65nm Xenon delayed until mid 07
- Thread starter 22psi
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I hate to say it but if sales hold up 360 probably wouldn't logically drop until Christmas season 07. It probably doesn't make the greatest sense to drop in slow months anyway. Then again, as far as sales holding up, it now has the Wii/PS3 to contend with.
That said, if Isuppli's recent estimate of $323 manufactoring cost for a premium 360 is true or even close, they probably have a lot more flexibility than we think, and in fact I doubt a price drop is even tied to a process shrink. After all I suspect initial 65nm yields would be low enough to make it a wash against very mature 90nm for the first few weeks.
Although I think they would prefer to wait until they get to the smaller process before doing any price cuts I think that the desicion will be more of a strategical one than anything else. If they feel that the sales do not correspond to their expectations I guess they will lower the price anyway, and if the sales are great they might keep the launch price for longer, even after moving to the 65nm process...
Agreed, but it's interesting to note how long the 360 had held it's price compared to Xbox1. In that light they really SHOULD drop very soon imo. Where they will of course I dont know, but it's kind of like they owe us a price drop. Waiting until Fall 07 would be a really long time.
While i agree that pricing is not necesserily tied to die shrinks, this may delay any revision of the console though, which i think a lot of people were waiting/hoping for( i.e. an HDMI version.) I cant see MS making a revision based on the existing 90nm process, only to design another a few months later.
I think it would depend on casing changes. If MS intends to ship a smaller/quieter 360 (a la PSTwo), then 65nm is probably a necessity. If the only changes for a (rumored) new SKU are HDMI output and larger HD (and perhaps HD-DVD out of the box, though I don't know if it's possible to replace the fast DVD drive with an HD-DVD), then they can keep the existing CPU/GPU for a while.
I know I would pay good money for a quieter 360, though (and my younger brother would probably love to get my current one, noisy as it is).
Also, I agree that the price drops will probably be strategic, balancing extra sales against PS3/Wii and additional losses. IIRC, one MS exec said in an interview that while they designed the 360 with profit in mind, they would still accept losing money if it meant beating Sony this generation.
It would definitely be cool if MS designs a X360 Mini when the die shrinks are ready. I would love to see that. I think it would be a smart move similar to DS->DSLite.
Or the PSone and Slim PS2.
Seeing as I have waited this long, I am pretty sure I will be on hold until MS and Sony show us their consoles on the new process nodes. Fewer bugs, less power draw, less heat and noise, etc. A shame it is delayed. Lets hope PRICE DROPs are not delayed
Or the PSone and Slim PS2.
Well PSTwo didn't come until like 3 or 4 years into the PS2's life so DSlite is more appropriate a comparison. PSTwo was more of a last effort to prolong the lifespan of PS2 unlike DSLite. I would imagine a X360 Mini next year would be the smartest move MS could make.
I wasnt really thinking of it as timelines, so you have a point. I was thinking of it more as consoles with smaller versions of themselves. FWIW though, I think the ps2 games prolonged the livespan more than the slim ps2 hardware itself.
Seeing as I have waited this long, I am pretty sure I will be on hold until MS and Sony show us their consoles on the new process nodes. Fewer bugs, less power draw, less heat and noise, etc. A shame it is delayed. Lets hope PRICE DROPs are not delayed
But all the great games out now and coming out soon... resistance is futile!
Fu3lFr3nzy
Regular
Seeing as I have waited this long, I am pretty sure I will be on hold until MS and Sony show us their consoles on the new process nodes. Fewer bugs, less power draw, less heat and noise, etc. A shame it is delayed. Lets hope PRICE DROPs are not delayed
Same here
But all the great games out now and coming out soon... resistance is futile!
Similarly to Acert93 I was also waiting for the precess shrinks to kick in and maybe a redisign of the console and of course price drops, but now with the delay I might cave in and go for, worst case scenario I will have to buy the new when it comes out or something. There are already a lot of games I want to play on it, and some of the future games comming soonish (if release dates are to be believed
) are looking amazing...TurnDragoZeroV2G
Regular
The color is more important to me than the CPU moving to 65nm.
But, if they roll out a 65nm Xenon Xbox 360 along with a different color scheme (black, something along the lines of a special edition), I'd buy one.
But, if they roll out a 65nm Xenon Xbox 360 along with a different color scheme (black, something along the lines of a special edition), I'd buy one.
inefficient
Veteran
If moving to 65nm meant a cooler quieter 360, that would not be more important to you?
Cooler & quieter is what I am looking forward to in the revision. A new form factor or new colors would not interest me.
The loudest thing, still, in the XBox360 is the DVD drive, even if the cooling would get more quiet, you probably wouldn't notice the difference most of the time.
I have wondered if they did make a 'mini', how they would shrink the box, yet still keep the hdd attachable.
We certainly won't see slim PS2 sized boxes I'd expect.
Unless they make a mini hdd too
Yep this is my question as well. It is rather like the xternal dimensions of the 360 cant change, unless the y redesign the HDD enclosure as well. Which I suppose is possible, but the creates a possible form factor compatibility nightmare with old 360's. Unless they perhaps includea disposable snap on piece to to match the new HDD to old 360's.
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