New Xbox 360 automatically shuts down before overheating

If you own a Microsoft Xbox 360 console, then you probably know about the "red ring of death" – those flashing red lights that signal a massive hardware failure. And you may have heard that the new Xbox 360, which was unveiled earlier this month, will never flash red, no matter how hard the console crashes (because the red lights have been removed). But here's something you probably don't know: the new Xbox 360 is rumored to feature a red dot, which will illuminate if your console begins to overheat.

According to Engadget, which has posted several screen shots, the latest iteration of the popular Xbox 360 console alerts gamers to possible overheating issues by way of a red light at the center of the power ring. If the gamer fails to shut down the Xbox 360, the system will shut itself down, and display the following message: "The Xbox 360 is shutting down to protect the console from insufficient ventilation."

The redesigned Xbox 360, which is noticeably slimmer than previous models, features a 250 GB hard drive, an array of USB ports, Wi-Fi capability and a new AUX port. The console, which was unveiled at last week's E3 conference in Los Angeles, is priced at $299. That puts the newest Xbox 360 at the same price point as the current top-of-the-line Xbox unit.

The Xbox 360 slim begins shipping immediately.

At E3, Microsoft also unveiled its controller-free Kinect motion-control system. Microsoft says the Kinect – which uses two cameras to capture the movements of an array of players – should ship sometime in November. But Microsoft will likely face stiff competition from both the new PlayStation Move and the aging Nintendo Wii.