The graphics just get AA 2x added to it so stuff just doesn't look as jagged that's all. As for bugs I haven't had anything major, just if you use your HDD on a friends 360 and try to resume your game it'll corrupt the file so be warned.

I thought I-Ninja was PS2 only? Not that I ever got past the second level. I really should stop buying games I quite want at the same time as games I really want.

I-Ninja was on the xbox and GC as well.

NGB along with HL2 were almost unplayable at parts, but they fixed it quite a long time ago. So yeah, it works perfectly and looks a touch better.

For those interested, it looks like Virtua Fighter 5 will be heading to the Xbox 360 in summer 2007:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134814

Honestly, I never really expected myself to do this. Happened to go to Best Buy today, and picked up a 360 for a friend overseas, since his parents are here. After thinking about it, I was like, ah what the hell, here's where my Xmas bonus is going! So yeah, I lost my "next-gen-gaming-virginity" and netted myself a premium 360 for $400 CDN, since it's $100 off the regular price.

So far, games that I have:

GRAW (came with system)
Hitman Bloodmoney
Gears of War

Too bad Rainbow Six Vegas was sold out. ;__;

Cool man. GRAW came with the system! wow sweet. Still need to get that. I just got RS Vegas and it is fantastic, I must say. Although then again, all Tom Clancy is.

And Spinter Cell: Double Agent, however I like team work, which is basically GRAW and R6.

Multiplayer SC is quite heavy on the team based action. You can't run around like a vigilante in it.

Did the exact same thing except I got:

GRAW
GoW
Tiger Woods 06
Rainbow 6 (thankfully Best Buy had a freaking CASE of them)

GoW ftw.

How much did you pay for your R6 Vegas, Acid? Mine had them for $40 CDN. However they were sold out like 8 AM, and I got there at like 11. The Bestbuy opened at like 5:30 AM for boxing day.

I have a question regarding the compatibility issue with the North American Xbox and NTSC with the TV that probably is PAL. As stupid as this question is (point and laugh ;__; ), will a North American Xbox 360 work on a PAL TV? God I feel so stupid asking this, but perhaps the Xbox 360 has some sort of internal conversion thingamabob. ;__;

The reason for this is my friend is overseas which is the 2nd xbox I bought him, and I think he has a PAL TV.

Should do! Unless it's a really ancient set. Pretty much every PAL television made within the last ten-ish years (something like that, I'm just pulling that number out of my arse but it sounds close enough), has the ability to run in NTSC mode. =) Even my last TV that I bought in 1997 could do it!

Well maybe not 10 years but yeah, the majority of PAL tvs these days support NTSC mode. At worst it'll run in black and white and he should be able to pick up a compatible set pretty cheap.

To add fuel to the rumor fire, check the bottom entry on this japanese x360 release list:
http://www.g-rev.com/Schedule/Xbox360/Jp/schedule.html

I'm pretty glad I didn't already buy an Xbox 360.

Source

Assuming for the moment the rumor is true, if the 120GB HD will be available to other 360's, then this wouldn't be too much of a blow. Depends on the price too, of course. Early adoptors, what's your take on this?

To be honest, as long as the hard drive is available separately, I really don't care. Personally, my TV doesn't have a HDMI port in there, so having one really isn't a priority, as well as for the vast majority of 360 owners that don't have access or need for HDMI. The thing that confuses me about this is that releasing ANOTHER version of the 360 risks confusing consumers worse than how they already are. I don't think Microsoft is oblivious to the fact that the 2-tiered system confuses the average consumer, so I don't understand why they'd just abandon their current model for only a slightly upgraded one. I think they'd much rather be focusing on getting costs down on the current version.

Will I get one? Depends, really. Will the aesthetics be different? I'd defintely buy it if they were, and I'd be more inclined if there wasn't if there was more than just an HDMI port. (IE they have more USB ports on the front so you can have 4 wired controllers or something). I don't think the hardware change will be DS Lite level big and be such a required upgrade, though.

Unless it comes in new colours. I'd buy a black one. Or a Crystal semi-transparent one.

The update doesn't seem any different than the updates various other consoles go through in their lifetime, such as the 15 (I think we're up to that number now) different versions of PS2.

I hope there is an wasy way to transfer saves from one hard drive to the next though, without having to resort to shit like memory cards. That's a big point too.

How exactly does this shit on their earlier customers? It doesn't affect the people that already bought a console in any way. You make it sound like an Xbox 360 revision somehow causes the earlier console to become less capable.

I think it's more a pissing match with Sony than anything else. That, and the bigger number always looks more impressive to the average consumer. "I'm not entirely sure what a hard drive is, but does the 120 jiggabytes make the console twice as good as one with 60 jiggabytes?"

"Why yes sir, yes it does."
What. Since when was the DS Lite a "required upgrade?" I'm still perfectly happy with my regular ol' DS, and have no desire to get a Lite. As trivial as the Zephyr revision may end up being, DS -> DS Lite is still nowhere near in the same league. Plus, it's just a bit more expensive to be replacing a 360.

Although being the least expensive, GBA -> GBASP is still probably the most "required" of any revision.

Well, yes, if you include the 3 that were only released in Japan, but most were so minor that the majority of PS2 owners didn't know about them. And the major revision (the slim, obviously), didn't happen nearly as early in the PS2's life span.

Perhaps required was the wrong word. There is such a quality upgrade between the regular DS and the DS Lite that I, personally, found it to be a "required" upgrade. The new hardware, at least to me, was so significantly better than I considered it a "required" purchase. Something I would willingly pay money for, you know. That sort of thing.

And I'm obviously saying that this transation won't be in the same league. Unless there are more features or changes announced that I would enjoy and would feel comfortable putting money down on, like a new colour, or more USB ports for more wired controllers and peripherals, and so forth and so on. Hence the "maybe".

That's sort of my point. If it's an extremely minor revision, I probably won't care enough to pick up the new unit. If it's more major, like the slim, or like the Lite, then yeah, I probably will.

Let me put it in one small sentence that's easy for EVERYONE to understand:

If there are more significant changes, yes, I'll buy it. If the only difference is the HDMI port and the cooler processor, then yeah, I might not.

My point being, however, that while the changes made to the DS Lite were purely aesthetic, there's actually better hardware in the Zephyr. It's not that much better from what we've seen so far, but it's still a bit of a slap in the face to anyone who payed $400-$500 for a slightly inferior 360 barely more than a year ago. Had the slim PS2 been released hardly longer than a year after the launch of the PS2, you can bet a lot more people would have been unhappy about it.

Actually the PS2 did have quite a few upgrades only a year or two after it's release. In addition to a more efficient and cooler processor (like the Zephyr) it gained progressive scan output for the DVD player and included the online adaptor as well as fixes for issues with PS1 games. Also, the additional brightness settings on the DS Lite allowed you to play under lighting conditions that would've been impossible on the original DS. I think those changes were somewhat more substantial than what we're seeing on the Zephyr.

Regardless, I still don't see how this is really a slap in the face when it doesn't impare current Xbox 360 owners from doing anything with their console (i.e. no games or features would require something that doesn't come with the original consoles). Functionality-wise, the only thing that it allows for that isn't on the Xbox 360 is the HDMI port, but they never had any plans for that on the original model to begin with...in fact it might have been impossible for HDMI to be added to the original Xbox 360 since I'm not sure if the A/V out supports a digital signal.

And since when is this releasing "barely a year" after the Xbox 360 came out? There isn't even any confirmation of this, let alone date of release...I doubt we'll see it within the next month or two. In fact they recently reported that the CPU for the 65nm Xbox 360 wouldn't start to be manufactured until the middle of this year: http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/12/28/65nm_xbox360_cpu/

Yes, we've mentioned them. I pity anyone who used a PS2 as a DVD player, and LOL PS2 online play. For PS1 games, you could have either bought another PS2, or for flawless play, bought a much cheaper PS1. Hmm...

Um, there's no lighting conditions under which it is impossible to play the DS, be it broad daylight or pitch black. Unless maybe you're shining a headlight on the screen/in your face, but I doubt the Lite would help in that regard.

Like I said in my first post on the subject, it all depends on the 120GB HD being available to older 360's. Even if it is, early adopters have probably already overpaid for the 20GB HD; now they'll need to pay more if they want a decent sized one (not to mention they'll also probably have to buy a memory card to transfer saves). I bet a helluva lot more people would have waited longer if they knew this was coming so soon.

It begs the question, though: if they already charge $100 for a 20 gig hard drive, how much is the 120 going to be?

Also, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they use this opportunity to add a built-in HDDVD drive, but we'll have to wait and see about that.

"But our very kind Xbox insider seemed happy to let us know we'd be able to get them 'soon.'"

Depends on what they mean by "soon," of course, but the term generally doesn't apply to more than a few months. The real question is, which is more reliable, Engadget's "Xbox insider" or TG Daily's "industry sources?" Either way, any time this year or next is probably too early to not piss people off.

It's a real kick in the ass that it's coming out this soon to people who already have them of course, but seeing how major the enhancements are I think it's better for MS to release it sooner rather then later to save them from pissing more people off, especially seeing how 360's are going to be on 24/7 once HALO3 comes out.

Likely enhancements:
Better processor
Better & quieter cooling system

Known enhancements:
HDMI Port
Larger HDD

Wishful enhancements:
HD-DVD drive

Here's some speculation made by the public & GameSpot;
http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_bl...74&sid=6163826

And here's video proof that the Xbox 365 is REAL;
http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=32321