GestPoint has some cool gesture recognition going on with two of the upcoming Xbox 360 Eye-Toy cameras. Using two instead of one, they can detect motion in 3d space, in a sort of Wii-controller like fashion. Using your finger or other body part, you can direct a sword or other objects on the screen up, down, left, right, in, and out. The fun part is the in and out.
Classic titles mentioned in the article
Interesting concept, but I’m not buying an Xbox 360 to play classic games. Give me new games with amazing graphics and game play. Save the classics for the portable systems.
Microsoft wants you to feel young again wants you to feel young again
A flaw in the Xbox 360 DVD firmware may allow hackers to install their own custom firmware, unchecked. This allows the drive to boot backups of original game DVD’s by flashing a self built firmware which ignores the mandatory Xbox 360 disc signing.
Microsoft released a statement with specifications showing the foil found on the Xbox 360 GPU heatsinks is part of the assembly process and aids in thermal transfer. This apparently is not the source of any Xbox 360 overheating.
Great write up over at UGO. Check it out as it is really well written, concise and to the point. It covers everything you need to know about your Xbox 360
In Yahoo’s top product-related searches for 2005, Sony’s came in at sixth place overall. The Xbox 360 came in seventh overall. The Nintendo Revolution and Sony PS3 were not searched for enough in 2005 to earn a spot on this year’s rankings. Only one other electronics device (the iPod) outranked the PSP and Xbox 360. This is interesting because search activity is a raw measure of general interest in a product.
If the Xbox 360 had been launched earlier, it might have a higher ranking. The tsunami occured just at the end of 2004, so it was constantly in the news in 2005. It’d be interesting if they could have data on most number of searches in a 12 month period and where the xbox 360 would rank on that list.
Top 10 Searches in 2005 (total not technology)
1. Janet Jackson
2. Hurricane Katrina
3. tsunami
4. xbox 360
5. Brad Pitt
6. Michael Jackson
7. American Idol
8. Britney Spears
9. Angelina Jolie
10.Harry Potter
Top 2005 searches: PSP bests Xbox 360 in Yahoo ranking
WoW, PSP, Xbox 360 top Google’s top search lists
The Xbox 360 being liquid cooled will be on display at CES by CoolIt Inc. at booth 70556 “The display will feature a side-by-side comparison of the CoolIT MTEC liquid chilled Xbox 360 to the standard Xbox 360 to demonstrate superiority for temperature, noise level and ultimate performance.”
The Microsoft Xbox 360 has been the topic of much discussion since its release on November 22. Aside from its short supply through Christmas and fantastic gaming abilities, many headlines have been about problems related to the excessive thermal output of Microsoft’s latest gaming console product. In an effort to provide gaming consumers with a high performance option, CoolIT Systems has designed a retrofit product that will transform the stock forced air cooling system with a state-of-the-art liquid chilled system that employs the exclusive MTEC technology pioneered by CoolIT Systems.
It will be interesting to see this liquid cooled Xbox 360, as liquid cooling means lower temperatures (less crashes) and quieter performance (no fans).
From CoolIt’s website, I’m guessing the Xbox 360 liquid cooled will be some sort of adaptaion of their PC liquid cooling technology:
Why should you choose the Freezone CPU Cooler? Unlike water-cooling products, the Freezone does not use a radiator. Instead, it uses a proprietary ‘Chiller’ which incorporates multiple TECs (also called peltiers) to chill the liquid coolant. This increases thermal capacity and provides for faster heat absorption at the source.
The Freezone CPU Cooler is the only liquid chilling solution that provides unsurpassed performance and uncompromising reliability. It is quiet, compact, easy to install, and affordable.
Xbox 360 Gets Chilled in Vegas at CES - CoolIT Systems Unveils Liquid Chilled Xbox 360
CoolIt Systems CPU Cooler
Nissan is introducing a new concept car that will feature the Xbox 360 as a standard option. Looking to attract younger customers, the Xbox 360 will be playable on a 7 inch flip down screen. The good news is it only works when the car is parked. Another great feature is the cars actual pedals can be used to control the cars in racing games such as Project Gothan Racing 3.
The decision was made to include the Xbox 360 after surveying 2,000 potential consumers in that target market. The car will be introduced on January 9th at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, dubbed the Nissan Urge.
Even with all the hype, it seems Microsoft has only managed to sell 1.2 Million Xbox 360’s. I’m sure that number would be a lot higher had they not had supply issues.
The previous estimate was 2 million over the Holiday season. Might not be a bad thing for Microsoft though as they were reportedly losing money on each Xbox 360 sold. A difference of 800,000 at $160 lost per unit is a savings of $128 million for Microsoft. Incredible, a company can save money by selling less!
This may be tough to do with the new PS3 coming out. The original Xbox was only profitable in one quarter, the quarter Halo was released. This may be different as they have learned from the original Xbox and have more experience marketing and producing the Xbox and video games.
However, many things have changed since the first Xbox was brought to market. A change of CPU and GPU providers and a refined manufacturing process have made the Xbox 360 less expensive to manufacture. In addition, greater promotion of Xbox Live (including bundling of basic Live packages with the non-Core system) has the potential to increase revenues from the new console.
Microsoft has always stated that their Xbox division is part of a long-term strategy to gain entry into the large video game and home entertainment markets, and as such is willing to take short-term financial losses in order to gain market share. Sony did the same thing with the original PlayStation and its successor. Only Nintendo, which relies on video game sales as its primary source of income, has maintained consistent profitability on the sales of their consoles.
Microsoft predicts Xbox 360 to become profitable by July 2006