This post has made the rounds, dont know the truth in it. But if its half true PS3 is as dead as the dinosaurs.
It would appear Microsoft has been keeping an Ace (or in this case, a whole deck) up it's sleeve. A recent article in Official XBox Magazine focused on a few points Bill Gates had made in an interview (same issue). We've all heard stuff about the XBox 360 being "easily and constantly upgradeable." Lot's of people dreaded that this would be the likes of new HD's, external HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players and all kinds of doomed-to-fail hardware accessories. Microsoft aren't stupid though, and are staying as clear as possible from "splitting up our market". It turns out these "upgrades" are all in the form of XBox-Live downloads (or disks from XBox.com).
Here's a run-down of what is definately coming via XBox Live in the future:
Movies! "Very soon, your XBox 360 will start letting you buy and watch high-definition movies through XBox Live. You'll have to pay for them of course, but expect pricing to be in the Microsoft points format, and along the same lines as Apple's iPod Video service in terms of how much it'll cost per movie. The end of your fancy DVD collection as we know it!"
Comments from Bill: "This is one of the reasons, if not the reason why we decided not to go with a next-gen media format this time around. The simple reasoning was that it would be the last physical media you're going to see. Why bump up the price of our system by a good $100 or so to include a drive which will be dead in seven or eight years? There's simply no point when we can allow you to download all the movies, music and games you'll ever want via XBox Live."
And speaking of such...
Games! "Yeah, sorry to break this news to you if you're reading this in your lunch break at the game shop you work in, but high street game stores are on the way out. Many PC gamers already use online delivery to cut out the shops and make sure the money goes to the developers, not the middle man. XBox 360 is following suit, with fully-downloadable games coming sooner rather than later. You'll still be going off to your local store to pick up the latest releases for a good ten years or so, but by the time the next incarnation of XBox is on it's way, expect buying games the traditional way to seem somewhat old fashioned."
Phones! "Why talk into that over-priced but of plastic when the video camera is out in a few months? It's not the usual webcam rubbish, it's incredibly high quality and can be used to talk to anyone in the world who's also kitted out with XBox Live and swanky new camera for free. None of those nasty phone bills at the end of the month. Let's just pray XBox Live doesn't turn into a haven of weekly cam-porno shows."
Television! "Oh yeah, this is the worst kept secret ever, even worse kept than the one about Elton John liking men best. XBox 360 will, eventually, perhaps some time soon (wink, wink) be upgraded to function as a Sky+/TiVO personal tv recorder thing. It's going to happen. For definite. Start making arrangements."
And the "maybe, maybe not..."
Internet! "We've heard many a rumour that the XBox 360 may receive yet another wonderful download that will turn it into a fully-functioning web browser, however Mr.Gates doesn't seem too keen on the idea. "It's certainly possible to achieve that via an XBox Live update. As i've said in the past, the XBox 360 is future-proofed to be constantly upgradeable and an Internet Browser would be one very easy upgrade. Personally though, i think the web browser is one of those things that just belongs on your PC. The XBox 360 is a complete media package for all your TV, Video, Images and Music but at the end of the day it is a games console and i thing an Internet Browser is straying a little too far away from that. Internet Explorer, or any browser for that matter is better off at home, on a classic PC with a keyboard and mouse." So the verdict on that one? Possible, certainly. But unless you see Sony rolling one out with their next machine, it looks doubtful that you'll be googling Britney Spears on your 360 any time soon."
And that my friend, is the future of the XBox 360. One last quote being "all of these updates are scheduled for 2006-2008. Start getting excited now!"
It would appear Microsoft has been keeping an Ace (or in this case, a whole deck) up it's sleeve. A recent article in Official XBox Magazine focused on a few points Bill Gates had made in an interview (same issue). We've all heard stuff about the XBox 360 being "easily and constantly upgradeable." Lot's of people dreaded that this would be the likes of new HD's, external HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players and all kinds of doomed-to-fail hardware accessories. Microsoft aren't stupid though, and are staying as clear as possible from "splitting up our market". It turns out these "upgrades" are all in the form of XBox-Live downloads (or disks from XBox.com).
Here's a run-down of what is definately coming via XBox Live in the future:
Movies! "Very soon, your XBox 360 will start letting you buy and watch high-definition movies through XBox Live. You'll have to pay for them of course, but expect pricing to be in the Microsoft points format, and along the same lines as Apple's iPod Video service in terms of how much it'll cost per movie. The end of your fancy DVD collection as we know it!"
Comments from Bill: "This is one of the reasons, if not the reason why we decided not to go with a next-gen media format this time around. The simple reasoning was that it would be the last physical media you're going to see. Why bump up the price of our system by a good $100 or so to include a drive which will be dead in seven or eight years? There's simply no point when we can allow you to download all the movies, music and games you'll ever want via XBox Live."
And speaking of such...
Games! "Yeah, sorry to break this news to you if you're reading this in your lunch break at the game shop you work in, but high street game stores are on the way out. Many PC gamers already use online delivery to cut out the shops and make sure the money goes to the developers, not the middle man. XBox 360 is following suit, with fully-downloadable games coming sooner rather than later. You'll still be going off to your local store to pick up the latest releases for a good ten years or so, but by the time the next incarnation of XBox is on it's way, expect buying games the traditional way to seem somewhat old fashioned."
Phones! "Why talk into that over-priced but of plastic when the video camera is out in a few months? It's not the usual webcam rubbish, it's incredibly high quality and can be used to talk to anyone in the world who's also kitted out with XBox Live and swanky new camera for free. None of those nasty phone bills at the end of the month. Let's just pray XBox Live doesn't turn into a haven of weekly cam-porno shows."
Television! "Oh yeah, this is the worst kept secret ever, even worse kept than the one about Elton John liking men best. XBox 360 will, eventually, perhaps some time soon (wink, wink) be upgraded to function as a Sky+/TiVO personal tv recorder thing. It's going to happen. For definite. Start making arrangements."
And the "maybe, maybe not..."
Internet! "We've heard many a rumour that the XBox 360 may receive yet another wonderful download that will turn it into a fully-functioning web browser, however Mr.Gates doesn't seem too keen on the idea. "It's certainly possible to achieve that via an XBox Live update. As i've said in the past, the XBox 360 is future-proofed to be constantly upgradeable and an Internet Browser would be one very easy upgrade. Personally though, i think the web browser is one of those things that just belongs on your PC. The XBox 360 is a complete media package for all your TV, Video, Images and Music but at the end of the day it is a games console and i thing an Internet Browser is straying a little too far away from that. Internet Explorer, or any browser for that matter is better off at home, on a classic PC with a keyboard and mouse." So the verdict on that one? Possible, certainly. But unless you see Sony rolling one out with their next machine, it looks doubtful that you'll be googling Britney Spears on your 360 any time soon."
And that my friend, is the future of the XBox 360. One last quote being "all of these updates are scheduled for 2006-2008. Start getting excited now!"
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