Ever since the XBOX 360 was released by Microsoft in November of 2005, like all firsts generations of anything, it was plagued with issues. Most famous of note was the ‘Red Ring of Death’ or doom which ever fits your liking. Now, nearly five years after that initial release, Microsoft has released their latest version of the 360. Many have been left to wonder has Microsoft created something better to fit their likings and to compete once more with Sony’s revamped PS3?
To start out, Microsoft gave the 360 a whole new sleeker, slightly slimmer, but not by much look. The on/ off and disc insert switches are now pressure sensitive, like that of the PS3. Gone are the actual buttons. One of the cons, (perceived by me) is the material Microsoft chose to coat the 360 in. Much like the material Sony initially used on the PS3, it mirrors the material used on Grand Pianos, which is very prone to finger print marks and smudges. Nothing you really want to handle very often. You’ll want to keep a can of multi surface cleaner and a rag near by it at all times.
Microsoft has gifted us with five USB ports. The original 360 only had three. There are two in the front, and three in the back. But what do you sacrifice for these additional USB ports? The memory card slots, those are long gone. You can copy and load all of your game info onto a USB stick, and load it onto your new system. It comes with the latest 250 gigabyte hard drive, standard amongst the final run of the first model, though the new slot is not compatible with the drives of the older models. One negative feature of the hard drive is the tab by which it can be removed. It is made out of fabric. I know that most won’t be constantly removing and reinstalling the hard drive, but if you were, I know you wouldn’t want it to be pushed and pulled by a tab of fabric. This new system runs a lot quieter and on less electricity due to the newly redesigned chip, which has managed to retain the same amount of processing speed. Gone are the problems of overheating, so Microsoft has gone back to installing a single fan into the unit.
A great accomplishment that Microsoft has come to finally realize is the built in wifi receiver, capable of 802.11 b/g/n wifi connectivity. Many would argue that this is the greatest improvement that was incorporated into the newest model.
A great feature that should have been included with this new release of the 360 but was not was the addition of a blu ray player. With this new 360 running at the same price of the PS3, this give the PS3 a huge edge on the Hi-Def crowd. Once more, Microsoft failed to include an Ethernet cable or any type of HD or HDMI cable. You still have to obtain those on a separate endeavor.
Overall, Microsoft has managed to improve its gaming system, but still leaves us wishing for more. Especially while matching a price point with its toughest competition that still manages to supply more to their customers at the same price. But if you’re a die-hard of the XBOX 360, then by all means, make the purchase!