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  (Source: MondoXbox.com)
New adapter to be sold alongside older A/B/G wireless adapter

Speaking to video game site Joystiq Microsoft has confirmed a 802.11n wireless adapter is coming to the Xbox 360. Microsoft's answer to Joystiq was low on details stating only that  the new adapter will allow gamers to, "seamlessly connect with their home network with the highest wireless 'N' technology." No information about an estimated release date or cost was provided.

Last week there were reports the Federal Communications Commission had reviewed an "Xbox 360 Wireless N Networking Adapter" that adheres to the 802.11n Wi-Fi protocol that was finally standardized. Several days later,  advertisements for the new adapter were spotted on a flier inside the Italian version of the Gears of War 2 Game of the Year Edition.

The advertisement shows both the older model A/B/G wireless adapter and the new model. In Microsoft's response to Joystiq, they referred to the new wireless adapter as, "another choice to consumers," which seems to indicate the current A/B/G adapter would not be immediately replaced with the new model.

It appears that Microsoft does not have anything to say about built-in wireless capabilities for the Xbox 360. Microsoft stated only that more details about the new adapter would be available soon and to stay tuned.

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Price cut
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 9/22/2009 11:57:28 AM , Rating: 2
If they're both gonna be sold together, I'm guessing that the G version will be dropped to $49.99 and the N model will retail for $99.99.

Microsoft wouldn't (shouldn't) be crazy enough to price the adapter above $100.




RE: Price cut
By h0kiez on 9/22/2009 12:33:22 PM , Rating: 2
Totally agree. Going over $100 would cause a revolt. I could see $79.99 on the B/G one though.


RE: Price cut
By tallcool1 on 9/22/2009 12:48:54 PM , Rating: 3
I thought both the 360 and PS3 had wireless ethernet already built-in?


RE: Price cut
By therealnickdanger on 9/22/2009 12:50:38 PM , Rating: 4
They all should .

:|


RE: Price cut
By KTLA on 9/22/2009 10:54:11 PM , Rating: 4
You want the rest of us to subsidize your wireless hardware costs why?


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/23/2009 3:24:44 AM , Rating: 1
This isn't raising the cost of each console, so that a few ppl can have wireless. Every single Wii or PS3 has wireless. Whether you use it or not, is up to you. Not a subsidy.


RE: Price cut
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 9/22/2009 12:53:39 PM , Rating: 2
The PS3 and Wii do, the Xbox 360 doesn't -- they make you pay $100 for that "honor".


RE: Price cut
By quiksilvr on 9/22/2009 1:37:43 PM , Rating: 2
I hope next time around these game console makers have their head on straight. Each side made some serious mistakes on their consoles when it comes to basic hardware functionality that even us mindless consumers have to scratch our heads and wonder.


RE: Price cut
By jonmcc33 on 9/22/2009 4:18:00 PM , Rating: 2
What did Sony do to make the PS3 lack any sort of hardware functionality? It came with everything from the beginning. Always has.


RE: Price cut
By Belard on 9/22/2009 8:51:12 PM , Rating: 3
HUH?

Sony's mistake is that the PS3's programming language is a bit harder than the 360s. Still, games come out - so its not a great excuse.

Sony gave the PS3 a longer life span. yeah, it was tough at $500 & 600... but Blue & HD-DVD players were $400~800 back then too.

The 360pro was a $400 console... it had a 20GB HD like the $500 PS3. But in the end, most people wanted the $600 model. And when "upgrading" the 360 to PS3 abilities - it ends up costing more.

$400 360-Pro / 20GB
$100 Wireless Adapter Ad-on.
$200 HD-DVD ad-on.
======================== $700 total Ouch.

Things have changed in the past two years and the PS3 is still at the same level the 360 is a year earlier.

And when HD-DVD died, MS does a 360 (yes pun) and says "Oh well - downloads was our goal anyways... huh? onto a 20GB drive? A 20GB drive holds so little info... then to upgrade to a 60GB model was $180, now about $100.

Xbox360 users are serial rape victims.


RE: Price cut
By The Raven on 9/23/2009 12:41:18 AM , Rating: 2
In response to your serial rape comment (and its ok, I don't take that personal since I was gifted an Elite ;-) ).

But I must point out that this concept of add ons does have its advantages for the consumer.

I admit that in the beginning I thought that it was stupid for Xbox to not include a BD/HDdvd player, wifi adaptor, or free online accounts, etc.

But since owning a Wii (by choice) and a 360 (gifted) I have noticed the advantages to this strategy.

Separate wireless adaptor:
Disadvantage:
-You have a white thing sticking off the back of your black 360!
Advantage:
-You don't HAVE to buy it (because we know that there isn't really anything free in these boxes).
-You don't have to get a new console to upgrade to wireless N.

Separate HD optical drive:
DISADVANTAGE:
-You have a white box sitting next to your black 360
ADVANTAGE:
-You don't HAVE to buy it.

As for the advantage of having to pay for Live subs, i think its a good thing like an a-hole tax, so little punks can't flood the virtual population with bogus accounts for free.

I currently have a wireless adaptor on my 360. But initially I didn't need it. I went about a year without one and then my boss bought it for me for Xmas. It sat in my closet until I moved across the country about a year later. I probably wouldn't have even bought one at this point but we will never know.

I know that this is an interesting story (NOT!) but my point is that you have the choice not to buy this other stuff if you don't need it. Since having HD rentals from Live Marketplace (which i've only rented one) and streaming Netflix, I have absolutely zero intention of buying a BluDisc player.

So if you want all of that stuff, then you may be right. But Had I bought a Premium personally I would've been fine. $400 out the door. But if I wanted a PS3 were talking $500.

So basically Sony talked you into buying a BD player, wifi adaptor, and HDMI output for $100. I'd say that's a bargain for that stuff, but just because something is on sale doesn't mean you have to buy it. And just because a system has more bells and whistles doesn't mean that its the better gaming/entertainment experience.

Though I don't think these are things to really complain about doesn't mean that I think M$ did everything right, I'm just pointing out the merits of this strategy. Don't even start me on the RROD or the loud DVD drive!!!


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/23/2009 3:54:10 AM , Rating: 2
With a PS3/Wii, you don't have a random adaptor hanging off your console. Also, you aren't having to spend $100 for something that isn't even worth $100 to get.

If you want Wireless N, you can just buy a WAP and direct connect into it.

It's also possible that they'll come out with a USB Wireless N adaptor for either of them. Not that it matters to me. I don't use the wireless or the media card reader in my PS3. I prefer Gig-E.

As for Xbox Live, you can't tell me there are little punks that flood the service. The sheer cost of the PS3, seems to keep the little punks out. We all know their parents wouldn't pay for something that expensive for them and they don't have the money to get it.


RE: Price cut
By The Raven on 9/23/2009 9:59:39 AM , Rating: 2
lol yeah there are a lot of punks on there, but that is actually what made me realize that charging (only) $50 per year reduces that problem. On the other hand, the free Gold trial kinda screws up that benefit.

And I also thought about those who could go with a 3rd party bridge/hacked router, but I figure the number of people doing that is minimal. But my point is that you have a choice to buy SOMETHING to connect wirelessly. And so now if you want wireless N, what was the point of "buying" the a/b/g adaptor that is included in the PS3. I just think that it would've been better for Sony if they could've left some things off that the consumer could choose to upgrade to if they want to and keep the initial price down.

...one more thought: If BD fails to take over the next gen of media (http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/... then you are in a similar situation as those who bought the HD-DVD add on for the Xbox. (Keep in mind that Xbox owners could still get a BD player if it is successful with either a stand alone player or addon if it becomes available).
But PS3 owners bought one whether it fails or not. I just say this because I know a lot of people who bought the PS3 because they thought that BD would best HD-DVD in the market, but now just stream stuff on their PC, Xbox or Tivo. Plus Redbox and services like Netflix are a lot cheaper when compared to BD purchases or rentals.

The funny thing is that, most of $ony's success of BD with consumers is because of it's inclusion in the PS3. Just read any report about that. So its inclusion is more of a benefit to Sony than any consumer.


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/24/2009 2:08:52 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
And so now if you want wireless N, what was the point of "buying" the a/b/g adaptor that is included in the PS3. I just think that it would've been better for Sony if they could've left some things off that the consumer could choose to upgrade to if they want to and keep the initial price down.


The thing now is the parts themselves are so cheap, it doesn't matter if it's included or not. It's like a $5 part.

Sony found that keeping the item out of the console, decreased it's chances of selling. Hence why the 20 gig PS3 without wireless was taken away.

quote:
...one more thought: If BD fails to take over the next gen of media (http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/... then you are in a similar situation as those who bought the HD-DVD add on for the Xbox. (Keep in mind that Xbox owners could still get a BD player if it is successful with either a stand alone player or addon if it becomes available).
But PS3 owners bought one whether it fails or not. I just say this because I know a lot of people who bought the PS3 because they thought that BD would best HD-DVD in the market, but now just stream stuff on their PC, Xbox or Tivo. Plus Redbox and services like Netflix are a lot cheaper when compared to BD purchases or rentals.


Whether BD fails or not, doesn't make it any less useful on the console. Games aren't limited to 9 gigs of data or having to encompass multiple DVDs.

But yes, you would lose out on having HD media on disc. As of right now, I don't see BD losing out. Just not taking off as fast as Sony would like.


RE: Price cut
By The Raven on 9/27/2009 12:12:54 AM , Rating: 2
Though I agree with what you are saying here for the most part, I'm not sure that BD won't get leapfrogged by the next media format. With these huge HDDs out, and Xbox offering games on demand, I can still see the possibility that the BD player ends up like the HD-DVD player.

The only problem I see with this one is that I don't see myself spending $30 for COD2!!

If it was a brand new game, I might pull the trigger, but as far as I'm concerned it's not quite there.

Also, you can get a lot of gaming content in a 9 gig disc. The games on demand are running Oblivion, Bioshock, and Assasin's creed for example run 5-7 GB each.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/gamesondemand/defa...

And as far as I can tell the studios aren't tripping over themselves to give us a ton of content to necessitate a 50GB disc.


RE: Price cut
By The Raven on 9/23/2009 10:21:15 AM , Rating: 2
Sorry, the link should be:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/...

(not used to posting links!)


RE: Price cut
By Belard on 9/26/2009 8:03:57 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
eparate wireless adaptor: Disadvantage: -You have a white thing sticking off the back of your black 360! Advantage: -You don't HAVE to buy it (because we know that there isn't really anything free in these boxes). -You don't have to get a new console to upgrade to wireless N. Separate HD optical drive: DISADVANTAGE: -You have a white box sitting next to your black 360 ADVANTAGE: -You don't HAVE to buy it.


Well, considering that both consoles are $300... it is even more off since those items are included.

What does MS want? They say the 360 is better because "unlike the PS3" its a pure game machine, but THEN MS had a HD-DVD option ($200) and now want to pipe stream/download movies to their "game machine".

quote:
So basically Sony talked you into buying a BD player, wifi adaptor, and HDMI output for $100.


I don't own ANY modern consoles. But if/when I want want, I'd pay $400 for a PS3 before $275 for an Xbox in a heartbeat.

quote:
on't even start me on the RROD or the loud DVD drive!

WHY? :)

Also, I could care less about "Wireless N", G/B is still faster than most people's Internet connection. N can/is supposed to work better through walls, thats about it.

Read the article. Blu-Ray is doing fine. I haven't seen a download match the quality or features of a blu-ray disc.

Rentals are a bit different than buying. There are movies I rent/on demand. If I want quality, I'm buying the disc.

Media centers can be the future... yes. I also think that Blu-Ray will be the LAST optical media we'll ever use. In the next 3~5 years, a flash-type card of 50~100GBs can be made cheap enough to hold movies. Nothing to get scratched and no DRIVE to design or develop or fail... no moving parts. Sorry, I just don't like DL DRM videos that are "locked" to my computer. Not flexible.


RE: Price cut
By artemicion on 9/22/2009 3:02:43 PM , Rating: 2
There are other considerations for selling wifi separately (and making it obscenely expensive). Perhaps Microsoft wanted to avoid the tech support costs for people who don't know how to set up wireless networks. Or perhaps Microsoft wants to secretly encourage people to use wired network connections to connect to xbox live to improve their live experience. Don't all hardcore internet players use wired connections for gaming anyway to reduce latency?


RE: Price cut
By dark matter on 9/22/2009 3:44:39 PM , Rating: 3
And wired mice and keyboards too!


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/23/2009 3:57:37 AM , Rating: 2
Internet connections don't push enough bandwith to stifle wireless speeds. At least, not in most of the US and Europe.

Me, I go wired, cause of my internal network. I'm constantly transferring large amounts of data between my desktop and file server. I need the higher speed of Gig-E.

For keyboard/mouse, I go wired. Wireless are just as good as wired nowadays, but I hate dealing with batteries. Nothing like playing a game, then having your mouse lag due to low batteries. That or it completely just turns off.


RE: Price cut
By Netscorer on 9/23/2009 7:30:07 PM , Rating: 2
You forget about signal strength that may greatly affect speed of your internet connection. While with wired configuration signal strength is almost constant (unless you use 100ft or longer wires), with wireless routers having full 5 bars and measly 1-2 bars can mean difference between great experience and lousy one.


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/24/2009 2:16:55 AM , Rating: 2
Wired is 100m or more (aka 300+ feet). As for signal strength, even at 1-2 bars, that's more bandwith than most ppl's connections. At least, those in America and Europe.

If you're rocking 10+ mbps connection, then I'd worry more about having only 1-2 bars.


RE: Price cut
By HackSacken on 9/24/2009 5:25:55 PM , Rating: 2
Never understood this mentality. 10+ mbps or 100+ mbps will give you same latency and performance when dealing with online gaming (unless you can find me a game that maxes out this bandwidth). Either speed will more than likely give you same route/hops which determine connection stability. Another subject, but I hate ISP advertising "GAMING SPEED Package" that just delivers more bandwidth. It's marketing taking advantage of the uninformed.

I'm assuming when he points out 1-2 bars wirelessly, you have other issues than bandwidth. IE, your connection is barely established due to interference or distance potentially causing packet loss which in turn makes for a bad online experience.


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/25/2009 4:19:41 AM , Rating: 2
If all you deal with is games, 1 mbps connection is more than enough. What I'm thinking of is online content that requires more bandwith. Streaming video, video teleconferencing, IP phones, P2P, direct downloading, etc. Huge difference between 10+ mbps and 100+ mbps.

Only time I'd see a difference between those speeds for gaming, is when you're downloading an update, expansion, or simply the whole game.

For signal strength, that doesn't have anything to do with interference. You can get 5 bars and some kind of interference can give you no connection at all, even though you can see those 5 bars.


RE: Price cut
By FITCamaro on 9/22/2009 12:34:14 PM , Rating: 2
The price drop would certainly be welcome.


RE: Price cut
By FlyTexas on 9/22/2009 1:36:43 PM , Rating: 4
Or...

You could just plug it into a wired connection... :)

Personally, I can't stand wireless, once you have a gigabit wired connection in your house, why would you go back.

We took the time and wired our house with Cat6 and was done with it. Makes life much easier...

For those in apartments or renters, I do understand... BTDT, never again... :)


RE: Price cut
By brybir on 9/22/2009 2:15:18 PM , Rating: 2
I would never wire my house with ethernet cable.

I prefer the ability to use my notebook anywhere in the house without a wire. I enjoy the ability to place my desktop PC's anywhere in any room without another cable running from yet another jack in the wall. I even bought a couple single booster devices so I can get wireless signal down by the river as well so I can stream music when I am down working on the boat or just grilling on the dock. Love that ability.

I have not had issues in at least a few years with wireless causing me any issues with latency or transfer speeds over the internet. If anything, my cable modem is the limiting factor in any event.

I suppose you could have your wiring and a wireless network as well but unless you absolutely need the "lowest latency" at all times, whats the difference?


RE: Price cut
By FITCamaro on 9/22/2009 2:52:35 PM , Rating: 2
Reliability. Wireless can be interfered with (I've had it happen). A cable is far more reliable. And faster to boot.

Not saying I don't use wireless. But when I have a house, I fully intend to wire the entire house with Cat6 cable.


RE: Price cut
By cleco on 9/22/2009 2:17:31 PM , Rating: 2
You know Cat 5e supports 1gb connections


RE: Price cut
By S3anister on 9/22/2009 2:35:28 PM , Rating: 2
Yes cat 5e supports 1gb transfers but the spec. was developed for when the majority of users had a 100mb connection, cat 6 is needed to reduce crosstalk over long distances of 1gb+ transfers.


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/23/2009 4:07:41 AM , Rating: 2
Huh?

Cat-6 - built for 10 Gbps connection
Cat-5e - built for 1 Gbps connection

Both limited to 100m.


RE: Price cut
By jonmcc33 on 9/22/2009 4:21:30 PM , Rating: 2
Not every home comes wired for network connectivity last time I checked. I couldn't imagine someone dragging their laptop around in the kitchen or outside with a network cable attached to it. That doesn't make much sense at all.


RE: Price cut
By afkrotch on 9/23/2009 4:09:32 AM , Rating: 2
But nothing keeps someone from simply purchasing a WAP, setting it behind/beside/in front/etc of their 360, PS3, or Wii, then jacking into it.

Bet it'd be cheaper to upgrade your 360, PS3, or Wii to Wireless N this way, then to purchase Microsoft's adapter.


Don't wait for this
By LTG on 9/22/2009 12:33:27 PM , Rating: 5
Just get a cheap wireless switch and plug the 360 into that.

Then you are set when other things need internet like a HTPC box, or your cable/satellite box for on demand.




RE: Don't wait for this
By StevoLincolnite on 9/22/2009 12:42:49 PM , Rating: 2
My set-up is pretty messy.

I have:

ADSL 2+ Gateway router, connected to a 4 port Wireless router, which then is connected to my laptops wireless connection 2 rooms away, then the laptop is connected to my Xbox 360 via Ethernet, which then is out-putted to my 32" LCD and 7.1 Sound system on a computer desk that I sit only about 2 feet away from, and game happily.

I do take a fairly large Latency hit, which places me at a disadvantage, but it gets the job done cheaply enough, and I don't have to run cables all through the house, which doesn't help with children around.

As you can imagine, Port forwarding all that is a perpetual pain in my posterior at times as well, unfortunately I've been holding off buying the Wireless adapter simply because of Price, at around $150 they can shove it where the sun doesn't shine, that's 2 weeks worth of food shopping!


RE: Don't wait for this
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 9/22/2009 12:46:06 PM , Rating: 1
Hrm so we go with Microsoft's for $76.
http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wireless-Network-Ad...

Or we can go with Linksys for $90...
http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WET54G-Wireless-G-Et...

Yea, somehow I just can't see the "cheap wireless switch" you speak of.


RE: Don't wait for this
By Murst on 9/22/2009 12:57:49 PM , Rating: 3
You can buy pretty much any dd-wrt compatible router and use the firmware to set it into bridge mode. It is fairly trivial, and it costs much less than the Xbox wireless adapter.

I have done this at home, and it cost me about $45 and an hour of my time using the linksys wrt54GL router.

Another advantage of this approach is that now I can plug in all my other devices into the router w/o having to configure wireless access on them ( for example, the PS3 and DirecTV is hooked up using wire now ). I suppose the PS3 doesn't matter, but the DTV HDDVR refused to connect to my wireless network, and this solution solved the problem.


RE: Don't wait for this
By deeznuts on 9/22/2009 1:02:38 PM , Rating: 2
I bought a belkin one for less than $20 on a slickdeals. It was a gaming adapter.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=...

From a year ago, but I would keep looking. Works great.


RE: Don't wait for this
By jonmcc33 on 9/22/2009 4:25:09 PM , Rating: 2
$45, an hour of your time and you are technically savvy. Stack that against a mere $30 more and just plug and play.

Hmmmmm, which will sell more? People will pay a premium for simplicity and ease of use.

Yet the stupid Microsoft USB Wifi adapter for the Xbox 360 costs them all of $5-10 to make anyway.


RE: Don't wait for this
By Murst on 9/22/2009 6:06:53 PM , Rating: 2
You do bring up a valid point, however, I have yet to encounter someone who is capable of connecting to any type of secured wireless network w/o being at least a bit tech savvy.

I guess the point I'm trying to make w/ this post is that if you are capable of connecting to a secured wireless network, you're most likely capable of configuring a router to act as a wireless bridge. Both of these actions require following pretty simple step-by-step instructions, something that ( at least from my experience ) is apparently very hard to do if it has anything to do w/ networking.


RE: Don't wait for this
By Murst on 9/22/2009 6:11:22 PM , Rating: 2
Also, as you'll notice from my previous post, I sure wasn't experienced enough to hook up my DirecTV receiver using wireless :)

( although that's probably due to DTV not supporting the encryption on my wireless network )


RE: Don't wait for this
By afkrotch on 9/23/2009 4:15:02 AM , Rating: 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

If you can connect your 360 with a wireless adapter to a wireless router and implement some kind of security, then you can connect your 360 with a wire to this WAP, put it in bridge mode, then connect to your wireless router.

All for $54.


RE: Don't wait for this
By afkrotch on 9/23/2009 4:18:15 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Yea, somehow I just can't see the "cheap wireless switch" you speak of.


It's called shopping around.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...


Couldn't you do this another way?
By fatedtodie on 9/23/2009 8:32:05 AM , Rating: 2
Couldn't you get a 20-30 dollar Cheapo wireless router, hookup wired from the 360 to it, and connect the wireless router ... wirelessly to your current router? yes it is more complicated, but it is also 1/3rd the price.

Conversely you can quit your whining, just buy the product and handle it, but that will never happen.




By fatedtodie on 9/23/2009 8:37:06 AM , Rating: 2
I get the moron award today for posting something someone else already did.

Oh well.


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