"Okay, settle down gossipmongers, Microsoft says all this talk about an upgraded Xbox 360 is not only wrong, it's missing the point. There won't be an upgraded Xbox 360 next year, and in fact, we're only halfway through the current console cycle. What's more, Project Natal, the company's no-controller 3D motion and voice recognition technology is being designed for the existing Xbox 360, not an imaginary "performance-upgraded" one.

In an official statement released to the media, a Microsoft spokesperson wrote

As the Xbox team stated at E3 two weeks ago, we are not even halfway through the current console generation lifecycle and believe Xbox 360 will be the entertainment center in the home for long into the next decade. Project Natal will be an important part of this platform, but we have not confirmed a launch date at this time.

And while games blog Kotaku makes assumptions I wouldn't about the Ballmer quote in the introductory paragraph to this article, the piece is worth scanning for the following quote, from Xbox Live Director of Product Management, Aaron Greenberg:

There will be no new console.

You can't get any less ambiguous than that, and unless you're into torturing semantics, that's book shut, case closed, speculation over.

But what about Natal? Will there be a version of the Xbox 360 with Natal integrated? Maybe, maybe not. Greenberg says they've looked into it, but that's all he's saying. What Steve Ballmer said yesterday doesn't help--it's simply too ambiguous to cite evidentially. Anyone claiming otherwise needs to rethink how this medium works.

What we know:

Natal will be sold as a standalone peripheral.

Natal will work with, and is being designed explicitly for, existing Xbox 360s.

Microsoft has no plans to alter or retool its existing platform circuitry. Aside from conventional manufacturing enhancements like thermal and spatial improvements--all invisible to consumers--the company plans to sell the same Xbox 360 it's been selling since late 2005 through Natal's launch in...whenever.

What we don't know:

We don't know when Natal will launch, though we can speculate about a general 2010 timeframe given the fact that Ballmer pegged 2010 as Natal's shelf date. Also: Sony has stated its PlayStation Motion Control peripheral will ship in 2010, so there's the competitive market incentive to consider as well.

We don't know whether Microsoft will release Natal integrated into a remodeled Xbox 360. Again, Ballmer didn't claim they would--his comments as reported by TG Daily are simply too ambiguous. Best not to waste time speculating. Besides, if you already own an Xbox 360, you'd be mad to buy a second Natal-integrated one, right?

We don't know whether Microsoft plans to release something like an "Xbox 360 slim" or some other type of cosmetic retooling. Is it conceivable they'll launch a newer, smaller, quieter, thermally cooler model in tandem with Natal? Sure, bearing in mind all that adds up to is a physical makeover, not a performance boost."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/167003/microsoft_on_new_xbox_360_were_not_even_halfway_there.html/

hmm, I hope we get a slim at some point ...

why? because MS dont know what other technology to copy.. lolz

Anyone else?

Why? Because Microsoft does not have a clue what other technology to copy.. LOLz

--


No..

Alot of talking but no real news there...

"There will be no new console."
XBox brand DOOMED?



j/k

They're really having to spend a lot of time correcting Ballmer's little slip-up.

And Spankey took what I was gonna say.

So true,not only the 360 is more powerfull than ps3 in the GPU department,but it`s also easy to develop for and the CPU is about the same as the CELL (IBM said this).

Plus,in the current state of this economy,a cheap console with exclusive games and easy to work with is sure to last more than the "10 year plan".

Plus,MS only recently started to make money on the Xbox brand,after losing billions in the xbox 1 days. It`s only natural to keep making a profit by selling games and Live to the millions of existing 360 users than to the supposed future 720 users.

I think the 360 is this gen ps2. Why? Because the ps2 is still selling based on the price and exclusive games and console exclusive games.

When you think how powerfull the 360 is and how cheap it is too,the exclusive games and console only games will keep on coming,forcing the developers to take full advantage of the system because they know it sells a lot of games,so...everyone will support it as long as the games sale.

I don't think a new console but perhaps a rebranding.

it really seems as if ballmer and the rest of MS do not understand the terminology the gaming unit uses, and therefor gaffed. this is a case where the PR people hosed the set up for him, they should have explained and practiced better, or rather taken a que from apple and made sure the face presenting shit new what needed to be said and more importantly what not to say.

or we can just say ballmer is an idiot ... i have always felt that way about him, not a good public face.....

on the bright side for sony i guess at least its not their PR team dicking around

I have always been of the belief that both the PS3 and 360 would have longer than traditional shelf lives. Only the Wii I think will be more prone to a more traditional console shelf life but as they have shown that the other two may of peaked to early I am sure they are not losing to much sleep over that.