You're right, but its actually MUCH more than that.

They're shrinking every bit of silicon inside the machine bar the CPU which is already shrunk.

They're cutting down the size of the heatsink on the GPU - which is a solid chunk of Copper IIRC. (Copper is expensive, weight adds to transport costs)

They're implementing a new motherboard - which should also save some money and give them the chance to HOPEFULLY and I think it should be quite obvious to them... add Wifi support. If they are really serious about Blu Ray/media playback they could add a small UVD chip to the console so it can play the Blu ray movies/any movies cool and quiet without having to call upon much CPU power.

Finally they can count them reliable so they can take that $10-20 they probably set aside for repairs and keep it as profit or take it right off the price. It should give the DVD drives a hand too since they sit right above the GPUs and I would say that removes a possible point of failure on the drives as well.

 the 45nm graphic card and 45nm cell will be in production in august,,,, so ,MS is not the only company downsizing,,,hell,sony is much more experienced in this field as they are an actual hardware company.

Thread lacks any mention of New Order.

Thread fails.

(And you fail harder if you like the Orgy version of the song better.)

Microsoft would be more familiar with things such as die shrinks etc because they're a computer company... You can go round and round all day like this if you want.

Sony seems to produce decent software for being such a badass hardware company don't they?

As for the graphics card - computer cards aren't even at 40nm yet (TSMC process node not 45nm like Intel/AMD) , so why would they move their GPU that quickly to a new node?

Ahh and lastly, even if they've shrunk the chips they may not be cheaper. 65nm is becoming a commodity node, so producing chips here could quite possibly be cheaper and have higher yields.  Things like yields and such which are initially lower for new process nodes which counter act the savings from using less silicon can make quick jumps into disasters if they don't get the process right.

LOL, man I have seen nothing but stupid posts on this thread. Microsoft is out to make money and if adding these things to their consoles makes money, they do not care what image it gives them. They aren't about being the 'cool' kid on the block. Businesses can't function for long periods just on being the 'cool' or 'it' thing(excluding Apple, because they have been the 'it' thing for several years now).

Actually, if this is true and Microsoft announces an external Blu-Ray player (which sounds quite more plausible than a built-in one) I´ll go with an Xbox360.


Yes, there is really the type of gamer that looks for a Blu-Ray player and a console at the same time.

More industry related: I would expect a small bump for Microsoft´s console and PS3 sales to slightly drop when the add-on is released but nothing really ground-breaking... well, if Microsoft announces a Blu-Ray player and a Wiimote clone, though... couldn´t that kill off the sales? I mean, people would be quite confused.

The same goes for a built in Blu-Ray player... hell, that would be one hell of an announcement for Microsoft. They´d literally kill their console if you needed to upgrade to the new model to play all games. But they wouldn´t be that silly...

Did I miss it??!!! I was too psyched about the 3G iPhone with A-GPS.

LAWLZ

I don't think they announced anything today, did they?

The Elite has a similar price to the PS3, though only in America I think. My point is that Microsoft should avoid getting too close to PS3's specs/price, otherwise they're just validating Sony's strategy.

Right now, most consumers don't see the Elite as a big deal, most people prefer the Premium so the 360 is assumed to be cheaper. The advantages of the Elite model aren't seen as relevant. If a Blu-Ray model was introduced, this could change and the price difference could decrease in the minds of many consumers, therefore eliminating one of 360's perceived advantages.

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About a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night and everything he sees
Is just blue like him inside and outside
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And everybody around
'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen...

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 XD XD