Half the fun of a next-generation console comes from the furious rumormongering that precedes its arrival, and the Microsoft Xbox 360 has been no exception. But with the Xbox 360's release date now only three months away, it's time to revisit the platform and see which rumored features have been confirmed, which have been shot down, and which remain firmly in the realm of speculation.

Confirmed: what we know
Pricing and bundling: On August 17, Microsoft confirmed that its next-generation console will launch in two flavors: a $299 edition that comes with one wired controller, a detachable faceplate, and standard A/V cables; and a souped-up $399 version that ships with a 20GB hard drive, a wireless controller, a wireless headset, a limited-edition wireless Media Center remote, and HD-capable component A/V cables. Both SKUs will include a basic Xbox Live Silver membership.

Hardware: In addition to an IBM PowerPC-based CPU running at 3.2GHz and 0.5GB of RAM, the 360 sports a customized ATI graphics processor capable of advanced antialiasing and shader effects. What that technical jargon means, in practice, is that the new Xbox will have the processing power to deliver true 720p and 1080i wide-screen HDTV images for all of its games (by contrast, most games for the original Xbox maxed out at a DVD-level 480p). Multichannel surround sound is also standard, and the 360 natively supports up to four wireless controllers to cut down on cable clutter.

DVD vs. Blu-ray: The Xbox 360's optical drive is a standard DVD model. While using tried-and-true DVD technology may keep costs down, it also limits the games to just 8.5GB of space--that's pretty tight for high-def cut-scenes. By contrast, the PlayStation 3 will use a next-generation Blu-ray drive, which means more space for games (at least 25GB per disc) and compatibility with one of the competing high-def movie formats vying to replace DVD. Rumors persist that the 360 will get an HD-DVD drive at some point, but with Microsoft on an aggressive four-year console upgrade schedule, we're likely to see the third iteration of the Xbox (November 2009?) before we see a "360.1" with HD-DVD.

Appearance: The new Xbox is notably smaller and more curvaceous than its brutish predecessor. The front panel is dominated by an oversize power button, but the look and feel can be customized with a variety of interchangeable faceplates. Furthermore, the Xbox 360 can be mounted vertically or horizontally, ? la the PlayStation 2.


Multiplayer: The success of the current generation of Xbox Live has led Microsoft to expand and enhance the next generation of the broadband online service. It will now be available in Silver and Gold tiers, with the former offering limited functionality to all Xbox 360 users and the latter continuing the premium services Xbox Live users currently enjoy. But the big step up is the Xbox Live Marketplace, which will serve as an online launch platform for downloading value-added content, such as new demos, levels, maps, and skins. Don't expect giveaways, however; Microsoft and third-party publishers will be looking to monetize Xbox Live beyond the flat yearly fee.

Launch titles: During the Xbox Summit that took place in Japan at the end of July, Microsoft announced what appears to be a final list of launch titles, which the folks at 1up.com dutifully translated. It's still unclear which games will be launching in which country, however, and some titles appear quite loosely translated, to say the least.

Peripherals and accessories: Assuming the 360 is priced to move, expect Microsoft to make up for lost profits on the console itself with a procession of must-have accessories. In addition to video connectivity upgrades (see bundling details below), the company has confirmed that several first-party accessories are on the road map: a wireless network adapter, a memory card, an EyeToy-style video camera, and (of course) additional wired and wireless controllers and Xbox Live headsets.

Nongaming capabilities: The Xbox 360's built-in ability to serve as a Media Center Extender will let users stream digital video, audio, and photos from networked PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition. Microsoft is also promising the "ability to stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras, and Windows XP-based PCs." Last but not least, the 360 will double as a CD/DVD player.

Rumor and speculation: what we don't know
Availability: Microsoft recently reaffirmed a holiday 2005 release date for the Xbox 360, with the console scheduled to hit North America, Europe, and Japan sometime in the fourth quarter. Specific dates are still up in the air, but don't be surprised if it's around November 15--the fourth anniversary of the original Xbox hitting stores.

Backward compatibility: Microsoft pledged that the 360 would be compatible with top-selling Xbox games. That caveat--and the lack of subsequent official information from Microsoft--has led to considerable speculation as to what titles will and won't work on the 360. The problem is trying to get software designed for the Intel/Nvidia architecture of the original Xbox to run on the IBM/ATI hardware of the 360. The rumor mill indicates that Microsoft is making good progress in ironing out the legal and technical details related to backward compatibility. Let's hope it's true; no one wants to keep their old Xbox in the A/V rack just to play Halo.

Bells and whistles: One of the latest Xbox 360 rumors is that the console's controllers will accept QWERTY-style keyboard attachments. The evidence behind this conjecture amounts to some camera phone-quality pictures of overseas technical presentations, so you'll want to take this news with a grain of salt.

The bottom line
The Xbox 360 is by far the most fleshed-out of the next-generation consoles. We know how much it'll cost, when it'll be available, and what games will be playable at launch; unfortunately, since we still know so little about its next-generation competitors, it's hard to definitively weigh in on which machine will reign supreme. That said, screenshots from Xbox 360 titles such as Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter look absolutely stunning, leading us to believe that the Xbox 360 will likely be a worthwhile investment, if an expensive one.

XBOX 360

Very good

Just a quick question, did you write that yourself or did you copy it from the net, because if you wrote it yourself, you sure do know alot about the XBOX 360.

On another point, shouldnt this be moved into the console hardware section? Probabily, so i moved it from the game section.

Oh look [url=http://reviews.cnet.com/Microsoft_Xbox_360/4512-6464_7-31355096.html] click here[/url]

Don't copy large amounts of text just to make VDs, it's not the idea of VDs. If you wanted to say that, you should have posted the link. Don't do it again.

I have deducted 24VDs, you get to keep one as it was informative.

I think u shud deduct the 10 VDs more than he got for that, cos thats just cheating, its ok to post more than u usually wud, cos thats y dollars were made, to make u think more, and type more. But copying and pasting huge things like that is wrong DEDUCT DECUCT :twisted: u r the admin after all

Hmm, if it was just the link it would be alright, as it was informative and stuff. You are right, though, this is cheating and trying to be greedy. I think all VDs should be earned fairly and those who try to cheat the system should be punished, just I have to strike a balance between the rules and having people think of this as a friendly forum.

In light of this is early in the forum's days, I think by enforcing the rules now, people will realise that it is only fair and we will have no more need for them in the future (hopefully). Sorry stam! :?

And now that XBOX 360 has been released, all I can say is "Hahahahahaha!!" -- it crashes like crayzee!

And all I can say is, "what do you expect, it's MicroSoft!"

Are XBOX 306's just silver XBOXes that are smaller? Or are they XBOXES with DVD players and stuff like that? Or could the old XBOX do that becasue i don't have a clue about XBOXES because thay are NAFF!!!!!

They sh ould be called XBRICS becasue they are so big.

Also, are sony bringing out a new playstaion or that the PSP?

:shoot3: :shoot3: :shoot3:

Right, the XBox 360 has much better hardware in it that the origional, meaning it can run more complex and better looking (still can't rival PCs) games. Yes, IMHO, they are "naff".

Also, Sony is also bringing out the PS3, which again has better hardware than the PS2.

it sucks
it sucks
it sucks
(right, im gonna stop that bit, it could go on for ever)

it recent featured on the gadget show and i have to disagree with a few things

1. "The graphics and phyics are a match for most computers"
My Comment: Yeah, most computers in 1998, my flipping 300MHz can beat it, even my unstable p4 can work better.

2. "It is ten times faster than the old xbox"
My Comment: Why does a console need flipping 7.33GHz processing power, whats it gonna do, calculate how much money youre wasting on it?

More slagging coming soon

Yeah, I know.

1. Yup, too right! It may have a current gen chip, but with only 10MB of GRAM, that means sod all! So what it's gt advanced chips, it can't even store low res textures! As for physics, pah! Bring on Aegia! That will show them!

2. Well, it's actually got 3 3.6GHz IBM processors, so it may be 10 times faster. But the old XBox sucked big time. And PCs are 10 times faster than it.

3. They programmed it wrong! The American release had the games CRASHING it! Stupid M$!

4. The games cost ?50 RRP! RIP OFF!

oh, yeah it comes with a media extender remote control, looks like the main point of the XBox 360 is to get customers to buy a windows xp media centre edition pc, then to buy a vista version when they remove the capability once vista comes out, which'll mean new pc

Still, it will be good to see a 9+ core Cell CPU in a desktop PC, that will be immense!

The main aim of the 360 is to make money!

Yeah, we're dissing the XBox, if you hadn't noticed....

Still, COMPUTERS RULE!

the xbox 360 would of been good if they put there original idea of the hard ware in it in the standard way insead of fidleing and geting rid of the size of memmory downgrading stuff and other such things also if they could of got it out bfore the next big thingt came out in the way of comp hardware they could of had a good system for a while but by donig what they've done means that people that only use consoles don't recognise the fact that u cant cover the vents or run it in cobords which has cause all the crashes and overheating. a funny thing is that all the games work on the normal xbox with no real difference in performace3 so thers no eal point in geting them

They can't afford to do that.

They rely on the gullibility of people thinking the consoles are better. And the consoles are NEVER better than PCs!

no because they take ages to take the top pc hardware of the day and fiddle for so long that when it comes out 1-2 years later they are crap compared to the pcs then

Yeah, I guess. Anyway, whyget an XBox 360 when you can build a faster PC for the same price and get free emulators online? You can put the games in the PC if you must pay over the odds for a second rate game. If it's remotely good it will be ported to the PC with half the price tag and loads of extras!

The oridginal XBOX Could play DVDs. The 360 is apparently very bad and has crap games. What ami saying? Microcrap has rubbish games. The only decent ones are the Halo series. Did they end up using talkback technology or not? Because that is whats probably F***ing the whole thing up. They will probably have to do a total recall on all untis sold!

The old XBox could play DVDs, big whoop! Yup, the only half decent game is halo, and that don't compare to HL!

I'm not sure about the TalkBack.

Im gonna laugh at those with 360s
[size=24:8bda50bbbe]HA HA[/size:8bda50bbbe]

Microsoft are now going to release a new 360 with a HD-DVD Drive (Not Blu-Ray) in 'not mentioned release date, ill guess 6-18 months' and its gonna cost more (probabily)

[size=24:8bda50bbbe]HA HA all those who bought 360s, the decent one hasnt come out yet![/size:8bda50bbbe]

[quote:e2ca4e4ea2="Connected"]decent one[/quote:e2ca4e4ea2]
WTF? There will be a decent one? What have you taken Con?

Anyway, lol. The XBox is become more of a computer. I must destroy it and stop it, otherwise it will bring the PC down!= ith it's cr*piness! NOOOOO!

the x box and the 360 are both cheap pc's of the time with all the parts tha make it posable to do multiple things and doing all the publications and stuff that make it realy gd for nething taken out and destroyed and they rely on pc's to make the games and the reason they exist

[quote:821651e2ff="Grim Reaper"][quote:821651e2ff="Connected"]decent one[/quote:821651e2ff]
WTF? There will be a decent one? What have you taken Con?

[/quote:821651e2ff]

Cannabis! No, actually i meant decent in comparison. Anyway, i floccinaucinihilipilificate it!

Yeah, LOL! Oh, and never use a word you cannot pronounce!