Be Excellent To Each Other

Various gaming websites are running hands-on with the early games at Microsoft's pre-E3 announcement, which are mostly casual titles.

No word on price or availability yet, but MS's main E3 conference is 6:30pm today.

Also this leak is probably a 360 Slim:

the (Italian) text mentioned built-in Wifi and a 250Gb HDD.

Still not arsed about Natal Kinect.

I wonder how flakey the slim model 360 will be, hopefully they've learnt their lesson now.

Doesn't really look that slim. also wonder if they break if you use them on their side like that.

Found this: http://spe.atdmt.com/ds/NMITMUMIMHPU/00 ... 0_V1R2.swf

Seems like a bit too much effort for a fake.

I'd be interested to see it in the flesh. Looks a bit ugly from that though.

As for Natal/Kinetic, I literally can wait till I get the chance to play with that. It looks horrific, like an over-hyped EyeToy variant.

I'm gonna go for fake advert... We'll know soon enough if I'm wrong.

The advert and the word "Kinect" in it before Microsoft announced it as the shipping name for Natal, so it's highly likely to be genuine.

I just really took my opinion from



The image quality is piss poor. So I'd say this at least is fake. As for a slim console. I'm going to edge of the side that it'll not be slim, just a new console design (EDIT: although that's probably splitting hairs).

Although as you point out all the facts so far point to me being wrong.

Wait, what? The image quality in the Flash link you quoted is fine. The image quality in the still I posted is rough, but only because it's a reprocessed screen grab from the Flash ad.

All that hand waving will be good practice for Kinect

First game out for it is Totemball 2. Or something similary shit, I imagine.

Did you not see the last image?

Boo why is Joy Ride Kinect only! I had been looking forward to it.

I'm was wrong. It's the Xbox Short! haha! Damn I should have waited for the new one.

I can't wait until Rockstar go too far with this & there's the inevitable Daily Mail backlash.

Actually, it looks like "Some shit the Wii has had for years".
Or in other words, even worse than Totemball 2.

[EDIT]Also, Gamestop are apparently setting the preorder price at $150, which is into Epic Facepalm territory if true.

It's all grille which seems like a sensible move.

Reduced noise, more USB ports, optical audio output that doesn't get blocked by the HDMI lead. Seems like a useful update to me.

and inevitable really as I've just got myself a 360. This happens a lot with me. Late to adopt something, and then when I do, an updated version comes out. (I got the DS chunky the week before the DS Lite was announced for example)

Malc

That's twice then. Everybody hates you

Or maybe I just don't keep up with current/near future gaming trends!

There are more examples, but they are boring, and to do with Graphics cards, and gaming mice and such.

Malc

Even more amusing, it looks like there's about to be a price drop on the current models, too.

I can't buy a new one and swap the hard drive between rooms, there aren't any memory unit slots, and they've not moved profiles and saves into "the cloud". That sucks, because I want one.

Although I suppose the USB stick update will help?

you can't beat cheaper than free though can you?

Malc

I want one!

Even thought I've got a perfectly good 360 at home, I'd like something shiny and new.

I hope it's not a massive pain in the arse to transfer all my hard drives content though.

You can use the transfer kit. There are several kicking around in the group - I have one, ferinstance.

Vaguely tempted to sell my still-working-but-ancient-and-noisy old one and get a new pricedropped one before they're discontinued..

But I probably won't

Can you? The HDD is a new design, mind.

If by "help" you mean "fix the problem" then yeah!

On one of the Video's (3:30) they asked one of the MS guys and he says its the same transfer process... which he seems to say is the same transfer cable.

The BBC Story on this says



More powerful? Does having built-in wifi count? It's still the same spec 360, isn't it?

Well if it produces less heat, it's actually less powerful because of physics.

Looks like it will be a darn sight better at dissapating that heat, though.

Looks very nice. Nice and shiny like my Ali....

Bet it's prone to fingyprints though.

That will make your room warmer when you get one then, right?

That's entertainingly wrong.

[edit]Unless it's purely a heater, I guess.

Just seen the ad for the upcoming new 360 and it says it's ready for Kinect. Is that just marketing rubbish or does the new model have something for Kinect that the older models don't?

It has a special Kinect port. Everyone else will be using the (bundled I'd imagine) USB-to-Kinect widget.

Speculation: if plugged into a normal 360, Kinect needs a wall plug PSU. When plugged into the special new "aux" socket on the new 360s, it doesn't. I can't see anything else this Aux port can be for.

Maybe the USB widget will be a separate purchase to squeeze a few more dollarpounds out the the long-term xboxers

What's slightly puzzling is the decision to include more USB ports on new model, particularly on the less accessible rear. I don't have much USB equipment for the 360, just the Wi-Fi dongle (which the new 360 renders obsolete) and a play and charge kit. Is there actually that much stuff that you'd want permanently connected?

Makes me wonder if Kinect is going to require more than just the new Aux port... or if there are some other projects in the pipeline that will actually make use of the new USB ports.

If you have The Rocking Band One instruments, that's another 3 at least you'd need. Plus I have the live cam. And some may have USB storage devices now attached. Yooooossssuubbbb.

Just ordered one of these ready for collection on launch day. I am particularly interested in the 'whisper quiet' marketing bumph. We'll see (or hear as it were) if it is all worth it.

I was surprised by how little my original 360 Premium (20gb) was worth as a trade in - £60. It's almost worth keeping as a spare, or at least taking with me when I work away.

Either way, this does mean that I will soon have a 360 USB WiFi adapter for sale if anyone is interested.

Confirmed on Major Nelsons podcast this week , the new xbox has 2 front USB's , 3 rear plus the Kinetic one which is described as a 'fat USB connection with a cut out'

Oh yeah, I also saw confirmation on, umm, Kotaku I think the day after I posted that. I forgot to come back and crow about it though.

I damn sure do: As it stands, I need more ports:

-Keyboard
-Controller
-Hard Drive
-Wireless network

Also, sometimes, a camera.

Pricing confirmed as £130/$150. That's a spicy meatball, and a shitty exchange rate.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/micro ... nect-price

More than the console is mentalist thinking.

Also Peter Molwueuueyyeneuxeus'sx paedophile grooming simulator will probably get a release now.

It's not though. The new "4Gb" Arcade model (it has flash storage, not a HDD) is £150, and the 250Gb one is £200. The arcade+Kinect bundle is £250.

Edit -- it's not more than the console, that is. I'm leaning towards "it's mentalist" though.

Uhh, you wish.