pestario

just had this discussion in another forum, was ebgames pushing another guy to try and preorder games. Must be a thing they are trying to push through corporate.

My opinion and the concencous on the other board is that while the Harware may very well be hard to find the games should be plentiful and are easy to mass produce, so even if for some reason a tile were to sell out you won't be waiting long for it to be in stock, while the hardware is another story.

DJ_Longfellow

I don't see any point in reserving games. I'm sure some MIGHT be hard to find at first, give it a week and they should be plentiful. I remember HALO being tough to find, but it could be had after a few minutes of looking.

If I DO pre-order any games, I will get them at GameRush (if they have any deals between now and then)

mrpayroll

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=11420

Microsoft confirms official Xbox Live 360 pricing

Rob Fahey 14:54 09/09/2005
Gold and Premium Gold packages to be offered to X360 users this Christmas

Details of the various pricing plans for the Xbox Live service on Xbox 360 have been officially revealed, confirming earlier reports which hinted at a variety of subscription packs with different price points and benefits.

The basic pricing for Xbox Live Gold - as the subscription service is known, distinguishing it from the free Xbox Live Silver service - is $7.99 per month, with a three month subscription priced at $19.99 and twelve months at $49.99.

These subscriptions can be purchased directly through the Xbox Live Dashboard using a credit card, or acquired from retail outlets, and will give users access to play online games and use the matchmaking functions of the Xbox Live service, as well as doing all the things that Silver users can such as voice and text messaging, downloading demos and trailers and accessing the Xbox Live Marketplace.

However, two other more expensive packages will also be launched, which will only be available through retail outlets.

The Xbox Live Premium Gold Packs will be available in three-month and one-year variants, priced at $39.99 and $69.99 respectively. Both packs will include all of the Gold features, along with an Xbox Live headset and access to an Xbox Live Arcade game - Joust for three-month subscribers, and Bankshot Billiards for twelve month subscribers.

Three month subscribers will also receive a $10 mail-in rebate coupon for any Xbox 360 games, and 100 points to spend in the Xbox Live Marketplace, while twelve month subscribers get a $20 rebate and 200 marketplace points.

European pricing for the service has yet to be announced, but is likely to match up closely with the American price points.


Chris

DJ_Longfellow

I know the 12 month kit comes with a headset, but do we really need TWO headsets? I know the premium bundle comes with one. Although, the $20 coupon is nice

goLUCKY

nope. IMO, it's just hype.

Save Ferris

Thats what I was thinking. And what if the 12 mo people want joust instead of billiards?

flashburn

They still sell the same 12 month game cards, so those of us who got the premium bundle and don't need another headset can just get that for $50.

DJ_Longfellow

Yeah, but do you still get the $20 rebate? If so, that's a GREAT deal....if not, it's almost like gettign the headset for free

Tommy Ceez

I dont have time to read 28 pages, so Ill just ask..

I have an older Mitsubishi 55' WS and need to now if the 360 will output 1080i/p over componant cables.

Flay

http://perfectdarkzero.com/

sdcrym

I believe that's the only way, actually.

BigDave

Yeah, I don't think there are DVI/HDMI cables for it. Maybe in the future though.

Tommy Ceez

So the XBox basically screws the MPAA's fight to have all HDDVD copy protected?!?

If this is true, its genius! Basically as many XBox'es will be sold to non-DVI equipped HDTV owners as will be sold to gamers!

hippochris

Too dark for me to see anything in this bright office, but I guess that's the point.

sureAV421

360 has a standard DVD-ROM, not HD.

Tommy Ceez

Im a bit of a dimwit, but how does it output 1080 games then?

Save Ferris

upscaling?

sdcrym

The medium/drive has nothing to do with it aside from storage capacity and playing actual movie discs. A movie disc has detailed information about each frame, so a higher resolution requires more storage space. The HD disc formats have a much higher storage capacity than the current DVDs. The only thing stored on a game disc is the code and other necessary data, such as textures, audio, etc., which don't require as much space.

For example, if you watched a DVD of somebody running across a room, it would read each frame of motion separately from the DVD. If you ran your character in a game across the room, each new frame is generated by the console from the same wall textures, character models, etc., so less storage space is required. The difference is the hardware in the (more expensive) console is more complicated and can generate each frame at whatever resolution, whereas a movie player just does its thing to get each frame from the disc to the screen.

In summary, the in-game resolution has more to do with processing power. That is, there's a greater demand on the system for higher resolutions, so it may cause slowdown, bad framerates, etc. if the system can't handle it. Some current generation games output in 1080, but they're rare. The movie resolution depends mostly on the storage space of the media and the length of the movie.

joshd2012

I doubt it will upscale movies from 480p to 1080i or 720p. More likely than not, it will display them in their true resolution and leave it up the TV to upscale it (if necessary).

flashburn

Yeah, pretty much a free headset. Only catch is since it is a mailin you have to wait, so it might not be worth it for some. I'll probably do it once just to get an extra headset and just get the cards after that.

MasterofDVD

I'm not the east but worried about the "hot" titles selling out. As much as I'm dying to get my 360....Tiger is the only game I need at launch and the details of the game are still pretty much unknown. They have yet to sell me on the other games. I'll be reading reviews and researching them until launch day where I will then stroll into a local store and pick out what I want.

SteelgearX

Just a thought I had reading some of your posts... I notice a lot of you are hyped for the system, but not the games. So, what's the point of having a shiny new 360 on launch day if you're not really hyped for the games?

jeffdsmith

Doh!

Gallant Pig

Yeah I agree, that's weird. Personally I'm sold on the games, looks like a tight lineup with good stuff in the hopper.

Will the PS3's best launch game be FantaVision 2 this time?

flashburn

Yeah, I think the launch lineup is pretty good. Looking forward to picking up or at least renting about 5-8 launch/near launch titles.