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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

Smaller XBox 1.5 Rumored In Japan 44

Posted by simoniker from the first-controller-now-hardware dept.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz article rounding up the Japanese rumors that an XBox 1.5 will launch later this year. It seems Japanese magazines such as WAM and Dorimaga are reporting a smaller-sized XBox will be launched alongside the flagship Japanese RPG True Fantasy Live Online. But the article suggests that "..it's not expected that any changes will be made to the internals of the system, however - this is, by all accounts, a purely cosmetic makeover."
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Smaller XBox 1.5 Rumored In Japan More

Smaller XBox 1.5 Rumored In Japan

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  • Mirrored for the lazy (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Xbox 1.5 rumours gather speed in Japan Rob Fahey 16:17 03/06/2003 Now less likely to maim small children when falling off tables? A number of Japanese magazines are reporting that Microsoft is moving ahead with plans to release a redesigned Xbox, dubbed "Xbox 1.5", which will come in a significantly smaller case than the original model. Weekly magazine WAM has reported that the new system will be launched alongside the MMORPG True Fantasy Live in Japan later this year - a move which would make sense, giv

  • XBox Laptop (Score:4, Funny)

    by Zelet ( 515452 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @07:27AM (#6113857) Journal
    They should make an XBox that you could carry around with you and it should have an LCD display attached. You should also be able to hook up to your TV when you are at home. They could call it a "laptop." It would rock.

  • My friend that has become an Xbox crazy keeps talking about an "Xbox Lite" that's supposed to be coming out that's smaller and cheaper. This with price cuts may be that thing. Though if it's the same internals, I don't know how it's going to be that much lighter. Was the shell for the Xbox stainless steel? Thought it was all the crap in there that was weighing it down so much.
    • I think by "same internals" they mean "same specs." I haven't taken my Xbox apart, but the photos of the internals of Xboxes I've seen don't appear to leave much room for slimming down.
  • I wonder if the standard controls will be smaller too. I heard a lot of people complain that the size of the controller made it difficult to handle for people with small hands. My five year old prefers to put it on the carpet rather than hold it.
    • I wonder if the standard controls will be smaller too. I heard a lot of people complain that the size of the controller made it difficult to handle for people with small hands. My five year old prefers to put it on the carpet rather than hold it.

      The standard controller on all current XBox systems is the S controller that MS released after the Japanese market rejected the original XBox controller. I had to buy the original XBox controller seperately because I like the bigger controller.

      However, if you're
    • The controller's layout is bad, but the S controller's is nearly perfect for my hands(which are rather small). If this fabled "1.5" comes out, the already powerful Xbox would get a lot more powerful, although Microsoft is determined to get their Xbox 2 out before the PS3, so I'm not going to waste my money on something I already have. It just means one less thing fanboys can bash.

  • XBox (Score:2, Insightful)

    by BigChigger ( 551094 )
    is dead in Japan. THey are getting absolutely hammered by Sony. This has a desperate feel to it. BC

  • The current Xboxes are bigger than most Tokyo appartments! Of course they aren't selling in Japan!
    : )
    • isnt that the point? they make great cheap housing, imho. very roomy inside. ;) nah, i love everything about my XBOX, especially the warning in the manual against letting it fall and maiming small children ^_^
      • love everything about my XBOX, especially the warning in the manual against letting it fall and maiming small children ^_^

        Be mindfull of your cat [xmission.com] too, young Padowan.
  • So to release a smaller model, they're assigning it a bigger number. Sure, yeah, that makes sense.

    I personally don't see any problem with my Xbox's size as is, but then again I don't really have a need to move it anywhere.

    • Re:1.5? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by davidhan ( 539718 )
      Its not that its smaller, but newer. Newer models are often given bigger numbers. But, I think they should call it "XBox S" to keep in line with their controller nomenclature. I don't think the current XBox will fit in any of the available shelves in my entertainment center, so I'd like to see a smaller one.
      • "(MS)...plans to release a redesigned Xbox, dubbed "Xbox 1.5", which will come in a significantly smaller case than the original model."

        "It's not expected that any changes will be made to the internals of the system, however - this is, by all accounts, a purely cosmetic makeover."

        Calling it Xbox 1.5 doesn't only not make sense from a silly pedantic POV (as in my parent comment), but it is also misleading for the Japanese consumer who may be lead to believe that this is a technically better version of
        • ...it is also misleading for the Japanese consumer who may be lead to believe that this is a technically better version of the original Xbox.

          Depending on what they redesign inside the box to make it smaller, it could indeed be a "technically better version" with a better, more streamlined motherboard/chipset, different hard drive, etc. Thus, 1.5 wouldn't be an unreasonable moniker - it would be lame and clumsy, but that's another issue entirely. :)

          • 1.5 implies new functionality. A better motherboard and chipset aren't functionality that a gamer would care about in the console world.

            Nintendo didn't call the re-released NES, SNES, or Gameboys version '1.5,' when they were all just better designs of the same product.

            --Jeremy

  • V1.5 naming scheme (Score:2, Informative)

    by Hellraisr ( 305322 )
    It might be prudent to note here that there are already three versions of the Xbox.

    V1.0, V1.1, and V1.2. These all have minor hardware changes in them, but look the same externally. I suspect most of the changes were to stop the mod-chips from working.

    So basically the reason it is called 1.5 is that it is just a new version (and they probably will change it a small amount to render current mod chips useless)

    All consoles have various revisions which may or may not change how it looks on the outside. So

  • 1st and 2nd dilluting their brand! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @09:24AM (#6114712) Homepage
    Ok, so I've been rooting for Nintendo to make a comeback for several years. Unlike Sony, they make hardware that I would like to justify developing for. And unlike Microsoft, I don't have to feel like I'm supporting the destruction of gaming ecology.

    But back to the point, with both Sony and Microsoft releasing 1.5 systems, they are going to have a hard time selling more systems in the near future. Sony especially, because the system it is releasing has new features, but whenever a new increment of a system is released and sold the people it is sold to will expect a reasonable lifetime for that system, not just a final year or two before an update. Plus, they lose some of the hype surrounding the next big system from _____, as the last big system just came out. Would we be discussing a slightly smaller X-Box if it wasn't consuming some of the interest in the next generation of systems?

    Stopgap measures in the gaming industry have proven fatal for sales time and time again. With both Sony and Microsoft shooting for their toes, perhaps the Nintendo Tessaract will have a better chance in the market.

    • Actually, Sony isn't really releasing a playstation 2.5, they're releasing a PVR-DVD combo with PS2 compatibility.

      And Nintendo was the first to do the "1.5" with the Panasonic DVD player/gamecube.

      So shut up, fanboy : )
      • A PVR-DVD-PS2 combo with CDRW capabilities, as well as a Broadband-Harddrive adaptor, is a platform shift. (Just in time too, my PS2 burned out from overuse) That, coupled with the fact that several big upcoming games require the nontrivial additions (vibrating joysticks were trivial) and you may have problems.

        The DVD player gamecube was a very cool machine, but it was released early enough that it cannot be said to dillute the brand.

        The X 1.5 probably won't dillute the power of the name either, as it i
        • my PS2 burned out from overuse

          Mine just started giving me "error reading disk" messages when I try to watch a DVD I've watched tons of times on it...

          I'm wondering if Sony is pulling a "Radio Shack" on us (products that crap out exactly one day after the warranty runs out). I paid good money for that damn machine! I want it to last dammit!

          Games still play fine though, but it looks like I'll need to buy a "real" dvd player : (
      • Actually, Sony isn't really releasing a playstation 2.5, they're releasing a PVR-DVD combo with PS2 compatibility.

        You get partial credit for describing the recently announced "PSX" but you lose points for not knowing that there is indeed a Playstation "2.5" coming out (it's just being called Playstation 2) that is going to replace the old model. Most notably, the new Playstation 2 will have the capability of reading burned discs (CD-R, DVD-R, etc.), it comes with the network adaptor, and it will have th

    • You're making it sound like people have to buy the new Sony and Microsoft boxes to play the newest games (as you had to do with Sega when they released the SegaCD and 32X). The truth is that whatever upgrades end up being present in the new PS2 and Xbox models will be so small that present owners won't be missing much if they don't buy the new consoles.

      Heck, the Atari 2600 went through NUMEROUS hardware revisions throughout its life (revisions that didn't impact gameplay/compatibility) and managed to sel

      • Heck, the Atari 2600 went through NUMEROUS hardware revisions throughout its life (revisions that didn't impact gameplay/compatibility) and managed to sell just fine until the NES finally killed it. Even the NES and SNES had hardware revisions to make them more "sleek," just as the Xbox is getting.

        But, as pointed out, the most visible revisions were often 'end-of-life' revisions. The NES still looked the same until long after the 16-bit systems had taken over, and the SNES looked the same until after the
  • I know someone who owns a xbox. What I'd really like to see is the fan(s?) disappear, or be really quieter. Because it really sucks for a gaming machine to make so much noise, especially when used as a DVD player... Dunno about other consoles, but if I had to buy one I'd certainly compare the fans noise.
  • Public Warning! Bill Gates' new seemingly cute xbox 1.5 Is just using it's chilidish new look to attack the toes of every martha stewart\pokemon loving consumer out there! People are reporting opening and extracting their harmless looking a-cup sized bundles of joy only to find it's minime appearence is a camo to hide it's shocking 80 pound weight, enough to cut off the toes of a super model level toe clipped battle hardened richard simmons...
    The WINDOWS! The MONOPOLYS!! IT"S ALL BEEN A DISTRACTION!

    INDEPEN
  • A new, smaller Xbox would mean that Microsoft's huge cache of unsold consoles won't take up quite as much space in the warehouse. At least until it goes all ET and ends up in a landfill..

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