14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft might be preparing to launch a new type of Xbox 360 home gaming console, one with a smaller overall size and possibly with a cheaper production cost that might translate into a cheaper price point.
The rumor comes after a Chinese board posted a couple of photos of the fresh device, which, of course, Microsoft is not talking about. What lends some credibility to the rumor is that the same board posted the initial images of the PlayStation 3 Slim, launched last year.
People who know their hardware are saying that the picture, which you can see attached to this article, shows off a new design where the CPU and the GPU are together on just one chip, suggesting that the manufacturing process for the device has gotten much better since the original release. Launching a fresh version might be done later in the year, in a manner similar to how Sony handled the outing of the Slim version of the PS3 in August 2009.
The rumor can also be linked with some statements coming from the overall leader of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer. The Chief Executive Officer of the Redmond-based company talked at the University of Washington about the future of the Microsoft gaming business, “We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it's going to important.”
As always when it comes to Ballmer’s statements related to the Xbox 360 home console, people were not exactly sure what the Microsoft boss was talking about. Most thought that he was referring to actually packaging the Project Natal with the console itself, but now it seems that he might have been talking about a whole new form for the platform, likely to arrive next year, probably bundled with Natal to insure its wide adoption.