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[a Master Ninja]

How do you make a sword? You heat it up then cool it down right?

I could see Itagaki saying something like that. That could explain why Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS looks a little iffy. Ninja Gaiden 2 announcement tomorrow?

 

[Speevy]

Go to bed Speevy

You go to bed.

 

[JB1981]

Did Ken Kutaragi lace MS' champagne with LSD?

What a terrible idea.

 

[Firestorm]

no one wants the core. no one. i'm saying public perception could shift to where the premium becomes seen the same way, although not to the same degree. people don't like settling for the lesser version. they're more likely to not buy the product at all. but, hey, go ahead and disagree.

just keep those marketing clowns hopped up on red bull as they work that overtime.

I'm actually like that. Stupid collector's editions make me the same way. It's killing me to go with Halo 3: CE instead of the Legendary, but I can't justify spending $105 more.

 

[arne]

no one wants the core. no one. i'm saying public perception could shift to where the premium becomes seen the same way, although not to the same degree. people don't like settling for the lesser version. they're more likely to not buy the product at all. but, hey, go ahead and disagree.

just keep those marketing clowns hopped up on red bull as they work that overtime.

The core IS NOT for you. or anybody who is reading this post. you have to get over the fact it exists because it's not for you. I'm sorry to have to be the one to break it to you.

and you totally didn't read my post about what the perception is going to be. the whole in this is case is the sum of it's parts.

 

[cheekymunky]

hdd price, what can you do, that's up to the bean counters. and they got one damn thing right: i'm either buying an elite or a new hdd because of this. i need the space. they win.

same here

 

[Odysseus]

The core IS NOT for you. or anybody who is reading this post. you have to get over the fact it exists because it's not for you. I'm sorry to have to be the one to break it to you.

and you totally didn't read my post about what the perception is going to be. the whole in this is case is the sum of it's parts.

judging by sales, the core is not for anyone. something like 10% of sales last month, to hear people in the know tell it. again, good luck keeping the current premium from being seen the same way.

 

[Eteric Rice]

I'm actually like that. Stupid collector's editions make me the same way. It's killing me to go with Halo 3: CE instead of the Legendary, but I can't justify spending $105 more.

Same here. I wish it was region free, I'd buy a Japanese X-Box 360 (Blue Dragon bundle).

 

[Cormacaroni]

I could see Itagaki saying something like that. That could explain why Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS looks a little iffy. Ninja Gaiden 2 announcement tomorrow?

As much as I want this game to be announced, they'd be daft to do so before Sigma launches surely?

 

[Brak]

seriously. it'll be fine. it'll be just fine. just like you ended up being all just fine with the PS3's pricetag in the end. it'll be ok.

:lol :lol :lol :lol

oh Arne... That's not the leg you want to support your argument with, seriously.

 

[yukoner]

If the best version was on a system that just came out and isn't as easy to develop for than the one that's been out since 2005, there'd be something wrong.

:lol So you're saying that the console that released a full 12 months later should actually look worse? 12 months is a long time in technology terms, it's almost a full GPU cycle for PC's, something is wrong, it's when a console released 12months later, for an extra $100, looks worse.

Anyways, stupid move by MS. This puts a pricedrop out of the question until fall, I can't see how they could drop the price 2 or 3 months after releasing a new SKU.

So they better hope Sony doesn't get aggressive with the pricing of their 20gb model or else they're gonna be kicking themselves.

Just drop the core to $199 and HDD to $50 you morons.

Arne - Can you explain to me MS's rationale in squandering their current position? Rather than dropping the Core to $199, and creating a nearly insurmountable lead, they have chosen to sit back, jack up the price, and wait it out?? I don't understand this strategy at all, other than to make a few extra bucks for the year end financial report.

 

[tahrikmili]

I'd maybe pay $480 if I could install Vista on the thing. Since that's not the case, I'd ebay the 120GB HDD and replace it with a used 20GB HDD to bring the total down to $400 or so.

You are wise. Your days on NeoGAF will be glorious, Junior.

 

[arne]

:lol :lol :lol :lol

oh Arne... That's not the leg you want to support your argument with, seriously.

my point was is that y'all are still going to buy whatever they hell you want.
you just like to make a lot of sturm und drang when it's not <$200

 

[le.phat]

this move makes MS look like they are constantly playing catch up with ps3 if you ask me.

 

[JCBossman]

The overreactions to this news is funny as hell. I mean please it's $80 bucks people. This IMHO is FAR better than the 20gb PS3(if you can find it) it's cheaper off the bat, has 6 times the storage, comes with cables for both component and HDMI, comes with a headset. (neither which are included in the PS3)

 

[Eteric Rice]

this move makes MS look like they are constantly playing catch up with ps3 if you ask me.

Looks like they're adapting to me.

 

[Zen]

So they through in HDMI and a bigger hard drive and RAISE the price to the point where it costs just as much as a 20 gig PS3 while making you pay an extra 200 dollars on top of that just to get the same functionality of a 500 dollar PS3?

C'mon Shane, spin it. Spin it good.

Maybe the fact that this is a tarded sku that pretends to be a competitor to the features offered in the PS3 while missing the point. All it gives you is a bigger hard drive over the Premium PS3. It's a rip off.

I mean seriously. Unless you have an HD TV the HDMI cable is useless to you, and if you have an HD-TV, to actually watch HD movies you have to buy the 200 dollar HD-DVD addon making it all practically 700 dollars.

So really if you want to get the same functionality (which you obviously care about given your activity in the Blu Ray takeover thread) it will cost 100 dollars more then a premium PS3 and 200 dollars more then a 20 gig PS3 which is fully capable of playing HD-Movies without having to buy a 200 dollar add on.

It entirely misses the mark if they were intending to position it as a model that could do everything a PS3 could do and better) at a cheaper price. If anything this just legitimizes Sony's approach, since they're offering you something att he same price that comes with a next gen format drive while Microsoft will make you pay another 200 dollars for that.

 

[a Master Ninja]

If anyone is looking for a silver-lining to this announcement, at least this guarantees the Spring Update will be released before the end of April to allow your content to be unbound from your machine. This is important to the people that have already had a console die on them, like me.

 

[Brak]

my point was is that y'all are still going to buy whatever they hell you want.
you just like to make a lot of sturm und drang when it's not <$200

Duly noted.

But if the elite is for us, and we have thrown a hissy fit, then what is joe consumer going to think?

 

[tahrikmili]

The overreactions to this news is funny as hell. I mean please it's $80 bucks people. This IMHO is FAR better than the 20gb PS3(if you can find it) it's cheaper off the bat, has 6 times the storage, comes with cables for both component and HDMI, comes with a headset. (neither which are included in the PS3)

People buying this will probably not give a shit about component cables and a headset, the only people I can see this really appeal to are HiFi geeks from AVSForums and people who actively use Video Marketplace.. a demographic who I think would pay 20$ more to buy a console that doubles as a BD Player. Sorry, but that's the cold truth. I think this SKU is retarded.

 

[neptunes]

Duly noted.

But if the elite is for us, and we have thrown a hissy fit, then what is joe consumer going to think?

They'll buy the Premium or the Core, or they can buy neither and take their money elsewhere that doesn't necessarily have to be related to video games.

Simple.

 

[Sean*O]

The overall lack of excitement I am reading (in-line with my own) already tells me that Micorsoft has made a mistake when it comes to price. This thing should be $399, the current Premium $325, and the Core $250.

This bonehead move will actually stall momentum, regardless of any upcoming software titles.

 

[ManaByte]

Maybe the fact that this is a tarded sku that pretends to be a competitor to the features offered in the PS3 while missing the point.

I mean seriously. Unless you have an HD TV the HDMI cable is useless to you, and if you have an HD-TV, to actually watch HD movies you have to buy the 200 dollar HD-DVD addon making it all practically 700 dollars.

So really if you want to get the same functionality (which you obviously care about given your activity in the Blu Ray takeover thread) it will cost 100 dollars more then a premium PS3 and 200 dollars more then a 20 gig PS3 which is fully capable of playing HD-Movies without having to buy a 200 dollar add on.

Ever hear of an upconverting DVD player? No? Ok. Well anyways with the included HDMI cable this "tarded sku" can upconvert DVDs out of the box.

 

[Barnolde]

hdd price, what can you do, that's up to the bean counters. and they got one damn thing right: i'm either buying an elite or a new hdd because of this. i need the space. they win.

Marketing vs engineering. One thinks they know what people want, one actually knows.

no one wants the core. no one. i'm saying public perception could shift to where the premium becomes seen the same way, although not to the same degree. people don't like settling for the lesser version. they're more likely to not buy the product at all. but, hey, go ahead and disagree.

just keep those marketing clowns hopped up on red bull as they work that overtime.

the sad thing is microsoft could blow sony out of the water right now by simply dropping the price on the premium sku and doing nothing else. but whatever, you know, fight for the living room and digital distribution and media hubs while actual gamers yawn.

Anecdotal evidence: When the 360 came out my brother told me that one of his classmates got a 360, when he told the other kids at the lunch table it was a Core, they laughed at him and rightfully so. Tards are not as good as the rest of us and when they make stupid decisions they should be mocked. There's a happy ending though, he made his mom return it for a Premium.

The core IS NOT for you. or anybody who is reading this post. you have to get over the fact it exists because it's not for you. I'm sorry to have to be the one to break it to you.

and you totally didn't read my post about what the perception is going to be. the whole in this is case is the sum of it's parts.

It's for lower income places like India and Brazil, but judging by sales, they don't want it either. If you're going to buy a luxury item on a low income, you at least want the luxury part of it, which the Core doesn't have. The Core = tard and NO ONE WANTS IT, but thanks for tarding things up for the rest of us. Every time I'm asked to select a 'storage device' I cry a little, the powerful Xbox hard drive has been reduced to a glorified memory card for the sake of *thinks back to the Core in Japan* ah yes "giving the system no one wants in a place where no one wants it"

If you're going to appeal to the lowest common denominator, at least do it right, don't spit in their face and then ask "whats wrong with u"?

 

[bry-bry]

my point was is that y'all are still going to buy whatever they hell you want.
you just like to make a lot of sturm und drang when it's not <$200

Let's negotiate: I'll take a Premium for $300.

 

[Brak]

Let's negotiate: I'll take a Premium for $300.

I like this line of thinking.

 

[JB1981]

What are people going to fill 120gb with? They can stream content off their local network or a local HDD. Unless they're planning on adding some type of DVR functionality (such as IPTV), I see absolutely no use for all this space.

Is MS planning to compete with PSN with huge game downloads? 'Cause if not, I see nothing - nothing - that fills up all that space.

 

[Zen]

Ever hear of an upconverting DVD player? No? Ok. Well anyways with the included HDMI cable this "tarded sku" can upconvert DVDs out of the box.

Wow, you can up convert DVDs, thanks for the tip captain Obvious. :lol

Yeah because upscaled DVD = HD-DVD/Blu Ray :lol

If anything this just legitimizes the position of Sony when they're offereing you something at the same price that will actually play next gen movie content.

 

[yukoner]

It's for lower income places like India and Brazil, but judging by sales, they don't want it either.

Jesus, use your head. The core is meant to appeal to these markets in the future, not now when it's $299 US dollars.

The core will be a huge mover when it gets down to $150 or $99, casuals will eat it up, they don't care if they have to use a MC, they've been doing that for 10 years.

 

[jimbo]

You know I am a big 360 supporter but even I am scratching my head at this one.

It's not that I believe this is going to hurt them, because it won't. It WILL help them.....initially. And this will make for some great headlines when the NPD numbers come in as I said before. "More expensive Xbox doubles sales". What bugs me though is that this won't help them in the long run. I don't get the point of having the premium console with JUST HDMI and 120GB HD tacked on for $479.

First of all I think a 60GB hard drive line in the PS3 is overkill. The 20GB is just fine for me and will serve pretty much every service I can think of as far as gaming goes. But a 120GB? WTF am I going to do with it, especially when IPTV isn't available and many people have no clue what it means?

Seriously MS, you had it, and now you lost it. You're justifying a $500 price for the 20GB PS3 with no problem. Now it makes sense to only spend $20 and get a Blu-Ray player, although again this is only going to affect people who are willing to spend that kind of money any way. But really, you could have really taken out Sony with a price drop.....or even....by not doing anything. Or at least anything stupid. And you didn't.

Way to go boneheads.

PS: Oh and another thing. You've delayed having the Xbox brand at a mass market price for at least a year. I think everone was ready for the $299 Xbox. Good luck getting this $479 version down to that any time soon.

 

[ManaByte]

What are people going to fill 120gb with? They can stream content off their local network or a local HDD. Unless they're planning on adding some type of DVR functionality (such as IPTV), I see absolutely no use for all this space.

Is MS planning to compete with PSN with huge game downloads? 'Cause if not, I see nothing - nothing - that fills up all that space.

They've already announced IPTV and have stated that trials begin this summer.

 

[Cormacaroni]

Let's negotiate: I'll take a Premium for $300.

i'd sell you mine for that, as soon as they release the Elite in Japan :lol

 

[TerryLee81]

What are the chances that they improved the cooling system?

I know it's not going to include the 65nm chip, but I'm sure they could make it quieter by improving the cooling system (get rid of those cheap loud fans).

 

[tahrikmili]

Ever hear of an upconverting DVD player? No? Ok. Well anyways with the included HDMI cable this "tarded sku" can upconvert DVDs out of the box.

Last time I checked that shit costs like $99 not $480. Not to mention that the non-HDMI 360s can also upconvert to 720p through VGA.

The real question for me is, now that an HDMI model has been released, will Video Marketplace content or HD-DVDs be HDCP controlled? Because if so, it won't play at 720p/1080i/1080p over component, will it? Now, that would suck great hairy goats' balls for people who bought a 360 for digital HD content or HD-DVD playback..

 

[YYZ]

You know I am a big 360 supporter but even I am scratching my head at this one.

It's not that I believe this is going to hurt them, because it won't. It WILL help them.....initially. And this will make for some great headlines when the NPD numbers come in as I said before. "More expensive Xbox doubles sales". What bugs me though is that this won't help them in the long run. I don't get the point of having the premium console with JUST HDMI and 120GB HD tacked on for $479.

First of all I think a 60GB hard drive line in the PS3 is overkill. The 20GB is just fine for me and will serve pretty much every service I can think of as far as gaming goes. But a 120GB? WTF am I going to do with it, especially when IPTV isn't available and many people have no clue what it means?

Seriously MS, you had it, and now you lost it. You're justifying a $500 price for the 20GB PS3 with no problem. Now it makes sense to only spend $20 and get a Blu-Ray player, although again this is only going to affect people who are willing to spend that kind of money any way. But really, you could have really taken out Sony with a price drop.....or even....by not doing anything. Or at least anything stupid. And you didn't.

Way to go boneheads.

man, you sound like you want MS to kill Sony. I guess we've gotten so used to a consumer society with competition that we can't see what it would be like if that competition were to dissapear. I'll give you a hint, you won't like it one bit.

What are the chances that they improved the cooling system?

I know it's not going to include the 65nm chip, but I'm sure they could make it quieter by improving the cooling system (get rid of those cheap loud fans).

The MS rep already said the hardware will be the same. That's what confuses me about releasing new hardware with marginal upgrades while pissing off your premium owners. What's the point of all this? Seems they really only did this to support their digital download service, but they didn't want to just release a new HDD separately.

I'm glad most of you guys are expressing disgust at this move. If Sony changed their hardware a year from now, I will be uber pissed. Especially if it has something to do with scalers...

 

[JCBossman]

Man some people in this thread are grade A trolls(and I've never seen alot of them before) I personally can give two shits about HD movies. WHEN did the change happen when GAME CONSOLES are being rated as worthy or not, not based on games? Tell you what i am going to get this ELITE and I am also going to get a Blue Ray/HD-DVD player when one is the OFFICAL winner, Two years from now, I am expecting to pay less than 200 for the player.

 

[Brak]

They'll buy the Premium or the Core, or they can buy neither and take their money elsewhere that doesn't necessarily have to be related to video games.

Simple.

I don't think it is simple in the end. Now a potential customer has 3 options that they have to examine. We've already seen that people basically reject the core because they want top of the line if they are going to be spending a pile of money anyways. Now people are going to wonder if the Premium is the new tard pack.

"Am I getting the tard pack?" is not the question you want people asking themselves.

 

[WickedLaharl]

this move makes MS look like they are constantly playing catch up with ps3 if you ask me.

at least msft isn't playing catchup in a more important area

Spoiler

sales

 

[Barnolde]

Jesus, use your head. The core is meant to appeal to these markets in the future, not now when it's $299 US dollars.

The core will be a huge mover when it gets down to $150 or $99, casuals will eat it up, they don't care if they have to use a MC, they've been doing that for 10 years.

So it's ok for the Core to be released now and gimp everything when it's aimed at the future? But when the PS3 does it in a way that is beneficial, it's bad? Right...

The PS3 will be also be a huge mover once the price drops.

They have been using memory cards for past systems, but not on the Xbox, so why should they start now?

Last time I checked that shit costs like $99 not $480. Not to mention that the non-HDMI 360s can also upconvert to 720p through VGA.

The real question for me is, now that an HDMI model has been released, will Video Marketplace content or HD-DVDs be HDCP controlled? Because if so, it won't play at 720p/1080i/1080p over component, will it? Now, that would suck great hairy goats' balls for people who bought a 360 for digital HD content or HD-DVD playback..

With VGA, ALL content can be upscaled to 1080p. With component, DVDs are not allowed to be upscaled, which is why they play at 480p. Over component, DVDs can be upscaled, but only if you use the HD DVD player.

 

[Norse]

Ever hear of an upconverting DVD player? No? Ok. Well anyways with the included HDMI cable this "tarded sku" can upconvert DVDs out of the box.

thats the only good thing in all of this as fas as I am concerned. Upconverting dvd player right out of box is a nice feature, but i think they should have waited for first price drop to announce this...when core and premiums got their frist price drop they could have made this the 399 sku.

But as long as 360 outsells ps3 in NA each month, I am fine with whatever they do cause my 20 gig premium can play all the kickass games.

 

[jordan0386]

I hearby add ten more pages to this thread...


***SO SAID, SO DONE***

SpaceGhost2k from TeamXbox writes...

I figured that would get your attention, lol.

Yes, Aceattorney, Wiseguy and I actually got to lay hands on one of these at the Summit. Someone asked us what it was like.

Well, pick up your Xbox 360.

Close your eyes.

It's exactly like that.

There's a lot of misunderstanding about what it all means. People are even getting defensive about it because it doesn't jive with their own vision of how things should be.

First, I want you to consider the PS2. It launched at $299, and was $299 until Xbox decided to drop, and PS2 followed. The price has continued to drop until it got to the price it is now: $129. During that time, it has sold over 110 million consoles worldwide.

Now look at that from Microsoft's point of view. There's a potential market out there of at least 110,000,000 consoles. Most of those won't happen until the 360's price drops. The 360 has a lot in common with the PS2: Launched a year early in all territories, had a large amount of games available before the competition hit the street with their console and a small handful of games, and will hold its lead AND IT'S PRICE for a couple of years before the first drop, allowing them to actually make some money on the console for a change.

There's one big difference. The PS2 was the PS2 was the PS2 and if you wanted one, you got... the PS2. Parts and pieces came and went, and depending on when you decided to jump in depended on which system you had: thick or thin, HDD compatible or not, Network adapter included or optional, progressive scan DVD or not, quieter fan or not, i-link or not...

Xbox launched the same way. It was a "get the foot in the door" approach by Microsoft that cost them a lot of money, but paid off in the long run. MS was now treated as a serious player in the game industry. One console. Period.

With the 360, it took a different approach: Two versions, an entry level and a hardcore level. It was a way for them to launch big AND at the same time, capture that first "price drop" customer.

---

10 million people now own 360's, but there's still 100 million potential customers that Microsoft wants playing their 360 and buying 360 games. What do you do to get 100 million people to jump in?

Oh yeah, it's easy to say "drop the price." MS is known for ALL the money they've made and continue to make, and somehow that justifies biting the bullet and just giving stuff away because they can. It doesn't work that way. One competitor is priced so much higher than what is expected for a game console that even some hardcore gamers are passing, at least until THE killer games arrive. The other competitor entered at the price-drop price point with a novelty controller and has not been able to meet demand.

With a situation like that, there is no reason at all to drop the price. The console is not selling to many people's expectations, but it is not selling poorly at all, and the games are blowing the doors off.

So here's what Microsoft has done in an attempt to capture the 100 million gamers who haven't committed yet to this generation.

They've offered a choice.

Three, actually.

There's good: An Xbox 360 that plays all the same games as the rest of the 360 family, no hard drive which keeps the price down, and a choice of either a 64MB memory card (now $29.99) or a larger 512 MB memory card ($49.99), less than half the price of a hard drive. The $299 Core, for entry-level 360 gamers.

There's better: The Xbox most of us own is exactly the same as the Core, with the addition of a hard drive for storage and a wireless controller instead of a wired one. It also supports the memory cards for moving your gamertag from one console to another as well. Everything the Premuim does, the Core does, and vice versa. The $399 Premium, for active gamers.

And now, there's best: The new Xbox that is identical to the Core and Premium in EVERY way, but for two: It has an HDMI port for televisions that support it, and it has a larger harddrive for 360 owners who do more downloads or want to store more music. Oh, and it's black, which doesn't affect the performance. Much. The $479 Elite, for gamers who are also videophiles.

All the drives, all the chips, all the guts are identical.

The systems come with three variations of television hookup: Composite for the Core, Composite/Componant for the Premium, and HDMI/Composite/Componant for the Elite. The Elite also allows you to use you choice of HDMI for audio, or Optical/RCA for audio if you want to run it to a surround sound.

The systems come with three variations of storage: None, 20 GB and 120 GB. Wanna change what your system uses for storage? Then pick your storage of choice: $29 mem card, $49 mem card, $99 HDD or $179 HDD.

What does this mean for you, the gamer who already owns a 360?

NOT ONE DAMN THING.

This is about the customers 360 doesn't have yet. Sure, you're not exempt from "movin' on up" if you want. There's a couple of ways to do it. One, if you want the HDMI, you can just buy yourself a second 360: an Elite. Trade in or sell your original and apply it to the purchase price. Two, you can just buy the HDD. In the "big picture" you will have spent more than the actual cost of an Elite, but you're only having to come up with $179 now, and not $479. And you can probably still get a few bucks for your 20GB drive from a Core owner.

Understand: this move isn't about placating current owners. It's about offering options to new owners. Sure, I wish I had an Elite. Would I have traded the past year and a half of gaming to have one? Hell no.

---

I want to talk a little bit about the cost of the HDD. I'm going to fudge a little bit on my NDA, without shattering the thing to holy hell. The 20 GB drive sells alone for $99. I know what it actually costs. No, I'm not telling. But I will tell you this: MS is NOT screwing you over by asking $99 for the drive. I know you can get drives cheaper, even much bigger drives. But those drives work with multiple devices and that drives the cost down. Xbox drives work only on Xboxes and that makes them more expensive. They can't sell them to 3,000 other machines to drive the price down. I know, I know... Sony comes with a 60GB and allows you to use any additional drive. Now the Elite comes with a 120GB - twice the size of Sony's, so you don't HAVE to add an additional drive. With the Elite, you STILL get more for less. It's also extra insurance against hackers working their way into the system.

---

Now, about WiFi. Remember when it was Wireless A? How about B? G? Tomorrow it's R or L or F... I dunno. But once you build a permanant device into a machine that utilizes a technology that is constantly changing... you've got a few choices: One, take an established standard that is well rooted. Two, try and predict the future and act accordingly. Three, offer it as an optional and changeable. (Most really active LIVE gamers perferred wired anyway. If you've played with someone with a slow router... you'd understand).

For One, that is what Microsoft did with the DVD. Blu-Ray might win the next gen war. HD DVD might win the next gen war (if they get off their asses and release some movies.) Or HD content might come through streaming or downloads. But DVD is set in stone so that's what Microsoft chose for the 360 disc format. DVD WILL be a viable format five years from now. But they added the HD DVD drive as an option for movie lovers.

For Two, that is what Microsoft did with broadband in the Xbox. Boy did people poop pottery when MS made that decision. They weren't even to the end of the generation before the PS2 Slim started shipping with a little sticker on the back that said "broadband only."

For Three, that is what Microsoft chose to do about WiFi. It's changing too fast. You lock it down, you're stuck with it. It's a bad position they may find themselves in by including HDMI AT THEIR CUSTOMER'S REQUEST, because as the standard moves from 1.1 to 1.2 to 1.3 and on up, what you got is what you got. It's not something that could be added to the existing tech like a WiFi adapter. It required changing the board which is why they didn't just come out with a cable and adapter. They did it for you, or rather, the people who want such things. It's there if you want it and you can pass if you don't. But when it goes to some other standard (all optical video/audio?) they'll have to modify it again, and current 360 owners will be chaffed AGAIN, but it's the nature of the beast. If you want to be cutting-edge, it's going to hurt. That's kinda why they CALL it "cutting edge."

You think the PS3 is future proofed better than the 360? Is it doing upscaling? The new version will. Is it supporting rumble, that last gen feature? Apparently, it will... again. But where Microsoft is offering you choices, Sony will just change the console like it did with the PS2, and what you get depends on when you jumped in. Tech changes, and you either adapt... or stay old and change your controller.

---

65 nm chips. For the uninformed and in layman's terms: it's the 360 CPU, on a smaller chip that puts out less heat and costs less. IF and WHEN they finally go to this chip, most likely you'll never know. IT IS NOT IN THE ELITE. There's no obvious performance difference adn unlike a DVD tray that pops out for inspection, there's no way to check under the hood to see what chip you've got... and it wouldn't matter anyway. It is my opinion that basing your console buying decision on whether the chip is 90 nm or 65 nm is like saying you want the pink one. It's a matter of preference, not performance, but do what you like.

--

Lastly, the Elite is NOT a limited edition. It is, as one of our MVP people like to say, the newest edition to the Xbox 360 family. To cover a bunch of issues right here at the end: The prices are and will remain for the time being, $299, $399 and $479, the Elite is not limited edition, the Elite will always be black and the Core and Premium will always be white (barring any future funky special editions, but it won't be an "across the baord" change).

 

[tahrikmili]

With VGA, ALL content can be upscaled to 1080p. With component, DVDs are not allowed to be upscaled, which is why they play at 480p. Over component, DVDs can be upscaled, but only if you use the HD DVD player.

I know that, I was inquiring aboud WMV-HD's downloaded from the Video Marketplace.. Will MS start HDCP controlling them? If so, what happens to HD playback over Component/Video on SKUs without an HDMI port?

 

[Bill-Lumberg]

Durex make a condom called Elite. I suggest you ask MS to wear one before sneaking up on you and taking you roughly in the wallet.

 

[Dachande]

the console will go on sale in North America April 29, with European and Japanese launches later in the year.

****

YOOOUUU

 

[jimbo]

man, you sound like you want MS to kill Sony. I guess we've gotten so used to a consumer society with competition that we can't see what it would be like if that competition were to dissapear. I'll give you a hint, you won't like it one bit.





The MS rep already said the hardware will be the same. That's what confuses me about releasing new hardware with marginal upgrades while pissing off your premium owners. What's the point of all this? Seems they really only did this to support their digital download service, but they didn't want to just release a new HDD separately.

I'm glad most of you guys are expressing disgust at this move. If Sony changed their hardware a year from now, I will be uber pissed. Especially if it has something to do with scalers...

Huh? Kill Sony? Why the hell would I want to trade on tyrant for another? I am just saying that they could have been in a position to distance themselves from their competition with a price drop, not LITERALLY kill them.:lol

 

[Norse]

So it's ok for the Core to be released now and gimp everything when it's aimed at the future? But when the PS3 does it in a way that is beneficial, it's bad? Right...

The PS3 will be also be a huge mover once the price drops.

They have been using memory cards for past systems, but not on the Xbox, so why should they start now?



With VGA, ALL content can be upscaled to 1080p. With component, DVDs are not allowed to be upscaled, which is why they play at 480p. Over component, DVDs can be upscaled, but only if you use the HD DVD player.

if the core came out later it would require a hdd becaus all games would use the hdd...kind of defeas the pupose of the core then, right?

 

[Troidal]

Bluray FTW?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d41898d2-dcb6-11db-a21d-000b5df10621.html

Microsoft Xbox 360 deals blow to Toshiba

Microsoft has dealt a blow to Toshiba’s HD-DVD standard by announcing a new high-end version of the Xbox 360 games console that fails to include the high-definition drive.

Microsoft has been siding with HD-DVD rather than Sony’s Blu-ray standard in selling a separate external HD-DVD drive to plug into the 360.

But it has decided against including HD-DVD as an integrated drive in its Elite version, which it announced would go on sale in the US and Canada on April 29.

John Rodman, Xbox group product manager, said it would be left to consumers to choose whether they wanted HD-DVD as an extra add-on.

“I think, if nothing else, this is an acknowledgement that Blu-ray is going to win [the standards war],” said Michael Pachter, video games analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities.

“It would have been a costly mistake to build it into the hardware if HD-DVD loses and I think Microsoft sees this as an unacceptable gamble.”

Sony announced on Tuesday that the Casino Royale movie had become the first high-definition DVD to ship 100,000 units and the Blu-ray title was setting records at retail. Analysts expect Blu-ray titles to have significantly outsold those on HD-DVD in the latest monthly numbers and see Sony increasing its lead when Spiderman 3 is released on Blu-ray later this year.

Mr Pachter said he expected the major movie studios to side with Blu-ray next January after they had seen the results of the holiday season.

Sony is faring less well in its next-generation console battle with Microsoft, whose Elite version is likely to put the PS3 under further pressure.

In contrast to the white 360s with either no hard drive in the basic model or a 20-gigabyte one in the premium version, the Elite will be black and contain a 120Gb hard drive. It will also have upgraded connections, with an HDMI high-definition output and included cable. The console will go on sale at $480 in the US. European and Japanese launches are expected in the summer.

The specification and price comes closer to that of Sony’s PlayStation 3, which has basic and premium versions in black with HDMI connections and 20Gb and 60Gb hard drives, costing $500 and $600.

“This is an acknowledgement that the PS3 was probably priced about right,” said Mr Pachter, referring to criticism that Sony had pitched its price too high, resulting in slow sales.

 

[gofreak]

Europe later? Blah. I may as well wait for 65nm etc.

 

[GhaleonEB]

“This is an acknowledgement that the PS3 was probably priced about right,” said Mr Pachter, referring to criticism that Sony had pitched its price too high, resulting in slow sales.

Wow.

 

[Brak]

Wow.

OMG Pachter... GTFO.