Xbox 2 pics ?

KdjaCL

God its ugly if this is it.





http://www.bluesnews.com/

Either someone has a very deft hand with their cell phone camera, or this is a good fake (or it’s a really nice surge protector). Pengo sends in this shot of Allard standing over a small silver box that could be the next Xbox. It has the rounded look that we’ve heard about, and seems sexy enough from a distance. Let’s start taking a look at the shadows underneath the device. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday!

Could this be the Xbox 360/Xbox 2/Xbox Next? To be perfectly honest, we don’t know what this is, but check out this sneaky cameraphone pic that someone snapped of Microsoft VP J Allard making a presentation about the next-genertaion Xbox 360. See that silvery thingy? Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about. Anybody recognize what that is? Click to see a close up shot.

kdjac

carbsy

That's the foxy ladys' handbag.

abccormac

It's different, I'll give it that much. The original xbox is pig ugly aswell though.

Cheeky monkey

ha it looks like a lunch box

Rew

Its not, its an early prototype that they have been using as a diversion form the real thing.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Rew

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000987035687/

We ran this by one of our trusted sources, who says that this is actually a prototype that MSFT has been showing off as a decoy of sorts and that the actual console looks much better than this.

jesus_thats_gre

Good way of keeping the buzz going, MS are gearing up for a real fight it seems..

flogen

yeah, it's a nice decoy/prank to put out there, and a good way to keep a buzz going, given that many of the rumours about the xbox 2 haven't been the best so far.

Saying that, the new console could do with a handle a la the Gamecube... the original is a bitch to lug around the place to anything to make it easier would be nice!

flogen

weemcd

aye more than likley just a box they knocked together to transport the hardware and drum up a little excitment/contraversy along the way

jesus_thats_gre

Flogen, what do you not think is good about the rumours going around so far?

L5

"Pengo sends in this shot of Allard standing over a small silver box that could be the next Xbox"

"See that silvery thingy? Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about"

the thing in the enlarged photo isnt silver, its plastic. Are you sure theyre not talking about the silver thing to the right of it?

Rew

L5 wrote:

"Pengo sends in this shot of Allard standing over a small silver box that could be the next Xbox"

"See that silvery thingy? Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about"

the thing in the enlarged photo isnt silver, its plastic. Are you sure theyre not talking about the silver thing to the right of it?

That looks like a lpatop to me, a Toshibia Tablet PC to be specfic.

monument

That's J Allard's handbag.

evad_lhorg

i wonder if i can get a transformers sticker on my ne lunchbox?!

looks kinda like a gas tank. i dont think this would be it, its very odd looking and would look odd next to one's telly

L5

Rew wrote:

That looks like a lpatop to me, a Toshibia Tablet PC to be specfic.

[IMG][/IMG]

I know , looks like a laptop to me too
Just wondering why they said it was silver when its obviously some kind of cream coloured plastic

Rew

Looks silver to me. The quality of the pic is pretty crap. Coulours are all a bit off.

jesus_thats_gre

Camara phone pics are crap, would explain the colours not matching..

Rew

Not 100% sure its a camera phone pic. If it is its a def a 1 MP camera. The quality in that shot is bad because there was no flash and a slow shutter speed.

flogen

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Flogen, what do you not think is good about the rumours going around so far?

well it's mainly the hard drive thingey (the fact that its optional worries me, I wonder how much extra we'll have to pay for it), and then there's the rumours of backwards compatibility not happening, which would piss me off. I'm not pushed about the lack of hd-dvd or blu-ray discs on it, once they can justify sticking to regular dvds

flogen

Rhyme

I think people are overlooking one thing, perhaps the new Xbox didnt fit into shot! ITS THE TABLE

hal9000

actually its under a pile of coats in the corner!! duh!

jesus_thats_gre

flogen wrote:

well it's mainly the hard drive thingey (the fact that its optional worries me, I wonder how much extra we'll have to pay for it), and then there's the rumours of backwards compatibility not happening, which would piss me off. I'm not pushed about the lack of hd-dvd or blu-ray discs on it, once they can justify sticking to regular dvds

flogen

Seeingly they are supporting Dual layer DVD-9 disks that seemingly offer near 18 gigs of storage??? I think anyway..

As for the HD, I am not concerned by it. The HDD was utilised most by the modding community with hacked Xboxs.. Nothing like this will be possible this time around.. The emphasis they seem to be placing on Live content would suggest to be that they will have some flash storage onboard to make up the HDD missing..

Regarding the Add On HDD, I read previously that they plan to release it as a portable media player for substantially less than an average Ipod. I cannot remember where I read this but it was only a short while ago.. This would be relatively acceptable IMO..

It will be interesting to see if backward compatibility will be included. To do this will has to simulate the x86 architecture efficiently. I dont know how effetive this works on the existing MAC OS when runnning software designed for Windows.

Mind you, I dont have a baldies what I am really talking about

KdjaCL

Flash memory mega expensive to make and buy cant see that too much of a hit on manufacturing costs, they have to go with HDD it actually worked on the xbox more content and media pcs etc:

Its a good idea to keep that , disc type is neglible dvds can carry 18gb no game i have seen on pc or xbox is more than 3gbs(cept unreal after mods added 10gb folder wtf)


kdjac

flogen

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Seeingly they are supporting Dual layer DVD-9 disks that seemingly offer near 18 gigs of storage??? I think anyway..

As for the HD, I am not concerned by it. The HDD was utilised most by the modding community with hacked Xboxs.. Nothing like this will be possible this time around.. The emphasis they seem to be placing on Live content would suggest to be that they will have some flash storage onboard to make up the HDD missing..

Regarding the Add On HDD, I read previously that they plan to release it as a portable media player for substantially less than an average Ipod. I cannot remember where I read this but it was only a short while ago.. This would be relatively acceptable IMO..

It will be interesting to see if backward compatibility will be included. To do this will has to simulate the x86 architecture efficiently. I dont know how effetive this works on the existing MAC OS when runnning software designed for Windows.

Mind you, I dont have a baldies what I am really talking about

I think the dual layer discs are more in the region of 9 gb, but thats all relative tbh, you could have twice that much space to play with and still make a crappy game , I'd be happy to get a game on 2 discs once it was worth it.

As for the hard drive, I'll probably get one myself just because I dont want to be buying mem cards all the time (who knows how many you'll need, though). If it is a cheap media player i'd be more willing to get it too, but we'll have to see I suppose. Given that all the new games will allow custom soundtracks etc and all will be live enabled (with downloadable content) there's more reason to have a HD.

The worries about backwards compatibility stem from an apparent rift between Microsoft and nVidia, I dont know how true it is or if it's still the case but wern't nVidia threatening to sue if microsoft made the next gen backwards compatible because it would involve using some of their copyrighted codes or something?

flogen

Rew

Dual Layer = DVD9 = 9 gig

mp3guy

yup, but a Dual Layer Dual Side = DVD18 = 18gigs. They COULD invent a drive that doesn't require the disc to manually be turned upside to read the other side, I.E have a laser on top & bottom.

Rhyme

mp3guy wrote:

yup, but a Dual Layer Dual Side = DVD18 = 18gigs. They COULD invent a drive that doesn't require the disc to manually be turned upside to read the other side, I.E have a laser on top & bottom.

Nice, no disc swapping. Some games magazine used to do that and it was uber handy.

It'll be awkward for holding, but at least it'll scorn all those who throw all their discs askew "put it in the box people"

derv

inside information in MS said it's got 3 proccessors in comparison to the 1 proccessor in the xbox.
also a 6gig HD

gonna be called the YBOX i think. anyone else hear that?



maybe none of this is true...........

Rew

An early prototype had 3 CPU's. Last I heard its going to be a singe dual core CPU.

projectmayhem

CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.


GPU - Xenon's GPU is a generation beyond the ATI X800. Its clock speed is 500 MHz and it supports Shader 3.0. Developers are currently working with an alpha 2 GPU. Beta GPU units are expected by May and the final GPU is slated for a summer release. The final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today; in game terms, it would handle a game like Half-Life 2 with ease.


System Memory - Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. Keep in mind that this number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.


Optical Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Games will come on dual-layer DVD-9 discs. While the media is the same as that of the current Xbox, the usable space on each disc is up to 7 GB. The drive is slated to run at 12X.


Memory Units - Xenon will use 64 MB to 1,024 MB memory cards. 8 MB is reserved for system use, leaving a 56 MB to 1,016 MB for user data.


Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined.


Camera - Xenon will have a USB 2.0 camera. It's capable of 1.2 megapixel still shots and VGA video. Photos can be used in-game and for gamer profiles. The camera can also be used for video chat. It's unknown if the Xenon camera will allow for EyeToy-like gameplay. Developers are currently using a simulated camera driver.


Sound Chip - Xenon does not have an audio chip in the traditional sense. Decompression is handled by hardware, while the rest of the chores are handled by software. DirectSound3D has been dropped in favor of X3DAudio. The former was deemed too inflexible.

The Software

Microsoft is requiring developers to make all Xenon titles Live enabled. One of the key reasons for this will be revealed in the second part of this story.

Developers are being instructed to plan their games for high-definition. The baseline is 720p at 1280x720 for gameplay and video clips, 16:9 aspect ratio, 5.1 Surround Sound, and anti-aliasing. These features are the current minimum requirement.

All Xenon games can be played using custom soundtracks. Owners can also play their own music directly. Supported formats are MP3 and WMA. Files can be encoded up to 320Kbps CBR or VBR stereo. The system is branded a Music Player Service.

For gameplay movies, Xenon uses Xenon Motion Video (XMV). XMV is based on Windows Media 9 and uses the mandatory codec for HD-DVD. The goal for video is 720p running at 30 frames per second with 5.1 Surround Sound.


Microsoft Supports Profiling

Whether the games are single player or multiplayer, all Xenon titles tie into a new gamer profile feature. Think of it as a universal profile for each gamer that uses the system; the gamer profiles are the player's single identity across all Xenon games. Similar to how a single Windows XP machine can be set up for multiple users, each Xenon system will house profiles for every gamer it serves. This feature is fantastic for households with multiple gamers, since each player's settings can be saved in his or her profile and selected when the system boots.

The system is very flexible. You're able to choose universal settings while making exceptions for individual games. You can set your profile to automatically set inverted controls and yellow uniforms if that's your preference, but if for some reason you prefer to play Splinter Cell with a standard look and orange uniforms you can change the setting for just that title.

The settings are available online and offline. System settings can be brought up in every Xenon title. The profile is also where you make your privacy and opt-in selections.

The profile also records achievements and something dubbed "Gamer Cred." Achievements are game-specific tasks, such as beating a certain boss or completing a level in a certain amount of time. Achievements can be awarded online and offline; the baseline is for every game to award at least five achievements. Gamer Cred is how much you're awarded for each achievement. The more games you play and the better you do, the more Gamer Cred you'll earn. Microsoft's is suggesting that developers award at least 1000 Gamer Cred points per title.

Parents will be pleased to learn that the profile system includes extensive parental controls and privileges. The system lets parents decide what games their kids are allowed to play, as well as if their children are allowed to share their profile and chat with other players. Software controls allow parents to select multiplayer restrictions.

Last, but not least, is the" Gamer Card." Think of it as an at-a-glance gamer profile. The Gamer Card allows other online players to quickly see another's Gamertag, title, Gamer Creds, reputation rating, gamer zone, country, and title. It's a virtual membership card that helps gamers find people to play with. If you think you've found a match then you can select the Gamer Card to view that player's full profile to make sure.

Cumin' Atcha Live


As I noted in part one of this feature, all Xenon titles will be Live enabled. The console itself will have system-enabled Live features including:

Friends management
Access to recent players
Message center
Game invite management
User notifications
Gamer profile
One-on-one voice chat
Downloads
Feedback
Sign-in

It will be easier than ever for players to communicate with others on Xenon. Players no longer need to create custom message centers for each game. The message center manages player-to-player messages, friend invites, game invites, open P2P messaging, service-to-player messages, and title-to-player messages. Players can also communicate via voice and video chat.

All online multiplayer games are required to have social and ranked matches. Social matches rely on affiliate list tracking. Each player can be in contact with 1500 others, including friends, recent players, and preferred players.

Downloads will be managed from a central system user interface. They will appear as offers to the player in a download marketplace. Free and premium downloads will be supported. Developers will be able to send players to the marketplace and notify them when new content is available.

As I mentioned when I was discussing the Gamer Card, other players can see your various profile stats quickly. One of the most pertinent stats to Live is player reputation. Players will be able to grade, compliment, and complain about other players. Reviews are tied to a player's own experience as well. It's unclear how the whole system will be policed. It's a great feature, but one that can be taken advantage of and seems difficult to arbitrate. The complaint system is managed by Microsoft customer service.

Source: gamespy