Game Informer confirms black and HDMI-enabled Xbox 360

April Fools is fast approaching and we know how it is around the gaming industry during this time of the year: revelations and surprises popping up left and right only to be taken back the following day with a “Happy April Fools day!” greeting.

This next one concerns the much-rumored black Xbox 360 and video game magazine Game Informer (GI). Before fans get crazy and haters become wild, let us inform you first that Matt Helgeson, Senior Editor for GI, said that this story is true and as a rule, they don’t publish fake stories for the April issue of Game Informer.

With that out of the way, here’s the real score: Microsoft is planning to release a new Xbox 360 before April ends. The new system will sport, among others, a 120GB hard drive, an HDMI output, and HDMI cables. The console will have an all-black color scheme, and its other accessories to be sold separately will use the same color scheme. The black Xbox 360 will cost US$ 479.

Quite interestingly, the console will not include HD-DVD playback. According to Game Informer’s sources at Microsoft, high-definition movie playback is being withheld for the Xbox 360 because “the format has not been proven yet.”

It would be remembered that back in February, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Shane Kim gave ambiguous statements on why their company is cutting shipment estimates for the current console.

April Fools is fast approaching and we know how it is around the gaming industry during this time of the year: revelations and surprises popping up left and right only to be taken back the following day with a “Happy April Fools day!” greeting.

This next one concerns the much-rumored black Xbox 360 and video game magazine Game Informer (GI). Before fans get crazy and haters become wild, let us inform you first that Matt Helgeson, Senior Editor for GI, said that this story is true and as a rule, they don’t publish fake stories for the April issue of Game Informer.

With that out of the way, here’s the real score: Microsoft is planning to release a new Xbox 360 before April ends. The new system will sport, among others, a 120GB hard drive, an HDMI output, and HDMI cables. The console will have an all-black color scheme, and its other accessories to be sold separately will use the same color scheme. The black Xbox 360 will cost US$ 479.

Quite interestingly, the console will not include HD-DVD playback. According to Game Informer’s sources at Microsoft, high-definition movie playback is being withheld for the Xbox 360 because “the format has not been proven yet.”

It would be remembered that back in February, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Shane Kim gave ambiguous statements on why their company is cutting shipment estimates for the current console.