. They don't even bother asking why you're returning it. LOVE that store.
It's because of Dicks like you that they are changing the policy soon. You're an A-Hole.
What about: put a blu-ray drive init , paint it black and inverse the concave shape? :D:D
Yeah then they can trash the controller, change live to a crappy service and make sure they have no decent games. That should just about match up to what PS3 has. LOL
that doesnt look like photoshop to me...
I'm okay with it, as long as MS sells the 120GB hard drive seperately. I don't have my X360 running through an HDTV just yet, so not having HDMI isn't the end of the world.
TOO BAD THEY DO NOT MAKE THE CASE LARGER AND ADD COOLING FANS, OR WHAT EVER IT TAKES SO WE DO NOT HAVE TO BUY1 EVERY 3 MONTHS!
http://www.xbox360defective.com Tell your xbox 3650 experience.
I honestly don't see what there is to complain about. Early adopters are not going to have any less of an experience on their machines. And let's be honest folks, nobody can see the difference between 1080i and 1080p anyway.
overall I think this is a great thing for MS, and can only serve as an excuse for newer consumers to step in. Existing 360 owners buying the v2 just doesn't make as much sense as say, buying the DS Lite vs the original DS. Now THAT was a difference!
I say if you want a better 360, then just wait for v3 ;)
If the PS3 v2 comes with 802.11n instead of b/g, I'm sure we'll see a rehash of this argument.. "oh the early adopters were screwed" blah blah blah.
Why is part of the machine painted black ?
Do you guys know that the PS2 has 11 different versions so far ?
My guess is that they'll retail this new unit at $399.99, drop the current premium down to $299.99 and drop current Core down to $199.99.
Gives people 3 choices to get into the next-gen of HiDef gaming at great prices. New unit will have 120GB drive.
Sure this makes the current XBOX 360 owners a bit mad, but they bought a system they were happy with when they bought it. If Microsoft releases a V2 they are ABSOLUTELY NOT entitlted to any special treatment whatsoever. Maybe Cingular should give me a free V3i because my razr is now outdated too.