Microsoft says no Blu-ray for Xbox 360

[nithr]

i know it's not their field but if something big is going on that might relate to the ps3 in some way the sony insiders might have heard something.

- one factory making 360s has stopped production
- amazon is showing most 360 sku as discontinued by manufacturer
- the new peter moore guy (mattrick something) only works part time at ms (according to n'gai croal of newsweek)
- ms selling their first party studios like bungie and letting others close to xbox getting picked up by activision and ea

[smurfy]

Wow I didn't notice that. I initially thought this pointed to dropping out of consoles but of course 360s are selling awesomely so I doubt it. Possibly a cross-the-board upgrade with Blu-Ray internal but also probably not.

Also what's this doing on Blu-Ray.com?

[The Don]

they probably are working on a new model..

[nithr]

Originally Posted by smurfy

Also what's this doing on Blu-Ray.com?

only place i know with insiders who are open about stuff and got proven trackrecords

[WickyWoo]

As far as selling off Bungie, Bungie wanted it

They're also in need of cash for their Yahoo buy

We're almost certainly at the cusp of a new model introduction, they're going to use GTA4 for all its worth because they've got the exclusive content coming for it

[pokerface]

Maybe they are trying to make one that only has a 20-25% failure rate. A friend of mine is on his third since Oct.

[WickyWoo]

Maybe they are trying to make one that only has a 20-25% failure rate. A friend of mine is on his third since Oct

That already happened

Most of the ones in the refurb chain are the old systems.

[Blu_Avenger]

Heres a story posted on this site - http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/d...rom=blog_last3

Next Xbox 360 Designs are "Opus" and "Valhalla"

There is not one but two secret Xbox cats that Microsoft has kept in the bag. Currently there are three more Xbox 360 motherboards in the works right now. They are.. dun dun dun.. Jasper, Opus and Valhalla.

If you are skeptical about this keep in mind that I've been early and correct about this stuff before.

The original Xbox 360 motherboard is called the Xenon with both a 90 nm CPU and 90 nm GPU, there has been system cooling revisions to it. Next was Zephyr motherboard with HDMI that was introduced with the Xbox 360 Elite and and some had newer "heat pumps". Currently on the market is Falcon with a cooler 65 nm CPU but still the same hot GPU as the Xenon.

It's well known that the next Xbox 360 motherboard is going to be Jasper and it going to have both a 65 nm CPU and a 65 nm GPU. Jasper is going to be a major advancement in reliability since it is going to run much quieter than previous Xbox 360 systems. Jasper's reliability is in part to the fact that there is no place on the motherboard that is going to be running as hot or as much power as previous Xbox 360 systems, also it might run a lot quieter since it will not need as much power. When Microsoft hired IBM and ATI to provide the original Xbox 360 CPU and GPU Microsoft put it in the contract so that the Xbox team will own the technology for the chips and can make subsequent reduced cost revisions to the chips. The Xbox one had leased technology from Intel and Nvidia and that is one of the main reasons for the change in CPU and GPU venders. Jasper is very real and they are testing prototypes right now. Word from Redmond is that progress on Jasper is going well and on schedule and you can expect it fall of 2008. My birthday is in October and I am probably going to upgrade to a Jasper Xbox 360 if my Xenon lasts that long.

Now on to the big news. Are you ready... cue dramatic music..

The next two Xbox 360 motherboard names are "Opus" and "Valhalla"!!!

The Opus project is a "Falcon" generation motherboard designed to fit in a Xenon case. You can expect an 90 nm GPU but a 65 nm CPU. Opus solves a major hardware recycling and inventory problem since Microsoft currently has millions of used Xenon cases from RRODed dead systems and this lets them use most of the good parts from the millions of dead Xenons but with a newer tested more reliable motherboard.

There is no HDMI on Opus since the Xenon cases don't have openings for the port. Opus is a third generation Xbox 360 in the case of a first.

I would trust an Opus Xbox much more than a "zombie repaired" Xenon since you are getting a fresh motherboard. These will probably never be boxed and sold directly to the public in stores so the only way to get an Opus motherboard is to turn in a RRODed dead Xenon in late 2008 and you might get one returned. Opus is the "Zombie Xbox" killer. It's the recycle repair special and is the sort of repair and refurbished Xbox 360 that they should have had done in the first place.

Now they are also in the very early stages of designing the fourth generation Xbox 360 called Valhalla. Think Technoviking cool, we are your overlords.

At the heart of a Valhalla Xbox 360 is a combined 65nm CPU and 65nm GPU on a unified super chip. This also would only need one cooling system and be much quieter and hopefully more reliable than previous Xbox systems (if they include hardware JTAG testing reporting into the design).

It is really early in the design process but there are engineers at Microsoft working on it as you are reading this. Heck they are probably reading this since this is the first that you are going to hear about Opus and Valhalla.

You can probably expect a price cut for Valhalla since it is going to be a major cost reduction.

Valhalla might be the final Xbox 360 motherboard design but that all might depend of the future progress of the third generation Xbox team (the Xbox 720 or whatever they call it) and the overall market success of the Xbox 360 platform.

Microsoft has planned on near annual changes to the Xbox 360 motherboard generation designs.

First was the Xenon motherboard from 2005-06, then followed by the Zephyr motherboard 2006-2007, then the Falcon Motherboard 2007-now. Probably later on this year we will see the Jasper Motherboard 2008-2009. Then then comes Valhalla the year four motherboard in late 2009 or mid 2010.

Update: Valhalla is not the name of the motherboard but the name of the new combo CPU/GPU 65 nm super chip that will eventually go on a yet to be named motherboard. But for conversation purposes I am going to be calling it the Valhalla Xbox 360.

Update 2: As an NeoGAF user pointed out
"Less power = less heat = less need for the 360 system fan to be running at max speed."
Also less chance of cooking the memory, the board and other stuff.

Oh yeah third generation Zunes are totally confirmed. Be on the look out for Orion.

Around 2011-2012 we might expect a third generation Post 360 Xbox but all I know is that it's being worked on.

I wonder if they have started tapping my Xbox Live account after I started posting this stuff.

[ezcobar411]

Die box die.

Lol, but seriously I think that Microsoft should've have been more concerned with putting out a system that would operate properly than getting a jump on the next gen market. Hopefully these newer motherboards will turn out to truly be more reliable.

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by Blu_Avenger

Update: Valhalla is not the name of the motherboard but the name of the new combo CPU/GPU 65 nm super chip that will eventually go on a yet to be named motherboard. But for conversation purposes I am going to be calling it the Valhalla Xbox 360.

Does this mean no 45nm Xbox 360s and 45nm hardware won't be deployed until the "720"?

[WickyWoo]

people keep confusing the sound from the 360 with the fans

It's the disc spinning, not the fans. The only way to solve that is to install major sound proofing on the drive housing

Valhalla is almost certainly an 09 revision to the system, and probably how they're planning on getting it to $199

[hardcore_canadian]

So basically, what the Playstations were Doing (The Different Models, like the PSone, PSX and PS2 Slim)?

[mightypen]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

people keep confusing the sound from the 360 with the fans

It's the disc spinning, not the fans. The only way to solve that is to install major sound proofing on the drive housing

no kidding. quite a difference between playing an arcade game or demo and a disc game or movie.

[Clark Kent]

I would speculate that the next generation Xbox(Xbox 720?) will include a bd drive and that all games would come on BD media like the PS3. There really is no other viable option. I've seen some analysts guess that Microsoft might want to release it in 2010 but these console cycles are getting more and more expensive. It would not surprise me to see the Xbox 360 stick around as a viable platform until 2012.

Because of engineering difficulties I don't foresee an Xbox 360 BD add-on for at least 15 months. The Xbox 360 will finish third globally in the console race this generation, though it will remain strong in America.

[WickyWoo]

Highly doubtful 360 will finish third

The Wii fad is already starting to wear off, you're going to see a lot of systems on ebay this year from people bored with WiiSports

Look at the actual game sales numbers, they're right in line with what GameCube usually moved on similar titles

360 will even it up with Sony this generation, and then we can have a proper console war like the good old Sega/Nintendo days, where quality and software lineup were what really mattered, and Nintendo can go play with their 20% little hole where no third parties sell much of anything as usual

[Blu-Beard]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

It's the disc spinning, not the fans. The only way to solve that is to install major sound proofing on the drive housing

Then why isn't the 360 just as noisy while I'm watching a movie? And are you saying that all machines that don't have any or much noise from "Disc Spinning" have major sound proofing on the drive housing?

[ezcobar411]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Highly doubtful 360 will finish third

The Wii fad is already starting to wear off, you're going to see a lot of systems on ebay this year from people bored with WiiSports

Look at the actual game sales numbers, they're right in line with what GameCube usually moved on similar titles

360 will even it up with Sony this generation, and then we can have a proper console war like the good old Sega/Nintendo days, where quality and software lineup were what really mattered, and Nintendo can go play with their 20% little hole where no third parties sell much of anything as usual

This seems like a pretty accurate view. I do hope that the PS3 crushes the box though. I hate the box and MGS 4 and FF XIII say we're better.

[mightypen]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

The Wii fad is already starting to wear off, you're going to see a lot of systems on ebay this year from people bored with WiiSports

Until wiis actually sit on shelves for more than an hour, its pretty tough to make the argument that sales are slowing down or the "fad" is wearing off.

And why do you think Nintendo is going to lose its momentum this year, a year which features Smash Bros and Mario Kart as well as Wii Fit? God help us if/when oprah gets ahold of that.

[ezcobar411]

Originally Posted by mightypen

Until wiis actually sit on shelves for more than an hour, its pretty tough to make the argument that sales are slowing down or the "fad" is wearing off.

And why do you think Nintendo is going to lose its momentum this year, a year which features Smash Bros and Mario Kart as well as Wii Fit? God help us if/when oprah gets ahold of that.

Wiis don't sit on shelves because nintendo ensures that there are only like 3 per store. They have manufactured a shortage of them in order to make it appear as if they are in high demand. If they were to flood the market, the clamor would die down. The hype that has been created and the shortages are based on the well thought out strategy that nintendo has used. However, developers aren't fooled by it. See the weak third party support?

[WickyWoo]

Until wiis actually sit on shelves for more than an hour, its pretty tough to make the argument that sales are slowing down or the "fad" is wearing off.

They did the same thing back in the 80s. Artifically choke supply to keep demand artifically high.

Software sales tells the story, not much better than gamecube, and WiiSports has outsold Mario Galazy (the #3 title) 3-1.

What does that tell you?

The problem is that a huge percentage of the non-traditional customers just use the packin and/or WiiSports. THey aren't buying actual games for it, nor are they likely to. They're already reporting how many decks are gathing dust in news stories in Japan