XBox 360 Owners

[Valleysboy1978]

So are you a little annoyed by this new XBox 360 Elite coming out? Now effectively making your XBox 360 Premium second best only a year after it's release?
Also, doing the maths (correct me if I'm wrong), but isn't the price of the XBox and the HD-DVD plugin the same price as the PS3?

[michaelrawi]

I don't have any Next Gen Console right now. But I'd follow where Metal Gear Solid go, which is PS3 of course

[Valleysboy1978]

Seen the trailer for it and I have to admit it looks pretty sweet. From what I could tell it looks like it's set when Solid Snake is in his fifties/sixties. Should be interesting

[vbcode1980]

Consoles....

Get yourself a decent gaming pc.

[I_Love_My_Vans]

Consoles....

Get yourself a decent gaming pc.

Damn straight

[Valleysboy1978]

Agreed, but there are some games only available on consoles. Also multiplayer with your mates is better with a console

[Arrow_Raider]

So are you a little annoyed by this new XBox 360 Elite coming out? Now effectively making your XBox 360 Premium second best only a year after it's release?
Also, doing the maths (correct me if I'm wrong), but isn't the price of the XBox and the HD-DVD plugin the same price as the PS3?

I am angry. The features that the elite will have may be only a mediocore upgrade, but one of the features is that it will be QUIETER. I got my 360 premium on launch day and it sounds like a vacum cleaner. Its mostly the move that microsoft is taking by releasing another version of its console so quickly the enrages me.

Sony released an (arguably) better second version of the PS2 - but the console was 4 years old at this point, so it wasn't really an evil move.

Nintendo released a second version of the gamecube - but it was actually worse than the original because all it did was remove the component cable output socket. That was a sucky move, but at least the loyal nintendo fans who had bought a gamecube before the release of the second version weren't shafted.


Currently, if you add a HD DVD drive to the 360 premium, it will be just as expensive as the 60gb PS3. The elite 360 will cost 480, so the cost would be 680 with the hddvd drive - more expensive than the PS3. If you need wireless capabilities on the 360(which the 60gb PS3 has built in), it will cost you another 100 dollars. So that brings the cost to 700 and 780 - outragiously expensive.

I'm a firm believer in ONE version of everything. It causes nothing but confusion for consumers when companies release different versions of products - sadly, it seems to be the growing trend these days.
Office 2007 has many editions: basic, small buisiness, standard, professional, professional plus, enterprise, ultimate, student.
Windows Vista has many editions: home basic, home premium, buisiness, enterprise, ultimate.
The 360 will soon be available in 3 different editions.
The PS3 is available in 2 editions right now.

But the console that keeps selling the highest number of units each month - the Nintendo Wii, only has one configuration.

[Valleysboy1978]

I have to be honest if I was a loyal XBox fan I would be seething with fury at this move. Just shows that they are only after your money, and not providing you with a quality service.

If they were truly dedicated to their customers they'd allow a free (or even a discounted) upgrade to the Elite version

[Atheist]

Its a bit nintendo-style to be releasing updated versions of consoles in a short timespan. They're masters of irritation too.

[System_Error]

Consoles....

Get yourself a decent gaming pc.

A guy needs a manly computer AND a manly console system. Plus, sports games suck on computer and shooters suck on console.

[Valleysboy1978]

Just read that the PS3 sales have broken sales records for it's first weekend!?!

I have to admit, although I'm a PS fan I didn't think it would initially sell too well due to it's price. Seems I was wrong

[TomGibbons]

I thought that the PS3 would tank on launch in the UK, apparently I was proven wrong too. We'll see how popular is it once the novelty wears off though; eBay is going to boom over the coming weeks.

I'm just hoping that the new Elite version will drive down the prices of the current 360. Even just a little price drop would be nice.

[Arrow_Raider]

I thought that the PS3 would tank on launch in the UK, apparently I was proven wrong too. We'll see how popular is it once the novelty wears off though; eBay is going to boom over the coming weeks.

I'm just hoping that the new Elite version will drive down the prices of the current 360. Even just a little price drop would be nice.

I wouldn't count on it

[Cander]

Am I furious as a fairly new 360 owner? Hell no. I learned a long time ago that it doesn't matter what technology you buy, it is going to be obsolete before too long and to cry and moan about it is a pointless endeavor. It is like when I see people on a forum say, 'I want to buy product X but I am scared they may update it soon.' Just buy the darn thing if you need it or want it. I bought a PowerPC iBook only a few short months before the Intel switch over. Do I care? No. It still does everything I needed it to do when I bought it.

[nemaroller]

ValleyBoy,

Microsoft only had two options here. They could have released a console with a high definition drive built-in, or they could leave it as an add-on. They don't produce players - that's Sony, Panasonic, and Toshiba.

If they built it in, they would be taking a huge gamble choosing between BluRay or HD-DVD because only one of those formats could become the standard. And if they chose the wrong one, all XBOX owners would feel bitter.

If they left it as an add-on option, the consumer has the choice and isn't stuck with what may be a completely worthless media player that's hard wired into the console.

The elite comes with a 120gb hard drive, and HDMI jacks. HDMI's only benefit is Digital Rights protection for studios, and a better audio signal output.

So unless an Xbox360 owner is somehow running out of room on the 360's Premium hard drive, they've lost nothing. It's just repackaging and marketing - not some significant improvement in video quality (I can't tell any improvement if I switch to component outputs from my HDTV Motorola cable box instead of using the hdmi outputs. And yes that's with high def content). What you subject yourself to - and why all the manufacturers are pushing HDMI - is Digital Rights protection, which is what the major movie studios have pushing so hard for.

As far as the purpose of buying an Xbox360 elite, games won't look any better on the elite than they had on the premium.

If one decides they'd like to put an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player as a plug-in to your console - go ahead. Most consumers buy a dedicated video player. Sure its nice to have a player built-in to your console so it can be used as a player for the bedroom - but I wouldn't feel remorse over losing that.

With the XBOX 360 choice, a consumer left themself the freedom to choose between BluRay or HD-DVD. And the freedom to buy the video player as an add-in or a dedicated player. An option Sony stripped from PS3 owners as a way to further cement BluRay as the next HighDef format by forcing them to buy a BluRay player to play PS3 games.

HD is really a confusing mess. Sony has to pay MS for Vista computers they sell, MS has to pay Sony for Blu-Ray technology, and Sony most likely will have to pay MS for Vc9 compression fees since the DVD steering commitee (which includes Sony pictures) voted that MS's VC9 codec had the best quality for the high compression ratio. That means significantly more information can be stored on bluray and hd-dvd format disks than initially anticipated back in 2003.

http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5166786.html

[Valleysboy1978]

Microsoft will not be having anything to do with Blu-ray BECAUSE it is a Sony product. They have officially backed the HD-DVD collaboration so why not just include it in the Elite as standard if they have no intention of using Blu-Ray? Added to which, they are soon intending to make XBox 360 games on HD-DVD's only, so you'd be forced to buy one soon anyway.

Blu-Ray support
HD-DVD support

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't see Microsoft in the Blu-ray list. Why would they support a direct competitor to themselves? That just wouldn't make good business sense.

[nemaroller]

BluRay is the hardware aspect - how the data is read off the physical disc. That's Sony proprietary property that others will have to license.

VC-9 is the software part. Doesn't matter how you got the data (off a BluRay or HDDVD format disc), you still need to decompress it. And if you want a compression algorithm that supercedes all others, VC-9 has the best image quality for minimal size. That means more data stored into a BluRay disc that Sony could have initially anticipated. And that's why their members on the steering commitee also nominated it.

Current BluRay players support VC1 (vc9) which is a Microsoft codec. So yes, Sony pays MS just for those licencing fees.

After all that:
Microsoft can use Blu-Ray technology drives for the XBOX's just like any other company can - they have to pay licensing fees to Sony of course - just like any other company.

Sony can use VC-9 for its compression algorithm, just like any other company. They just have to pay the licensing fees.

Microsoft backed the HD-DVD format because most vendors believed it was the cheaper and more durable solution. The manufacturing costs are believed to be less and the discs guard against scratches better than BluRay discs. Sony kept backing BluRay because obviously they invested a ton of money into it and didn't want to lose licensing fees to Toshiba.

In the end, no matter which format Microsoft chose for the XBOX, they would either being paying Toshiba or Sony.

[timeshifter]

Personally I think BluRay is going to win, simply on its' sheer storage size. We're talking about a disc that holds considerably more than my THIRD computer's hard drive... it's more than half my current compy's... it's incredible. The higher scratch chance is the price you pay for a disc with that much space. The laser has to be much narrower to get the data, and that means a smaller scratch will do the same damage.

Not to mention, the last time I checked, BluRay had a lot more movie studio support than HD-DVD. And as a personal thing, HD-DVD is just clumsy to say and to type... BluRay is much smoother.

[nemaroller]

I agree BluRay certainly looks to be the bigger winner here - if you're the kind of person interested in paying for optical discs and their expensive equipment just to watch a movie.

But I think one thing Microsoft is still harping on is streaming content. Why do you need a physical disc at all? And if you don't need a disc, you don't need a player to read that disc - and you don't need to pay the hardware technology license fees on top of the software license fees - and you don't lose money on the hardware because the physical aspect of reading it may have changed .

I do video on demand from my cable provider instead of running to the local video store. It's entirely the best - I don't worry about late fees, or if the kids break or lose the disc, or some idiot at the video store misplaces (steals) a video and I being the last person to rent get charged for it. With more movie studios embracing streaming content, its a true winner.

And now Vc-1 has recently been adopted by SMPTE.

VC-1 can deliver 720p (1300 x 768) video at 5 to 9mbps progressive - . Compare that to the bandwith of 2-3 mbps it takes MPEG2 to deliver 1 standard 480 interlaced video(720x480) over cable.

No, while some people like the fact that they buy a $27 movie and watch it anytime. I'd rather have the option of paying $3.99 to watch once, and if for some insane reason I wanted to watch a movie I already saw, I'll pay another $3.99. Either way, I only paid $8, meanwhile the person with the disc spent $30 on just one movie - and hopefully the disc won't accidently get scratched to the point that its a total waste.

[Arrow_Raider]

I think bluray is going to win because there is actual marketing beind done for it. When was the last time you saw an HDDVD ad or promotion? Never? Yea, same here. How about bluray ads? Everytime you go into a store that sells TVs, you see them playing? Yea, same here.

[Cander]

I don't think either will win. Not convinced most consumers are ready to make their DVD collections obsolete.

[Valleysboy1978]

Well as I understand it all Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players can play the ordinary DVDs anyway so their collection won't be obsolete.

[TomGibbons]

I thought that the PS3 would tank on launch in the UK, apparently I was proven wrong too. We'll see how popular is it once the novelty wears off though; eBay is going to boom over the coming weeks.

*sound of PS3 sales dropping like a lead weight*

http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23977

[Valleysboy1978]

Sorry, can't read that as I'm in work, please provide a quote.
The sales of the PS3 out-performed the opening weekends of both the Wii and XBox 360 which was unexpected considering the price.

Christmas this year will be the first indication of the leader

[TomGibbons]

Interesting - I'm at work too and our firewall (websense) didn't block it

Sales down dramatically on second week of release

Sales of the PlayStation 3 have dropped dramatically on the second week of release in the UK, with official Chart Track figures revealing a fall of 82 per cent.

Chart Track data is gathered from 7000 UK retail outlets representing 90 per cent of the software market, including GAME, Gamestation, Play.com, Asda and HMV.

A spokesperson for Chart Track confirmed the figure to GamesIndustry.biz this afternoon, stating: "Yes, sales of PS3 hardware have dropped by 82 per cent."

[Valleysboy1978]

Most of the shops I've walked past have sold out though. Perhaps that is why the sales have dropped??

[Arrow_Raider]

Most of the shops I've walked past have sold out though. Perhaps that is why the sales have dropped??

People like to word things in such a manner that imply one thing, but don't actually mean it. They didn't explain the cause of the drop - they just are intending that you will imply they meant that people lack interest in the PS3, even if this isn't the case.

[timeshifter]

My guess is that the majority of people who wanted a PS3 bought them right at launch. It's only natural that sales would tank quickly, as everyone who wanted one already has one.

[si_the_geek]

A few good points there.. and there will also be people waiting for pay day (which for many people is this week), or for particular games to be released.

[timeshifter]

I'm waiting for payday so i can... pay bills....