With the flood of Xbox 360 information coming out today, here are a few of the rumored technical features it does not have:


HD DVD support - It looks DVD is going to have to hold you. [Update: Brian@Kotaku swears Microsoft told him it will support HD DVD, but he also eats paste.]

iPod-like MP3 hard drive - The unit can be removed to take with you, but does not function as a standalone MP3 player

Media Center PC functions - While it will serve as a Media Center extender out of the box, it will not record shows or have a TV tuner.

DVD Burner - This seemed like a long-shot, but some people were convinced.

Wireless-only controllers - The default mode of operation is wireless (and that’s good), the controllers can be plugged in to USB slots to deal with charging and low-power.

A proper logo font - In fact, the typeface being used for the logo looks awful, especially embossed on the tray door.

Backwards compatibility - It is possible that the Xbox 360 can play regular Xbox games, but nothing has been said for sure. ...

Not to be outdone by the Xbox 360, Nintendo leaked a few juicy details on their Revolution. Perrin Kaplin, Nintendo of America’s VP for corporate affairs, went on record with the following tidbits:

Wireless controllers
Backwards compatibility
Online built in
Sleek design that will stand on its side (she said the size would be the same as 3 DVD cases sitting on top of each other)
DVD format discs (wow) ...

Forrester Research published a piece that helps explain just what it is that Microsoft was trying to accomplish by eschewing E3 and announcing their product on MTV last night.

As we’ve noted in the past, and as Forrester corroborates, E3 and CES are where the big product announcements are made. Microsoft’s decision to launch their console prior to E3 represents a deliberate strategic move that accomplishes several key objectives. Forrester calls it a “brave move” that allows Microsoft to:

“Side step the industry shindig and talk directly to potential consumers”: Given what we know about the expected timing of the Xbox 360 release (November), it’s early to be putting this product directly in front of consumers. The direct-to-consumer marketing hype generally occurs a few months prior to console launch. Microsoft’s early launch risks “killing its existing hardware line sales and stunting software sales” as consumers begin to delay purchases in anticipation of the $300 to $400 they’ll have to shell out later this year. In other words, Microsoft appears willing to jeopardize first-generation Xbox sales in order to ensure the success of the Xbox 360. They’re hurting themselves, but they hope to hurt Sony and Nintendo even more by locking consumers into an affinity for the Xbox 360 earlier than either of these competitors.
”Reduce the classic five-year game console cycle”: We have to disagree with Forrester on this one. Microsoft doesn’t want to shorten console lifecycles. That would be suicidal, as manufacturers tend to lose money on hardware in order to reap big rewards on software sales. A 5-year console lifecycle allows Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to milk those software revenues before they have to shell out again on costly console development and production. What Forrester really meant to say is that Microsoft doesn’t want to be the last one out of the gate this time around. They made that mistake by releasing the Xbox in 2001 giving Sony a huge lead in living room penetration.
”Build a frenzy of community speculation and support”: Well, duh. Which console manufacturer doesn’t want this? Still, Forrester gives Microsoft’s marketing machine deserves props for building “a frenzy” over the past six months “carefully fed by occasional press quotes from Bill Gates, leaked images, and viral messaging spread via Microsoft’s “ourcolony.net” site.”
”Offset some of its negative branding in the PC market”: According to Forrester, Microsoft’s approach with this gamers-first approach should win them the goodwill of the consumer market which tends to view Microsoft as the intractable monopolist.
”Break the new console out of the gaming ghetto”: Microsoft has signed an agreement with Samsung to “co-locate next-generation Xboxes with [Samsung’s] high-definition TVs in retail stores” which helps the company’s product escape the crowded gaming aisles and sit on shelves free of Sony and Nintendo consoles. The MTV launch is also an attempt to broaden the gamer market by changing the “games are for geeks” stereotype that still tends to plague the industry and depress sales. Microsoft’s taking the Xbox 360 to MTV is like that seminal moment in Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign in which he played the Sax on MTV and answered questions about his underwear. He became hip and made politics an acceptable activity for the cool kids. Clinton’s campaign credited that appearance with giving the campaign a boost, and you can bet that the MS marketing gurus were thinking the same thing when they put this event together. ...

As Microsoft spilt what little was left of their Xbox 360 guts all over MTV last night, the positively tight-lipped Nintendo decided to sneak out a few details of their own regarding their next-gen console, Revolution.

The big news is that Nintendo are planning a break from the traditional reliance on unique proprietary formats for their consoles, namely cartridges for their older systems and the mini DVD format for Gamecube.

Instead, Revolution will apparently play DVD movies, suggesting that games for the machine will almost certainly be available on this more conventional format, although it will still be backwards compatible with Gamecube games.

Details regarding the size of the console have also emerged, and point to the machine being incredibly bijou. The vertically standing console is reportedly no taller than a regular DVD case, and is just over an inch wide. Small. Compact. Nice.

After all the crazy wild talk of squeezy controllers and stereoscopic 3D gaming, it's refreshing to actually obtain some orthodox info regarding the console. Of course, we're anticipating that E3 will reveal more, so stick with us all of next week when we'll be updating direct from the show. ...

Speaking in one of a number of promotional Xbox 360 videos doing the rounds, Moore identified Project Gotham Racing 3 from Bizarre Creations and Kameo: Elements of Power and Perfect Dark Zero from Rare as the launch titles.

That's not a cast-iron guarantee that they will launch alongside the console this "Holiday season" - mostly likely November/early December, even for Europe - but it's the clearest indication yet that all three are being positioned as key components of the Xbox 360 launch offering.

Project Gotham Racing 3 has yet to be officially unveiled by Microsoft - perhaps in an effort to avoid spoiling the European launch of Forza Motorsport on Xbox 1 today - but is almost certain to feature on Monday at the company's pre-E3 press conference.

Perfect Dark Zero, however, has been unveiled in the US print press, with some screenshots popping up overnight which have been labelled as disappointing by many critics, but Microsoft UK today claimed it had "released no shots" of the game.

However, reports in the US media that the game currently crawls along at 20 frames per second haven't helped improve the tone of the online gossip - but may well indicate just how unfinished the code currently being presented actually is.

Kameo, meanwhile, has been demonstrated, but opinion is less polarised. The adventure game, originally bound for Xbox 1 (and before that, for the GameCube), mixes puzzling and adventure with real-time battles and creature transformation. ...

Xbox 360 has been officially unveiled by Microsoft.

Confirmation that it was "Xbox 360" came just after 2AM BST as Microsoft's J Allard delivered the immortal words in official context for the first time as part of a streaming video presentation (direct link) that capped off the company's OurColony.net viral marketing campaign. "You are the colony," Allard beamed, before launching into a glitzy look at the making of the system.

Media-wise, our sister-site Eurogamer.net is hosting official photographs, shots of the "Guide", and four "poster pics".

The video confirms that the design seen in leaked shots earlier this week is real, and that the controllers seen in those shots are indeed wireless. The presence of a removable hard drive module is also confirmed, although it's still not clear whether a version of the console without this module will be launched.

It also confirms the launch period: Holiday season 2005, with the suggestion based on aggregated sources being a November US launch - eerily and perhaps deliberately close to the original Xbox launch date - with European and Japanese releases following shortly after. Perhaps even within 7-10 days, according to some.

The special also reveals what the function of the large Xbox 360 logo seen in the middle of each controller is - it's a button to pop up the Xbox 360 Guide, a menu system which gives access to a variety of multimedia, online and offline features of the console, including a host of features designed to link up with Windows Media Centre PC systems.

The system design was the result of a massive process that involved as many as 20 rejected prototypes, and the idea of the final design - which is about the same size as a PlayStation 2 - is that the "dual concavity" gives it the look of something breathing in. It can stand on its side or upright without the need for support.

Full system specifications of the system followed as a worldwide embargo lifted at 2:30AM BST. The console will be powered by three IBM PowerPC CPUs, each one running at 3.2Ghz and with the capacity to run two hardware threads simultaneously - effectively meaning that the system can process six threads at once. Each core also has an on-board vector unit - and the whole system uses a water-cooling system to keep the temperature down, much like the high-end Apple PowerMac G5 desktop computers, which use similar PowerPC chips.

The ATI graphics processor in the box will run at 500MHz, with 10MB of embedded DRAM on the graphics part, while the box itself has 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, which is shared between the CPUs and the graphics chip. This will drive Microsoft's vision of an "HD era". Although Xbox 360 will not require a high-definition television set to run, Microsoft is heavily behind the idea, and all games will have to support 16:9 widescreen resolution, 720 progression-scan and 1080i, as well as anti-aliasing, and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround and custom soundtracks.

As expected, the system will not use either of the new high-capacity DVD standards, instead opting for a standard 12X dual-layer DVD-ROM, while the hard drive will ship in a 20GB base unit, which can later be upgraded. Memory card units, two of which can be plugged in at once, will start at 64MB - it's not clear what exactly their purpose will be, as yet.

The system will support up to four wireless controllers, and also has three standard USB 2.0 ports. As well as the built-in network port, it is also "Wi-Fi Ready" - although it appears that the Wi-Fi adapter will be sold separately. Specifications have it supporting 801.11b, 802.11g and 802.11a models - the full range of likely options.

Xbox 360's also listed as "video camera ready", and it's known that the video camera will be sold as an optional extra that allows for video messaging amongst other things. The camera will support VGA 640x480 resolution at 30 frames per second and takes 1.3-megapixel photos.

In terms of multimedia functionality, Xbox 360 will boast DVD playback out of the box. A clever idea is that the X360 will power down its noisiest fans when it plays back video content, allowing users to enjoy things without distraction. Equally curious and bound to be popular is the news that alerts will be able to pop up during television or DVD playback, allowing you to, for example, sit and watch a DVD of The Simpsons whilst waiting for a friend to pop up and challenge you.

There will also be the opportunity to rip music to the hard drive and play content from Windows Media Centre PCs across the network. Interestingly, it also promises the ability to play media from portable music devices and digital cameras - and leaked details from a Danish games magazine specifically mention the iPod, raising the possibility that the system may be happy to play media even off portable devices from Microsoft's competitors in this space.

Microsoft also unveiled the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote, which features backlit buttons and allows you to browse content on the system, controlling ...

IGN reports on a recent interview with Square-Enix president Wada, where it's revealed that the RPG crafting company is considering heavily supporting the Nintendo Revolution. From the article: "One area that Wada seems to be impressed with is a particularly controversial side of Nintendo's Online plan. In his comments posted at Impress Game Watch yesterday, Iwata states that Nintendo is going through with the idea of letting players connect only to players whom they've met in real life. While it's unclear how strict Nintendo plans to be with this idea (Animal Crossing DS is reported to allow for play amongst strangers), Wada applauds the move in his comments today, stating 'It gives the image of taking the real world seamlessly into the virtual world.'" ...

Press the Buttons has the news that if you have a DS at E3 2005, this year's demos will be downloadable via wireless networks. From the article: "Now this has me thinking... since data downloaded into the Nintendo DS wirelessly stays in memory until the system is turned off, wouldn't it be possible to download, say, a Mario Kart DS demo at E3 and then just keep the system in sleep mode whenever it wasn't in use, thereby keeping the demo in your hands for weeks or even months after E3 is over? ...

Renowned digital artist Jeff Minter of Llamasoft has created a new lightsynth that will be built into the Xbox 360. More information on the console's music player is available from Microsoft." From the post: "I believe it finally begins to achieve the potential that I saw all those years ago when I first made Psychedelia... and I am happier with it than I have ever been with anything I've created in my entire career. And we got it into the firmware again... Microsoft firmware. Of the Xbox360 for goat's sake. At last... after more than 20 years' work, one of my lightsynths is going to reach a decent sized audience. Millions and millions..." ...