The Xbox 360 Thread!

[myk]

Nah, $50 is merely the starting bid-the seller knows that bid amounts in excess of $3,000,000 are highly likely...

[Godzilla]

$3K for the 360? You have to be sh*tting me. XBOX 360 auction

[baronv]

Well I can't wait to see the consoles on display at stores. I finally saw teh X360 at a locl Game Stop this weekend and it was running King Kong and that game didn'r really wow me, looked more like a current Xbox1 game. Hopefully the other games look way better.

[Mr March]

My gawd!  Those 360's on eBay are insane!  Why would a person pay a $1k for a 360 when they are being sold for less than half that.  Amazon.com is even worse.  There are units in the Marketplace going for $3,000!  Are there even any good games upon release?  Halo 3 isn't even in development yet from what I understand, so I wouldn't even buy a 360 until a killer app comes out.

Utter insanity.

346725[/snapback]

Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero are both getting solid reviews.

Frankly, it'd almost be worth the money just to play Halo 2 on a proper controller.

346731[/snapback]

That may be, but I'm talking about THE game, the killer app, the piece of software that totally makes the console. Like Goldeneye for the N64, or Castlevania Symphony of the Night for the Playstation, Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast, or Halo for the X-Box. Those are the titles that utlimately make the entire console worth purchasing, at least IMO. Personally, I want the big game title released BEFORE I purchase any new console. A console without one really isn't worth it to me.

[yellowlightman]

That may be, but I'm talking about THE game, the killer app, the piece of software that totally makes the console.  Like Goldeneye for the N64, or Castlevania Symphony of the Night for the Playstation, Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast, or Halo for the X-Box.  Those are the titles that utlimately make the entire console worth purchasing, at least IMO.  Personally, I want the big game title released BEFORE I purchase any new console.  A console without one really isn't worth it to me.

346767[/snapback]

Well, aside from Halo none of those titles were launch titles so it's a little unfair to criticize the 360 for not having that killer app yet. In the last 10 years only two systems have had amazing launch titles, and that would be the XBox (Halo) and the Nintendo 64 (Mario 64).

[myk]

Mr. March speaks the words of ultimate wisdom. There are no killer apps right now. Heck there aren't even any paper cutting ones. I just realized that I spent the day playing Battlefield 2 (finally got that medic unlock), and not the beta-vcr looking thing that I slept on concrete for over 8 hours to get...

-I'm still content with it though...

[Skull Leader]

Well, aside from Halo none of those titles were launch titles so it's a little unfair to criticize the 360 for not having that killer app yet. In the last 10 years only two systems have had amazing launch titles, and that would be the XBox (Halo) and the Nintendo 64 (Mario 64).

346779[/snapback]

I think what he's trying to say is that THIS is the reason why it isn't selling out faster than it is. The opening lineup is decidedly ho-hum. Some are getting good reviews, but are any of them really THAT much of a jump over what the Xbox1 had? It seems that the true benefits of the new system are better seen on the peripheral side of things... and even then if you're not a technophile, it isn't such a hot thing

[David Hingtgen]

Soul Calibur was a DC launch title. I remember DC launch day:

Walked into BestBuy around noon, picked up my DC and a copy of SC. Had put a whole 10 bucks down...

And I still say SC is the best of the SC series, especially music. I really don't know why SC3 has like the worst tracks of 1 and 2 remixed for its music---the majority of SC1's track blow away 2. I really wanted remixed Soul Edge music for SC3 (SE beats even SC1 for music IMHO), especially since Hwang and LiLong are finally back. (OT, sorry)

PS---BestBuy bundling seems to be a store-by-store issue, at least a few are reporting non-bundled BB purchases.

PPS--at this point, I am wondering how soon a new HD will come out---if I wait 6 to 12 months, will a 40GB one be available, and then get a Core+40GB? (I don't play online, need neither Ethernet nor Headset) And if the presumably coming 40GB has more backwards compatability as shipped, that's a big issue to me. (I really want backwards compatability for as many games as possible--I don't want to have too keep both my XB and 360 hooked up simultaneously to play everything)

Edited November 23, 2005 by David Hingtgen

[Mr March]

That may be, but I'm talking about THE game, the killer app, the piece of software that totally makes the console.  Like Goldeneye for the N64, or Castlevania Symphony of the Night for the Playstation, Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast, or Halo for the X-Box.  Those are the titles that utlimately make the entire console worth purchasing, at least IMO.  Personally, I want the big game title released BEFORE I purchase any new console.  A console without one really isn't worth it to me.

346767[/snapback]

Well, aside from Halo none of those titles were launch titles so it's a little unfair to criticize the 360 for not having that killer app yet. In the last 10 years only two systems have had amazing launch titles, and that would be the XBox (Halo) and the Nintendo 64 (Mario 64).

346779[/snapback]

Soul Calibur was absolutely a launch title for the Dreamcast.

I'm not singling out the X-Box 360 for lacking a killer app at launch. It's a sad reality that more often than not, consoles lack strong software releases at launch (like the PS2 launch). In my opinion, ANY console should have a big software draw if the company wants my business...launch or post-launch. I've personally never understood why people run out to buy consoles when worthwhile games are absent. Of course, this insanity is magnified by those people paying $1,000 + for an X-Box 360 at launch...and those who will do the same for the PS3 and Nintendo.

Edited November 23, 2005 by Mr March

[Mr March]

*snip*

I think what he's trying to say is that THIS is the reason why it isn't selling out faster than it is. The opening lineup is decidedly ho-hum. Some are getting good reviews, but are any of them really THAT much of a jump over what the Xbox1 had? It seems that the true benefits of the new system are better seen on the peripheral side of things... and even then if you're not a technophile, it isn't such a hot thing

346785[/snapback]

Hmmm, not really. I'm just expressing my amazement at the hype around this new console release (and by extension, most modern console launches). I know the first X-Box owned a repectable third of the market, but I'm not really sure where the 360 is going to sit other than to guess. But you are right about one thing, the 360 definitely would have had me lining up if Halo 3 was available at launch

[Mr March]

Soul Calibur was a DC launch title.  I remember DC launch day:

*snip*

346789[/snapback]

Ooops, should have read all the latter posts first

[bandit29]

$3K for the 360?  You have to be sh*tting me. XBOX 360 auction

346755[/snapback]

This one is triple that

morons

Edit: fartin christ. I doubt the seller will get paid for this

Edited November 23, 2005 by dejr8bud

[Anubis]

"xbox360licksballs" great user name. Payment is definately not happening.

Wow, that auction was almost entirely fake bids.

Edited November 23, 2005 by Anubis

[Apollo Leader]

I got off work today at 4:30 and headed straight up to Gamers (www.gogamers.com) up on 84th in La Vista to pick up my system. While all the other systems had been cleared out right after they had got their shipment in the morning, they had held my system and stuff all day. While other people were going nutzoid trying to get a system somewhere at midnight, here I was nonchalantly walking into the store right during the late afternoon at my own leisure. All together I ended up with a premium system, Quake 4 (got COD 2 from the same place on Saturday), 3 wireless controllers (not including the one with the system), and 2 rechargeable battery packs (probably won't be using all 4 controllers too terribly often at this point). Because of all the trade-ins, I ended up just having to pay an additional $180 or so for the stuff I decided to add on at this point. The only let down was that they had not recieved Ridge Racer 6... ironic that the only 2 games I had originally planned on getting for the laucnh, RR6 and DOA 4, did not end up in my hands today. Since I saw RR6 elsewhere, I'm sure Gamers will get it soon enough.

After I was done there, I headed on out to hunt down a copy of Perfect Dark Zero (another last minute decision purchase ). I checked out the Walmart in La Vista and they were out. I then drove to the Target about a mile south. They had two copies of the Collector's Edition left, so I was able to snag one of the hottest games for the launch. Now I just have to get my stuff all set up!!! Unfortunately tomorrow on my day off, I have some projects to work on, but hopefully I can spend some serious time with my system tomorrow evening.

I plan on getting setup on Xbox Live soon. Maybe we should start a thread for Macross Worlders who want to go head-to-head on Xbox Live whether it be Halo or something else?

[Hikuro]

I played some Need for Speed, I went ahead with a Bounty game and I think half the time I was running thru a golf course on a country club. 0_o you know I find it very suspisious why there are police cars in the middle of a golf course....but still over 18 grand in just that bounty part.

After a few games, I'veonly won 15 grand, but my bounty is almost 70! weeeeeee I love beating up cops!

[myk]

The craze for '360, that doesn't even have a noteworthy lineup is simple, in that people have allowed themselves to be swept away by the "new console/object craze." The hype for the past few months for the '360 was so much I consider it to be ridiculous. If a cure for cancer or the AIDS virus was developed I'm certain that it would generate less excitement than the '360. Microsoft and and everyone else involved succeeded in developing a tidal wave of desire and hype and so the entire nation's been caught up in it. Heck, I myself had NO intention of buying a '360 until 10pm last night, as I finally succumbed to the hysteria...

-Josie Maran does not belong in a Need for Speed game. That skanky blonde in the latest Test Drive would have been a better choice...

[mikeszekely]

he craze for '360, that doesn't even have a noteworthy lineup is simple, in that people have allowed themselves to be swept away by the "new console/object craze.

I think it's partly that, but also partly the timing of the launch. Microsoft starts heavily advertising it in September, and little Timmy decides that's what he wants for Christmas. It launches right before Thanksgiving, and even though there aren't nearly enough to go around, it joins the ranks of Tickle Me Elmo and Furby as the hot holiday item for it's time.

I think what he's trying to say is that THIS is the reason why it isn't selling out faster than it is.

How much faster do you want it to sell out? Instantaneously? By 9:00am 11/22, there wasn't a store within 30 miles that had any for sale.

Are there even any good games upon release?

I'm talking about THE game, the killer app, the piece of software that totally makes the console. Like Goldeneye for the N64

or Halo for the X-Box

Perfect Dark Zero. I wonder why you're so quick to dismiss it, when you clearly have a lot of love for Halo and Goldeneye? The original Perfect Dark improved the Goldeneye formula to the point that the former was almost unplayable. Perhaps it was merely released too late in the N64's cycle and too much time has passed for the prequel/sequel to generate enough buzz?

True, it's not mind-bogglingly better graphically than some of the shooters to have come out lately on the original Xbox, like Half-Life 2 or or Doom 3, but it took 4 years for Xbox graphics to get that good (and PS2 never came close). If all we had graphically were Xbox launch games, then the Xbox 360 launch games look simply awe-inspiring.

And while I can't vouch for the multi-player (on or off Live, since I've only played on Deathmatch), I finished the first three missions in single player. So far, in terms of single player gameplay, PDZ > Halo 2.

[Twoducks]

Played a Dead or Alive something demo in a tech Fair last weekend. Graphics looked pretty: some background where really beautiful (really liked one where you kept climbing down the stairs of a mountain temple) and hair moved a lot (must be compensating for the toned down boobs movement). I still see the usual glitches found in 3D games: hair and other body parts merging in and out with clothes or stairs while moving.

[Mechamaniac]

The only reason I was interested in the 360 was because of the built in wi-fi. But since I moved my router, I can now plug my hacked XBOX into it without the need for wi-fi.

There are no games worthy of the hardware built into the 360, and one review I read said not to expect any until 2007 or so.

That being said, I'll wait until they figure out how to mod out the 360 so I can do the same stuff I do with my current xbox, and I'll snag one when they hit the 1-150 dollar price range.

[Hikuro]

I can't believe some places are holding Preorders for Halo3 with an october 06 release date.......that's just.........wrong.....I don't wanna preorder something and wait a year+ for this thing to come out.

I am how ever gonna buy a few more games coming out such as Ghost Recon, that actually looks REALLY good, and Gears of War in March.

I heard a slight rumor SONY may push back the PS3 to 2007.

[myk]

I picked this up off of actiontrip.com:

"MS Loses Money With Each Xbox 360 [uros "2Lions" Jojic] 07:12 am EDT @ November 23rd, 2005

Is this really news to anyone? According to Businessweek, Microsoft is losing $126 dollars with every Xbox 360 shipped.

An up-close look at the components and other materials used in the high-end version of the Xbox 360, which contains a hard drive, found that the materials inside the unit cost Microsoft $470 before assembly. The console sells at retail for $399, meaning a loss of $71 per unit -- and that is just the start.

Other items packaged with the console -- including the power supply, cables, and controllers -- add another $55 to Microsoft's cost, pushing the loss per unit to $126. These estimates include assumptions that Microsoft is getting a discount on many components.

Hey, there's even some talk that they had to pay $200,000 dollars to have Paris Hilton parade around with that 360 box at the private Hollywood launch party. Word is, that's the going rate for her public appearance services. So yeah, MS is definitely willing to burn money on this."

I'm not trying to add negative publicity to the '360 as I'm an honest fan of the system at this point, but I figured it was interesting reading.

Anyway, Mike Z. reminds us that it will take a while for game publishers to get in sync with the '360 and begin to take advantage of the obviously powerful hardware; we just need to wait, and there really is no need to run out and mug someone to have this thing...

On another note, Mike, you're a GM for Gamestop and I wanted to know how it's going? I just lost my job and I was thinking about joining the darkside with you...

[Mechamaniac]

Somehow, I doubt that MS is losing money on these. If you calculate all the components at full retail price then maybe. But remember, this is MS. They have their fingers in everyone's pie (read: Their dicks in everyone's ass) and they aren't coming close to paying full retail for a damned thing. Let alone the fact that they are having these things mass produced in a thousand different Chinese sweatshops.

Trust me, they aren't losing a dime. Unless of course, Bill Gates suddenly lost his mind, and decided to provide something of value to the consumer after all the years of ripping them off.

[Mr March]

*snip*

Perfect Dark Zero.  I wonder why you're so quick to dismiss it, when you clearly have a lot of love for Halo and Goldeneye?  The original Perfect Dark improved the Goldeneye formula to the point that the former was almost unplayable.  Perhaps it was merely released too late in the N64's cycle and too much time has passed for the prequel/sequel to generate enough buzz?

True, it's not mind-bogglingly better graphically than some of the shooters to have come out lately on the original Xbox, like Half-Life 2 or or Doom 3, but it took 4 years for Xbox graphics to get that good (and PS2 never came close).  If all we had graphically were Xbox launch games, then the Xbox 360 launch games look simply awe-inspiring.

And while I can't vouch for the multi-player (on or off Live, since I've only played on Deathmatch), I finished the first three missions in single player.  So far, in terms of single player gameplay, PDZ > Halo 2.

346913[/snapback]

Oh I'm sure it's a fine game. Just comes down to personal preference. After almost 20 years of gaming, I'm not interested in a game unless it has everything I want. Just a more discriminating consumer than most and it pays off.

[Mr March]

As I understand it, a lot of console manufacturers lose money on the hardware. It's not until later in the console's life that the hardware starts to turn a profit. Most of the revenue comes from software and licences sold to developers.

[myk]

I'm actually pretty certain that the aforementioned article about the '360 and its INITIAL cost to Microsoft is accurate, but I look at it this way: they lose money because of the Premium bundle with the HD, headset, wireless controller etc. But there were plenty of people such as I that wound up purchasing the CORE system, and are now having to spend an extra $230 just to get up to the level of the Premium bundle (component a/v cable, wirelss controller, HD, headset). And of course, everyone who has a console is going to have to buy extra controllers at either $39.99 or $49.99 apiece for multiplayer stuff, then sign up for Xbox live, then buy more games and who knows what else. The sky's the limit as to how much money they're going to make on this, so this initial loss of money means nothing to Mr. Gates or his minions...

[Oihan]

Is the XBox 360 Premium package a limited time only kind of thing? I can't remember if I read the rumor about this or what...or if I'm thinking of something else all together. I just remember reading about some kind of limited time only thing going on with MS.

[zeo-mare]

My Brother Shawn got the system yesterday and i got to play it so far i like what i see. i got to see a bunch of games for it. Project Gotham Racing looked great, but i liked Need For Speed Rivals better. we got Ridge Racer coming this week, those 2 were the ones i really wanted to play first of all. Call of Duty was fantastic and was everything I hoped it would be. I found Condemed to be alittle slow and kind of boring for my taste, you kept figting the same enemy over and over again . I am most likely going to pick it up but i am going to wait a bit until the price comes down.

chris

[yellowlightman]

Somehow, I doubt that MS is losing money on these.  If you calculate all the components at full retail price then maybe.  But remember, this is MS.  They have their fingers in everyone's pie (read: Their dicks in everyone's ass) and they aren't coming close to paying full retail for a damned thing.  Let alone the fact that they are having these things mass produced in a thousand different Chinese sweatshops.

Trust me, they aren't losing a dime.  Unless of course, Bill Gates suddenly lost his mind, and decided to provide something of value to the consumer after all the years of ripping them off.

346967[/snapback]

Their substancial loss of the XBox was fairly well documented, and I wouldn't expect the situation to be much different with the 360.

It's not about providing a better value, it's about under selling competition and eventually becoming the dominant force in the industry. MS wants to destroy Sony's hold on the video game industry and they're willing to burn through a fair amount of cash to do so.

MS and Sony both have huge amounts of cash, so they can do things like that. Nintendo doesn't, and coincidentally enough Nintendo has just about the best business plan in the industry. They're not top dog, but they make plenty of money.

[Oihan]

Nah, $50 is merely the starting bid-the seller knows that bid amounts in excess of $3,000,000 are highly likely...

346749[/snapback]

I just checked eBay again and there's one that's going for $86 right now and there's about an hour left to bid for it...it also includes two games. I don't feel sorry for that chump who was expecting to make $3k only to be in the hole about $400...lol.

Edit: I spoke too soon....

Edited November 23, 2005 by Oihan

[myk]

Snipers...Those people I loathe on E-bay and Battlefield 2. The auction may be at $86 but it will soar to astronomic heights in due time...

[Hikuro]

People always bitched about the rise of price for the video games, you can get 'em cheaper with the previous gen's Xbox, PS2 if they're released compared to Xbox360. The reason behind that is cause game makers take a HUGE stab at loosing money publishing it and selling it at 49.99 each, a game could cost over millions of dollars, and if they're not like Halo, Mario etc, game industries loose money.

They were talking about the price for video games should really be 59.99+ to even come close to breaking even.

I can't remember, but weren't the old systems like SNES, Sega pretty expensive on their games? : / I can't really recall it but I think my folks paid 70 bucks for a game at one point.......I can't remember what it was.

Edited November 23, 2005 by Hikuro

[Gaijin]

People always bitched about the rise of price for the video games, you can get 'em cheaper with the previous gen's Xbox, PS2 if they're released compared to Xbox360.  The reason behind that is cause game makers take a HUGE stab at loosing money publishing it and selling it at 49.99 each, a game could cost over millions of dollars, and if they're not like Halo, Mario etc, game industries loose money.

They were talking about the price for video games should really be 59.99+ to even come close to breaking even.

I can't remember, but weren't the old systems like SNES, Sega pretty expensive on their games? :  / I can't really recall it but I think my folks paid 70 bucks for a game at one point.......I can't remember what it was.

346999[/snapback]

Carts were a lot more expesive to companies than CD's and DVD's. But development costs are much higher now.

[Kin]

lol forgive me but I have to say this:

The xbox360 looks like an electric waterboiler... the front of the CDtray looks like a waterlevel indicator.

I hope people don't pour water into it.

Edited November 23, 2005 by Kin

[Duke Togo]

One of my friend's ex-boyfriends dropped $30,000 on 100 Xbox 360's to sell on eBay. I kid you not.

I am waiting for the PS3 to come out next year. Sony employee price before the official release date, thank you very much!

[Kin]

I had to do this...