[Huz]

Originally Posted by RLacey

As far as I'm aware there's nothing specifically illegal about selling that high. Some independent stores have actually placed a 90% markup on their hardware, taking the cost to a ridiculous £700 - something Microsoft branded as "disgusting". If people are prepared to pay it...

Microsoft are probably "disgusted" with that because they wanted to 'encourage' stores to sell consoles only in massively expensive bundles of games and accessories, or so I read somewhere, by hinting that they wouldn't get any stock after the initial batch if they didn't comply.

Still, this whole thing is completely ridiculous. The sooner the hype dies down and the rest of us can figure out whether the system is really worth all the fuss, the better.

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

blah blah too lazy to copy and paste, just so you know I'm reply to you.

Ah, makes sense if you were able to get it at a knock-down price! I must admit, when I read about the recent price cuts in Japan, I was tempted to see if an import job was possible, too! But I'll pass - at least until it's possible to mod the X360.

I'm sure a Japanese Revolution or PS3 will be far more worth the effort, though!

[squarejawhero]

The reported price cuts weren't real, Huz. You had to sign up for an offer which meant you had to spend money anyway. Nearly halving the price of a new product within a week just aint gonna happen!

As for hype, what're my opinions? Kettled fish? I'm telling you, this is a great piece of kit. Even better for its multimedia functionality and communication with my PC... regardless of power (many developers are unimpressed with PS3 functionality anyhow) let's see the PS3 do that.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

As for my Japanese Xbox, I've bought it as my cousin got it for me at a good price. Personally I kind of regret it, as your thoughts echo mine, but it was reasonably cheap and he can supply me with games, so atm it's not an issue.

I may sell it in the future to fund a UK one! You never know. It's current lack of success rests solely on Microsofts bizarre decision to release it with barely any titles which reflect its market before Christmas. If anything it shows as much apathy towards that area of the world as the apparent consumer lack of interest.

So you couldn't wait, either. Uh huh.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Huz

Microsoft are probably "disgusted" with that because they wanted to 'encourage' stores to sell consoles only in massively expensive bundles of games and accessories...

What games?

[squarejawhero]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

So you couldn't wait, either. Uh huh.

I had the money and the option. Don't make me feel guilty for that.

[Huz]

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

As for hype, what're my opinions? Kettled fish? I'm telling you, this is a great piece of kit. Even better for its multimedia functionality and communication with my PC... regardless of power (many developers are unimpressed with PS3 functionality anyhow) let's see the PS3 do that.

Don't worry, I'm not belittling your opinion! Most of the views I've heard have been overwhelmingly positive, but it takes time for the true worth of any new system to become apparent!

I would be tempted by the 360 myself, having heard so many good things about it, but it's mainly the price of the games and the fact that so much of the system would go to waste (on my 14" portable) that's holding me back.

[SoccerDude28]

"Good things happen to those who wait".

Originally Posted by SJH

I'm telling you, this is a great piece of kit. Even better for its multimedia functionality and communication with my PC... regardless of power (many developers are unimpressed with PS3 functionality anyhow) let's see the PS3 do that.

Don't give in to the marketting mumbo-jumbo. This is a console "TO PLAY GAMES" only. If it is good at that, I applaud them for it. Let's not forget the purpose of these machines to begin with. All the other stuff is icing on the cake, but without a solid gaming foundation, it is doomed to collapse like a beautiful building without enough concrete.
Now I am not saying that this is the case with the 360 because so far, it seems like it has a pretty impressive lineup of software by the end of next year. But all I am saying is that it should be the number one reason for buying a 400 dollar "GAMING CONSOLE".

[Melanie68]

I'm not here to add anything intelligent but I thought this was funny*












* I probably should have put it in one of the chit chat threads.

Me

[squarejawhero]

Originally Posted by SoccerDude28

"Good things happen to those who wait".


Don't give in to the marketting mumbo-jumbo. This is a console "TO PLAY GAMES" only. If it is good at that, I applaud them for it. Let's not forget the purpose of these machines to begin with. All the other stuff is icing on the cake, but without a solid gaming foundation, it is doomed to collapse like a beautiful building without enough concrete.
Now I am not saying that this is the case with the 360 because so far, it seems like it has a pretty impressive lineup of software by the end of next year. But all I am saying is that it should be the number one reason for buying a 400 dollar "GAMING CONSOLE".

I'm sorry, do I LOOK like an idiot? I'm giving you the opinion of someone who HAS a 360 and been using it all weekend. It's multimedia functionality is actually more than a bonus. It's like having a media center PC as well as a console - "marketing mumbo jumbo" my ass. Isn't that exactly ALL what Sony has right now?

You seriously think that a massive, massive organisation like Microsoft are going to let this console lie? Have you even looked at how many releases are being developed for it? The only disastrous thing about this console was the launch, not the games being released for it. In fact, it's got some quality titles for a console launch being followed up by more directly afterwards. And remember - its sold out in western countries! What does that mean? People want and own the machine already.

Maybe I'm over-reacting to your post, but seriously - this is a mean, slim piece of kit and the multimedia functionality is FAR from mere icing. Microsoft have always clearly stated it's intended for far more than just console games, I own one and I can tell you - it is a powerful machine in its own right beyond gaming. In fact, it looks like the purchaser of my Jap 360 may be my father for precisely this reason.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

By the time I'll be able to afford the 360 and a couple of games for it (oooh, Oblivion and Splinter Cell 4 ) MS should be coming out with a better tweaked version, right? One that doesn't overheat, right? One that doesn't freeze up, right? Right?

[squarejawhero]

Trep, I'm not saying those stories aren't true, but seriously, hardly any complaints came out of the EU on this and compared to the amount of consoles actually sold, the complaints were very low. Ever heard of a faulty batch? That happens with everything on a manufacturing level, regardless of whether it's new or not.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Well, I'm glad I didn't get the Xbox that overheats or the one with the faulty power cords. But then there were also those first batch PS2s with the weird disc drivers, etc.

[insane_cobra]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

By the time I'll be able to afford the 360 and a couple of games for it (oooh, Oblivion and Splinter Cell 4 ) MS should be coming out with a better tweaked version, right?

By the time I'm able to afford it, MS should be coming out with HyperX^2Box Omega Apocalypse.

[samIamsad]

The best thing the release has spawned thus far has been Demetri Martin's (Comedy Central) sketch. Seen it on CNN. Funny. (http://www.filecloud.com/files/file.php?file_id=2576)

[SoccerDude28]

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

I'm sorry, do I LOOK like an idiot? I'm giving you the opinion of someone who HAS a 360 and been using it all weekend. It's multimedia functionality is actually more than a bonus. It's like having a media center PC as well as a console - "marketing mumbo jumbo" my ass. Isn't that exactly ALL what Sony has right now?

Seriously, you don't have a PC right now that can connect to an iPod, a PSP, your Palm pilot, play wmv movies? And it can do more than what the 360 too, like let you burn your itunes onto a DVD or download songs for your itunes, or even install software on your PSP. What is the big deal when you already own that functionality and more and you have for the last 10 years. Isn't the PC already the ultimate multi-media center? So you are raving about something you already had since you owned your first PC, with less functionality, just coming in a shinier box, and coming to your living room. That's marketting mumbo jumbo.
Okay so you move that into the living room. Why? Are you going to use your 360 to throw a party? Is there really a point in hooking up the iPod into a console, when it really is a portable device that is meant to be listened to alone?

And as far as people buying the 360 at launch, it is peer pressure and marketting. I even was about to lay down 400 dollars to buy it, because I literary was almost brainwashed by the hype and marketting. But then I came back to my senses, thought about why I wanted to buy the thing in the first place, looked at the launch titles which were alright but not warranting of such a purchase, at all the great games that are going to come for it by the end of next year, at the higher probability of me getting a lemon as an early adopter, and I restrained.

[squarejawhero]

No, because even though it's got a lot of capability, my PC certainly didn't only cost £275 to build and it's not as quiet and certainly not as unobtrusive as my little white 360. Try and find a powerful, pleasent to look at PC multimedia center at that price with the graphics capability of the 360 - er.. what's that? Oh, you CAN'T.

If you can afford it, the PC CAN be a great media center with living room aesthetics, but it's hardly user friendly in comparasion to the plug-and-play and functional Xbox360 interface. It's so streamlined. I'd rather do all what you're saying within 30 seconds of turning on the box (less, actually) without dicking around waiting for boot-up and using numerous programs to do different things... oh, and I don't have an i-Pod and doubt I ever will. Stop being narrowminded, too, an MP3 player doesn't HAVE to be a solo experience, but a portable jukebox too. I plug in my creative into stereo speakers and the sound quality is great when I'm cooking!

So no - the 360 isn't mumbo jumbo. It's a lovely, easy alternative without all the melodrama with the ability to connect right into my surround without any fuss and my television to share things without gathering around my work monitor. It's hardly marketing mumbo-jumbo when I'm telling you, for a fact, that the 360 is a nice piece of multimedia kit beyond its gameplaying. Hype comes before. I'm talking about fact.

LOL, and yeah... hooking up my 360 to my creative and having a few thousand songs on random or a playlist is a great idea when I'm throwing a party. I don't need the telly on at all, actually, and you can barely hear it amongst the music and the chatter.

So seriously, bugger off about "hype" and "marketing mumbo jumbo" because I'm dealing with this machine and offering my level, straight opinion. You've got a PSP, eh? Like it if I criticised you for buying what is essentially a portable PS1 with overpriced UMD movies rather than an innovative machine like the DS which allows you to play games you've never seen before? No?

No, it's not perfect, but it's a damn sight more impressive than you're giving it credit for. I'm going to go wireless next year if I can afford it, as is my father, and it'll be fantastic to sit there with his laptop and see family photo's on the LCD whilst playing music.

Oh, and last time I looked, I wasn't under any peer pressure to buy this thing. I could afford to and did, and I'm glad I did. I'm 28 years old and can make my own mind up and have never, ever bought a console until now aside from my Megadrive. I bought it for the functionality as well as the games. Stuff that in your pipe and smoke it before accusing me of following the flock... or do you want to talk PSP's and iPods?

[SoccerDude28]

You were just asking us for opinions about the 360 and I was giving you mine.

I believe everyone who owns a 360 pretty much owns one form of PC or another, and all the non gaming activity done by the 360 can be achieved by a 5 year old Pentium 1 PC. That's the PC's job: to play multi-media, connect to devices using USB and play movies and store images. Besides the fact that you are moving that to a living room and paying 400 dollars for it, I really still can't see what new non-gaming thing I can do that I can't achieve with a pentium (THAT I ALREADY OWN).

And you brought a very good point in the PSP, to just prove my point. I do not own a PSP, and never plan on getting one till there are good games for it. You see all critics raving about the DS over the PSP although the latter is a marvel of multi-media functionality. Why? Because the PSP so far has a crappy library of games. None of that extra multi-media functionality really matters much, because if that is all what a person really wants, he is ending up paying a LOT for a PSP.

Just answer me this. If (AND ONLY if), the library of 360 games will suck in the next 4 years, (hypothetically, I know it will be awesome but just assume),
will you still think that the 360 was a good purchase for its multi-media functionality?

[squarejawhero]

What a stupid ****ing question. You're just creating circular arguments because you're talking to someone who's evidently getting benefit OF its functionality and don't want to listen, putiting it down as hype only. Of course I didn't JUST buy it for its multimedia. I can't predict the future of its games as much as you can for the PC. All I know is that simply by offering this ability it suddenly opens itself up as more than just a console, and those functions not only work, but I've got a use for. So tough shit if you don't like that! It's a fact!

Truth is, I've found it to be more than just a white elephant in this regard. But you're not willing to listen. I don't always want to sit in front of my PC JUST to do these things, nor in future do I want my PC in my room all the time, nor do I want a desktop PC either right now. The 360, to me, has proved itself to be a great piece of kit ALONGSIDE the PC and it's a damn sight cheaper than a multimedia PC center.

Live with it.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Sheesh, you guys! Get a room already!

Calm the **** down.