You may not know it, but Microsoft shipped a new Xbox 360 development kit to studios earlier in the year. One striking difference was the inclusion of one-gigabytes of RAM. No, this does not mean that Microsoft will be releasing a new Xbox 360 with more memory; the new kit instead makes development a little easier.
...
So that's Microsoft's first initiative. Something else might have surprised developers when they received their new Xbox 360 development kit; a new set of tools, or more accurately a new engine. According to our insider source, Microsoft has been on working a new internal Xbox 360 engine, which has been nick-named the X-Engine.
...
Our source explains that Sony's PlayStation 3 tools (named Edge) have been picking up steam, and are now taking true advantage of the platform's make-up, especially the consoles CPU, Kutaragi-san's infamous Cell. As for the Xbox 360, it was lacking an engine that took advantage of it in the same way; a hole Microsoft hopes to plug with their new X-Engine. We're told that the engine isn't just a new set of special effects; it's actually a whole new way to develop for the system: a new first party engine design.
http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/form...e-truth-about-xbox-360-relaunch--$1305320.htm
sorry if is old.
mod: do not post whole articles!, other sites want revenue too.