1080°

Hacker Reveals New Xbox 360 Disc Format, Full Details

Earlier today, Microsoft’s Major Nelson let Xbox 360 owners know that Microsoft is currently looking for several thousand beta testers to test out the new system update and partake in a beta test of a new disc format that the system will soon take advantage of.

Read Full Story >>
examiner.com
Brash_Attack4810d ago

Well, I guess hackers aren't all bad.

Istanbull4810d ago

This is great, this means they won't release a new Xbox in the coming years. MS and Sony both need to release their new true Next-Gen console around holiday 2014-2015.

Where are those excited people that kept building on rumours how Xbox 720 was gonna have this and that and release in 2012?? LOL!

Honestly, I hate people that want a new generation so fast.

GrandMaxPain4810d ago

I couldnt agree more. i don't really get the idea of having another console this soon. BTW graphics cards havent advanced that much. I mean , yeah crysis 1 looks much better than anything seen on consoles but I dont really call it a next gen game and the most powerfull garphics card has difficulty running crysis at fullHD resollution higher than 40fps. I want next generation consoles to be atleast 30 to 50 times faster than current ones. Anything below that can hardly be considerd as next gen.

rockleex4810d ago

Hahahaah... Bluray is dead. /sarcasm

GrieverSoul4810d ago

Let me get this straight, from what I have read on the web, this "new" format is just a change on the way the anti piracy measures are made in the discs. From what people are saying, this will only free 1gb from the dvd?!? Just 1gb?! o_O

morganfell4810d ago

It isn't a new disc format but rather MS is changing the way in which they allocate security on discs. They currently swallow over a GB for security and are reducing that size. The disc will still be the standard DVD9.

RedDragan4810d ago

So who is making this new disc? Microsoft couldn't afford to do it, they'd lose money because nobody else would use it and the shareholders quite clearly stated last year they are not happy with the Xbox 360 leaking money and will cut their losses and force the gaming division to seperate if more losses occur.

This rumour is just that, a rumour.

gaffyh4810d ago

I posted this comment in the other thread, but it got removed because the person above me was reported as spam.

"I doubt it is a new disc format in the traditional sense, because that would split the 360 install base even further (Kinect already splits the install base a new disc format would require a new drive etc.).

What we'll most likely see is a removal or reduction of MS' copy protection, which leaves approximately 1.6GB of the disc empty. Or, perhaps they've managed to create a DVD with more data capacity than a DVD9? That's unlikely though I think, without needing a new DVD drive."

Turns out I was right, this will give developers 1GB more space, but still less space than the original Xbox had to offer.

Death4810d ago

@Red Dragon

Can you give a link to these unhappy investors? Xbox and Zune were grouped together a few years back to offset the losses Zune was making. The Xbox has been making money for a couple years now. I have heard of investors wanting Microsoft to focus more on their more profitable areas, but changes have already been made in the Entertainment and Devices Division in order to increase profitability.

-Death

sh0ryuu4810d ago

@GrandMaxPain
You really have no clue as to what you're talking about do you? It's fine if you wouldn't call Crysis a next gen game, it's from 2007. Graphics cards struggled with it THEN. Now they walk all over the game. Also, the power of graphics cards are constantly hopping forward, especially in comparison to what's out on consoles. There haven't been any games released recently to take advantage of the power PC gamers have at their disposal. Pretty much everything this generation has been built around consoles.

As to your comment about even the most powerful cards struggling with Crysis 1. Really? My 5970 runs it in full HD with everything maxed out and 8x antialiasing flawlessly. My older 4870's could do the same.

yume-k4810d ago

Istanbull has a brain of a bull

frostypants4810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

Instanbull, the typical generation lasts for 6 years before the next gen is released, but that does NOT mean that the current-gen is dropped. Nintendo supported the NES after the SNES came out and continued supporting the Gamecube after the Wii hit shelves, Sony supported the PS after the PS2 came out, and Sony is STILL supporting the PS2 today.

They've supported the PS2 for 10 years now. THAT'S the lifecycle they talk about. It does not mean that they won't release new platforms.

Unless, of course, we're talking about Microsoft and their dropped support of the original Xbox. That was a jerk move on their part and not at all typical. The Xbox should still be on store shelves, and not the forgotten dinosaur that MS has made it.

2012/2013 IS the expected launch of the next gen systems, if we're going by historical trends. Again, next-gen does NOT mean the current-gen will end.

Why DON'T you want another gen of hardware?! If it's simply because you personally don't want to spend the money, and don't want anyone else enjoying a system that you cannot, is that not a bit selfish? As long as your existing console still has games, what do you care?

And do you really think an overhyped disc format tweak means ANYTHING in this discussion? C'mon man.

Thugbot1874810d ago

@Rockleex yea BluRay died and gave birth to BluRay3D.

kyl2774810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

@GrandMaxPain

"BTW graphics cards havent advanced that much. I mean , yeah crysis 1 looks much better than anything seen on consoles but I dont really call it a next gen game and the most powerfull garphics card has difficulty running crysis at fullHD resollution higher than 40fps"

You have no clue what you are talking about.

Ati 6990

http://www.anandtech.com/sh...

43FPS at Max Graphics, 4xAA and 2560x1600

At near Max grahpics at 1920x1080 it gets 93 FPS.

"I dont really call it a next gen game"

If Crysis wasn't next gen then what is? Most people around here seem to judge next gen by graphics and it delivered there.

frostypants4810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

Crysis was next gen.

Crysis 2? Not so sure (same gen as Crysis, which is now current gen).

paintsville4810d ago

Wow the 360 just keeps getting better and better. Bad news for the SONY camp as disk space was the ONLY advantage that the poor ps3 had over 360. Microsoft Rules.

Blackdeath_6634810d ago

...whatever happened to "who needs blu-ray"?

Vherostar4810d ago

It wont help piracy will still beat them I love how they used piracy for a tool in the past as it sold consoles but now that conflicts with Kinect they are finally doing something serious about it though lol. Too late no doubt..

iPad4810d ago

LOL @ Istanbull

Dude chill the fuck out!

LOL "sony and microsoft gotta release a new console around 2014-2015"

lolol. chill dude.

badz1494809d ago Show
+ Show (16) more repliesLast reply 4809d ago
DeadlyFire4810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

This is nothing special. Disc format can't be that big of a change. If anything its a few extra GB at most. Even so Microsoft changing things on their disc doesn't equate to a new disc format. I think its strange they label it xgd3. Xbox Game Disc 3? I assume. X360 is the 2nd Xbox. It doesn't really mean anything special if you ask me for Xbox 360. Just a new change on how they mangage the jumble on the disc they already have. Not a new format. A new format would equal a new Disc drive away from DVD. That simply doesn't happen until next-gen.

evilmonkey5014810d ago

If you guys want to actually know what it is instead of speculating: http://www.team-xecuter.com...

Kamikaze1354810d ago

I guess the next gen really won't come as soon as most have expected. This is great :)

thrasherv34810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

Yes, lets keep building on old tech..

EDIT:@Kamikaze135: There IS something wrong with that when there is better tech. The 360 is holding everyone else back. Both with their DVD format and Xbox Live. Look at Portal 2 and Angry Birds. It's the truth. It sucks because I love the 360 but it's time to move on...

Kamikaze1354810d ago

That's how new tech gets created: Building and experimenting on old tech. So there's nothing wrong with that.

Jezuz4810d ago

How can we advance when we haven't use what we have now to the full extent ?

gypsygib4810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

STFU troll.

Although I think my PS3 offers more value now than my 360, you have to admit 360 brought a lot to the table this gen. They should be credited with bringing a proper online service to consoles and ushering the "online gen" for consoles. PSN took years to match Live in terms of quality and in some aspects it still hasn't but in terms of strictly playing online MP it has.

Both companies have pissed me off with their mistakes but I have really enjoyed both my PS3 and 360 this gen.

Note, however; I hate Greenberg, the man insults every gamer each time he speaks. There's PR spin and then there's flat out lies.

SuicideShaun4810d ago

Both the 360 AND ps3 are holding pc players back, just look at crysis 2, but you don't see me whining about it. Stop acting as if the 360 is miles behind the other consoles. Because all consoles are miles behind the best solution for gaming.

Death4810d ago

I'm not so sure I'd be in a hurry to say DVD is holding gaming back. PC has always been on the bleeding edge of technology and it hasn't even given Blu-ray a thought as far as storage goes. Sonys own first party has yet to use the additional space to make all their games "true" HD at 1080p or even longer. The only thing we have really seen Blu-ray do is make large HDD installs common to make up for slower seek and transfer speeds.

Sadly the biggest thing holding PS3 development from using the extra capacity is money. It's hard for even first party devs to justify the added cost and time needed to make games longer and add more textures for the same $60 price tag.

-Death

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4810d ago
fr0sty4810d ago

How is adding a little over 1GB of storage space to the disc format of one console going to delay another generation? It still won't offer the full 8.5GB's of a dual layer DVD either, only 7.8.

Kamikaze1354810d ago

It's better than nothing and they're doing it to try and fight against piracy as well, not just to give us the extra GB.

fr0sty4810d ago

I understand that, and agree, however I was just responding to the comment about it delaying the next generation. The difference that 1GB will make will be mostly negligible.

frostypants4810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

I so don't understand anybody not wanting the next console gen to begin, assuming that the current gen is still supported. I feel like everyone is assuming that the current gen will be dropped the same way Microsoft dropped the Xbox. I just don't see that happening again.

The next gen typically begins 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the current gen's lifecycle.

And fr0sty is right (and not just because I approve of his name)...that 1 extra gig is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. This disc upgrade has almost zero bearing on the issue of the next-gen consoles release schedule.

Burning_Finger4810d ago (Edited 4810d ago )

Oh..snap, Toshiba's HD DVD resurrection.. :)

I guess this is Microsoft answer to the NEW CONSOLE.. XBOX360 2.0 LOL.

RockmanII74810d ago

Wait, so are they gonna send a disc to your home? I should fix my shipping info.

RyuDrinksTheDew4810d ago

if this is true, i wonder how much space they are going to have.

cant wait for a reveal! maybe E3?

RockmanII74810d ago

I heard that it will be about 1GB, not a radical jump like some would like to see but somethings better than nothing.

Show all comments (154)
150°

10 Biggest Xbox Mistakes of All Time (So Far)

The Xbox brand has done a lot of good over the years, but their various blunders are pretty wild to look back on in their magnitude.

Read Full Story >>
culturedvultures.com
piroh6d ago (Edited 6d ago )

Ironically number 9 can save them at this point (releasing games on multiple platforms)

ChasterMies4d ago

By “save them” you mean make more profit for Microsoft. Xbox will still be a dying hardware platform.

OtterX5d ago

You could add the naming scheme for the consoles, it just confuses customers. I know they wanted to avoid traditional numbering bc it would always be lower than their competitor, but this whole 360 then One then Series thing is confusing af. Imagine a Soccer Mom trying to figure this stuff out. I still mistakenly call the Series X the One from time to time on accident.

RNTody5d ago

Don't forget about the Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X! Good luck to Soccer moms around the world.

S2Killinit4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

They did that on purpose to confuse and direct attention away from the generational numbering.

MS doesn’t like reminding people that they joined the industry after others had already been involved in gaming.

For instance, they called the xbox “360” to combat PlayStation “3” because they wanted to seem like “more” than “3”, so instead of xbox 2, they opted for xbox 360. Also this had the additional benefit of selling consoles to uninformed parents who might purchase a “360” instead of a “3” by mistake, or because they thought 360 was more than 3. Kind of a disingenuous move.

They have been continuing with their confusing naming patterns for pretty much the same reasons. Frankly, it fits with who and what they are as a brand.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

I can understand their reasoning, but whoever came up with that naming scheme should be fired, bad naming schemes have killed consoles (I'm pretty sure it was the major reason for the downfall of the WiiU). They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo and Sega have had for their consoles, far less confusing for the consumer.

rob-GP1d 1h ago

@FinalFantasyFanatic "They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo..."

lol, you mean:

NES, SNES
GameBoy, GameBoy Advanced, GameBoy Colour, GameBoy SP
DS, DSi, DSXL
3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS, New 3DS XL
Wii, Wii U
Switch, Switch OLED

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 1h ago
Cacabunga5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Phil Spencer is the worst that has happened to Xbox.
They built a respectable brand up to Xbox one. Then this guy took over and things became a joke

Reaper22_5d ago

He still has his job. Something you can't say about Jim Ryan.

Cacabunga5d ago

Both bad execs. One is on job and one thankfully retired.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I didn't like either person, both people damaged their respective brands and produced worse outcomes, but Phil did save the Xbox brand from being retired by Microsoft. Although in hindsight, he should have just let it die, rather than languish in limbo like it is now.

Rainbowcookie3d ago

Yeah but the one that was "bad" didn't even affect sales.

bunt-custardly4d ago

Phil Spencer was also on the team back when 360 was around, alongside Shane Kim, Peter Moore etc. I think the damage that did the most harm was the Don Mattrick "Always Online" console (ahead of its time basically). They handed Sony and Nintendo a free-pass when that was revealed. It went downhill from there. Then the corporate machine went into full swing to try and recover. They have to a degree as a games company for the masses, and less so for the core gamer. Outside USA, the Xbox brand does not sell as well as Japanese based consoles (citation needed).

Cacabunga4d ago

Want a decision maker. The always online and TV plans was a disaster yes, but they caught up by announcing 1st party games that gamers actually kept the hype going.. until this moron took over and introduced the PC day one release.. e all know where that ended..

S2Killinit4d ago

I dont think they were ever a respectable brand, not since the beginning, when their goal was never to be involved and share in the gaming space. I think the OG xbox was an exception because MS as a brand was still getting its foot in and so the people behind that were people of the gaming industry.

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

The 360 was the brand in its prime though, everything went downhill towards the end of that generation. Its staple games like Halo, Forza and Gears are what kept the console relevant and afloat for so long.

MaximusPrime_5d ago

Really good video.

I remember the days with RRoD was big news on here, N4G.

Microsoft had it turbulence number of years.

Looking at the success of Sea of Thieves despite being 6 years old, time to release Halo, Forza horizon 4 & 5 on PS5. It'll help their revenue

shinoff21835d ago (Edited 5d ago )

2 of the 4 games they did already sold really well. So it's definitely going down. Idk about halo or forza but I feel those studios they've bought in the last 5 years, their coming

ChasterMies5d ago

I found this video painful to watch. Can someone list them out?

Top 10 for me from are:
1. 2013 reveal presentation
2. Bundling Kinect 2 with Xbox One
3. RRoD or why rushing to market with hardware is always a bad idea.
4. Buying studios only to close them.
5. Ads on the Home Screen
6. Letting Halo die.
7. Letting Geard of War die.
8. Every console name
9. Charging for Xbox Live on Xbox 360 when Sony let PS3 players play online for free.
10. Cancelling release of OG Xbox games after the Xbox 360 launched.

Show all comments (31)
150°

Microsoft to Add Copilot AI to Video Games

Microsoft recently revealed its plans to incorporate Copilot directly into video games, with Minecraft being the first showcased example.

Read Full Story >>
xpgained.co.uk
Fishy Fingers9d ago (Edited 9d ago )

F*** AI

"Hey Copilot, what's a good meme to prove I dislike AI".... https://giphy.com/clips/sou...

Einhander19729d ago

Two trillion dollar company that just can't wait to put as many people possible out of work as fast as possible.

It feels like every single thing they do is making gaming worse and destroying the industry.

9d ago
9d ago
9d ago
darthv728d ago

....you know it takes people to program the AI.... right? It isnt like it is sentient. We haven't reach skynet level of situation or anywhere close to the matrix just yet.

That's next Thursday.

Einhander19728d ago (Edited 8d ago )

It takes a people to program the AI then that AI is used for who knows how many games eliminating countless jobs which only grows as AI is used for more and more game creation functions.

What you're saying is so ridiculously short sighted and truly larking any kind of understanding and foresight.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 8d ago
CaptainFaisal9d ago

Why all the hate? Im actually excited about this! Always wanted this kind of immersion, and an AI companion with me all the time helping me out knowing the status of my skills/inventory/progress and giving me tips on the best approach or how to craft something specific is game changing for the industry.

Hate all you want about AI, but this is just the start and I can see the potential already. You wont be complaining in the next 5-10 years about this, but rather complain if a game hasn’t implemented it.

MrDead9d ago

Yes we can't wait for the work of others to be used without the need to pay them so that MS can profit even more from the people they fire.

I_am_Batman9d ago (Edited 9d ago )

There is no chance I'd ever use something like this, especially if it's not part of the core game design, but a layer on top of it. It's way too much handholding. Many games already feel like busy work, because they don't let the player figure things out on their own. Having a real-time interactive guide defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place in my opinion.

If this were to become the standard like you predict, we'll see more and more video games get away with bad design, because people will just be used to ask for help from the AI companion anyway.

Number1TailzFan9d ago

Well Nintendo don't need this with some of their games these days, with invincible characters, items, easy bosses etc.. they do the hand holding built in

helicoptergirl9d ago

Takes "hand holding" in games to a whole new level.

BlackDoomAx8d ago

Because human nature xD Almost every new technology had these kind of comments.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 8d ago
Show all comments (19)
70°

Activision team is opening a new game studio in Poland 'Elsewhere Entertainment' to build new AAA IP

Microsoft's Activision subsidiary announced today that it is opening a new game development studio to take advantage of the huge talent pool growing in Poland. It'll be the second Activision studio based in the region, joining Infinity Ward Krakow, although this studio is, in fact, not working on Call of Duty.

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
Psychonaut8513d ago

They’re not working on Call of Duty? Give it time.