Sitting next to my PlayStation 3 Slim, my Xbox 360 looks like it could stand to lose a few pounds. Rumors have been flying for months that Microsoft has its own smaller, lighter Xbox 360 up its sleeves. But that’s all they’ve been — rumors.
But according to the well-informed industry analyst Michael Pachter, a slim Xbox 360 certainly could be on the way. Microsoft just won’t call it the “Xbox 360 Slim,” he says, as Sony’s already laid claim to a similar moniker.
“I think there is a cheaper version of the Xbox 360 console coming out,” he said on GameTrailer’s “Pach Attack” web series. “I think it will probably have a different graphics card and processor, and if it does exist they will save around $20 [or] $30 on each unit.”
He also thinks that Microsoft wouldn’t cut the price on the console, instead bundling it with Natal or a 250GB hard drive. The idea, he says, would be to position Natal as “their future platform.”
As usual, this is all speculation — note the words “I think” and “if it does exist.” Pachter isn’t saying he knows anything for certain, but the guy knows his business. Perhaps we’ll see something revealed at E3, along with the the Natal experience Microsoft is promising.
