New images showcasing the insides of Microsoft's new XBox 360 console have surfaced and modding website SmartXX claims they are genuine. The images have every bit of the console opened up and on display and suggest that the community is hard at work, exploring the potential and possibilities offered by the new hardware configuration.
With launch day over 3 months away and with Microsoft officials claiming that XBox 360 is just entering the production stage, the modding community already has its hands on the hardware and is trying to find out what makes it tick. Microsoft claims it has taken all the necessary steps to stop modders from finding ways of circumventing the security features of the X360. This is a critical time for any console as its security is tested at the hands of some of the most capable programmers.
In the past the modding of consoles has proved a controversial practice as console manufacturers claim it is something they wish to avoid even though some evidence suggests that modding helps sky-rocket console popularity. Sony's PS2 for example, was modded early on in its life cycle but definitely did not lose any money for the company although it may be argued, that lots more could have been made had it not been for modding. Either way no precise research is available to conclusively confirm the effects of modding on a console's money making potential and/or success. If a console manufacturer succeeds in making its console impenetrable it will also take a risk of losing out on hardware sales, it will be interesting to see if this time round Microsoft and Sony decide they have attracted a large enough audience to attempt such a move.
The fact that these images have appeared however, suggests that modders are already hard at work and will probably not stop until they achieve some breakthrough. It is also not clear if these images give Sony any additional knowledge about its rival's console which could provide it with an advantage, since Microsoft will almost certainly deny commenting on the images. It is however, doubtful that Sony will find something in these images that it didn't already know.
