Rumor: Two new Xbox 360 models in production

by Xav de Matos { Feb 15th 2008 at 10:00AM }

The blogger who famously broke the news that Bungie was parting ways from Microsoft has tipped us off to yet another internal MS situation. 8Bit Joystick is reporting that Microsoft is working on two new motherboards for the Xbox 360 to combat the persistent, but apparently dwindling, failure rates of our favorite console. Fifth and sixth generation Xbox 360's are being developed in Redmond codenamed Opus and Valhalla, respectively.

In October 2007, Joystiq reported that the third generation Xbox 360, codename Jasper, was being developed for an August 2008 launch to replace the current Falcon models. The Opus is described as the "zombie Xbox 360 killer," a mishmash of working parts from current red-ringed first generation Xbox 360's (codenamed Xenon) that includes a 90nm GPU and a 65nm CPU fitted onto a Falcon motherboard squeezed into the original Xenon case, which means this console would lack the new HDMI port. This replace-repair scenario was designed to rid Microsoft of the "millions of dead Xenon's" they currently have in stock according to the post by Jake Metcalf at 8Bit Joystick. Due to its refurbished nature, the Opus will never be available at retail and will only be used as replacement units for replacement during RRoD situations.

The Valhalla motherboard is a different situation entirely and is in very early stages of development. The sixth generation Xbox 360, which will reportedly be the last reconfiguration of the console, includes a combined 65nm CPU and 65nm GPU on a unified super chip. This version will apparently only require one cooling system and be much quieter and thus more reliable than previous Xbox 360 systems. Hopefully.

With this rumor in the wild we wonder how it fits in with the current claim from Microsoft that they are experiencing a hardware shortage due to misjudging demand.

With the list of Xenon, Zephyr, Falcon, Jasper, Opus and Valhalla motherboards we only have one question for Microsoft. Who the hell names these systems and how much do they get paid? While it might be easier just to number the various generations of hardware, we figure Microsoft has a strange love for naming things so they all sound like maps in Halo 3.

Note: While Jake doesn't actually count the Opus when listing the generations, we have, for the sake of argument.

[Thanks, Jake]

Tags: falcon, hardware-failure, jasper, opus, ridiculously-named-crap, rrod, valhalla

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Michael Paul @ Feb 15th 2008 10:09AM

Sounds a touch better than the refurbished one I got, but so much for me getting a HDMI upgrade for free if mine fails again...

DjDATZ @ Feb 15th 2008 10:12AM

Nice...maybe I'll get an Opus the next time I have to send my 360 in...or maybe...I just wont send it in and will resolve the issue on my own terms.

Larry @ Feb 15th 2008 10:29AM

Here we go again! When will it end. MS should've had this production line planned from the start. It's always more costly (both financially and brand-imagery) to be reactive versus being proactive. I sincerely hope MS learns this lesson for the next generation.

jay @ Feb 15th 2008 10:48AM

Geez its never going to end what's next a 360 with a thor motherboard. I love my 360 but MS is really annoying by constantly changing the innards...

Shape @ Feb 15th 2008 11:52AM

The PS2 had just as many, if not more hardware revisions.

This is constantly done to improve reliability and decrease costs.

Get used to it. It should have little affect on you.

Xav de Matos @ Feb 15th 2008 11:53AM

You're right. PS2 went through ten hardware itterations before the slim was released.

johnniee @ Feb 15th 2008 4:58PM

The only problem with comparing the 360 to the PS2 is that the PS2 worked FINE out of the box, with not nearly as many failures as the 360 has had its first year. Even to this very DAY::2008::, there have been less ps2 failures than 360 failures. Wow, way to be cheap and rush things out MS!! WOO!

Larry @ Feb 15th 2008 11:04AM

CE companies change the configurations of their products all the time. The only difference is most of them don't have fan sites dedicated to every little thing about them. Try going to an Apple rumor site or check out the AVS Forums to see what happens when a dedicated fan base follows their products closely

Nice article and good catch.

Mark @ Feb 15th 2008 11:21AM

Very confused? My 360 is currently being "fixed" at this moment. What version will I get back?

Xav de Matos @ Feb 15th 2008 11:54AM

Seeing as though this is still unconfirmed, I'd say you're looking at a refurb sans Falcon.

But I don't work for Microsoft and could be wrong.

wei @ Feb 15th 2008 11:24AM

My favorite part is how the Opus zombie 360 killer is going to be conveniently rolled out just as most people's 3-year warranty runs out. Good move, jerks.

TurboFool @ Feb 15th 2008 12:17PM

I'm not sure, but the Opus sounds kind of like what I got back in December. I replaced my second 360 through Microsoft's 3-year RRoD warranty and received a replacement unit with no HDMI port, but with a manufacture date of only the previous week (and a flawless case with all protections in place). That means it was not a refurb (or at least not a traditional refurb), and yet lacked the HDMI ports that were then standard on all new units. So this would explain that oddity fully.

AJ @ Feb 15th 2008 2:21PM

Xav my man, the headline is more than a little misleading.

"In Production?"

You got it right in the post with, "Being developed." The headline makes it sound like these chipsets are rolling off the assembly line right now and will soon be rolling into retail.