Availability: Holiday 2005 Xbox 360 Fact Sheet May 2005 Product Overview The Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system places you at the center of the experience. Available this holiday season in Europe, Japan, and North America, Xbox 360 ignites a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition. Xbox 360 gives you access to the games you want to play, the people you want to play with, and the experiences you crave—when and where you want them. Key Highlights Hardware, software, and services: Unveiled to the world on MTV on Thursday, May 12, 2005, Xbox 360 represents a dramatic leap forward in high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences. Fusing powerful hardware, software, and services, Xbox 360 fully engages you in a gaming experience that is more expansive, dramatic, and lifelike, where the possibilities are limitless and your imagination knows no boundaries. The next generation is here. Industrial design: A merger of form and function, Xbox 360 wraps powerful technology in a sophisticated exterior. Two of the most innovative design firms in the world—San Francisco-based Astro Studios and Osaka, Japan-based Hers Experimental Design Laboratory Inc.—came together to craft a sleek, stylish system that conveys the very essence of Xbox 360. Xbox Gamer Guide: The Xbox Gamer Guide is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects you to your games, friends, music, movies, and downloadable content. Available at a touch of the Xbox Guide Button, the Xbox Gamer Guide gives you instant access to the experiences and content you want, from the gamer card of the player that just invited you to play online to new downloadable content for the game currently running. Personalized interface: Xbox 360 lets you create your own unique system and experience. With interchangeable Xbox 360 Faces, it's easy and fun to change the appearance of your console. Switch on your system and customize the look and feel of the Xbox Gamer Guide and Xbox System Guide with unique "skins." From sleek and sophisticated to fun and funky, pick the Faces and skins that show your personality. Ring of Light and Xbox Guide Button: Divided into four quadrants, the glowing Ring of Light and Xbox® Guide Button visually connect you to your games, digital media, and the world of Xbox Live™, the first global, unified online console games service. Featured on both the wireless and wired controllers, the Xbox Guide Button puts you in control of your experience. In addition to bringing up the Xbox Gamer Guide and the Xbox System Guide, the Xbox Guide Button lets you turn the system on and off without ever leaving the couch. Xbox Live: Xbox Live is where games and entertainment come alive, the only unified place where you can play with anyone, anytime, anywhere. And the best just got better. Connect your Xbox 360 to your broadband connection and get instant access to Xbox Live Silver. Express your digital identity through your Gamertag and gamer card, talk with others using voice chat, and access Xbox Live Marketplace—all right out of the box, at no extra cost. Upgrade to Xbox Live Gold and enter the exciting world of multiplayer online gaming. With intelligent matchmaking, access to all your achievements and statistics, video chat and video messaging, and an enormous selection of games, Xbox Live Gold delivers your competition, on your terms. Xbox Live Marketplace: Keep your favorite games fresh with instant access to new content. Xbox Live Marketplace is a one-stop shop to download new game trailers, demos, and episodic content, plus new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins, and more. Accessible to everyone who establishes a broadband connection with their Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace lets you personalize and extend your experience, on demand. Games: Xbox 360 redefines what games look like, sound like, feel like, and play like to engage you like never before. With Xbox 360, epic worlds are alive with detail, from thunderous skies rumbling over a mountain range to tiny blades of grass rustling together in the breeze. Vibrant characters display depth of emotion to evoke more dramatic responses, immersing you in the experience like never before. You’ll see all Xbox 360 titles at 720p and 1080i resolution in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing for smooth, movie-like graphics and multi-channel surround sound. Digital entertainment: Amplify your music, photos, video, and TV. Watch progressive-scan DVD movies right out of the box. Rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive and share your latest digital pictures with friends. Make the connection, and Xbox 360 instantly streams the digital media stored on your MP3 player, digital camera, Media Center PC, or any Microsoft® Windows® XP-based PC. Xbox 360 System Performance Specifications Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU Three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each Two hardware threads per core; six hardware threads total VMX-128 vector unit per core; three total 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread 1 MB L2 cache CPU Game Math Performance 9 billion dot product operations per second Custom ATI Graphics Processor 10 MB of embedded DRAM 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines Unified shader architecture Polygon Performance 500 million triangles per second Pixel Fill Rate 16 gigasamples per second fill rate using 4x MSAA Shader Performance 48 billion shader operations per second Memory 512 MB of 700 MHz GDDR3 RAM Unified memory architecture Memory Bandwidth 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM 21.6 GB/s front-side bus Overall System Floating-Point Performance 1 teraflop Storage Detachable and upgradeable 20GB hard drive 12x dual-layer DVD-ROM Memory Unit support starting at 64 MB I/O Support for up to four wireless game controllers Three USB 2.0 ports Two memory unit slots Optimized for Online Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features with broadband service, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, gamer profile for digital identity, and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies, or listening to music Built-in Ethernet port Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g Video camera ready Digital Media Support Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD Ability to stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras and Windows XP-based PCs Ability to rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive Custom playlists in every game Built-in Media Center Extender for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Interactive, full-screen 3-D visualizers High-Definition Game Support All games supported at 16:9, 720p, and 1080i, anti-aliasing Standard-definition and high-definition video output supported Audio Multi-channel surround sound output Supports 48KHz 16-bit audio 320 independent decompression channels 32-bit audio processing Over 256 audio channels System Orientation Stands vertically or horizontally Customizable Face Plates Interchangeable to personalize the console
And oh yeah..... E3 2005: Halo 3 Confirmed by David Adams May 16, 2005 - Microsoft will release Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 simultaneously with the launch of Sony's PlayStation 3 -- expected next spring -- according to a profile of Bill Gates in the latest issue of Time magazine. The article, in an issue whose cover features Gates and the freshly-unveiled Xbox 360 console, features a telling sidebar: "Note to the hardcore faithful: the next version of Halo will not, repeat not, be ready in time for the launch of Xbox 360. It will be part of the all-important second wave next spring." If the success of the first two Halo titles are an indication -- Halo 2 alone sold more than 6.5 million copies -- a third game in the franchise is one of the biggest weapons Microsoft has in the next generation. Why release Halo 3 in spring? That's when most expect the PlayStation 3 to launch. The Time article continues: "'It's perfect,' Gates says, radiant with bloodlust. 'The day Sony launches [the PS3], and they walk right into Halo 3.'" While it's gratifying to hear confirmation of a third Halo title (not that anyone's shocked), we're now left with as many questions as ever. For instance, if Sony surprises everyone and releases the PlayStation 3 this year -- rumored to be a possibility -- will Microsoft be left without an answer? With Halo 3 moved into 2006, which titles will make Xbox 360 a must-own at launch? Most importantly: what will Halo 3 look and play like? We won't have all the answers right away, but we do expect to fill in several pieces of the puzzle this week, starting with Microsoft's conference later today. Stay tuned.
Im a PS guy but think I might have to get the 360, My buddys have the xbox and I like it better then the PS2 I have to admit. Halo is a good game, I used to hate it and thought it was some alien gay **** but its fun once you get the hang of it.
why is it that the X Box has been out since 2000 and is on its second system and its third installment of Halo yet everytime you here X Box you hear Halo in conjunction w/ it There are SOOOO many games on the PS that people get hyped up for during a yr. Take away Halo and the x BOX IS Nothing, not that its much to begin with just that the Playstation has so many more top hit games that people get hyped up for. Whats even worse is when Microsoft buys the rights from companies and ends up getting games like GTA. Hows it feel playing out sloppy seconds b/c Microsoft cant put out enough games besides halo to make it worth while. Sony would have not let the rights to Rockstar go if they dident have so many other games to fall back on.
only thing xbox has going for them none of the other systems do is halo, which isnt all that impressive if you ask me.
These debates are fun but here are a few key features. ok for agruments sake lets say that the Xbox2 was twice as powerful as the PS3 as in terms of producing graphics. One of the key points that people ALWAYS MISS and I bring it up and post it over and over and over again and it is that it does not matter how powerful the system is it all depends upon the game maker and how well they use that power and are able to uptap it from the system. So in theaory you could have game produces making games that look twice as good on a PS3 when it had 1/2 the graphics power of an X box. Think of it in terms like this. Having a 500 RWHP Mustang and running 13's b/c you cant drive for crap and cant get the power to the ground where as you can have a Mustang making 350 RWHP and being in the mid 12's. Its all in how you use what you have. Now comparing apples to apples the X Box 2 and the PS3 are pretty much equal they are just set up diffrent. The PS3 uses the "cell" concept, where they have one main cpu and several smaller surrounding cpus... where the xbox uses a single cpu with 3 cores, so it's really like 3 processors in one
Either one you pick you wont lose! I just hate knowing that i'm going to be spending that much money on a damn videogame system.
I used to be a total ps guy then this guy moved in and invited me to play halo and have been hooked ever since!!! Xbox = Better Graphics, Easier Control, and Faster Load time, + A hard Drive!!! NO MORE MEMORY CARDS!! (What a waste!) OH and they also have XBOX LIVE!!! PS, PS2, & PS3 =
Better Grahpics are only based on oppinion, I have never seen anything on a X box that blows the PS2 away. Easier control is just oppinon based, I hate the X box controler. Hard drive??? Huh funny last time I checked my PS2 had a 120 GIG Maxtor Hard drive w/ many games burned onto it.
I think the next generation of gaming systems wont be limited graphics wise by the system or the game developer, it will probably be your tv. Anything on hd will far surpass regular tv. Better bone up for a new hdtv if you want to take advantage of the next systems
Both Xbox and PS2 have modding capabilities but Xbox already has the hard drive built into it from the factory...PS2 does not. Both systems will kick ass no matter what. Thats just facts, Personally i like Xbox more but if i can afford it i will def buy both
The Xbox 360's ATI graphics core also throws a wrench into our graphics comparison since it uses a new-fangled Unified Shader Architecture that mixes up pixel- and vertex-pipelines and makes comparison to older video card technology very difficult. The Xbox 360 graphics core may have 48-pipelines, but we don't know how powerful they are compared to dedicated pixel and vertex pipelines. The PlayStation 3 has a pretty strong Nvidia graphics processor, but you can see how Sony may be afraid of the specification sheet comparison by the pipeline number conveniently omitted from the PS3 graphics specifications. We're guessing that the RSX graphics processors has a traditional, non-unified shader engine, so it likely has a smaller total "pipeline" number than the ATI chip. Even if the RSX's normal pipelines are more powerful than the Xbox 360's pipes, Sony doesn't want to risk printing a lower "pipeline" number since people won't understand that it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison.
