Codename: Zephyr (Update)
Ever wonder why Microsoft hasn’t released an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360, or whether the AV port was really capable of digital out? Well, here’s your answer: we landed pictures of what appears to be the second Xbox 360 — the Xbox 360 v2, if you will — codenamed Zephyr. (The original Xbox 360, if you recall, was codenamed Xenon.) The long rumored about and awaited update to the console won’t just feature a new, cooler 65nm processor, it’s also finally added an HDMI port for full digital 1080p pleasure, as well as a 120GB drive, just what the doctor ordered. The 120GB drive may or may not come bundled with the kit, we don’t yet know, just as we also don’t yet know how much a Zephyr 360 is going to run (we imagine it’ll go for the same price as currently so they can keep up a little on their expanding margin). But our very kind Xbox insider seemed happy to let us know we’d be able to get them “soon.”
Update: Microsoft has responded to the leaked picture above with the following:
“We have seen all types of claimed leaked photos like this show up online and as a standard policy we don’t comment on speculative items.”
I would look for them to officially announce Zephyr (and more Xbox stuff) at next week’s Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. It begins January 8th and runs until January 11th.
Also, pictures of the box art and bundle for Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360 have been released:
In other news, one of the guys at IGN has recently posted about his experience playing the now canceled version of Halo on the Nintendo DS.
Above: a terrible mock-up of Halo on DS; the real thing actually doesn’t look much different.
Amazingly, the ill-fated DS version of the title plays remarkably well. Think Metroid Prime Hunters but with a Halo facelift. I had the opportunity to run through the beginning beach area and noted while playing that it looked like Xbox Halo except on DS, it was running fast, and the control was responsive.
Click here for more of the article.
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A lot of interesting news today. What does everybody think about Zephyr? I think it means we’re going to see a price drop on the Core and/or Premium, and I think that the Zephyr will be the console of choice for those who value the HDMI port and all the HD-content in the Video Marketplace/On-Demand Movie service on Xbox Live.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Yeah, but what if you value those things (HDMI HD movie playback/downloads) but already own the Xenon version. I’m pissed. They better release the 120 gig HDD seperate and it better be less than the 99$ they are charging for the 20gig.
If this was Sony that did this I bet you would be saying its just proof they rushed the product out the door before it was ready.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:34 am
“If this was Sony that did this ”
Did what? Offered people a choice?
All this is is an Xbox 360 that is optimized for the really hardcore gamer, there’s no gaming or software enhancement, and I believe the storage space is not needed at all.
That’s the difference between Xbox and PlayStation, one brand is forcing you to buy a (costly $200) disc format that is not needed and most people don’t even know about, the other is giving you three different SKUs to choose from. Acting like you are being screwed over as a current owner is ridiculous, the only thing that really changes is the HDD space, and you can always buy another HDD. Expecting the 120GB HDD to sell for $99 is laughable as well.
If Sony was to “do this” and somehow offer a PS3 that is cheaper and doesn’t have some of the pointless crap in the PS3, that would be awesome, especially if they worked on some better tools for developers so that the PS3 could actually get a decent game. Instead, all Sony talks about is its tech specs and how they plan to build a new version of the PS3 that will cost $2000-$2500.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/20/ken-kutaragi-sez-i-promise-an-av-centric-ps3/3
There’s a huge difference between what Xbox/Wii are doing, and what Sony is doing. I’m fine with Sony continuing their path into oblivion though. Both the Xbox 360 and the Wii are blowing it away in sales, and PS3s are sitting on shelves nationwide.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:44 am
what part of - “the console won’t just feature a new, cooler 65nm processor” didn’t you read. Don’t tell me there won’t be a performance boost in the new system.
“If Sony was to “do this†and somehow offer a PS3 that is cheaper and doesn’t have some of the pointless crap in the PS3, that would be awesome”
Then I expect you to post a positive thread about Sony if this ever becomes reality:
http://www.gadgetnutz.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=00264
January 5th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Thanks for the link, that’s very interesting, and it’s Sony’s only option at this point. I don’t see them doing it though, they own stock in the Blu-Ray brand, and Sony is historically very arrogant and stubborn when it comes to things like this, especially when they have run their mouth like they have for the past 2 years.
Also, about the 65mm processor…I didn’t think I would have to explain this. The chip “upgrade” has been known about since before launch. Every single console does this, throughout the life of the console, they optimize the manufacturing process, which means things like the size of the things changes. If you actually believe that this chip is going to alter gameplay, how exactly are developers going to handle this?
The fact is, there’s no change besides the actual hardware size. Maybe the Xbox Guide will slide in better during high action gaming (if for some reason you’re hitting the Guide button during that kind of gameplay) or something like that, but that is the only difference you’re going to see.
January 5th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I have heard the new chip would run cooler. But maybe I’m wrong.
Yeah, I have doubts Sony will do this too. They have stuck their foot in too deep to pull it out now. I mean without the Blu-ray for games how would people buying the new version be able to play R:FOM with its 22 gig disk size? Sony would have to release a new version of the game with out all the extra crap on there. Which would undercut their whole argument that 25gigs was needed for gameplay reasons. LOL.
But if it means saving the company (increasingly looking like a reality) they may have to.
January 5th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
I don’t know, I’m with Dan here. I’m glad to hear this Uber 360 may exist but its kind of a slap in the face for early adopters. This is the same kind of crap Nintendo pulls. “Buy our Nintendo DS today!” Thirteen months later: “Oh look, a better version of DS. You should buy that one too!” Hopefully they release the 120 GB HDD so I can use it too but probably not. Oh well as much as I’ll bitch and moan, I’ll probably pick one up. But this is one of the first BS moves I’ve seen Microsoft pull since Xbox came out…
January 5th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
This is probably going to be Microsoft’s big announcement at CES. I think its next week…
January 5th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I agree with Dan on this one. I kind of feel like the early adopters are getting screwed over. And if Sony did the same thing you would be ranting and raving about what Sony is doing and how evil they are. Dont get me wrong, I think Sony sucks, but it kind of seems like Microsoft here is pulling a Sony on us…
January 5th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Excellent. I’ve been waiting for the 65nm processors before I get my own 360. Has anyone heard anything more definate on GH2’s release date? My PS2 just bit the dust and I imagine I’ll be going through withdrawl befoer too long…
January 5th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I hope that the larger HDD is something we all can look forward to, thats the one thing I really would enjoy getting my hands on. I don’t feel as burned on the 1080p issue for a couple of reasons, it isn’t the “end all be all” for gamming graphics (720p is the sweet spot) and you can still get your 1080p fix via a VGA cable. By the time that it “TRUELY” will effect games the “Xbox 3″ will be out and if its nessessary at that time MS will take notice and head down that path. All I am saying is that right now the 1080p games that you do see aren’t anything but glorified framerate problems. 1080p is a dropped issue for me in many cases, the larger HDD on the other hand is something WE ALL could use and hopefully will get the chance to.
“I’m glad to hear this Uber 360 may exist but its kind of a slap in the face for early adopters.”
Could I play devil’s advocate here? Did you feel this way when the slim PS2 came out? I know that it wasn’t as soon after the release of the big box PS2 but we don’t know when the v2 of the 360 is hitting shelves…so time might not be as large of an issue. I am just wondering not trying to throw gas on a fire, I know I am not the only one who bought it not only because my first two died but because it was “smaller and ran quieter/better” I don’t think I felt betrayed I just took notice that it evolved. Componets became cheeper and they got better at assembling them ect. IMHO.
I just hope that the newer larger HDD comes out soon and that MS continues to take care of its customers better than anyone else in the business.
January 5th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I think it’s in March, I’m not sure though…not a game I’m really into.
Also, I still can’t understand why anyone already with an Xbox 360 is whining over this new Xbox 360 coming out. It’s the exact same system, except with an HDMI port and a bigger HDD, neither of which were ever promised or even talked about by Microsoft. It’s not like they were hyping up the eventual release of HDMI or a larger HDD and then said, “Surprise, you’ll have to buy a new system”.
The price on the 20GB HDD will probably drop quite a bit when Zephyr comes out as well, so there goes the HDD space argument..
So this is all over an HDMI port? This is a simple hardware revision.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
The difference with the PS2 slim is that (to my recollection) when it came out it was priced at $129. So if it was an upgrade I wanted I could afford it wiothout much trouble. Moreover, nothing was included that I didn’t already have with my older version. With this the new machine has 100gigs of extra storage. After spending $400 last year on the 360 I’d have to spend another $400 to get the upgrade.
Cleric I don’t no why you aren’t upset. You dropped $400 on the 360, and now, just one year later, someone could spend the same and get 100gigs of extra space. Lets assume the 120 gig drive is $150. And that the new system is priced like the premium at $400. My system suddenly becomes $550 if I want the extra storage…and we’re only a year from launch. I’m not done with MS, you won’t find my 360 on ebay, or being chainsawed in a youtube video, and even knowing what I know now I would have bought one a year ago, but It just seems like a slap in the face.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
I’m stoked about that GH2 action there! I notice they went with the X-Plorer guitar. Total hawtness. I do see one thing though - a wire!!! AHHHH! Maybe there’ll be a bundle with a wireless controller or something too. In any case, you got me drooling there.
As far as the rest of the article goes: 1) The 20GB HDD at $99 since day one is a rip-off. There’s no argument there. 120GB for $99 would be more reasonable.
2) The only real change as Cleric stated, is the HDMI port. The HDD will most likely be offered separately as well. I know for a fact from modding the original xbox that it had no less than 7 different hardware versions (1.0-1.6). Almost all of them used a different DVD-drive (luckily mine was the Samsung - the Thompson drives were nightmares and caused many owners headaches *cough*SH1SNO*cough*). They also frequently switched the video/audio encoder chips (like the ANA in the 360). Also, different motherboards were used. Other than loading times with the DVD drives, no performance boost occured. This happened with every system, even the genesis, NES, Atari, PS1, etc. This is only an issue for new adopters. Basically they want to prove that they can be just as good or better than the PS3 with features.
3) This is not like Sony. Sony will promise one thing and deliver another, whether it be features, game footage, or what-have-you. This is deliver on promises and then adding some stuff later, when it *might* make a difference.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
dan, I seem to recall that the original PS2 required a network adapter for online play, whereas the slim PS2 has one built in. I also seem to recall that the original PS2 came out 6+ years ago. As you said, the 360 only came out a year ago. Plus the stuff I just said.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
I would like to point out that it is somewhat foolish to get ticked at Microsoft for improving upon their product in this manner. When you purchased your v1.0 Xbox360, you apparently considered $400 to be a reasonable price for the package you were getting. Microsoft is not taking away value from the package you already purchased, they are *adding* value to future packages. The only time this gets a little hairy is if someone purchases the console during the transition period and inadvertently gets the previous generation instead, although companies are generally somewhat sensitive to these concerns.
This upgrade process happens with every console generation, as well as other types of hardware (e.g. Apple iPod). These updates are generally good for both the end user (getting a better product) and the manufacturer (lower production costs). It’s crazy to blame the company for cheating customers when they use newer tech to produce a superior product. That is the risk that comes with being an early adopter of any hardware; invariably, the company will release better versions of the hardware (even if these changes are transparent to the consumer) and the cost of the system will decrease.
Get pissed if the company is rendering your current configuration unusable, not for improving upon the product they are selling.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
On an unrelated note, I am really curious as to what extent Guitar Hero I/II have been driving PS2 sales. I personally know of 4 new PS2’s that were bought over the holidays specifically for those games. Maybe when the superior 360 version is released, that will cause PS2 sales to take a hit. I know I personally am holding out for the 360 version rather than getting a new PS2 (previous one died horribly over Christmas) even though I already have a copy of the PS2 game and a guitar controller.
And please let there be a wireless 360 guitar! That and all of the GH I songs would be enough to make me a very happy man for a long time (at least until Halo3).
January 5th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Matt - I already had the network adaptor so it didn’t matter. And as someone said there is a differenc ebetween the upgrade coming 4 years later and just over 1 year later. But it brings up a great example. Suppose you had purchased a launch PS2 and had to fork over extra for the network adaptor and then 1 year later the slim, with the adaptor built in was released for the same price…don’t you think that would make you angry. This is the identical situation in my book.
Sh1sno- your wrong. There were alot of people who were concerned about 20gigs (really out of the box mine only had 13gigs available) right from the start. With all the talk of Arcade/movies/music…I, and just about everyone, knew that 20/13gigs was too small. I got it because it was all that was available. And let me be clear charging me to upgrade the HDD wouldn’t bother me…I’d pay it. I’ve been excited with every rumor of a 60/80/now120 gig HDD in the works. What bothers me is that early adoptors will be charged extra for the new HDD but late adoptors will get the extra for the same price I paid.
Let me put it another way…if MS releases this and charges $500 for the new system with the 120gig HDD and then allows the HDD to be sold seperate for $100…then i have no complaints. In that case me and the new 360 owner would have the same HDD space for the same price. Or better yet, release the new system with the old version 20gig HDD and charge the same and then sell the HDD exclusivley as a seperate item. Then we’de all have the choice and no one will feel shafted (because whether justifued with that feeling or not, many feel that way…myself included).
January 5th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
dan - Point taken. I am in the same boat you are in with a first-gen 360, and I would definately like this to be offered as an add-on. I personally think it would be a mistake to include the 120GB HDD standard if they could instead release a cheaper version with the regular 20GB drive as a the average user may not really want/need all that extra space. Regardless, all of this is just speculation at this point anyway, so I will reserve final judgement when we hear some official news.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Guys, the new consumers are going to be given a choice, ok? If they don’t want/need all the extra space, they can buy the Premium or Core, if they want it, buy the new one. And to those who already have a 360, 20 GB should be enough…you all are making such a big deal because Microsoft is giving customers even more choice. If your happy with your 360 now, once the other package comes out its not going to make it any less fun, now is it?
January 5th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Okay, I take everything back. I’m definitely buying this thing IF the following report is true:
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12523/CES-2007-Xbox-360-Announcements-Leaked/
ITS A DVR!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
January 6th, 2007 at 12:44 am
Whoops, looks like they pulled the story. Buts it being reported on Joystiq and Kotaku. Sounds legit to me…
January 6th, 2007 at 8:58 am
You pay a premium if you get the system right at launch. It’s common sense to know that in the future the system goes down in price and that you will always get more bang for your buck if you wait a year or two. Getting pissed that Microsoft is adding value to future Xbox 360 SKUs after the initial launch period is nothing but childish. You’ve owned Xbox 360 for over a year, people buying the Xbox 360 when Zephyr comes out haven’t. The only way I would see people getting upset is if they were abandoning the current Xbox 360 and developers were going to be torn between the old and new Xbox 360 SKU. There is nothing like that in this case, it’s the exact same system with a bigger HDD and an HDMI port, which is useless to most people.
January 6th, 2007 at 9:43 am
^Thank you Cleric^
January 6th, 2007 at 9:46 am
That argument is void IF, and only if, this new 360 has functionality that is exclusive to the new model. Which would mean to get the most of the 360, to get the ‘true’ 360 experience, you would need to buy the new one. Again this is void IF the new features are exclusive to the new unit, which it sounds like they aren’t. As long as the rumored set-top box features and bigger HDD can be used on the current unit, all this back-and-forth is a waste of time. But it sure is fun to argue via posts on a blog…
January 9th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
okay, i have read this entire page….i was really bored. i have also just bought a 360. i can see both points here. wat does it matter and y do i have to pay extra. well u don’t have to. a lot of people can’t connect to live therefore can’t use a lot of space, u can rip a cd, or connect to a computer. but it does make me mad that i have to get a new hdd if i want more space. the good thing about buying a new hardrive on a 360 is that u can transfer ur gamer profile unlike saved content on xbox1.