Official Xbox 360? Thread...Part Deux

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: kedlav
Bad business decision IMO. While its a nice upgrade for the technically inclined (i.e. AT, AVS, etc. type crowds), a larger hard drive and hdmi output means practically nothing to the billions of people currently without 360's... the market Microsoft should be targeting. Already, Sony has shown the $400+ market for consoles is for fanbois, rich kids, and idiots. I could see this entering at the $400 price point with the premium moving to $300 and the core going away, but this just has flop written all over it, which is a shame, as Microsoft's been pretty smart so far with the 360.

Yup, this is the exact reason that when all these rumors were floating around abou the Elite, I was always skeptical. It just makes absolutely no sense for MS to do this from a business perspective.

Maybe they're trying to lure away those who would be willing to spend $600 on a PS3? The "fanboi, rich kid, and idiot" demographic?

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Well, the good news on the 120GB HDD is that it comes with a cable and software to transfer all your data from your existing 20GB HDD to the new 120GB HDD.

eBay to be flooded with 20GB HDDs now.

A good time to buy a core system and upgrade to a HDD for cheap.

I, for one, don't really have a need for any more than 20 GB. Unless all of this video content is free, I don't plan on downloading it.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: kedlav
Bad business decision IMO. While its a nice upgrade for the technically inclined (i.e. AT, AVS, etc. type crowds), a larger hard drive and hdmi output means practically nothing to the billions of people currently without 360's... the market Microsoft should be targeting. Already, Sony has shown the $400+ market for consoles is for fanbois, rich kids, and idiots. I could see this entering at the $400 price point with the premium moving to $300 and the core going away, but this just has flop written all over it, which is a shame, as Microsoft's been pretty smart so far with the 360.

Yup, this is the exact reason that when all these rumors were floating around abou the Elite, I was always skeptical. It just makes absolutely no sense for MS to do this from a business perspective.

Maybe they're trying to lure away those who would be willing to spend $600 on a PS3? The "fanboi, rich kid, and idiot" demographic?

Good point.

But from my perspective, it seems like they are trying to get the people who already own an Xbox360 and wanted a bigger HD/HDMI on their console. Most blogs/forum posts I've read about people who going to get them are from people who currently own an Xbox360.

But it's not like that makes up a large portion of their market. So yes, I definitely see your point now, and I didn't think of that prior.

 

[JDub02]

Anyone know if it's possible to stream videos from my PC to the XBox360 without having XP media center or Vista? Music and photos are coming across just fine, but then I select Videos, the xbox doesn't see any.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: kedlav
Bad business decision IMO. While its a nice upgrade for the technically inclined (i.e. AT, AVS, etc. type crowds), a larger hard drive and hdmi output means practically nothing to the billions of people currently without 360's... the market Microsoft should be targeting. Already, Sony has shown the $400+ market for consoles is for fanbois, rich kids, and idiots. I could see this entering at the $400 price point with the premium moving to $300 and the core going away, but this just has flop written all over it, which is a shame, as Microsoft's been pretty smart so far with the 360.

Yup, this is the exact reason that when all these rumors were floating around abou the Elite, I was always skeptical. It just makes absolutely no sense for MS to do this from a business perspective.

Maybe they're trying to lure away those who would be willing to spend $600 on a PS3? The "fanboi, rich kid, and idiot" demographic?

If anything, this is going to drive money towards the PS3. Look at it objectively. On one side, you have the 360 Elite.
-HDMI
-120gb HD
-Live

Then you have the 20gb PS3 with:
-HDMI
-BR
-Upgradeable 20gb HD via user
-Home in the fall

Most people won't care about the 20gb vs. 120gb issue, especially since you can use pretty much any of the smaller SATA hard drives without a problem. Live is a great selling point, but a lot of people still only play their consoles off-line. For $20 extra, you get a game console that traditionally has an extensive library and a next-gen movie player.

The game selection is much better on the 360, but if MS doesn't start cutting prices fast, they're setting themselves up for a big failure come the fall.

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: kedlav
Bad business decision IMO. While its a nice upgrade for the technically inclined (i.e. AT, AVS, etc. type crowds), a larger hard drive and hdmi output means practically nothing to the billions of people currently without 360's... the market Microsoft should be targeting. Already, Sony has shown the $400+ market for consoles is for fanbois, rich kids, and idiots. I could see this entering at the $400 price point with the premium moving to $300 and the core going away, but this just has flop written all over it, which is a shame, as Microsoft's been pretty smart so far with the 360.

Yup, this is the exact reason that when all these rumors were floating around abou the Elite, I was always skeptical. It just makes absolutely no sense for MS to do this from a business perspective.

Maybe they're trying to lure away those who would be willing to spend $600 on a PS3? The "fanboi, rich kid, and idiot" demographic?

Good point.

But from my perspective, it seems like they are trying to get the people who already own an Xbox360 and wanted a bigger HD/HDMI on their console. Most blogs/forum posts I've read about people who going to get them are from people who currently own an Xbox360.

But it's not like that makes up a large portion of their market. So yes, I definitely see your point now, and I didn't think of that prior.

As a current 360 owner, I have to admit I was tempted to "upgrade," but frankly it isn't worth it. If anything it's just the "gotta have the newest, biggest, bestest" syndrome. HDMI isn't going to make a dramatic difference on my 720p TV (and I have been more than pleased with component). I currently have 10GB free of the 13GB the "20GB" HD allows, and with Blockbuster Online, digital cable with On Demand and HD channels, as well as a networked computer with an internet connection, I have no use for renting movies or buying TV shows from the Marketplace. I don't foresee DLC and the occasional game demo warranting an upgrade to 120GB anytime soon.

Plus, I prefer my white XBOX .

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: kedlav
Bad business decision IMO. While its a nice upgrade for the technically inclined (i.e. AT, AVS, etc. type crowds), a larger hard drive and hdmi output means practically nothing to the billions of people currently without 360's... the market Microsoft should be targeting. Already, Sony has shown the $400+ market for consoles is for fanbois, rich kids, and idiots. I could see this entering at the $400 price point with the premium moving to $300 and the core going away, but this just has flop written all over it, which is a shame, as Microsoft's been pretty smart so far with the 360.

Yup, this is the exact reason that when all these rumors were floating around abou the Elite, I was always skeptical. It just makes absolutely no sense for MS to do this from a business perspective.

Maybe they're trying to lure away those who would be willing to spend $600 on a PS3? The "fanboi, rich kid, and idiot" demographic?

If anything, this is going to drive money towards the PS3. Look at it objectively. On one side, you have the 360 Elite.
-HDMI
-120gb HD
-Live

Then you have the 20gb PS3 with:
-HDMI
-BR
-Upgradeable 20gb HD via user
-Home in the fall

Most people won't care about the 20gb vs. 120gb issue, especially since you can use pretty much any of the smaller SATA hard drives without a problem. Live is a great selling point, but a lot of people still only play their consoles off-line. For $20 extra, you get a game console that traditionally has an extensive library and a next-gen movie player.

The game selection is much better on the 360, but if MS doesn't start cutting prices fast, they're setting themselves up for a big failure come the fall.

Mark my words the 360 will own this fall. Halo 3, GTA IV, PGR4 all dropping this fall on the 360, yea, it's going to be serious business. If they revise all of the 360s to include at least HDMI plus 65nm and the Elite sees a price drop as well as the core, game over. They are getting to point of moving past the hardcore gaming market and into the casuals, that will be key for this fall. December was huge month for MS last year with over 1 million sold in the US alone. This holiday season will be no different MS will certainly be eyeing mom/pop and the kids. This move is simply about more choice, and you can guarantee it is going to move some consoles on launch and potentially grab some of those on the line Sony fans.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: BigJ

If anything, this is going to drive money towards the PS3. Look at it objectively. On one side, you have the 360 Elite.
-HDMI
-120gb HD
-Live

Then you have the 20gb PS3 with:
-HDMI
-BR
-Upgradeable 20gb HD via user
-Home in the fall

Most people won't care about the 20gb vs. 120gb issue, especially since you can use pretty much any of the smaller SATA hard drives without a problem. Live is a great selling point, but a lot of people still only play their consoles off-line. For $20 extra, you get a game console that traditionally has an extensive library and a next-gen movie player.

The game selection is much better on the 360, but if MS doesn't start cutting prices fast, they're setting themselves up for a big failure come the fall.

Mark my words the 360 will own this fall. Halo 3, GTA IV, PGR4 all dropping this fall on the 360, yea, it's going to be serious business. If they revise all of the 360s to include at least HDMI plus 65nm and the Elite sees a price drop as well as the core, game over. They are getting to point of moving past the hardcore gaming market and into the casuals, that will be key for this fall. December was huge month for MS last year with over 1 million sold in the US alone. This holiday season will be no different MS will certainly be eyeing mom/pop and the kids. This move is simply about more choice, and you can guarantee it is going to move some consoles on launch and potentially grab some of those on the line Sony fans.

You have Halo 3 going up against the highly touted Heavenly Sword on the PS3 come the fall. GTA IV is having a simultaneous release on the PS3 and 360 (going by IGN's release dates) instead of the sole PS3 release which hurt them tremendously. Going against PGR4, Sony is releasing a myriad of racing games throughout the summer and fall.

Come the fall, the PS3 is going to have a much more extensive line-up with your typical cross-platform games. People won't be able to bitch about the game library anymore. On top of that, Home is releasing, and from what I've seen of it, it looks pretty snazzy.

Plain and simple, the Elite needs either a price-cut or more features. Otherwise, they're in trouble. They'll be bleeding to the Wii at the low-end segment and bleeding to the PS3 at the premium market. Putting the Elite at $400 and the Premium at $300 or even $330 would've killed Sony and taken a big chunk out of Nintendo.

 

[raystorm]

Jetpac seems alright. I never played the original (or even heard of it) but the remake looks nice and plays well enough. Not sure if I'll buy it though.

I did pick up Alien Hominid and Castlevania and of course Castlevania is wonderful but Hominid has me torn. It looks fantastic and controls great but it does a lot of things wrong like an insane amount of cheap hits, regular enemies appearing in boss battles (just leave it as you against the boss please), too much stuff in the foreground hiding your character and so on.. It is good once you start mastering the roll and memorize boss patterns. I think Behemoth should play the entire Metal Slug series and pattern a sequel after it as I consider the Metal Slug series as a perfect example of how to do sidescrolling shooters.

I thought about getting Earth Defense Force for some cheap shooting action. I know its a "budget" game (40 bucks is budget these days???) but it seems like a nice turn your brain off, serious sam type of game.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: BigJ

If anything, this is going to drive money towards the PS3. Look at it objectively. On one side, you have the 360 Elite.
-HDMI
-120gb HD
-Live

Then you have the 20gb PS3 with:
-HDMI
-BR
-Upgradeable 20gb HD via user
-Home in the fall

Most people won't care about the 20gb vs. 120gb issue, especially since you can use pretty much any of the smaller SATA hard drives without a problem. Live is a great selling point, but a lot of people still only play their consoles off-line. For $20 extra, you get a game console that traditionally has an extensive library and a next-gen movie player.

The game selection is much better on the 360, but if MS doesn't start cutting prices fast, they're setting themselves up for a big failure come the fall.

Mark my words the 360 will own this fall. Halo 3, GTA IV, PGR4 all dropping this fall on the 360, yea, it's going to be serious business. If they revise all of the 360s to include at least HDMI plus 65nm and the Elite sees a price drop as well as the core, game over. They are getting to point of moving past the hardcore gaming market and into the casuals, that will be key for this fall. December was huge month for MS last year with over 1 million sold in the US alone. This holiday season will be no different MS will certainly be eyeing mom/pop and the kids. This move is simply about more choice, and you can guarantee it is going to move some consoles on launch and potentially grab some of those on the line Sony fans.

You have Halo 3 going up against the highly touted Heavenly Sword on the PS3 come the fall. GTA IV is having a simultaneous release on the PS3 and 360 (going by IGN's release dates) instead of the sole PS3 release which hurt them tremendously. Going against PGR4, Sony is releasing a myriad of racing games throughout the summer and fall.

Come the fall, the PS3 is going to have a much more extensive line-up with your typical cross-platform games. People won't be able to bitch about the game library anymore. On top of that, Home is releasing, and from what I've seen of it, it looks pretty snazzy.

Plain and simple, the Elite needs either a price-cut or more features. Otherwise, they're in trouble. They'll be bleeding to the Wii at the low-end segment and bleeding to the PS3 at the premium market. Putting the Elite at $400 and the Premium at $300 or even $330 would've killed Sony and taken a big chunk out of Nintendo.

The 360 will always bleed to the Wii regardless. That point doesn't matter.

Bleeding to the PS3, when it's still cheaper than either version? Doubt it. Business wise, yes it'd make more sense to lower the price to $400 to put the screws on, but they're not needing to at the current moment. They might end up dropping the Core sku and moving the Premium to $299 and the "Elite" (in white) to $399...think that was the original plan when the Elite in Black was no longer being made.

 

[gourmettea]

No WiFi?!?!?!?!?

Trying to read all the articles and no mention of WiFi.

Like the black but if MS wants to sell a "Elite" version they should have included wireless connectivity.

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: gourmettea
No WiFi?!?!?!?!?

Trying to read all the articles and no mention of WiFi.

Like the black but if MS wants to sell a "Elite" version they should have included wireless connectivity.

not very elite is it?

 

[mflacy]

Originally posted by: BigJ
You have Halo 3 going up against the highly touted Heavenly Sword on the PS3 come the fall.

LOL, I've played the build of Heavenly Sword at E3. It's a great game, but I seriously doubt it will hold a candle to the monster that is Halo 3. Even if Halo 3 turns out to be mediocre, it's going to sell millions of Xbox 360's just because it's Halo.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

The only good thing about the HDMI output is in 5 years for HD-DVD when the studios begin to use the content flag that will down convert the signal over component. Other than that, it does not give any new video resolutions due to the VGA being able to output to 1080p and most games being upconverted anyway from 720p.

If you listened to Major Nelson's podcast they were talking about how building in wireless connectivity is pointless because not a lot of people connect to the internet wirelessly. If they were to include it in the console they would have to raise the price for people who would not be using that feature.

The larger HDD is the thing that most people probably care about due to the ability to download more movies and games and when IPTV comes out the ability to record more content. Other then that, the black color really is a nonfactor due to you can buy black controllers and if you really wanted to you could spraypaint your 360 black.

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: BigJ

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: BigJ

If anything, this is going to drive money towards the PS3. Look at it objectively. On one side, you have the 360 Elite.
-HDMI
-120gb HD
-Live

Then you have the 20gb PS3 with:
-HDMI
-BR
-Upgradeable 20gb HD via user
-Home in the fall

Most people won't care about the 20gb vs. 120gb issue, especially since you can use pretty much any of the smaller SATA hard drives without a problem. Live is a great selling point, but a lot of people still only play their consoles off-line. For $20 extra, you get a game console that traditionally has an extensive library and a next-gen movie player.

The game selection is much better on the 360, but if MS doesn't start cutting prices fast, they're setting themselves up for a big failure come the fall.

Mark my words the 360 will own this fall. Halo 3, GTA IV, PGR4 all dropping this fall on the 360, yea, it's going to be serious business. If they revise all of the 360s to include at least HDMI plus 65nm and the Elite sees a price drop as well as the core, game over. They are getting to point of moving past the hardcore gaming market and into the casuals, that will be key for this fall. December was huge month for MS last year with over 1 million sold in the US alone. This holiday season will be no different MS will certainly be eyeing mom/pop and the kids. This move is simply about more choice, and you can guarantee it is going to move some consoles on launch and potentially grab some of those on the line Sony fans.

You have Halo 3 going up against the highly touted Heavenly Sword on the PS3 come the fall. GTA IV is having a simultaneous release on the PS3 and 360 (going by IGN's release dates) instead of the sole PS3 release which hurt them tremendously. Going against PGR4, Sony is releasing a myriad of racing games throughout the summer and fall.

Come the fall, the PS3 is going to have a much more extensive line-up with your typical cross-platform games. People won't be able to bitch about the game library anymore. On top of that, Home is releasing, and from what I've seen of it, it looks pretty snazzy.

Plain and simple, the Elite needs either a price-cut or more features. Otherwise, they're in trouble. They'll be bleeding to the Wii at the low-end segment and bleeding to the PS3 at the premium market. Putting the Elite at $400 and the Premium at $300 or even $330 would've killed Sony and taken a big chunk out of Nintendo.

If you believe, I really can't believe I need to say this, that heavenly sword will hold a candle to Halo 3 this year, you are far, far mistaken my friend. Listening to the 1up pod cast last week or the one before that they stated in recent public surveys of games coming out this year, Halo 3 beats the competition by miles and miles on the anticipation meter. I do not even recall them stating heavenly sword in the top 10. Regardless, the PS3 is not going to see anywhere near the sales the 360 will this year. It hasn?t beaten the 360 for the first two NPDs this year and highly doubt it beats it at any point this year, month over month. Moreover the first party line up that MS has in store this year, is quite frankly, the best I?ve seen from any company in years. Time will tell my friend.

Oh yea, the only racing game that will see serious numbers this summer is Forza 2, plain and simple. DIRT may do well, but that is multi so the point is moot.

 

[Queasy]

Crackdown Auto-Update is out

Next time your pop your Crackdown disc in (and you are connected to Xbox Live) you?ll get prompted for a title update. According to what I am told, The update ?addresses several minor technical issues to ensure a smoother online gameplay experience? and ?increases the number of ambient gang vehicles that populate Pacific City.? That last one should held with the ?Repo Man? achievement.

There ya have it. What?s up with any DLC? No details yet?but we should have some news soon in it.

 

[Queasy]

The GTAIV trailer is up on Marketplace for download.

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Crackdown Auto-Update is out

Next time your pop your Crackdown disc in (and you are connected to Xbox Live) you?ll get prompted for a title update. According to what I am told, The update ?addresses several minor technical issues to ensure a smoother online gameplay experience? and ?increases the number of ambient gang vehicles that populate Pacific City.? That last one should held with the ?Repo Man? achievement.

There ya have it. What?s up with any DLC? No details yet?but we should have some news soon in it.

This is good news. My buddy and I have experienced a lot of lag and dropped connection issues when trying to play co-op. Hopefully this will make it less of an issue.

 

[Queasy]

New Halo 2 Maps on April 17th

It's true! here's the digest version: Two new maps, both available on April 17th through the Halo 2 downloader in the game itself, and it's just $4 for the pair.The maps ar Tombstone and Desolation - remakes of Hang 'Em High and Derelict, respectively.

Go look at 'em right now: New Halo 2 Map Shots!

It's an original Xbox download, so there's no way to use MS points - and you WILL need an Xbox Live Gold account to download and play, since the original Xbox (even in BC mode) can't tell the difference between gold and silver. But you CAN use these on 360, just so we're clear. You just need to use a credit card for the purchase, instead of marketplace points. We'll have LOTS more info in the update later today, and in the meantime, here's the full text of the press release:

______________________________________________________________

HALO 2 MULTIPLAYER MAPS REVEALED

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today confirmed the upcoming release of two new, eagerly awaited downloadable maps for ?Halo® 2.? The maps will be available as premium downloadable content for Xbox® and Xbox 360? on April 17.

Fans of the original ?Halo? have long requested the addition of some of their favorite maps to the critically acclaimed multiplayer experience of ?Halo 2.? These re-creations, developed by Bungie and Certain Affinity Inc., are a perfect way to thank fans for their support as they surpass 800 million hours of ?Halo 2? gaming on Xbox LIVE®.

The two maps will bring new life to ancient battlefields and legendary skirmishes, as both are new, improved and redesigned remakes of fan favorites from the original ?Halo: Combat Evolved.? For the price of $4 for the pair, these maps bring a fresh burst of action to the seminal ?Halo 2? online multiplayer experience. Both of the maps will be available through the ?Halo 2? in-game content downloader for both Xbox and Xbox 360.*

The king of ?Halo? maps has returned at last. Hang ?Em High, arguably the most popular multiplayer map for the original title, has been reimagined for ?Halo 2? as Tombstone, with all-new graphics, features and a few hidden surprises. Now fans will enjoy the dangerous catwalks and trenches that made this the most requested ?Halo? multiplayer map ever, with a modernized ?Halo 2? flavor.

The second map, Desolation, is a symmetrical, Deathmatch-oriented map and a beautiful remake of the original Derelict. With new graphics and effects and a massive gameplay overhaul, the old favorite is now faster-paced and more balanced than ever ? perfect for intense ?Halo 2? combat.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Queasy
New Halo 2 Maps on April 17th

It's true! here's the digest version: Two new maps, both available on April 17th through the Halo 2 downloader in the game itself, and it's just $4 for the pair.The maps ar Tombstone and Desolation - remakes of Hang 'Em High and Derelict, respectively.

Go look at 'em right now: New Halo 2 Map Shots!

It's an original Xbox download, so there's no way to use MS points - and you WILL need an Xbox Live Gold account to download and play, since the original Xbox (even in BC mode) can't tell the difference between gold and silver. But you CAN use these on 360, just so we're clear. You just need to use a credit card for the purchase, instead of marketplace points. We'll have LOTS more info in the update later today, and in the meantime, here's the full text of the press release:

______________________________________________________________

HALO 2 MULTIPLAYER MAPS REVEALED

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today confirmed the upcoming release of two new, eagerly awaited downloadable maps for ?Halo® 2.? The maps will be available as premium downloadable content for Xbox® and Xbox 360? on April 17.

Fans of the original ?Halo? have long requested the addition of some of their favorite maps to the critically acclaimed multiplayer experience of ?Halo 2.? These re-creations, developed by Bungie and Certain Affinity Inc., are a perfect way to thank fans for their support as they surpass 800 million hours of ?Halo 2? gaming on Xbox LIVE®.

The two maps will bring new life to ancient battlefields and legendary skirmishes, as both are new, improved and redesigned remakes of fan favorites from the original ?Halo: Combat Evolved.? For the price of $4 for the pair, these maps bring a fresh burst of action to the seminal ?Halo 2? online multiplayer experience. Both of the maps will be available through the ?Halo 2? in-game content downloader for both Xbox and Xbox 360.*

The king of ?Halo? maps has returned at last. Hang ?Em High, arguably the most popular multiplayer map for the original title, has been reimagined for ?Halo 2? as Tombstone, with all-new graphics, features and a few hidden surprises. Now fans will enjoy the dangerous catwalks and trenches that made this the most requested ?Halo? multiplayer map ever, with a modernized ?Halo 2? flavor.

The second map, Desolation, is a symmetrical, Deathmatch-oriented map and a beautiful remake of the original Derelict. With new graphics and effects and a massive gameplay overhaul, the old favorite is now faster-paced and more balanced than ever ? perfect for intense ?Halo 2? combat.

wow that's awesome they are still supporting that game. i will be picking them up and popping halo 2 back in for the first time in a long time

 

[Kev]

$4 for 2 rehashed maps for a 2+ year old game? are you kidding me?

 

[PricklyPete]

I think I've finally figured out what Microsoft's strategy is and why they have not dropped the price yet. They are waiting for the 65nm chip to officially reduce the price. They probably had hoped to have the 65nm chips ready already, but since that was not the case, they wanted to release the 120GB harddrive (so that their DL movies and TV seem more usable) as well as HDMI. Now when the 65nm chip actually comes out they could potentially have 3 SKU's

$399 - Xbox 360 "Elite" although it might be called something else
$329 - Xbox 360 Premium
$249 - Xbox 360 Core

A lot of people keep saying that they will get rid of the Core...but I don't see that happening. I do see them trying to match Nintendo with the Core price before the next holiday season so that Nintendo won't have the distinction of having the cheapest hardware. We all know how useless the Core system is without the Hard Drive...but honestly that is a good thing for MS. A lot of parents are very likely to pick up Cores for Johnny and Sue...but then go and buy a hard drive later that year when the kids scream that they want to connect up with Bobby across the street to chainsaw him in half over some Gears.

While I think releasing a product so closely priced to the PS3 is stupid, when price cuts come around in the fall and MS can drop the price of that product to $400...people will start to see it as a super deal. I don't think Sony will be able to drop the price anytime soon...certainly not until after the Holiday season.

 

[herkulease]

I would hope that if and when they switch to the 65nm chips they'd include HDMI ports on the rest of the systems.

logically and economically they would as who would create and entire line just to make one product, when you can make 3 with only slight variations between them in packaging.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Kev
$4 for 2 rehashed maps for a 2+ year old game? are you kidding me?

I guess you are unaware that Halo 2 is by far the most played game on Xbox Live to this day.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: herkulease
I would hope that if and when they switch to the 65nm chips they'd include HDMI ports on the rest of the systems.

logically and economically they would as who would create and entire line just to make one product, when you can make 3 with only slight variations between them in packaging.

<shrug> We'll see. You'd think they would only because it would probably be more economical to produce three different SKUs with no differences in the motherboard or the case beyond the paint job and the HDD.