Like weeds: new Natal Xbox rumor shot down, 3D Xbox rumor pops up to take its place
By Paul Miller 
posted Jun 16th 2009 11:28AM
posted Jun 16th 2009 11:28AM
Meanwhile, TeamXbox, the ones who seemed to think the Zune HD was a portable game console of sorts, have a new rumor in the works: the next Xbox 360 won't be out in 2010 because Microsoft is going to wait for 3D-capable TVs to become more commonplace and launch a stereoscopic 3D console at that time. It sounds enticing, but given the fact that the Wii has succeeded directly in the face of its next-gen television empowering PS3 and Xbox 360 competition, we can't say it's the most likely of ideas -- if anything, Microsoft will need to have some solid backwards compatibility for us 2D "Take On Me" types.
[Via PC World]
Read - Microsoft sources play down reports of new Xbox
Read - TeamXbox predicts 3D Xbox
IT BURNS
@ Alex,
But how can you see his face? This is the internet! Is someone watching me?
This is the internet. Someone's always watching you.
It's that damn Geico money...."I always feel like somebody's watching me!!"
Didn't the Jimmy Fallon article show that Natal can exist on the current Xbox 360 design? It's sitting out in front of the monitor he was using?
... with the help of a PC sitting in the huge wooden box to help...
Whats with the pic?
that's how 3-d images appear in books when you don't have the glasses on.
At least circa Friday The 13th 3-D
That is how the image looks like without 3D glasses but if you wore some it would look 3D
*sigh*
Apparently you've never looked at the back of a Fruity Pebbles box as a kid.
Sad world.
Gimmicky 3D glasses, not just for children anymore. Stupid adults welcome too.
where do i get the glasses?
The pic makes me think of that No Fear t-shirt that says "sight for sore eyes".
It doesn't make sense for them to release a new system with Natal coming out. The 360 already became profitable about a year ago, if they can make further profit from Natal, without having to release a new console, which would cause them to start making negative money again, why the hell would they bother?
If anything, they'll do what they've been doing and release a subtly updated console. They already updated for HDMI and 45nm. Maybe they'll turn around and do BluRay and/or DisplayPort...
As evidence has shown add-on peripherals do not sell well.
They will have to include it with every XBox720 (or whatever they'll call it) if they want it to take off. Otherwise it will be for niche games in very few houses and no developer is going to bank on users having it.
True, but even in that scenario, they would have to make it the ONLY way to control the games if they want it to sell better. And I kinda don't see that happening within the next 12-18 months.
Like you said though, if it doesn't have a faithful software backing it WILL fail. Hopefully M$ can rally the developing community to get behind it early enough that they'll have a decent selection of games at release. I wonder where a fledgling company like Microsoft will find the money to convince them....
@Andir3.0
God, I am SOOOO sick of that argument. Everyone acts like marketing is some accident, and it's just not. Gaming isn't the same as it used to be, Microsoft spends LOADS of money promoting their games, and all they have to do is add a few more bucks to the royalties for Natal-enabled games and manufacturers will do it.
Trust me, Microsoft won't let this fail.
-Taylor
@Andir3.0 : Umm, Guitar Hero? Rock Band? Hello?
Yeah, look at all those games that use the guitar and drums (besides those games you get with them...) I don't see anyone playing Halo with a guitar.
All they have to do is sell the 360 and the Natal attachment as a bundle for new buyers, and also sell the Natal attachment by itself for people who already own a 360. Easy as that.
I'm guessing some yellow and "red?" 3D glasses are needed?
Am I right?
(I only have the red and blue, the ones used for chuck and the true disney 3d ones)
It works with red and blue... I just checked.
Make sure the blue is on your left eye, otherwise it looks like the words under the image pops out.
Yes - they've got the 3D effect arse-about-face.
Chuck used blue and yellow glasses, not red and blue. The picture in this post uses red/blue glasses. The 3D tech they are talking about in the article is either stereoscopic 3D (movie theaters) or active 3D (nVidia 3D vision).
Blue on the right eye, Red on the left. You didn't really check, did you?
but arent all the blu-ray lenses sold by sony?
I assume that was a reply to me(?). Yeah, they are, but they could still license it (at a cost). That's how LG, Samsung, etc. release their players and they seem to be doing ok dropping prices (better than freakin Sony in fact). Sony likes to exaggerate how much BluRay technology costs, in order to try and justify their ridiculously overpriced console (and BluRay players and laptops and everything else).
Regardless, they may try and bone Microsoft by skyjacking the price, but it could be worth it for M$ anyways, due to the late-to-the-game BluRay adopters (myself included) who are hesitant to fork over 500 bux for a console that has significantly fewer games and a pretty lackluster online community just to watch 1080p movies.
Yeah, but why would Sony license them out to a competitor? it doesnt make sense to me
"Significantly less games"? It isn't 2007. Stop using the same excuse not to buy a ps3, at least man up and think of a different one.
@Az1Z
No one would use it if it wasn't licensed out. Thats like Sony saying, " We have made blu ray. You have to buy from us. Movie studios have to come to us. We are the rulers of the hd world!!!1one"
@Matt, It does have significantly fewer games. It came out a year later and has a much slower release cycle, so in reality it's fallen further behind than it was at release. But that wasn't my point. I should have said games worth playing. As exclusives go, at least for me personally, there's MGS4, Drake's Fortune and inFamous. That's it. I played Resistance (and Resistance 2) as well as Killzone 2. Did not enjoy myself, Motorstorm either. I would say GT5, but who knows when they'll get their act together with that one.
And as reasons (note: not excuses) go, I did provide an alternative: "and a pretty lackluster online community." For me that is just as important as the games. Live was already a step ahead and now with Last.fm, Facebook/Twitter and the updates to Netflix (not to mention the friend system and its updates and PlayOn), it's decidedly leaving the Playstation Network in its dust. Now if only they would release a freakin browser it would be pure gold.
@Chird, if you didn't enjoy yourself at all playing Resistance...why did you play Resistance 2?
"backwards compatibility", its sort of already 3d, just takes a few extra external tweaks for it to become 3d (of course not as good as a game build for 3d). Nvidia showed that.
I don't think enough people are buying into the 3D craze to make it worthwhile for a company to make a play for that market yet. Not saying it wont happen someday, but I think the market for in home 3D entertainment needs to grow before this happens.
Well, Pixar has said that every new movie they make will be released in 3D (like UP), and a few other movies lately have been. 3D tv's are just around the corner so once they are available, I think we will be seeing more 3D content. Blu-ray already has a spec for 3D.
-Taylor
I'd be shocked if both of the next Sony and MS consoles don't do 3D. Nintendo I can't predict, they haven't even adopted digital audio yet, which is 15 years old.
Wonder what a 3D RROD would look like?
I believe it will most likely be a special pack in but no drastic changes to the hardware. Not for a few years.
It wouldn't be the RROD, it would be the RSOD (Red Sphere of Death)
Thanks for breaking my eyeballs, Engadget.
It's better to brake your eyeballs than your balls.
Don't forget that Sony had PS3's running Stereoscopic 3D games at GDC this year.
They had a version of Wipeout HD and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue running in true Stereoscopic using their new 3D-capable Bravias & Real3D Glasses.
No new hardware was require (except for the 3d TVs obviously)...
Technically MS wouldn't have to release a new console, if the 360 was powerful enough.
That's the thing...
Technically the Xbox IS powerful enough... which is why this whole "new hardware for 3D" crap is BS
3D TV's are so stupid. who the hell wants to wear glasses everytime they watch TV? What happens when you have friends over. Is everyone going to have a stash of 3D glasses laying around, I hope this phase blows over soon.
exactly what i was thinking.
Some of the screens don't require glasses. The Laser TV's don't require glasses. It's all a cost thing.
I don't know about the other ones, but LaserVue from Mitsubishi you need glasses.
They aren't the traditional color swapping ones though. They're polarized i.e. they appear clear, but have a vertical filter in one eye and horizontal in the other that does some mind magic with the image on the TV to make it pop at you.
They have some prototype TVs that don't require glasses, only the first generation will require glasses and honestly, it's so cool I wouldn't mind, I've tried it.
Chill out.
-Taylor
I agree Taco. 3D tv is definitely a phase. Every time I hear it in the news I think 'bull'. 3D TV's that don't require glasses? I'd rather spend the extra thousand or so on a better quality TV than one with niche tricks. Think about the wasted processor power and memory 3D images would sap from the console, when instead you could get better graphics, AI, or deep color. When will we get deep color games?
I remember 1998 when 3Dfx had stereoscopic glasses and it was suppose to be the next huge thing. It's been more then 10 years and I don't really see any huge advances, except maybe the headaches aren't as bad. I don't even really consider it 3d as more of a 2d / 3d image. Maybe once an actual holodeck type device comes out I will care. Until then I consider it a cheap gimmick, I don't know why companies are investing so much into it.
@ webran61
This is the internet. Someone's always watching you.
Wow, I thought they'd never make a console ever again.
The point of the 3D is really so that you can't see the RROD.
i dont even have an hdtv yet and microsoft wants me to have a 3d hdtv for next year??? huhh???
ANDWHATSHAPPENINGWITHTHISDIGITALCHANGEOVER!!!! IWASNTPREPAREDANDNOWMYTVDOESNTWORK!!!!!!!!! ARMAGEDDON!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111
You know, everybody just can't fucking wait to get a 3D TV.
Teamxbox is high.
Any 120hz TV can do 3D with the right inputs, and a pair of glasses. NVidia already sells a special graphics card that does that with 120hz monitors.
And personally 3D TV has been big on my list.
-Taylor
At no point do the MS reps say that a new console is not coming out.
"Don't believe nonsense on the internet is all I'll say. We'll do the right thing for Natal."
I think the nonsense he is refereeing to is the crazy specs posted on the interwebs.
Aaron Greenberg, director of product management, told Eurogamer: "I think part of the excitement about this announcement is that in many ways we are delivering a next generation experience this generation. With that said, I can confirm that Natal will run on Xbox 360 so no new console investment will be necessary."
At no point do either of them state that a new console is not coming out. The 3D thing would be a smart move for MS to include support for but I do not think it will be touted as a must buy feature. Special TVs are not need to do stereoscopic. The new 3D TVs are just designed to make it work better and incorporate the hardware. If you have a PC you have been able to do it for years. Older LCD were not fast enough to make it smooth and crisp like CRTs and the newer TVs.
yes; wireless LCD based glasses will be needed for every one in the room to watch in 3D
But the signal sent is easily turned to non-stereoscopic buy only displaying one side. This is not a your stuck watching it in 3D or you can't watch it kind of tech.
Actually Microsoft never denied a new console is coming out. It only confirms that Natal will be backwards compatible with current 360 systems.
Christ that gave me a headache after staring at it for a few seconds. Damn you, Engadget. Damn you to Hell.
how is it like weed? see the world in 3d without 3d glasses?
we ALWAYS see the world in 3d without 3d glasses...
Here's my take...
In the fall of 2010...
MS releases NATAL camera system compatible with all legacy 360s. It includes the necessary additional processors required for the motion tracking system. Unfortunately, It also includes a separate power supply They sell this at near cost with a bundled Rare mini games collection.
MS also releases redesigned 360 sku that has the motion tracking processors built in. The bundled camera will be smaller than the one for legacy systems. This is a way to reduce Natal's cost by putting all the components on one motherboard. I bet they also revert to one sku for a while. They also redesign it so the damn CD drive doesn't sound like a freaking train and doesn't skip when you jump up and down like a crazy person when using Natal.
Oh and the hard drives are no longer proprietary ;-)
The surprising thing would be if the next Xbox, or any other console for that matter, didn't support 3d.
this prediction really doesn't seem that creative.
I could really use some more 3d
3D is so fucking annoying for movies I can't even contemplate how much suck it would bring to games. Just die already like you did in the 80's 3D!!
a-Ha!
I really dont think MS would bank anything major 3D software/hardware. Natal is enough for now.
MS would have the relay on the following things:
1. In home 3D tech to catch up.
2. People owning a 120Hz TV (If it is indeed possible with just a 120Hz TV) / I own a 120Hz TV, but i dont know anyone else that does.
3. "3D Ready" TVs - This would mean MS would have to rely on other hardware manufacturers to make their tech work.
4. A lot of people investing in a new tech and willing to make a large new purchase to allow MS's 3D tech to work.
I just think their are too many roadblocks and variables for MS is realistically think they can bring 3D into homes using the Xbox. People will say "3D in the homes is just around the corner!" Its been that way since the 80s... The 3D tech now away is much better than it was back then, but the costs still exists. I tried out Sony's 3D LCD TVs at NAB this year and while it was impressive fast motion was still jittery and watching it from a side angle made it look funny. The Sony rep said these were normal LCDs we were looking at but they weren't "consumer" LCDs just yet
i heard this rumour came from dev kits that are being shipped now,seems there are bits of code that point to a 3d glasses being supported
The next Xbox will be called the 180. A complete U-turn.
I've been sitting around with a 3D-Ready Samsung TV for over a year, and there still isn't anything 3D to do on it. Please don't wait much longer.
Microsoft VirtualBoy
To throw in my two cents; Sony fanboys get a life and move out of your parents basements; stop trash talking about the awesomeness that Microsoft is coming out with. If you don't like it you can go live in your ps3 its big enough.
no, but natal will cost $399
They can't be waiting for "no glasses" 3D TV because that's way too far off (market-wise) to be a consideration. Remember many people still consider HD to be a waste since not enough people have it.
So if this rumor is even true - then more likely are 3D LCD shutter glasses synchronized to a console running two separate views at 60 FPS split over a 120Hz display. This is easier to digest as shutter glasses are a fairly simple affair, and I know a couple people, myself included, with 120Hz TV's and they'll only become more common. They've got 240's already!
Something I noticed about 3D while watching UP... if it's done well you really don't even notice. And once the gimmick is gone, then what?
What's with the blurry pics? Is this endgadget? Helloooo???