Shhh….Quieter Xbox 360 Coming In August May 09, 2008
Read more Consoles , Entertainment , Gadgets , Games , Gizmodo UK , PS3 , Wii , Xbox
As you may well know, the Xbox 360 is not a discreet console. If it was human, it’d be Janet Street Porter going at it hammer and tongs with Gordon Ramsay in the corner of your room. I know, because I have all the consoles side by side and the 360 shouts down the Wii and PS3 every time.
But now, rumours of a new chipset arriving at the end of the summer could make the next wave of Xbox 360s come across all demure and quiet. The 65nm Falcon CPU went some way to dropping the decibels but that larger graphics processing unit (GPU) has kept things too loud.
Now from Asia are reports that Microsoft has sourced the companies it needs to produce a 65nm GPU, codenamed Jasper, for release in August. The result will be cooler and quieter Xbox 360s – a very good thing indeed. There’s also unconfirmed talk that TSMC will also be sourced to build the oft-speculated Valhalla super-chip, which will see both CPU and GPU combined on a single 65nm chip by later next year.
Still, with the PS3 having just overtaken the 360 in Europe, will anyone really care by then? More extreme voices argue that the 360 is on its way – slowly but surely - to the console dustbin.
I think that’s a little harsh, since the games are much better than those for the PS3 so far, but what’s your take?-Martin Lynch
[Joystiq]
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
Comments
I agree with your comment about the games being far better on the 360 than the PS3, in fact I just traded in my PS3 and got a 360 instead.
If the 360 is destined for the dust bin then the idea of quality video games will probably end up being centered around the wii
good news as having a 360 is like having a small jet parked in my living room ... never been tempted by the PS3 .. not enough games and I prefer the online play on the 360
I would welcome a quieter 360. Just hope they do something about the ring of death which still haunts this console - even brand new Elites are still failing. That, imo, should be their priority.
I agree that to say the 360 is on its way out is utter rubbish! I love all the next-gen consoles but the 360 still has the best live experience and graphics.
Until a time when the others overtake, the 360 will sit in front of the others on my gaming desk.
Nice to see an Unbias non-fanboy report there at the end.... :|
I'm a PS3 owner (not a fanboy!) and I have to say I do see the end of the Xbox 360, it's aging and there are loads of great games coming out for the PS3 this year. It is in general a superior console imho, just seems a little more thought out for the player and less about making money.
This is a good idea, but to me this means the 360 has just become a reliable console. and how long has it been out? It has suffered from microsoft syndrome, badly.
The only think stopping me swapping to the PS3 is xbox live which is fantastic! Noisy, unreliable but good. Pity it was MS who came up with it as they obviously did their usual trick of releasing something without testing it!
I've had an Xbox 360 since launch and I enjoyed it thoroughly for that time, when on Christmas day while rocking out to Guitar Hero III, It gave up on me. One red light, not the infamous red ring of death. I decided to trade it in as well as all my games and accessories and buy a PS3. A few months later, I have my 360 back again. 360 is just so much better, better games, better online, more fun to play with friends (Yes, real friends).
So PS3 sales have slightly exceeded the 360 in the quarter where Bluray finally won the format war, and the PS3 had one of its anticipated exclusives coming out (GT5 Prologue) and the 360 didn't. If that's the 360 "dead" then I'm sure Microsoft won't be worried about the death predictions for awhile yet. There are still a LOT more 360s out there than PS3s.