Microsoft To Let Other Companies Build, Release 360 Consoles?

[Alpha]

Yeah, this one's a rumour. A crazy rumour, right? Maybe not as crazy as you think, so bear with us. Here's what Quartermann says in the latest issue of EGM:

We'll tell you what's up with Microsoft: new hardware options. It may sound totally insane — trust us, we did a double-take the first time Qmann whispered it in our ears — but word has it that Microsoft may begin allowing third-party manufacturers to create

Xbox 360

hardware. And we're not talking about peripherals, people; we mean hardware that runs 360 game discs created by someone other than Microsoft.

 

Nuts nuts, yes? Probably. But at least think about it. It's not like such a move would be without precedent. You could purchase Sega CD drives for PCs. Panasonic released the Q, a Japan-only GameCube that doubled as a DVD player. And we've heard whispers that Microsoft have also been exploring the idea of releasing 360-compatible disc drives for the PC. Not that any of that makes the prospect of seeing, say, a Samsung Xbox 360/Blu-Ray player any more likely (as the rumour seems to suggest), but hey, crazier things have happened.

 

Quartermann [Electronic Gaming Monthly]

Source: http://kotaku.com/5019400/microsoft-to-let...se-360-consoles

 

Wow if any of this stuff happens in a few months ... I may just sell my XBOX 360 yet again. Seems like most rumors for the 360 have a tendency to come true. The last one I can fully remember was the addition of the HDMI port in the newer systems.

[BlackKnight]

Quartermann is full of sh!t and Kotaku has lost any credibility... I'll file this away like their 360 BD-ROM and NAND PSP 'rumours'.

[gavin19]

Even if all of the above was true, it doesn't benefit me in the slightest. Anyway, there are those Kreon drives for the PC that read 360 originals already. The only thing I would want MS to release is a Blu-Ray add-on.

 

Wow if any of this stuff happens in a few months ... I may just sell my XBOX 360 yet again.

 

Why sell it again? To buy it back from Panasonic?!

[Robert]

I wouldn't take much notice... since when have Microsoft let ANYONE else build their stuff?

[Wizard]

I think what they mean is it'll use the same chip as the 360 similarly how some products used a variation on Cell chip.