raven56706

the one thing i didnt like was that for the same price as the gamestop silver bundle, i got only 2 games of my choice but in the game stop bundle i got 5 games.

Gallant Pig

Do you know how much portable MP3 players cost? And you think MS should make people create their own portable HDDs? I want what you're smoking.

Josh H

They solved that problem by making the hard drive detachable and easily replacable and havign the option to save all games to the memory card so you can back them up.

The problem with this Gen's HD is that it's internal and many games don't allow copying saves to the mem cards.

So they essentially solved the problem I had with the HD, but then turned around and made it useless as theres no chance for it to be used in gameplay now other than crap like custom soundtracks that I don't use.

MasterofDVD

After the comments about it being weird I'm excited about the system and none of the games I have to say I think I'm finally sold on PDZ. The new XBOX magazine had some info and the co-op mode sounds great. I'm going to try and talk my one friend into getting it as well.

Apollo

I am very excited about the 360. If Ninty can put out a untested controller and have people falling over for it and Sony put out their usual vaporware then let me have my 360.

tylatz

Since we are probably on the opposite sides of the planet, no. I've got to go eat in a bit so I'm not looking it up right now.

And I also don't think MS should do that. Like I said, I would suggest it, but it wouldn't work out. It is easy to create your own portable too, but if the case is well designed it's very simple. All you have to do is buy the HDD and put it in the case. Quick, simple hook up. One of my friends has about six HDD's that he switches between his external case as if they were some old cartridge games. If it were possible for everything to work this way then the consumer themselves could choose the type of HDD they want.

Computer technology is getting very user friendly. My mom can replace a modem faster than I can now. O.o

And Michael, maybe I'm just a little jaded here since I'm used to my 300 gb SATA2 HDD. They would be better off going with a larger hdd than the notebook sized ones, IMHO. That way they could shave costs and lower the price.

joshd2012

Looks like those who wait, will save some big bucks:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...(que)id=125729

Adam Tyner

...although to be pessimistic -- just because they're cutting down on what they pay doesn't mean those savings will be passed on.

Michael Corvin

If they lose even half that on the 360, I don't see them sticking around at all.

DJ_Longfellow

It is inevitable that the price will drop eventually....now, when will they drop it..who knows. I cannot believe people are already looking for a price drop on a system that is not even released yet....

Josh H

Yep. I doubt they'll lose that much though. As long as the sell at least as many 360's as X-boxes they should be fine. With the $400 tag they're obviously not taking as much of a hit per console as they were with the X-box.

Josh H

It's priced out of a lot of people's range, so of course those people who want one are anxious for a price drop.

Flay

The first price drop is dependent on the PS3 price and it's release date. It's as simple as that. It may turn out to be a year from now if Sony's Spring 2006 launch window is bullshit.

DJ_Longfellow

Do you really think MS will drop the price IF the PS3 is priced $100 higher than XBOX360?

flashburn

Do you mean if the PS3 launches at $400 or $500?

MS has already said that they plan on discontinuing the $300 package and then dropping the price of the $400 down to $300 when the PS3 comes out.

DJ_Longfellow

I didn't realize they were dropping the $300 version and then droppign the price. Would make sense. Yeah, I can see the PS3 launching at around $500....but I haven't followed it.

Schloob1

You have an exact qoute somewhere from a MS official saying this, I am sure you have read speculation by plenty of video game sites,etc? Before a system is even released would I dare think a company would say, "Yeah just so you know, if you just wait until this spring you will get our sytem for $300 instead of all those early people at launch that paid $400." If the PS3 comes out at $500, MS can and probably would only have to say something like purchase a system and say get Halo 3 for free with the premium package. Sure us launch people would have to pay for the game but we planned on doing that already. However, people on the fence, could now say I also get the great game Halo 3. If PS3 does come at $400, then the 360 will most definitely come down but by how much? All I have heard is speculation of what price drops will be but not actual statements by MS officials.

Flay

2 great videos:

The first walks through the general layout of the hardware. A new fact I picked up: The controller has 4 little lights around the ring of light. If you are playing with 3 other friends, the one of the lights will signify your position on the screen. So if you are the 3rd player, the bottom left light will stay on.

http://trailers.gametrailers.com/gt_...pisode1_gt.mov

The second video is chock full of new stuff about the dashboard and Xbox Live:

http://trailers.gametrailers.com/gt_...pisode2_gt.mov

- Your gamertag can be changed at anytime, but doesn't change your reputation.

- Matchmaking is more complex. If you have a high reputation, you will be grouped with people with high reputations. The same goes for the opposite end of the spectrum. So if you like to cheat, grief, curse, or just be a general asshole, you get to play with all the other assholes.

- Each Xbox 360 game has a minimum of 5 achievements that must add up to 1000 gamerscore points.

- When people send you a friend's request, you can listen to their voicemail. You can also view thier profile which will let you compare the games you both play and the gamerscore each game has. You can even compare achievements for any particular game.

- Rich Presence is a new feature you can see when your friends were last on, how long they played, what game they played, and in some games it's even more specific. Example: "Bruiser is playing Madden 2006 right now Panthers vs. Titans. The game is in the 3rd quarter and the score is 21-7." Rich Presence can also be turned off for those paranoid gamers.

- There is a recent players list that you can use if you want to add a friend or find someone you just played with.

- The Xbox 360 comes with 9 preloaded themes on the console, mostly themed around their system sellers, Halo, DOA, etc.

flashburn

It was a quote from a MS rep. It is somewhere in this 25+ page thread.

tylatz

A Sony official has already stated that they believe they can keep their system below $360 at launch. The exact figure he gave was in yen so this may vary based on exchange rate fluctuations and the roundness of the number. They may be able to sell at the $349.99 mark which would really push Microsoft on the price drop and maybe entice them to throw in something extra.

I don't have a link for the reference, but I believe I can find it if anyone wants it.

Josh H

Actually, I think the push will be on Sony.

MS will probably drop price on the 360 to $300 for the full pack with HDD as noted above, and thus force sony to launch at $299-349 if they want to compete.

DJ_Longfellow

I believe it all when we see it. XBOX360 was SUPPOSED to be $300 at launch too (for the REAL system)....we all see how that went, not that I'm really complaining.

Josh H

The $360 is launching against no competition though.

Sony will have pressure to compete with the price of the 360 at the time of their launch.

Maybe the price of the Revolution as well if Nintendo launches as the same time. Though I doubt Sony will factor that in as they don't consider Nintendo to be direct competition anymore.

joeblow69

I don't know about that. Has a major console EVER had a $100 price drop within the first year? I could see a $50 drop and a pack in game, maybe.

Josh H

I was going by this post.


I see it as MS is just launching at $400 to cut down on loss as they know the diehard early adopters will buy it at that price since they have to have the latest and greatest thing and there's no competition now.

Then they can drop down to $300 when the PS3 launches to pull in the more casual gamers, who weren't willing to shell out $400.