120GiG Black Xbox360 With HDMI Official!?

www.gamersreports.com reports that Microsoft Australia has told a store named Myer to prepare the store for a Black 360 with a 120GB hard drive in April. The black Xbox 360 is due out in Australia for $749 AU in April. They will try to push this forward to late March to deter buyers from the March 23 PS3 launch.

[HungPHAT]

I'll buy it, but wondering if it will have a HD DVD Drive built in it, then for sure............

[Rooted_Dust]

$749? Is that more or less than PS3 is selling for in that country? I don't see how they intend to draw people away by introducing a more expensive console. Also if Microsoft is introducing a better version they should sponsor some sort of trade in deal for early adopters who will now own obsolete hardware.

[PS360PCROCKS]

its about $555 dollars so in between both PS3's but this is a good deal if it does include a HD-DVD drive and that big of a HDD

[Dusk]

....this is just a rumor until MS actually officially announces something. Secondly, current 360s can output digital. An adapted HDMI cable is possible, so nothing becomes obsolete as current 360s can be upgraded if MS choses to do so. Finally, seeing as nothing is official and you don't even know the Australian PS3 price, how can you possibly know that MS is introducing a more expensive console.

[Boink]

the ps3 will be just under 1000$ in autralia.

[MikeGdaGod]

Everybody keeps doggin the ps3 but what about MS. They keep coming out with new 360s every year almost. This only justifes my ps3 purchase because its obvious MS is trying to keep up with Sony. At least Sony put everything in the ps3 from the beginning whether you need it or not. I thought MS said HDMI wasn't important, now they'll have it. What do all you ps3 bashers have to say now that MS is going to slight their 10 million fanbase with a new system? Now its another $400(maybe more)..plus what ever new add-ons they'll have.(you know they're coming) It has to sting just a little...No?

[Tempo]

have u ever heard the word "rumour", it hasn't even been confirmed by MS (u know the company that owns the 360 and rights to it)and you respond in the affrimative. If you have some exclusive info none of us have plz feel free to share (links to proof as well thank you).

[MikeGdaGod]

no i don't have any info but i do know MS. they do the same things with their OS and almost anything else they come out with. i'm kinda in-between on how i feel because it sonds cool but i already have a 360 so it feels like i'm gonna get shafted. i imagine people that bought the first xbox felt the same when the 360 came out so soon. i think its coming, to me the only rumor is when it will come out.

[deepio]

Why would it sting, the only thing I need out of that lot is a bigger hard drive which I'm sure they'd release as an add-on anyway. 720p through VGA is fine for my TV so no need for the HDMI and who cares if it's quieter or black, none of that bothers me.

Sure I might have a slightly inferior edition of a console but to have played the games I have done since the 360 was launched makes it worth it.

[USMChardcharger]

you say the M$ keeps coming out with a new 360 every year.? when have they come out with a new 360...and how many years do think the 360 has been out?

[DrRage77]

your comment is absurd "i imagine people that bought the first xbox felt the same when the 360 came out so soon"

um, do you realize that the original xbox came out in November 2001, and that the xbox360 came out in November 2005? Why in the world would anyone feel slighted when an updated console comes out 4 years after the first one?

i have a question for you...you say that there are new 360's every year (completely not true since we are still on version 1), yet Sony did what you are claiming with the ps2...do you remember that they released the slimmer ps2, and then another one after that? looks like your argument actually proves you don't know anything...case closed lol

[MikeGdaGod]

if you're going to follow everything i said word for word then let me explain a bit. no MS doesn't come out with a new system EVERY year, but they're already on their second version and now this might be coming out.(i dont know what changes were made to the first version, maybe something to make it stop catchin fire or breakin)...i say this because i'm on my third 360 already, thank god for that extended warranty
as for the first xbox, yeah the 360 came out four years later BUT MS dropped ALL support for the original. you can't even buy a xbox game from most places now. THAT SUCKS
now just imagine if the rumor is true and there's more to it like a HD player built-in, that would show that most of the things MS said about the ps3 and all its unnecessary features was bull.
i hope this is just a rumor, but if not i think it would really show that MS just wanted to get their next-gen system out before Sony.

[DJ]

current 360 models only output in Analog, which is why it doesn't support DVI or HDMI. It's the reason that Microsoft has been experimenting with HDMI output in the first place. If it was truly possible with their current output, they wouldn't bother making a brand new console.

What confuses a lot of people is that Microsoft refers to their AV port as the 'Digital Output'. That, and some people don't know that VGA is an analog feed, not digital feed.

"An adapted HDMI cable is possible, so nothing becomes obsolete as current 360s can be upgraded if MS choses to do so." The console's been on the market for nearly 15 months. Do you really believe that they simply chose not to sell DVI/HDMI cables for their console when nearly every HDTV supports it? Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft releases this 3rd SKU, which blatantly shares a lot of aspects of the Playstation 3. Large hard drive capacity, HDMI output, built-in HD Movie drive (though not for games...yet), sleek black color.

The question is whether Microsoft feels cornered enough to risk releasing it. If they go through with it the whole thing could backfire and the media would have a field day.

[shotty]

So your quoting yourself now.....interesting

[THAMMER1]

It is retarded. Nothing else...just...retarded. LOL PS3DO

[gogators]

would Microsoft in it's current position feel cornered in anyway. They currently are in a good position for this generation. The 360 has plenty of games, all it needs is a price drop for more mass market friendliness. That picture looks like the 360 used by developers.

[GaMr-]

IF True: I think this is another big F%^$& our fans from Microsoft !
IF False: Then for god sakes atleast drop the 120GB HDD !

[Anerythristic26]

I have little to no interest in a model like this , so I personally am not upset. If they launched a Black premium regular old 399.99 360 later this year with the 65nm and the quieter dvd drive , I would actually happily rebuy. Seriously I like the 360 that much.

[Munky]

To be honest i'm waiting on one of the "newer models" to hit so I can pick one up. My current 360 has been awesome so far, but has recently started to make a really nasty crunching noise when the drive starts of stops :(. So with all this talk about newer version coming out, especially the one mentioned in the article, I would definitely buy it.

[USMChardcharger]

munky...you probably can get yours replaced for free...i would think about it because that doesnt sound so good.

[Munky]

Yeah I got the warranty from Best Buy, so I can eplace it on the spot. If my current 360 can make it til the newer models hit the shelves I might as well wait, cuz once you replace your 360, you have to renew your warranty. So I'll wait it out, then replace it with one of the newer/quieter machines all in one shot. Thanks for lookin out homes :) .

[deathtok]

Hey when it comes to the U.S. I think it will be time for me to get my XBox 360 finally. Hopefully this will include a 65nm CPU and be just a little quieter =)

[Funky Town_TX]

They can make 400 sku's. I will not feel shafted. Of I thought $400 was cool for what I got then it was. Consumer electronics work in a funny way. I payed $700 for a 27" LCD TV about 1 1/2 years ago. Now the 32" is cheaper and has more features, but I don't feel shafted. I'm not saying it's should be cool for everyone, but it does not bother me. If M$ and Sony can make their product better then rock on.

[Madmax1281980]

Why Is It When Microsoft Make Hardware And Software Improvements Ppl Get Scared Or Think They Should Get Something For Free. If That Was The Case Then Every Company In The Whole World Should Do That Then Coz How About When U Go And Buy A Cpu From Intel Or Amd And Then A Couple Of Months Later They Release Another 1 But Better Or Video Cards Or Mobile Phones To Be Honest I Could Be Here All Night. Everybody Should Chill Its Only A Gaming System And Upgrades Are A Good Thing I Hope This Does Happen Coz Then I Will Just Trade In My 360 Ive Got Now For Money Towards The New Version As Simple As That Nobody Gets Shafted.

[ElementX]

Holy crap.... you only capitalize the first word in a sentence, or proper nouns ;) and acronyms, and what-not.

[RelloC]

Your English teacher just shot herself.

[power of Green]

That's cool as hell i'm getting the black one and i'm going to put the white one in the rec room.

[power of Green]

You got to give it up! for all these Sony fans posting 360 news it seems like 360 fans have given up on posting news.

[USMChardcharger]

Listen...if this rumor is true...or if in fact some different model comes out...does it really matter.

you will play the same games...they will look the same.

HDMI...is for the copy right protection set by hollywood...and M$ & Sony has struck a deal to extend the time when the copy right protection is used...something like 2010 or 2012.

so that will not be needed until the next round of consoles.

so who cares if a model comes out with some extras...do you really need them? no you don't

do you want them? that is for you to decided...but again not needed.

[GaMr-]

But how would it look if Sony re released the PS3 with a DVD compatible drive as oppose to blu ray and dropped the HDMI for VGA and made the HDD smaller. Xbox fanboys would have a field day of Sony bashing. But Microsoft after calling HDMI not necessary and clamining there is no need for a bigger HDD can switch things up. Have I hope we all realize that Sony arent the only ones that talk out of there rectum. Atleast people will finally start to see wich system was built to last and wich system was built to sell.

( Of course all pending on this even being true)

All im saying 360 die hards shouldnt act like this is that good of a thing. It kinda sucks. You just bought a $400 dollar console a year ago it should be equipped with everything anyone could possibly want for atleast the next 4-5 years.

And again its pending on this even being truth and not a rumor. But this is the second "Microsoft releasing upgraded 360 article" the other one was bogus however. We will just wait and see I guess.

[Funky Town_TX]

If M$ made the HD-DVD a internal drive nd required it for games then I would be pissed. No BR or HDMI would be crazy for Sony. The no HDMI would make the PS3 incompatable with every Sony 1080p TV. You are fishing.

[techie]

Ps3 drive is dvd-compatible...just saying.

[FrostyMelon]

Not this utter BS, again.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

If this means a price-drop on the original models...I might get one. All I need from that system is GOW and Alan Wake...

I'm tired

[THAMMER1]

But if it cost more the current models mite receive a price cut. But we will see time is the truth. If you do not believe me go ask your mom.

[power of Green]

WTF are you talking about?, i wan't a black 360. MS has always said HDMI wasn't needed for HD but if the consumers demand was high enough they would come up with something.

KEEP SPINNING IT !!! ??? i have two LCD's with HDMI and they're black, seems like people are happy to see a third SKU to me. KEEP SPINNING the fact that Sony's in trouble because of BLU-RAY/price/no games/not 3X more powerful, lack luster online which is very popular with console's.

[DJ]

"MS has always said HDMI wasn't needed for HD but if the consumers demand was high enough they would come up with something."

And this IS that something. Nearly every HDTV sold has HDMI input, and we all know HDMI has better picture quality than analog solutions (i.e. VGA and Component). There's a reason Sony went through the trouble of changing their 20GB model to support HDMI rather than just through component.

[GaMr-]

Im just looking at it logically. If sony was to drop a new "SKU" next year it would be just as ridiculous. Not to mention if after talking all that smack about DVD media being inferior for the future then to eventually convert to it. Thats how I see Microsoft jumping up to HDMI. Stop being so blinded by biased for Sony. Microsoft flamed sony's HDMI idea funnier than that they flamed 1080P they even flamed Consoles being used for HD movie playback. Im not "Fishing" whatever the hell that means. Im just stating common sense. And pointing out a trend. Whats the average gamer going to think when they see an Xbox360 in black with HDMI.

"OMG they are copying Sony".

"i have two LCD's with HDMI and they're black"

Really bro thats pretty cool. Are you going to buy every other 360 owner 2 of those niffty black LCD's w/ HDMI too. There are two people your LCD monitors that you own account for in this article ones named Jack the other is named "SHYT" and Jack just left the thread. So give me a better reason why you would love to be upgrading your console after a year?

I will however give you "Price, no game and lackluster online" for the PS3. But none of those are as bad as "lack of hardware"

Im not tryin to even argue this. Im just saying it as I see it. This could very well be bogus. I just cant see how this is a good thing if your an average Xbox fanboy who chose to drop $400 bucks last year. Maybe it is. Who knows.

[Boink]

MS has repeatedly said they will NOT build one with an internal HDDVD.

[Skynetone]

HDMI has become the standard and in the furture all concoles will have it {so why not now}

120 gig thats alot of game demos

not pushed about hd-dvd {its no use for games} {hd-dvd will fail for sure}

[highps3]

lol..Id bet money its not true. If it is ill pick one up in a second.

If i had owned a 360 id be pist, it makes their console completely obsolete (Xbox 1.5 rather)

From a Ps3 Fanboys point of view I LOVE THIS!

I want this if its true.

[ApocalypseShadow]

is right.it means the 360 wasn't built to last.it was built to sell as cheap as possible for now gamers.not future proof if this turns out to be true.you already got 360s with the new dvd drive in it.then it's 360s with 65nm chips.what next?

if true,i see 360s handed down to little brothers,i see 360s traded in for credit on the new one,i see microsoft producing 360 different system configurations(360 walkmans,360 toasters,360 waffle irons,360 easy bake ovens for daughters to get into gaming,360s with the ps3 logo on it,360 robot dog walkers,etc.) to keep you from seeing the black ps3 sitting over there,i see EASY-E singing about being "built to last..."

spin it all you want.but if true,it's microsoft putting the SCREW YOU TO EARLY ADOPTERS.but your hardcore,you'll buy it,most 360 gamers buy anything is what you usually say.just like mikey,yeah.(some of you are too young to remember mikey)-life cereal.

[highps3]

After reading the article as much as I would like this to be true, its just not.

First they wouldnt release it in Au first and only.
Microsoft wouldnt be so hush hush with Ps3 EU launch around the corner.

Im hoping for it though. Better idea than the horrible unit they have out now. Atleast they started to fix stuff with that breakbox. Feel bad for people who have it keep breaking.

[xfrgtr]

Very bad news for actual 360 owners .MS wants to keep up with SONY,mmmmmhh......I wonder why?I think he's seeing the light that he's losing the war in the long term,he has no choice and he screw his fans again ,he doesn't care about you but care about your money

[ooogabooga23]

I think that this rumor is fake, it would be nise to have a larger hdd.
Why are people saying MS cant stay with there product? The reason why they put in a new dvd drive is to please future owners, to improve the consols performance. Unlike sony whos ps2's keep on breaking and there not changing anything to make them work.

[donscrillinger]

i hope they bring this 1 to the states

[HaKeRsCanRotINHEL]

this is complete BS! [ ; ) >

[gullman]

I hope that Microsoft does not forget it's loyal fan base. We all waited until the launch of the 360. I hope this hard drive if it is true will be available for a seperate purchase for a reasonable price. The 20 gig hard drive was too small and Microsoft final realized that. So now all we can do is just wait and see what happens.

[True Gamer]

If MS does release this in the USA, there would be no excuse on saying the PS3 is more expensive, and thus the PS3 would slaughter the xbox 360 in sales.

Microsoft should instead focus on the 10.4 million current xbox 360 owners and provide them with new and better games, and maybe a price cut if they plan to beat Sony's PS3.

Otherwise MS is just shooting itself in the foot just when they were winning the race.

[DJ]

Though putting out a larger hard drive would help (as long as they lower those prices on those things).

[Shadow Flare]

1 Black Xbox 360
1 Silver trimmed disc tray and
1 Red ring of Death

[jerseynets04]

haha @ 1 ring of death.

Black + Xtra Gig? i think Ms is trying to copy the ps3.

[Optimus Prime]

wow, i feel sorry for your stupid post, but feel even more sorry about you liking the new jersey nets.

well, since sony has a black ps3 on the market, microsoft is copying it, since when is getting the same color copying. might as well call Nintendo copiers for making their console white.

[fukuba7]

oooooohhh..
this better be in US too..

[MikeGdaGod]

as for the slimmer ps2. the only thing different was the size, there were no added features that would make existing ps2 owners think they were missing out.

[The Snake]

..aside from the built in network adapter. And its inability to connect the hard drive was a nice F you to the people who did buy it.

[no_more_heroes]

Microsoft could have put the HD-DVD drive in the 360. Remember those DVD/HDDVD combo discs? Maybe they could have used those for games. Maybe use the DVD side normally then, if needed, flip the disc over for the HD-DVD side if devs feel they need that extra space. Or standard def and hi-def versions of the same game one one combo disc.

[MissAubrey]

its looks cool I like black the ps3 looks cool because its black but the first xbox looked like poo even though it was black it was just an ugly console I'm also waiting for a black wii.

[Shadow Flare]

They're more available plus they come in different shades like canary yellow and golden amber

[MissAubrey]

Yellow doesnt go with anything in my room.

[ApocalypseShadow]

they have been telling us that they buy more stuff.and microsoft is providing the vaseline to help make it easier.if true it means:

buying more hard drives
buying wifi adapters
buying batteries and rechargables
buying online play
buying faceplates
buying hd-dvd add ons
buying cooling fans
buying memory units

up until recently,paying microsoft to fix your system.

if microsoft creates a larger size hard drive and new system:

hmmmmmmm....let me see..

buying larger hard drives
buying new systems that SHOULD HAVE HAD ALL OF IT BUILT IN.

ps3 is looking a lot easier on the wallet every day.but some of you say it's future proof.if this is true.you can't SPIN IT AND SAY THIS WOULD BE GOOD FOR GAMERS.

[Grown Folks Talk]

buying memory cards, buying network adapters, buying hard drives that weren't utilized, buying multi-taps to play with more than 2 controllers. didn't hear anybody b & m then. why now?

[ssgtmarsh]

this should be interesting to see if it is true....i could always use a 120 gb hard drive

[chitown]

no matter how cool the black 360 sounds and looks(way sicker than the white one) im getting tired of this microsoft BS. do they freaking expect us to keep pulling 400+ dollars out of our wallets when they come up with some small improvements ?
seriously no matter how good the 360 is, i seriously hate how microsoft rips people off. my friend has a non hardrive 360 and he cant go online and i heard that they are making games that reqire hardrives. that f@cking ticks me ofF AND ALL G@Y STUFF U HAVE TO BUY BATTERY CHARGERS, FANS etc and now they expect people to pay 600 bucks for a couple of extra features. seriously everybody was complaining how expensive the ps3 was but its turning out that microsoft is the more expensive system.

[ooogabooga23]

People need to relize that this is not CONFORMED. Plus MS would do something like that without a way for the origanle 360 owners to get a dicount. Plus that would make them lose money.

The thing about not being able to get into xbox live without the harddrive is just dumb because I had a 360 for a couple months without one and I had xbox live.

The thing about the extra fans, dont waste your money because dont even work. A few months back MS said not to spend your money on the fans because they do not improve the cooling.

The only games that dont work without a HDD( which are only a couple) are developers that publish there own games, MS trys to get every game working without a HDD but some developers dont want to go through all that work to get it working.

[tom1595]

same games, same box. as long as i can download the occasional demo and play games like gears of war and oblivion, im just fine. this new box isnt going to play games any better. but thats my opinion. i dont want a computer. i just wanna play games.

[jerseynets04]

..you CANT have xbox live without a HD because you have no saved profile, thats why im pissed because in the 2 months ive owned my 360 this will be the 2nd time ive sent in my system for repairs, first time it would just freeze when i start a game up, now it freezes just because i have a hard drive in there, they told me to try to get an system update off LIVe, but i CANT GET ON LIVE IF I DONT HAVE A PROFILE. then they told me to send in the system to see if its the system end to see it its whats messing it up, it not its the HD, and that they wont replace it so i'd have to spend $99 to replace it, without it, so in other words ive lost, all my arcade games and all my downloaded shows, and the rest of my content. not to mention i didnt even get to finish off my monthly membership. with as crappy as the system is, their warrenty sure sucks.

[benny o klaatt]

course ya can have a profile without the hdd, you use a memory card, one of my best mates does it that way, had uno on it too.
plus you say you dont have a profile, yet you still had a month membership, arcade games and other content? you need a profile to do all of these things. also if youve bought ANY content of xbox live your profile will be enough to download again free of charge. you may have to be connected to xbox live to have the full version of an arcade game youve bought if your not using the original machine you purchased but you will still have it full not trial. but hey thats DRM for ya.
also why shell out an extra $99 to replace broken hdd when ya could have taken it to where you bought it and ask for a replacement?

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

But logic would tell us that a 120 gig harddrive (from Microsoft) would cost upwards of 300 dollars. How bout a terabyte Hitachi external drive for my ps3? And what's that you say? It costs LESS MONEY!?!?

Microsoft is either very stupid or very ignorant. (Please don't tell me they're the same thing...because that shows one of the two...depending on what you've been smoking)

I'm so effing tired.

I honestly don't see MS releasing this...AT ALL!!!

It would show how wrong they were about everything...not that the unfaithful gaming community cares...but the media would pick it up in a second...which is what's wrong with the PS3 right now...BAD HYPE!!! I love my PS3...which is why I don't understand the bad press. I have plenty of fun with it...

suckadeusche...

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

I'm glad you've seen how much MS cares...
Let's hope they can screw more people in the future!!!

I still don't see why people bought 2 or 3 PS2's... There IS a warranty you know.

BTW...IDIOTS...if you send in your broken PS2...Sony will replace it for free...and give you an extra controller.

Someone's been lying...

[Grown Folks Talk]

Disc Read Error
Owners of early PS2 models purchased from launch until spring 2002 commonly reported faulty optical drives in their consoles. The earliest drives suffered from a constantly misaligning laser lens but later defects were the result of a shift in voltage to the laser itself. The first problem was relatively easy to remedy, but it required opening the machine's casing and tweaking a cog that controlled the lens' distance from the discs it was supposed to read, thus voiding the warranty. This usually did not matter, as in most cases the warranty already had expired by the time such problems began to appear. The second fix involved the use of an oscillator. As time went on, more and more drives began breaking down and a class action lawsuit was filed against Sony. They had the option of either paying the requested fines in damages, or offering free repair and replacements at their discretion.[13] Sony chose the latter and, until February 2005, they honored their agreement. In the UK owners suffering from this flaw must pay Sony £50 (as of spring 2005) to get their machines repaired.

A second lawsuit is being filed against Sony for all of the above, plus claims that defective hardware is damaging media discs. The first hearings were set to commence in April and May, 2005.[14]

As of 2006, Sony is offering exchanges of factory-refurbished consoles for broken out-of-warranty consoles for a charge of US $45.

Another issue causing DRE's is wear on the part coupling the head assembly to the worm gear that moves the laser. A symptom of this is a loud repetitive clicking sound. The part is commonly plastic and prone to wear or break. Metal replacements are available from third parties.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

Dude, I freakin' laughed at your comment for like 15 minutes.

"yellow doesn't go with anything in my room"

Pure genius!!!

[MissAubrey]

.

[kornbeaner]

they are making a profit for every console sold right now, why make a console that is gonna put you in the RED again? All the 360 needs is a bigger HDD at a reasonable price. Come on MS am about 6 months away from buying your system and putting it next to my PS3 and Wii, don't blow it by releasing somthing that will make me doubt that Purchase.

[ooogabooga23]

people need to start to get tougher when it comes to MS. Tell them that you refuse to pay more money and I want you to replace. If you dont i'm not buying any of your products. Most of the time that works, I agree, if you pay $500 you shouldnt have to pay for repairs or replacing the hard drive.

[Dragonopolis]

that the days of 5 year consoles are over...

There is too much pressure to be number 1 especially with HD. If for some reason this does steer PS3 customers away, Sony will counter with a price drop, 65nm cell possibly faster (I'm talking CPU here not GPU. Raising CPU specs doesn't hurt graphics that much compared to upping the GPU), bigger hard drive, more memory, or any combination of those.

If that isn't enough pressure, the GPUs are sooo out dated on the consoles that I bet you will easily find $800 PC next year that will sport more power than any of the consoles and in two years a $600 PC will Pawn a currently configured PS3 or Xbox 360 so the console Makers will be forced to either:

A. Drop the price drastically.

B. Increase the Features ( such as size, speed, or amount)

Heck my ATI 1950 XTX I got with my 1200 PC pawns the Xbox 360 (don't have a PS3 yet.). Oh, I'll let you in on a little secret. I actually got that PC, on sale, which knock off $300 and it came with a $50 mail in rebate. This was last year folks!

I see deals like this all the time. Deals like this will happen this year. Heck, I bet by years end it you will easily find low end DX10 cards for $300. Mate that with a low end Intel duo like a 6300 on a older model PC board which should be hovering around the $500-$600 mark retail and Pawn PS3, Pawn Xbox 360. O.k maybe the PS3 (and possibly this new Xbox 360 if it has HD DVD built in it) will still have the HD Disc Drives which I doubt the PC will have at those prices.

But Hey, according to a ton of gamers here and elsewhere Blu-ray and HD DVD don't matter so these PC's should be good. My computer doesn't have Blu-ray or HD DVD now and plays Oblivion fine - matter a fact played it better than my Xbox 360 so I sold my Oblivion to a friend and Got GoW instead.

[ninamyers]

This is complete BS:

http://n4g.com/NewsPendingC...

How did this make front page?

[Maddens Raiders]

..well you know the rest.... J/K
Interesting move by MS if this becomes reality. Big & black seems to go well in the high-end elctronics dept's. these days. Hmmm..I wonder if they'll ever install Blu-ray like SNE's PS3? =]

[vettle1]

this is funny, ps3 fanboys finally have something to gloat about and it isnt even true. hahahahaha, this is hillarious. and who needs a battery charger, i get a month easily out of 2 double a batteries, what will happen when your ps3 lithium dies for good (and it will all batteries eventually die even rechargeable ones, get over it)youll have to buy a 50 dollar controller again, good choice there. by the way mine is launch and never crashed and i dont need a cooler and its not that loud, anyone who complains about it doesnt have one cause its really not loud. i laugh at you when you complain about the noise cause you dont have a 360. i have a YOUNG child and when he goes to sleep i play and the tv is turned down really low and i cant hear it. you people crack me up. its ok, i know your lying. well, me and your mother. she wasnt too pleased when i showed her. bad boy she said, baaaad boy.

[tatotiburon]

What's the problem?, M$ don't force you to buy this black 360 (if is true), if you like it you buy it if you don't just buy the original white 360, is the same console with a few upgrades, upgrades that we can make it to ours withes 360s and then again if we want it, ate the end is the same console with the same games.

If anyoone is forcing you to buy something it's sony, they want you to pay us$600 for their piece of crap.

[calderra]

For those who missed it, Micrososft has confirmed that the base 360 is fully capable of digital 1080p out, meaning all any 360 needs is an HDMI cable to function. And voila! As Microsoft has said, too few people have HDMI, and virtually all of them already get perfect 1080p via Component cables. There's not much need for HDMI.

Now those of you getting 1080p via Component who want HDMI for some reason, I'm sure Microsoft would love to take $50+ of your money for basically no reason at all, but they've been kind enough not to do so.

...and if Microsoft released a 120GB hard drive, it would fit all units, meaning they could just sell it seperately.

So there's absolutely nothing about this supposed new box that existing 360's aren't ALREADY capable of doing. Total BS.

[jamescolley]

So what if theres a new 360 coming?
I'm sure all the 360 lovers (including myself) will think of buying the PS3 if it offers something new & better than we already have with the 360? All you "i hate MS & love Sony" people are just fools. Are you telling me that for the past 3 years youve stil been happily playing on your PS2's waiting for the PS3 to be released?
I live in the UK and the PS3 is far too expensive to sell like the 360 does, i'm sure this is the same all over the world, & i'm not short of cash...
Anyway, a black 360 will match my new 50" Pioneer plasma in the next room.

[NextGen24Gamer]

When the 360 launched in 2005....MS and ATI said that they would and could release a digital out via hdmi or DVI when the market called for it. Sure the Ps3 launched a year later with hdmi...But in 2005 when the 360 launched, there was absolutely no need for it. In 2005 less than 1% of consumers had hdmi and less than 5% had HD tv's. It was a business move on MS's part. But the whole time there were prepaired....they created the 360 with an internal digital out. It gets converted to anolog due to the fact that in 2005....99% of consumers had analog inputs on their TV's. Remember back in 2005 and most of 2006 for that matter....there wasn't ONE tv that could accept a 1080p signal....But as soon as the market could accept it....MS updates the 360 which then turns on the 1080p TRUE output for the 360 and all of its users....Now that HDMI tv owners are at about 8%....MS will release the hdmi adapter for the 360 and release a black 360 with a bigger hard drive and HDMI built into it. Will the 10 million previous 360 owners get left out? No. The 120 gig hard drive will release for no more than 119.99. The price of the 20 gig drive will drop to under 50 dollars and it will be standard in every 360 for the price of 299.99. MS has carefully planned everything. Some sony fanboys ask..."well why didn't they just do it like that from the beginning?". Well, MS answered that back in 2005. "The market didn't call for it". MS prepaired for it. But why show all your cards a year before the competition? Why raise the costs of the system and make the consumers pay more for it, a whole year before the competition? Not smart. But they way they have done it is smart. Some sony fans think MS is trying to play catch up...All I can do is laugh at that....You can't play catch up when you lead the market in regards to sales and performance....If anything they are widening the tech gap and the sales gap over Sony. When Sony makes its debut in Europe and the rest of the world. All the bad press for sony will take its toll....all the outstanding games and press for the 360 will be hard to overcome. Then you couple that with a "NEW" 360 thats sexier than the ps3...bigger hard drive than the ps3....and HDMI....And it will be cheaper than the ps3 as well. How can they make it cheaper you ask....Well most of the parts have been in production now for over a year. MS right now has 100 or so dollars per console to play with. I figure the "new" 360 will be launched at 419.99 but no more than 449.99. Which is still less than the cheapest 20 gig ps3. And you get 120 gigs for movies, Tv shows, Demos, arcade games, video's, and much much more. WOW. If sony fans don't understand whats going on yet...they will soon enough. And I haven't been wrong yet. Watch and see folks. Its getting rather exciting for next gen gamers. And don't under estimate MS's grand scheme. Its been implemented flawlessly thusfar.

[Master of Menace]

What a load of scrap! XBox was only out 4 years, before they released 360. They brought 360 out early to get a jump on Sony, that's it. That is the nature of their grand scheme, nothing more. The XBOX 360 is flawed, it sounds like a steam train, has substandard DVD, no HDMI, no Wi-Fi support, no built in HD player, a brick for a power unit. Sorry, what did they plan again? Lead the market? Sony still leads the market. And it's only 360 fans pushing the sales. Which have been below expectations. They were suppose to sell 10 million by Christmas, that didn't happen. What, now they are bringing out the the 360 Mark 2, in the face of their fans. They are saying hey guys, here's what you should have got in the first place. The problem is it still hasn't got HD-DVD. What an excuse, " the market didn't call for it" . The market has always called for it. They are still playing catch up, and always will be.

[Gregsta]

I agree with Master of Menace in the fact that why didn't MS just put all of the upgrades (HDMI, WiFi etc) on the 360 from the beginning, which is where I agree with TopGamer that most people didn't have the capabilities to view fantastic HD images, as they didn't have the T.V to do so. But if you think about it, if MS had just done all of this in the first place then no one would even think about looking to Sony's PS3 and just wait until they had a HD T.V to view the great picture and wouldn't have to find another $450/£230 roughly to buy the new consol. But there is one thing that I disagree with TopGamer, that who needs a 120GB HDD, apart from having lots of movies stored on it (but if you did that then you'd just have loads of DVD's in their cases never being used). And having such a huge hard drive effectively makes it a computer, but unless you design games etc then, you'd never use all of that space, its just pointless.

[NextGen24Gamer]

Asking why didn't Samsung and Sony make their 2005 models of HD TVs without allowing them to accpet a 1080p signal. At the time the 360 launched it was too new of a tech and wasn't accepted by anyone. It would have made the costs rise and consumers would have had to pay for it. So, Sony fans would have loved for the 360 to be delayed for a year and make an attempt to go head up with the ps3. Thats a battle sony would have won with the price of both consoles being about the same and with name brand recogntion alone. With the 360 being out for a year....Gamers were able to see that the 360 was offering something better than the over priced ps3. And with the costs of making the 360 down due to it being in production for over a year. MS now has the fexability to lower the overall price and at the same time offer a new version with all the extra bells in whistles that only 8% of the population can actually use right now. For the other 92% they can upgrade at their own rate to make their current 360 exactly like the "NEW" 360 thats coming out when the ps3 launches over seas. Its brilliant from a business move perspective. So essentially MS left no one behind...even the people who bought the core can upgrade at their own pace to a fully loaded hdmi, bigger hard drive, hd dvd xbox 360. Brilliant. I can see how that would bother sony only fans. It gives the gamers stuck in the middle more choice. But its the gamers who win. They get the best system for games on the market. And they get the features they want as they pay for it. Wi-fi...check...HDMI....Check. ...HD dvd....Check....Hard drive....check....wireless controllers...check....Whether you buy the super premium, the premium, or the core....You can add what you want...when you want. You are not asked to spend over half a grand just to play games if thats all you want. You exclude millions of people when you do that. Over half a grand is a lot of money to most people. Now if you told people you could buy a ps3 for 300 now....play games and then in a year spend another 300 and get the blu ray player and wi-fi....there is a huge market that would go for that. Walmart owned due to its layaway program.....and they didn't get to take the product home and enjoy it while they pay. Brillian MS. Good job.

[Dragonopolis]

"So, Sony fans would have loved for the 360 to be delayed for a year and make an attempt to go head up with the ps3. Thats a battle sony would have won with the price of both consoles being about the same and with name brand recogntion alone"

It's the fact that the Xbox 360 has been out for a year and has only produced GoW that has allowed Sony to capitalize on MS weaknesses. Sony's Launch titles are looking pretty close to GoW and heck of a lot better than anything before GoW on the Xbox 360 (for the most part, I don't include EA because they suck on both Systems). This, after all the hype from MS about being easier to produce high quality games on the Xbox 360 is kind of embarrasing. At least Microsoft's blunders are recoverable. Sony has made quite a few blunders as well but we can't rule out the fact that Sony can still recover and give MS the headaches they deserve. (After all, competition is good for us little folk (gamers) anyways and keeps MS and Xbox 360 developers on its toes.

If MS was able to pump out 10mil system and GoW before Christmas - just imagine what they would have accomplished if they had waited. Even if they held up because of last min hardware changes I bet MS could have easily produced more Xbox 360 this Christmas than any of the other consoles.

First they could have spent the next 6-8 months last year cleaning up any hardware issues. Made the Xbox 360 more quiet, fixed some of the red light issues.

Perhaps they would have had enough time to take a look at the possibilities of HDMI and HD DVD built in. If MS was able to pull off a $200 "External" HD DVD bet they could have shaved some of that off by including it internally (generally internal peripherals are cheaper to produce than external)

Look at the improvement Bethseda for Oblivion on the PS3, give Oblivion a few more months for the Xbox 360 last year and the PS3 version would not have been so noticably better this year. I bet that Xbox 360 launch titles would have been a heck of a lot better if they had another year to polish. It worked for Sony.

I love my Xbox 360 but I'm not blind sighted to the fact that MS tuck their tails between their legs and ran. They were too chicken %$%$ to face Sony or Nintendo even though they had the ammo to do it. Both Sony and Nintendo faced shortages MS could have, at a minimum, stock piled Xbox 360 and allowed Software developer some more time to polish their titles - with GoW leading the way as a launch title - sort of like Resistance is doing for the PS3. Oh, I almost forgot, Ms would have had more game titles at launch as well - another clear advantage.

I have no love for console makers. I do love games that are created on them. I will eventually own at least two (last generation I owned three but not all at the same time). This time I went with Xbox 360 and love it. PS3 is just too expensive right now (and eventually will be my second console)as a second console and there is no way I'm paying $250+ (needs to be $150 - Wii begs for multiplayer were Xbox 360 and PS3 could survive with one controller) for technology that is way outdated. For all you Wii flamers, it not the console, its the price. The Wii is a great system - just not worth $250. Remember, more powerful systems can play lower resolution games but weaker consoles can't keep up with the big boys (and Nintendo while Great as a Software Developer, isn't the only company that can make fun low resolution/less texture games).

No, MS should have waited and Gamers have a right to ask these question.

There is some truth to the old saying that "good things happen to those that wait"

[TheXgamerLive]

It's "good things come to those who wait" but, also remember, "he who laughs first laughs last" MS is definately laughing now at sony, sony who waited due to, well due to many things is still shipping an inferior gaming system that isn't the end all to be all gaming system that they promissed. No my friend, MS and the Xbox 360 was done right the first time. This isn't a world of what if's, it's a world of what is. Sony has been working on games as long as MS has so to say there almost is good also shows sony's inferiority. You see, with what they were promissing the ps3 would be, well it's not, in fact, it's not as good. All of 2007 has some incredible titles coming for the Xbox 360. The ps3, well there titles are constantly being delayed.

Between now and this Christmas will be the big decision of who's who.

If you like the ps3 so much go ahead and buy one b/c there available. My local walmart had 2 last night, guess what, It had 2 last friday night too. it'll have 2 this friday. Your getting inferior games as of now, and if you wait long enough, you'll get a couple possible good games like lair and MGS4, but my guess is that MGS4 will come to the Xbox 360 and with better graphics and downloadable content as well as online play. IMO.

[vettle1]

^^^^^yeah keep waiting on good games, hahahahahaha.

[Die_Sloe06]

This is my first post on this site, and it might be alittle late, but i must speak on the 56th post on this debate, edited by Dragonopolis.
On this particular post, I can quote him as saying " I'm not blind sighted to the fact that MS tuck their tails between their legs and ran. They were too chicken %$%$ to face Sony or Nintendo".

First off, try to understand that in the business world, macheismo doesnt pay the bills. That is not how Microsoft came to be one of the most sucessful businesses in the history of economics. Sony has become a very sucsessful business as well, and that is through clever marketing and foresight into the future of electronics, not to mention a quality product.

Microsoft did what they had to do to be the current #1 next generation console, bottom line. They made a smart move by releasing their cards first, and thus far it has paid off. I own a 360, but have also either owned or had plenty of fond memories from every system from the orginal NES all the way up to current day, and I will tell you that I have never been more satisfied with ANY CONSOLE in my gaming life.

People are getting the wrong message with this "Black Box". To me, its a non factor, and isnt really worth all the BS I've seen on line the last couple of days. So what if they are releasing a beefed up version of the 360? Its not like they are giving the big middle finger to current XBox owners. They are giving tech heads that rely on cutting edge electronics the ability to get exactly what they want.

If you dont like the move by MicroSoft, which isnt even offical yet, then fine. Dont buy it. Otherwise, the company everyone loves to hate but cant live without is giving you the option on how to spend your money, end of story.

[assjacket]

The only thing I don't understand about this rumour is, why would MS release it in Australia first when they haven't had the 360 as long as North America?
With all the concern about early adopters getting screwed over you would think that Aussie's would have even more reason to be pissed if a "better" 360 was released in their country.

[rowdy 1]

Comes out with this. Then they will lose all cred. Terrible