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320GB HDD available this month for Xbox 360, $130 ups your storage game
Since its introduction, Microsoft's second generation Xbox 360 has had nary a stand-alone HDD option aside from the company's proprietary 250GB drive, priced at a spendy $130 -- this despite those occasional limited edition consoles packing a massive 320GBs of space. That's soon to change, however, as Major Nelson's announced a new 320GB HDD for the 360, set to be available this month. Possibly in an attempt to sweeten the deal, this platter maintains the 250GB's $130 cost of adoption, and comes pre-loaded with Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (sadly though, no Lego love for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Slovakia or Japan, where the game won't be available). Notably, rather than dropping the 250GB drive's price, it's now curiously absent from the Xbox website (and we won't hold our breath waiting for it to pop up again either). Nothing like a good ol' fashioned pricing premium for official Xbox storage, right?
How would you change Microsoft's new Xbox 360?
So, you didn't wait for those forthcoming Kinect bundles to ship before picking up a new Xbox 360, huh? Good on you. Now that you've had all summer to break 'er in, we're keenly interested in knowing how exactly you -- the dear consumer -- would change Microsoft's slimmer, edgier Xbox 360. Would you have crafted a more stackable case? Thrown in a Blu-ray drive for obvious reasons? Included four controllers and a game for a nominal fee? Packed more than 250GB of hard drive space? Retooled the controller at the time of launch, rather than... say, last week? Go ahead and get real in comments below. Just keep it halfway sane down there.
Origin PC's Big O desktop: half gaming PC, half Xbox 360, all muscle
Oh, sure -- we've seen an Xbox 360 enclosure stuffed with x86 innards, but we can't say we've ever seen anything quite like this. Gaming upstart Origin PC has just shattered every preconceived notion about its potential with the Big O, an appropriately titled luxury machine that combines a liquid-cooled gaming PC with a liquid-cooled Xbox 360 Slim. In one box. A pair of base configurations are available (though customizations are limitless), with both of 'em rigged up to run the PC and Xbox concurrently. In other words, these bad boys can actually crunch SETI@home data while you explore the vastness of Halo: Reach. The $7,669 build includes an overclocked 4.0GHz Core i7-930 CPU, Rampage III Extreme mobo, twin NVIDIA GTX480 graphics cards, 6GB of Corsair memory, a 1,500 watt power support, 12x Pioneer Blu-ray burner, two 50GB OCZ SSDs wired up as a boot drive, Windows 7 Home Premium, a liquid-cooled Xbox 360 and bragging rights the size of Texas Alaska. For those still unsatisfied, there's a $16,999 version that's frankly too lust-worthy to spell out here (but is in the gallery below). Hit the source link if you're feeling ambitious, but don't blame us for blowing your kid's college fund in one fell swoop. %Gallery-101543%
Xbox 360 slimster made over in white, just for the hell of it
Missing your oldie Xbox 360's bright and airy white finish? Well, Microsoft's still not willing to sell you a slimmified 360 in any color other than black (excepting the limited edition Halo gear), but at least you can gaze upon the singular example of what a white one may look like above. This seemingly repainted Xbox 360 250GB (to give it its official, and ridiculous, name) has been lovingly put together over in China and really makes us wonder why Microsoft is depriving us of such snowy good looks. Perhaps it wanted to draw a clear line between the old and the new? Either way, hit the source for the cheapest way to peek an all-white slim 360 without giving the Colorware crew a call. [Thanks, Anthony] Update: We've tracked down the talented modder to one Craig Manders, or Mandark, and have linked his Photobucket profile below for more imagery of the blanched Xbox 360.
Microsoft details Vejle, the new Xbox 360's system-on-chip architecture
There aren't many unresolved mysteries with Microsoft's new console by this point -- apart from perhaps why it wasn't named the Stealthbox, like we were suggesting -- but one thing that hasn't been covered in excruciating detail yet is the new 360's splicing of the CPU and GPU into the same chip. Microsoft has remedied that today, informing us that the 45nm system-on-chip (codenamed Vejle; sorry, Valhalla fans) inside the refreshed Xbox makes do with a relatively minimal 372 million transistors, requiring only 40 percent of the power and less than 50 percent of the die space of its 2005 ancestor. A somewhat bemusing addition, noted by Ars, is the FSB Replacement sector you see in the image above. It's designed to induce lag in the system so that the Vejle chip doesn't run faster than the old stuff, something Microsoft couldn't allow to happen. Facepalm away, good people, facepalm away.
Colorware jazzes up your new Xbox 360
No need for a fanciful new HDTV? Not even a new Segway? There's some colorful home entertainment gear for you yet. The famed gadget painting company just announced that Microsoft's shiny new Xbox 360 is the next to go under the gun, with near limitless color options waiting to be splashed onto each and every panel. If you managed to already pick one up, Colorware's charging $175 for the send-in option; if you're looking to buy new, that'll cost you at least five Benjamins. But hey, that's nothing for the satisfaction of owning a game console that's part orange, part lime green and part purple, right?%Gallery-96800%
New Xbox 360 250GB review
When we first saw its face in a Italian ad, more than one Engadget editor called its bluff: "The top half doesn't line up with the bottom," some said, "that's got to be Photoshopped." While that early image was indeed CG, the form factor was certainly not -- the new Xbox 360 sports enough sleek angles and disappearing curves we've taken to calling it the Stealthbox. As mother always told you, though, it's what's inside that counts; does that glossy exterior house any improvements, or is it hiding just another Xbox? Find out after the break.
New Xbox 360 has red dot of death, instead? Not quite
RRoD may be gone by omission, but that doesn't mean your new Xbox 360 won't occasionally give you the evil eye. Case in point: this 250GB unit spotted over at NeoGAF, which has a red dot smack dab in the center of the power button. What message is it trying to convey? Find out after the break.
New Xbox 360 priced at €249.99 in Europe
While those lucky enough to find themselves in America can start hoarding new Xbox 360 consoles this week, folks in Europe are being forced to wait until July 16th. But hey, at least you now know how much it'll cost you when that fateful day arrives, right? Microsoft has just fessed up to a €249.99 ($305) MSRP for the Xbox 360 250GB, complete with WiFi and one of those Kinect-friendly auxiliary ports. In related news, Wired.co.uk is also reporting that the console will sell for £200 ($294) when it lands in Britain, but we're still waiting on the Big M to confirm that one.
Xbox 360 Arcade to eventually be replaced by $199 new Xbox 360; data transfer cable will be $20
Liking the form factor, but not the price? You could settle for an existing Xbox 360 Elite, Pro or Arcade, as we hear the introduction of the new Xbox 360 is being accompanied by a $50 price cut on existing units, but if your heart's set on that glossy black, there's a cheaper Stealthbox coming down the pike eventually. GameSpot reports a slim Xbox 360 Arcade successor will appear after the now-discontinued SKUs sell out for the same $200 as before. Not exactly surprising, but it's always nice to know. And if you've preordered your shiny new Xbox 360 but have a older unit at home, you're going to need a little something to move those profiles, avatars and game licenses over. Should you have an Elite (or if you've upgraded your hard drive) you might find the cable you need between your couch cushions, but on the off-chance your Xbox 360 Hard Drive Data Migration Transfer Kit hit the dumpster long ago, you're not entirely out of luck. The one-way, single-use device will retail soon for $20, a mere $5 more than what it costs at the Microsoft Store -- or $19 more than used cables fetch on eBay.
New Xbox 360 250GB now available for preorder at GameStop, Newegg and Amazon
We had our unboxing already, but you're just days away from yours -- the new Xbox 360 is now available for preorder at the likes of Amazon, Newegg and GameStop. $300 buys you the freshly-announced Stealthbox with 250GB of storage and built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi, a Kinect-ready auxiliary port and enough vents to hopefully make RRoD a thing a thing of the past. We'd tell you to read our early impressions and perhaps wait for our full guide, but if you've read this far you know what you want -- the preorder details -- and you'll find them three times over at our source links.
Xbox 360 250GB first unboxing!
We've unboxed our first 250GB Xbox 360 (the Xbox 360 'Slim' to the layman) and we've gotta tell you: it felt good. Stand by for more shots. Update: Here they are, we've got video on the way as well. Here are some initial thoughts: The touch sensitive buttons quickly asserted themselves as not-the-best-thing-ever when we were unable to tell if we'd turned the Xbox on under the bright lights of Microsoft's setup. We're sure we'd see the green glow easily in our dark entertainment center at home, but it's a small little inconvenience -- one that PS3 owners are well aware of. The touch sensitive eject button isn't so bad, because the tray seems uber fast -- we didn't clock it, but we'd say it pops out faster than our existing Xbox. The Xbox feels just about as heavy as the existing Xbox, although the power adapter is smaller and much lighter. We booted up Alan Wake and while we were in a relatively loud room, we didn't find the Xbox to be loud at all. We'll have to get it in the labs to see how it stacks up with the original, but Microsoft obviously had noise pollution in its sights here. They worked directly with the drive manufacturer to reduce every source of noise (including air turbulence!), and dub their accomplishment "whisper quiet." This is a personal opinion, but we think it looks pretty badass in person, though not at all a wild shift from the existing look. Update 2: We've got video after the break! It's very exciting, we assure you. %Gallery-95146%
New Xbox 360 gets official at $299, shipping today, looks angular and ominous (video hands-on!)
At first we were doubtful that a edgy box appearing in a little Flash ad from Italy last night could be legit, but Microsoft just got real with the new Xbox 360. (That's all it's officially called -- just "the new Xbox 360.") It'll launch today priced for $299, while the old Elite will stick around for $249 and the Arcade will drop to $149. The new box is crazy sexy in glossy black with touch-sensitive buttons, and Microsoft says it's "whisper quiet," with one large fan instead of two -- the new 45nm chipset undoubtedly generates less heat to begin with. On the features front, it's got integrated 2.4GHz 802.11n WiFi, five USB ports, and 250GB of storage on a removable hard drive, although it's not a standard drive or same drive as the old console, and older Memory Units won't work, either. Upgraders can use a USB-to-Xbox hard drive connector cable to migrate to the new box, however. There's also a "custom Kinect port" on the back that looks like an HTC-style ExtUSB port, and it also seems like the power supply has moved inside the case, which is a welcome change. New Xbox 360 units are shipping to retailers now, with availability expected later this week, and MS conference attendees are actually getting theirs shipped today. If you're in Europe, don't fret, as yours is coming soon. Microsoft's official Xbox Twitter account has confirmed the console hits there on July 16. Update: We just got the official fact sheet, check it after the break. Oh, and we're calling it the "Stealthbox" to keep all the models straight. It just feels right, you know? Update 2: According to a Microsoft representative, the Xbox 360 Original will still be sold while there's stock, but they're not making any more of them. Once they're gone, they're gone -- and we'd assume a new $199 variant of the new design will eventually be released to fill the void. %Gallery-95131% %Gallery-95129% %Gallery-95133%
Live from Microsoft's E3 2010 keynote!
After last night's Kinect-ic event, what on earth could Microsoft have in store for its big E3 2010 press conference? A slimmer Xbox 360? Valhalla motherboards? Hulu integration? Surely there's gonna be a new game or two in store. Stay tuned -- doors open at 10:00AM PT / 1:00PM ET and the magic starts shortly after!
Xbox 360 Slim outed by Italian ad?
Of the rumored devices we've been looking forward to getting official at E3 this year, two of the biggest come from Microsoft -- both of which, sadly, seem to have escaped from their bag a little early. First is Kinect, the re-naming of "Project Natal," and now it's looking like the rumored Xbox 360 Slim has been leaked early as well. An Italian site, Console Tribe, ran an ad (embedded after the break) showing the above rather more angular looking console that's definitely an Xbox 360, but definitely not a current model. It mentions that this model is compatible with the Kinect and also invites you to "live today." We're thinking this model was not supposed to go live until tomorrow, but seizing an extra day doesn't sound so bad for us.
Slim Xbox 360 and Natal bundle to debut at E3? (Rumor update: false)
It's always good to see rumors coalescing into neat little bundles, which in Microsoft's case means that its expected 360 hardware refresh and Natal re-introduction will coincide at E3 this year. Surfer Girl, one of the gaming industry's more notorious rumor hounds, is telling us that Microsoft is about to unveil a slimmer Xbox 360 at the upcoming E3 in June, together with Natal hardware bundles. She describes the new system design as "pretty neat" and suggests there'll be a shift to black as the console's primary color, to go along with Natal's darker hue, which in turn was dictated by the fact it'd have to sit alongside dark and moody HDTV sets. Very feng shui of Microsoft indeed. For the final, and most unbelievable of her predictions, she tells us -- while highlighting the initials M.G.S. -- that we'll be "very surprised and very pleased" by one of the Natal games revealed at the show. Seriously, Metal Gear Natal? [Thanks, Lander] Update: Looks like this was all a hilarious hoax perpetrated by someone pretending to be Surfer Girl. Yeah, we've heard plenty of "real" rumors about a slimmer Xbox and Natal bundles, but it looks like there's no weight to this one.
Xbox 360 getting USB storage support in Spring 2010 firmware update
Are we gazing onto the cusp of a new horizon, one where our Xbox 360 storage needs aren't shackled to overpriced proprietary hard drives? Probably not quite. Our best friends at Joystiq have managed to obtain documents (corroborated with multiple sources) showing that the folks in Redmond are mulling over an option to enable USB mass storage support for its game machine. To elaborate, that means downloaded Xbox Live and Arcade games, DLC, other associated game files, and even installed disc-based games can be saved to an external HDD of your choosing. The documents further elaborate that the storage device itself must be 1GB or more; a system partition of 512MB is required, and by default beyond that the consumer partition (i.e. your games and the like) will occupy the remainder of the drive or 16GB, whichever is smaller -- and unfortunately, that's as much as you're gonna get. This could be another way for Microsoft to, alongside the rumored Valhalla motherboard, trim some fat for a slimmer future... but given the size constraints, we're guessing it's more likely to be a more spacious alternative to Memory Units than the main HDD itself. Word has it the feature will be rolled out in a Spring 2010 firmware update -- that is, if Microsoft keeps to its paperwork here. Excited? We are. Read the full documentation over at Joystiq.
