Xbox 360i Lite "expected"

The new Xbox 360i. It's six times the slim of "another leading brand"!

A very interesting article on Industry Gamers has taken a bit of a vox pop with leading video game analysts to ask them “What are the chances of seeing an Xbox 360 Slim?“.  Now that the PS3 Slim has been confirmed, and everyone has decided to fire up MS Paint to make “confirmed” concept images of a slimmer Xbox 360 instead, it’s nice to hear some thoughtful and interesting opinions on the topic.  Here’s a quick excerpt:

Any reduction in the physical size of a console certainly adds a lot of financial benefits to the manufacturer. A reduced size decreases shipping costs, packaging material, and increases retail shelve space. There are costs, however, such as the cost to re-engineer a new console as well as the cost to modifying the manufacturing process. If the distribution benefits outweigh the costs, Microsoft should (and likely will) one day release a smaller Xbox 360 unit.

-Jesse Divnich from EEDAR

Now while advice and opinions from experts is always a good start for a discussion on any particular topic, we all know what we’re talking about the evolution of here.  Yes, it’s the Xbox 360i™ Lite VX (promotional shot top left).

Sony’s announcement of the PlayStation 3 Slim has started another skirmish in the theatre of console war.  A proverbial “Battle of the Bulge” if you will (not a literal one, obviously, the Ardennes have seen enough bloodshed). While at the beginning of this generation of consoles the race was presumably between technology and computing power, it has recently turned to size, and as the old adage goes: it’s not how big your console is, it’s how you use it.

Some may argue that no-one looks at the entertainment unit while they’re stoking the fire.  Others that a PSOne in the hand is worth a PS2 in the bush.  An even more vocal majority would quip that if it ain’t broken, Microsoft didn’t build it.

And that last adage (I promise!) is kind of the point.  While I’m sure all us narcissistic Xbox consolers would just love a tighter, curvier and slimmer version of our beloved entertainment unit, has anyone stopped to quickly consider the consequences of such cosmetic undertaking?  If the Xbox 360 has an assumed fail rate of around 40% (I’m being generous, I know) at present, with all of the air-venting, bulky fans and heat sinks, what chance would it stand if we crammed it all into a unit the size of your average VHS cassette?

So while we’d all like to think of a brighter future that includes the Xbox 360i™ Lite Limited Edition (Now with Septuple-xCore™ technology!), please don’t forget that you should check the batteries in your smoke alarms at the beginning of both the financial AND calendar year!

In less longwinded fashion, do take a look at the original article, it has actual sane opinions on the matter.