Microsoft has announced another round of price drops for the Xbox 360, and it’s easy to see their plan, one where they hope to sell you accessories that are available in their high-end model later. The question is, should someone base their decision on buying the Xbox 360 solely on the cheap price of the Arcade version, or should they look deeper into what’s offered for both of the bottom range of systems?……..
To begin, we have to get to the heart of the issue, the cost of the systems and what they come with. So, here we go:
Playstation 3: Price: $399
Includes:
-80GB Hard Drive
-802.11b Wireless
-Blu-Ray disc player
-Controller
-1080p upscaling for DVD playback
-Free membership on Playstation Network
Xbox 360: Price: $199.99
Includes:
-Controller
-disc with five games: Pac-Man Championship Edition, Boom Boom Rocket, Luxor 2, Feeding Frenzy and UNO
As you can see, while the Xbox 360 arcade offers a $200 cheaper price, the hardware offering falls significantly short. So, let’s bring the Xbox 360 up to par on hardware, and see what kind of total cost we end up with:
Two hard drives are available, 20GBb ($99.99) and 120 GB ($149.99), so we’ll have to do two different versions for fairness.
20GB
199.99 Base Price
99.99 Hard Drive
99.99 802.11b wireless 29.99 3-month XBL Membership 429.94 Grand Total
120GB
199.99 Base Price
149.99 Hard Drive
99.99 802.11b wireless 29.99 3-month XBL Membership 479.94 Grand Total
As you can see by the calculations, just to get 1/4 of the PS3’s storage space and no Blu-Ray player (which, as of now, there seems to be no plan to offer), you’re going to run a higher tab than you would buying the PS3 outright. Is it really worth it? If you don’t want to store anything, sure, but that kind of kills the point of having the independent system, doesn’t it? I guess it’s up to what you’re really looking for in your console system….. Link
Microsoft announced today that the Xbox 360 has broken through the six million mark in Europe. Below is the press release with the announcement:
XBOX 360 HITS SIX MILLION IN EUROPE
LONDON, 22 September 2008: Microsoft today announced that the Xbox 360™ has broken through the six million mark in Europe, thanks to strong momentum for the console across the region. A reduction in the estimated retail price (ERP) of the console last week has brought the entry-level ERP for Xbox 360 down to €179/£129.99. This reduction plus an incredible line-up of games and exciting and broad entertainment offerings means Xbox 360 is the true home of mass market entertainment, with something to offer for every interest and budget.
Chris Lewis, Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business EMEA, said: “We’re very excited that more consumers in Europe are joining the ever-growing Xbox 360 community. We’re now the best-value next-gen console on the market with an entry-level ERP of €179/£129.99, and consumers have clearly responded to that offering. We’re supporting this momentum by putting launch-level investment into a European advertising campaign, launching this week, which shows how Xbox 360 is changing the way consumers experience entertainment. With the New Xbox Experience on the horizon, and great titles like Lips®, Scene It?®; You’re In The Movies, Fable® 2, and more, there’s never been a better time to jump in to all that Xbox 360 offers.”
From last Friday, 19th September, Xbox 360, which includes a 60GB hard drive and one wireless controller, has an ERP of €239.99/£169.99. The Xbox 360 Elite, which comes with a massive 120GB hard drive enabling consumers to store huge quantities of content downloaded from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace as well as their own music, has an ERP of €299.99/£229.99. The Xbox 360 Arcade console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, has an ERP of €179/£129.99.
The price drop has set the stage for a record breaking holiday season, and the launch later this year of the New Xbox Experience, which will reinvent home entertainment from the inside out, with a bold new look and feel that is fun, social and simple to use. It’s the first time in history that a mass market consumer electronics device has been reinvented through software, changing the way we play games, watch movies, and enjoy great all-round entertainment.
Link
Earlier this month, Microsoft launched a political forum on Xbox Live, allowing users to cast their vote in a poll over the service via a Gamerpic download. Today, Microsoft revealed the results of the poll:
CNN… Gallup…NBC…Xbox LIVE?
In one of the nation’s largest unofficial election polls, Senator Barack Obama leads the vote by a 12 percent margin, while 26 percent voted “undecided” or “other.” These results do not map to national trends, which show Senator Obama and Senator McCain to be pacing neck and neck, and provide insight into a unique subset of young engaged citizens. According to the results from Xbox LIVE’s poll, when it comes to deciding who should be the next President, the jury is still out for many.
Nearly 100,000 LIVE Americans turned out to cast their “votes” in a poll over Xbox LIVE, making it larger than the combined samples from individual Gallup, NBC, and CNN polls. Part of an initiative to help register new voters for this year’s election, Xbox LIVE has partnered with Rock the Vote, turning the Xbox 360 into an unexpected political forum. Results from the first-ever poll over Xbox LIVE indicate the following:
In its first two weeks of the program, more than 55,000 voter registration forms were downloaded through Xbox LIVE and xbox.com. Additionally, videos from the recent Democratic and Republican conventions were downloaded nearly 25,000 times.
To-date, the Xbox LIVE community has downloaded more than 350,000 pieces of program-specific content, ranging from candidate gamerpics* to videos and Rock the Vote logos. That’s nearly five times the amount of people present at Barack Obama’s acceptance speech during the Democratic Convention in Denver.
General RAAM as menacing as he/she may be, is seriously a hilarious name for a character who is supposed to lead an underground army of alien species against humanity. The cliff of the locust horde has sprouted up a new name and character for their grand supremo who shall strike terror humanity in November on the 360.The character was shown off for a split second in the documentary titled “Every gun has a story” a couple of days ago.
Everyone inquisitive Cog who has played Gears Of War and seen Lord of the Rings will find an eerie resemblance between the Locust and the orcs, right upto their style of clothes.
This time Epic has tapped the creative potential of the “Predator” movies to craft out the beast called “Skorge”. The Predators have made appearances in comics and movie for a long time.
They are extra-terrestrial humanoid creatures who hunt for sport. They are equipped with high-tech weaponry and animal instincts of… well … predators.
This baby from looks wild enough to be the best badass this holiday season (Sorry Leviathan, Skorge just ripped you to shreds).
In order to be a bit more precise the “Skorge” shares a strong resemblance with the “Predalien” from Aliens Vs Predator movies.
Link
Splinter Cell: Conviction community development manager, Chris Easton, has told Videogaming247 today that not only is work on the game well under way, but that the “visual direction is simply much better” than what we’ve seen so far.
“Splinter Cell Conviction is certainly not canned, despite what the Internet rumour mill says, and won’t look significantly different to what you’ve seen before,” he said.
“The gameplay’s evolved a lot but the visual direction is simply much better than what you’ve seen.”
Easton added: “The gameplay has evolved from what we showed at Ubidays last year and when you see it again it’ll be worth the wait.”
