An Italian advert purporting to showcase an upcoming slimmed-down version of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console has appeared, fuelling rumours about the planned system relaunch in the run up to E3.
Microsoft has never fiddled with its console line in the past, with the original Xbox sticking to its bulky black body throughout its life cycle. Meanwhile Sony has historically revamped all three of its PlayStation models, with the most recent PS3 Slim cutting down on the bulk of the original launch by almost a third.
The supposed advert for the slim version of the Xbox 360 appeared on Italian fan site Console Tribe and in it a smaller, darker, less curvaceous imagining of the console is visible, complete with the well known font colours and style that Microsoft has typically associated with the 360.
By launching a smaller version of the 360, Microsoft will hopefully have made the hardware look and feel a little more premium whilst making sure that the components are more efficient than the five year old technology housed in the current models.
Rumours suggest that this console will be compatible with the new Xbox 360 motion control system which Microsoft is set to launch at the E3 conference. This was originally codenamed Project Natal, but it has recently been given its official release name of Kinect and will prove to be an interesting addition to the motion sensitive market alongside the PlayStation Move and the Wii’s remote.
