Pixel Well » Microsoft

Microsft’s Xbox 360 250Gb Slim and Kinect

The King's Eighth — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:06:44 +0000

If you haven’t heard already Microsoft announced this past Tuesday the launch of their newest Xbox 360 S model and the long awaited motion capture device Kinect, formerly Natal. Following suit of Sony they have trimmed down the system for a slimmer and sleeker looking console. Some of the new features include a smaller 45nm processor, integrated 2.4GHz 802.11n WiFi, 5 USB ports (2 front, 3 back), custom Kinect port, and a larger 250 GB removable hard drive. Current users will not be able to remove their hard drives and attach them to the new unit. However, there will be a USB transfer cable available to transfer your data. As of Tuesday websites have been reporting that the units were being shipped out to retailers that day and expected to see them on store shelves by the end of this week. Here are some highlights of the official fact sheet that Engadget was given followed by the spec sheet revealed at Joystiq.

Xbox 360 is fully loaded with new features and still comes with everything you know and love. Here’s a feature list to make sure you don’t miss any of the newestXbox 360 250GB parts.

Form Factor: Sleek, lean and gloss black finish with chrome accents. Place vertically or horizontally in any living room entertainment center.

Touch Sensitive Buttons: Turn the Xbox 360 video game system on/off and eject a disc with the swipe of a finger.

Whisper Quiet: Whether you’re playing a DVD disc or from the hard drive, or navigating the dashboard, with the all-new and much quieter Xbox 360, the only noise you’ll hear is your own laughing, cheering and playing.

Wi-Fi: Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi for fast, easy connection to your friends and entertainment on Xbox LIVE.

Hard Drive: 250GB internal, swappable hard drive for even more storage. To access, remove the bottom panel by pushing the small tab toward the front of the console.

Kinect-Ready: Custom Kinect port on the back of the console that directly hooks up to the Kinect sensor for controller-free fun.

USB Slots: Five USB ports; three in the back of the console and two in the front for easy plug and play.

AV Connections: AV Cable included for standard definition TV connection. HDMI port for high definition TV connection. Optical Audio out port integrated on back of console for AV system connection.

Power Supply: Smaller and more efficient. Xbox 360 250GB and
Xbox 360 Original power supplies are not interchangeable.

Wireless Controller: The award-winning Xbox 360 Wireless Controller matches the console in all black with color-matched thumsticks and directional pad with a touch of gloss and chrome to complete the look.

Backwards Compatible. Your favorite accessories and games will work with Xbox 360 250GB. (Xbox 360 External Hard Drives and Memory Units are not compatible.)

Accessories. Customize your Xbox 360 250GB with matching black accessories, including favorites such as Controllers, Wireless Headset, Chatpad, Quick Charge and Play & Charge Kits and more. Get a look at a few of these today.

Key Internal Components Changes:

Fan: Moved from two small fans to one larger fan for improved acoustics. Chipset: 45 nanometer and integrated CPU and GPU.
Wi-Fi: Integrated wireless capability.

Along with the announcement of the new 360 model was Kinect. The device, formally know as Natal, will be released November 4th of this year with a large array of supported games. If you don’t remember what Natal was, it is Microsoft’s leap into the motion control aspect of gaming. The device utilizes cameras and infrared sensors to pick up your placement and movement. Here is the list of upcoming games to utilize the new device. Of course there has to be a sports game, Kinect Sports.

Zumba Fitness
Game Party in Motion
Motionsports
Kinect Adventures
The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout
Kinect Joyride
Kinect Sports
Adrenalin Misfits
Deca Sports Collection
Dance Central
Dance Masters
Sonic Free Riders
Kinectimals
EA Sports Active 2.0
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

Microsft’s Xbox 360 250Gb Slim and Kinect is an article on Pixel Well
All original content, including images and all intellectual properties, are copyright © Pixel Well 2010

PrimeSense: The Magic Behind Natal

The King's Eighth — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:35:16 +0000

If you’ve heard about Microsoft’s project Natal, then its about time you heard the name PrimeSense. They’re the company who is responsible for the inner workings of Microsoft’s 3D motion controller. Direct from PrinSense’s website:

The PrimeSensor Reference Design is a low-cost, plug and play, USB-powered device that can either sit on top of or next to a television screen or a monitor, or be integrated into them. The Reference Design generates realtime depth, color and audio data of the living room scene. It works in all room lighting conditions (whether in complete darkness or in a fully lit room). It does not require the user to wear or hold anything, does not require calibration and does not require computational resources from the host’s processor.

How it does this is by simply bathing the area in front of it with “near-infra red” light, then using its CMOS image sensor to receive the light and translate it into code which it then communicates to a PC or game console. In a recent press release revealing the deal between Microsoft and PrimeSense, Ilan Spillinger, vice president of Xbox 360 hardware, stated that “PrimeSense has delivered an important component to the technology, helping us deliver revolutionary controller-free entertainment experiences in the living room.” Inon Beracha, chief executive officer of PrimeSense commented on the deal saying “We are especially honored to have a partner like Microsoft who shares our vision for bringing innovative and engaging natural experiences to consumers.”

The technology behind Microsoft’s Project Natal is certainly worth a lot of attention. Microsoft will be able to launch many games with a new sense of interactivity that has not been achieved before. Just imagine the ability to fully utilize your entire body into the latest sports games. My only question is how they will utilize this technology for first person shooters. There will certainly still be the need for input devices in most games. What will happen when your cat or dog walks on by, or you get interrupted by someone walking through? Perhaps this may result in total seclusion before you start playing with Natal.

PrimeSense: The Magic Behind Natal is an article on Pixel Well
All original content, including images and all intellectual properties, are copyright © Pixel Well 2010

Microsft’s Xbox 360 250Gb Slim and Kinect

GamesCom Press Conference: PS3 Slim Announcement?

The King's Eighth — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:32:45 +0000

On August 19 in Cologne Germany, thousands will gather for Europe’s GamesCom conference in hopes of becoming Germany’s leading trade show for interactive gaming and entertainment. This debut event hopes to attract the entire industry, as well as anyone interested in video games or computers. Here is an excerpt from the conferences website which you can go to here.

As a game trade fair, games festival and business platform, it is the place to be if you want to try out new games, socialise, celebrate or just simply be astonished. Nearly 400 exhibitors from all over the world will present their innovations in the area of interactive entertainment electronics. This is the world and European premiere of numerous computer games which are just waiting for you to test them.

With all major gaming conferences you can expect the big companies to be there. Among them include Sony and Microsoft. Upon further digging into their website I found this little bit of info on what people will expect on the 19th.

In short, video and PC, online and browser games producers and hardware providers, too, will be presenting their latest developments, with exhibitors presenting more than one hundred world, European and German premieres.

Many expect the much anticipated announcement from Sony on the PS3 Slim. Already there have been multiple leaked photos of the system. Within the past week, one French retailer has let slip more information that the system would be released in September in Europe for $299. Again, Sony has made no comments on the system yet.

All in all we expect to hear some pretty important news from the conference in Germany. If you click on this link here you can get the full list (a pretty hefty list mind you) of games that will debut at the conference. I will update you in a few days for any groundbreaking news.