Paul Thurrot Predicts November Debut, $500 Tag For Xbox 720 232
New submitter inkribbon writes that Microsoft blogger Paul Thurrott has now predicted that Microsoft's Xbox 720 console will actually hit the market this November. Thurrott offers a mix of what he considers cold, known facts and "clearly identified conjecture" about the upcoming device. Important to users is this confidently offered claim about the price: "Microsoft will initially offer two pricing models for the console: a standalone version for $499 and a $299 version that requires a two-year Xbox LIVE Gold commitment at an expected price of $10 per month."
XBox Infinity (Score:5, Insightful)
I see what Microsoft did there. Instead of doubling 360 to 720, they've doubled o to oo. When put together, it looks like infinity.
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And doubled the cost of Live, apparently.
Re:XBox Infinity (Score:4, Insightful)
And doubled the cost of Live, apparently.
Only for the subsidized price. You can buy a 360 the same way already -- $99 instead of $299. You pay $10 more a month for Live, so you're basically paying $40 to finance it for two years.
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Do your math again. Using your numbers for a 360, if XBox Live is normally $5/mo, that's $120 for 2 years. Total cost of a 360 unsubsidized would be 120 + 299, or $419. A subsidized one would be $240 for two years + 99 = $339. So why choose an unsubsidized one if you're getting Live anyways?
For a 720, the numbers are similar, if they are correct as reported by the summary. $499 + 120 = $619 or 299 + 240 = $539.
Only question is - if you choose a subsidized model - what is the cost of XBox Live Gold after the two years are up? Is it 5, or 10?
Xbox Live is $10 / month. Its only $5 if you pay a year at a time. You can sometimes find it on sale for less.
So, yes, its not as good of a deal if you aren't paying month-to-month, but if you can afford to pay it all at once, you probably don't need to finance the Xbox, either.
And, of course, you can often find Xboxes on sale -- that makes the comparison worse, too... but again, you don't have to finance it. You can just buy one.
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(if you plan on subscribing to live for 2 years anyway)
I know copyright industry groups and cell carriers are allowed to execute people, but now Microsoft?
Fuck it. I'll go down fighting!
I hope not. (Score:4, Insightful)
$120 for a year of xbox live? 2X price increase for what, more DRM? Really?
Like cell phone contracts (Score:4, Funny)
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So which console is T-mobile?
I want to buy the device outright and pay as little for service as possible. So far the PS no price for network service seems OK.
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So which console is T-mobile?
PC, be it on a desk or behind the TV.
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This, exactly.
Even though playing pub servers means putting up with the occasional aim/wall/whatever hack-bot and/or juvenile chatter, overall they still play pretty well, even for the uber-old stuff like Quake 3.
(I never ever did pay-to-play for PC/console gaming in my life, so I couldn't tell you what Live or etc have in that aspect; that said, I assume that at least the bots are tamped down to a minimum, yes?)
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$500 + ($40 * 2) = $580
$300 + ($10 * 24) = $540
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As much as I detest having anything by Microsoft in my own home (work is a different story), let's be fair - I'm fairly sure they learned from the whole RROD incident
(ob. snark: That, or they learned XBox owners are not smart enough to realize that there's something inherently wrong with huge numbers of people buying the same damn thing multiple times, and/or waiting for it to go through RMA as opposed to actually using it...)
Re:I hope not. (Score:4, Informative)
$499 + 2 * $55 per year for Xbox Live = $609 2 year cost of ownership
vs
$299 + 2 * $120 per year for Xbox Live = $539 2 year cost of ownership
I imagine the discounted one won't come with a Hard Drive, or a Kinect Sensor, or controller or something else to offset it. But all things being equal... it's a cheaper route to go.
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Assuming they live 3 years though, you now tied, and at 4 years paying up front pays off.
Again I doubt the early units will last that long, based on what we saw with early 360s.
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Why would you assume that? That's absolutely ridiculous and NOT the way they operate LIVE now.
You would be free to start paying annually rather than month-to-month.
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Ya, they really didn't think this one through did they? You're right though they have plenty of room to dumb it down and remove features, but of course I'd rather not have to worry about that and just decide it based on membership fees, no ands. Besides, like 70% of the xbox experience is on xbox live, so it's not like people are not going to get it.
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Here's the thing, they haven't released any details on the $299 version. If it is the exact same machine as the $499 version, you would be better off to buy it and get locked into the 2 years of Xbox Live at $10 per month. Why? simple math:
$499 + 2 * $55 per year for Xbox Live = $609 2 year cost of ownership
vs
$299 + 2 * $120 per year for Xbox Live = $539 2 year cost of ownership
I imagine the discounted one won't come with a Hard Drive, or a Kinect Sensor, or controller or something else to offset it. But all things being equal... it's a cheaper route to go.
You forgot option 3:
$499 + 2 * $0 (i.e., no XBox Live subscription) = $499 2-year cost of ownership.
I have never had a so-called 'gold' subscription, and haven't felt the least desire to get one. Any DLC I am interested in is still available for purchase without having to pay some sort of monthly M$ tax, and I simply have no hint of a wisp of a desire to game with people who aren't actually in the room with me on a second (or third or fourth) controller...FTF IRL always trumps PVP, in my opinion.
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Why would they remove Kinect when Kinect will make them money directly. They have a patent for identifying users in the room and selling this information, it will be on 24/7.
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12 Month membership cards can be bought for $45 (maybe less, but that seems like a reasonable price).
To play any games with anyone else, you need a gold membership, so you're getting one.
So:
$299 + $240 = $539 at the two year mark.
$499 + $90 = $589 at the two year mark.
From that point on, you're paying $45 a month regardless. So, there is a point to it if you're going to have the membership anyway. If you can get your 12 month membership for under $20, then you can get ahead.
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Or you could buy a console that does not charge you a monthly fee. Such mythical devices actually exist!
They even let you watch netflix without paying the OEM of the console.
MIssing the death blow (Score:5, Interesting)
MIcrosoft is in a great position to deal a death blow to Sony and Nintendo in the next generation console race. They have a leading system now. The demand for set-top boxes is poised to explode. And the winer gets to be position themselves as a benevolent but profitable internet TV gate keeper in a durable way. So why screw this up with a large price hurdle. This is reminds me of the overpricing mistake sony made with the blue ray system. Makes Nintendo Wii look a lot more attractive, and gives Roku and AppleTv some breathing room.
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So why screw this up with a large price hurdle.
... but this is Microsoft.
Re:MIssing the death blow (Score:4, Insightful)
So they will definitely put themselves on death row by confirming the "always-on" rumor. It's been going on so long and is such a poisonous issue, I can't believe they wouldn't have denied it by now if it weren't true.
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They have a leading system now.
Third out of three is "having a leading system" now? At least original Xbox was second.
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When was the last time I bought a bluray disc?
They were very successful. So was King Pyrrhis.
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Overpricing mistake for blue ray? Sure they sold less consoles, but when was the last time you bought an hd-dvd? They were very successful in hedging out their competing technology.
Wait - didn't the XBox originally have an HD-DVD option? Whatever happened to that?
I'll say the same thing I've been saying (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft managed to advertise themselves out of my interest in any of their console offerings. I actually bought the first two xboxes, reliably purchased xbox live and games for the 360, but then after their choices to put more and more ads on EVERYTHING, I realized just how stupid I was being, and cut every last entertainment dollar from going to MS. I was done.
If you don't want to be exploited both coming and going, don't buy an xbox anything.
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I'll say the same thing I've been saying: "Big console" is done. EA's failure proves it. The growth spot of gaming is indie and mobile. AAA blockbusters will move back to the PC. Which isn't actually great news for Microsoft now that Valve has defected. Microsoft's new XBox means exactly one thing: more massive losses to pile on top of the old massive losses, still far from recouped.
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Predicting the end of console gaming has become almost as cliche as predicting the end of PC gaming.
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Yeah no kidding. Back in my days there were two competing systems and we now have three successful systems and people are still saying they will fail.
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I know in some ways it is like cable. You pay for the cable, but still have ads. But then that is why I think that you might as well pay for Hulu and watch when you wan
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it's sad to live life blocking everything without even trying them. The PS3 is good, the Xbox360 is good, and even the Wii U is very neat. No matter what you get I think you will have a lot of fun. So just drop those crazy morals and embrace ALL, or as much as you can afford for that matter.
Re:I'll say the same thing I've been saying (Score:5, Insightful)
For me it wasn't that they added ads to it. It was that they charged me to use the thing online with services that I sometimes paid for, for example I have to have gold to use netflix on the xbox. Then after they made me pay to use services they didn't host themselves they went along and added ads as if to say "ok baby now just bend over over here and everyone on my team is going to have a turn." They are royally screwing with people constantly. They had better have some damn good exclusives if they are going to compete in the next generation. With PS guaranteeing no always on DRM(I'm not saying Microsoft will but they sure haven't done much to say that they aren't) and no subscription services I think it will put people over the edge.
Wish I never bought my 360.
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If you don't want to be exploited both coming and going, don't buy an xbox anything.
And if you want to make absolutely certain that you never hand Microsoft another penny ever again, you need to avoid more than a few Android devices as well. :(
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I'm not actually radically anti-microsoft. They can continue to make office software and IDEs, which they're actually pretty good at.
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People who think they tune out ads are actually more influenced by them in their purchasing choices. They don't recognize the familiarity effect. I wish I could remember the marketing terminology for that so I could find some research to substantiate my claim. Working from memory here. Sorry.
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Well, purely anecdotal, but I find I'm more likely to not buy from companies who push their ads in my face.
Companies who push advertisements into my video games get a special brand of ire -- so EA are pretty high on my hit list, and Microsoft if they're going to make the next XBox require an internet connection.
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People who think they tune out ads are actually more influenced by them in their purchasing choices. They don't recognize the familiarity effect. I wish I could remember the marketing terminology for that so I could find some research to substantiate my claim. Working from memory here. Sorry.
I don't tune out ads, I just skip them. I DVR practically everything I watch now and skip the commercials when watching. If a show is just starting, I will walk away and do something else for 20 minutes before watching it using the DVR just to avoid commercials.
As for influence, I have yet to see an advertisement that influenced me to do something or buy something. At best, they make me aware of something new. At worst, they barely stop short of outright lying to their potential customers. The most ann
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Either I'm really good at tuning out the ads or you're just really bad at it. While my preferred gaming platform is PC, I still use my PS3 and 360 and don't feel they're overburdened with ads any more than Steam or the likes. If anything it seems worse on PC.
Steam's ads only appear when you visit the Store page or exit a game for the first time after starting Steam. The exit game ads can be disabled in Steam's settings. Incidentally, these ads are limited to new games, recently updated games, and sale items.
PS3's ads are little scrolling text messages in the upper-right corner of the system's main menu.Incidentally, these ads are limited to new games, recently updated games, sale items, and PSPlus price reductions.
The Xbox 360's ads are a set of 6 or so ads t
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Anyone with a brain just doesn't buy consoles
So what device for playing games with gamepads does anyone with a brain buy? Not all games are suitable for touch screens.
Re:I'll say the same thing I've been saying (Score:5, Informative)
A PC
Tried GOG? (Score:3)
You mean the console where you can't buy games, only rent them?
Games on GOG can be "bought" in the sense that they lack DRM measures to prevent resale, as can the vast majority of games in the Humble Bundles.
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A PC
You mean the console where you can't buy games, only rent them?
Really? You are saying there are ZERO games that can be bought for the PC? Or are you just being a troll?
He is not being a Troll. There is alot of DRM on PC games. Many things purchased on Steam or Origen can not be resold. I can purchase a PS3 game in a store and sell it the next day at gamestop. I purchase a PC game and there is a code in the box that ties the game to an account. All kinds of wierd DRM has been packaged with PC games. Everything from always online to rootkits.
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All kinds of wierd DRM has been packaged with PC games
Great, there goes another dolphin [theoatmeal.com]...you murderer! :p
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A PC
You mean the console where you can't buy games, only rent them?
Really? You are saying there are ZERO games that can be bought for the PC? Or are you just being a troll?
He is not being a Troll. There is alot of DRM on PC games. Many things purchased on Steam or Origen can not be resold.
I can purchase a PS3 game in a store and sell it the next day at gamestop. I purchase a PC game and there is a code in the box
that ties the game to an account. All kinds of wierd DRM has been packaged with PC games. Everything from always online to rootkits.
But on the other side of that coin, that game I bought on Steam cost me anywhere from $5 to $30 depending on how long I'm willing to wait for a Steam sale. I don't feel like I have to recoup my money by reselling my games second hand because they cost me so little in the first place. I paid $5 for Fallout: New Vegas, and I am not feeling the pain about not being able to resell it to someone else.
I also have many games acquired through things like Humble Bundles (no DRM, but with Steam key option if you want
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Cheap-ass guys li9ke you who basically let the console gamers subsidize game development.
As someone who enjoys new and original things by funding indie developers and Kickstarter projects and buys into stuff prior to them becoming the "next big thing," your claims are laughable. Console gamer multiplayer is a cesspool and titles are rapidly devolving into the always on, single use (registration code!) restrictive crap which was first foisted upon the PC players by none other than the same companies you proudly hand over money to. One of the strengths of giving gamers the ability to host their o
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I paid $5 for Fallout: New Vegas,
I got Saints Row 3 in a Humble Bundle deal along with a bunch of other games for about $15 (I can't remember exactly what I spent, by SR3 was the bonus game at the time that you got if you paid more than the average donation which is usually about $10).
You want to know why some developers treat the PC as an afterthought? Cheap-ass guys li9ke you who basically let the console gamers subsidize game development. Maybe if you didn't spend so much on your "gaming rig", you'd have money to, you know, actually buy games.
You are not stuck with a system where the games cost you $60.
Neither are console gamers there ARE inexpensive games on PSN and the other two console download services.
I paid $5 for Fallout: New Vegas,
I got Saints Row 3 in a Humble Bundle deal along with a bunch of other games for about $15 (I can't remember exactly what I spent, by SR3 was the bonus game at the time that you got if you paid more than the average donation which is usually about $10).
You want to know why some developers treat the PC as an afterthought? Cheap-ass guys li9ke you who basically let the console gamers subsidize game development. Maybe if you didn't spend so much on your "gaming rig", you'd have money to, you know, actually buy games.
You are not stuck with a system where the games cost you $60.
Neither are console gamers there ARE inexpensive games on PSN and the other two console download services.
Adorable.
I'm a cheap ass for buying something offered in a sale by those same developers.
That you think $60 for a game is the "real" price is also amusing. If the indie market has taught us anything it's that you don't need the crippling anchor of a AAA publisher dragging you down into a position where you have to release and sell a mediocre game that has somehow "failed" because it "only" sold 5 million copies.
If a developer doesn't want us to "subsidise" the console gamers, then they have no obligation to
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You think that will still be the case with 720? Really? That they don't install some way to marry the game to your console, 'til RROD do us part?
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A PC? a Mac?
Anyways, no one should buy a system where to use basic feature you need to pay a monthly fee.
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PCs are for any kind of video game. There's some really good USB gamepads out there, and as you mentioned, people do use XBox controllers with PC. Your attempt to downplay it doesn't change the fact that it can be done and is done by gamers all the time. There are upsides to using a console for gaming instead of a PC, but the gamepad is not one of them.
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Pretty much all recent PC games that can benefit from a controller can use one. I built a new PC mainly because I wanted to be able to run X-Plane 10 at a good framerate, and then when I saw how well it ran some other games, and how many now support controllers, I went out and bought a wired Xbox controller and haven't bought a single Xbox game since. My PC can run the same games faster and at higher resolution and they're often cheaper anyway.
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But if you think about it, why on earth would you want to play a FPS or an RTS with a controller when you have the best input devices for such tasks. So games that do require a gamepad like Assasin's Creed, Street Fighter IV, etc can be easily played with any gamepad controller on your PC. So I agree, the PC is the best gaming device nowadays. And let's not forget, no overpriced software titles.
Console exclusives and multi-console exclusives (Score:2)
So games that do require a gamepad like Assasin's Creed, Street Fighter IV, etc can be easily played with any gamepad controller on your PC.
And a lot of other games that require a gamepad, such as Mortal Kombat (2011), come out for Xbox 360 and PS3 and not PC. Games that end up not ported to the PC at all tend to encourage fans of games that can benefit from a controller to buy a console instead of building a gaming PC.
$40 controller to play a $5 game (Score:2)
I'm aware that the Xbox 360 controller works with a PC running Windows or Linux through a dongle that connects to the USB port, but that doesn't help if almost nobody thinks to buy the dongle or to buy a wired controller.
Xbox 360 controllers work flawlessly on a pc.
As I said, that doesn't help if almost nobody thinks to buy the dongle or to buy a wired controller. It's not whether they work as much as how many people are willing to buy a $40 controller to play a $5 game.
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Sure is easy to live in a world where people who make [common choice] are all universally morons. It makes it trivial to be the world's only super-genius.
I originally got a console for same-couch-multiplayer, which is another thing game company greed(we can make them buy 2 copies!) has eroded to almost non-existence.
Re:I'll say the same thing I've been saying (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm aware that I'm a bit of an extremist in this regards, but I believe advertisements to be fundamentally detrimental to society. The idea that I'd pay someone for ads offends me to no end. The fact that I could potentially limit my exposure by taking a particular course of action is not good enough.
Re:I'll say the same thing I've been saying (Score:5, Insightful)
What about when you buy a computer, and there's ads in your webpages? Or when you buy a magazine, and there's full-page ads? Or when you buy a TV, and there's advertisements? Or when you buy a shirt, and there's a little polo player on it?
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My fucking computer better not come with ads. Ads on webpages are clearly the fault of the website owner(and I adblock the hell out of a lot things).
I don't buy magazines with ads.
I don't watch ad-supported television(PBS: yes, netflix: sure, network/cable: never)
My shirts are all quite advertisement free.
I don't like advertisement. If it costs some website owner their living, I find it less distressing than allowing mentally draining, emotional manipulative lies to permeate my life. The are two things I
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None of my shirts do. If you want me to advertise your crap, you had better be paying me.
My car has only the OEM badge, no dealer crap.
Disc games vs. downloaded games (Score:2)
When the console starts, you press "a" to play the game.
That's fine for disc games. But if you want to play a game purchased from Arcade or Indie Games, how does the console know which of your purchased downloaded games to start?
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After having seen ads in both the XBox home screen, and in actual games themselves, that's what prompted me to disconnect my XBox from the network. Simply starting the game doesn't stopping you from getting in-game ads and other shit.
If the next version requires a constant internet connection, I and likely many others won't buy it.
If you don't game on-line, what value does the internet require
$499 for a console? (Score:5, Informative)
i guess its back to retro PC strategy gaming for me
$499 i can buy another ipad and there some awesome games on iOS now
i was going to buy a new xbox to replace my old one, dump my PS3 which is only for blu ray and make my TV area look less cluttered. at $499 i'll just buy a blu ray player and dump the consoles
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2 kids and they already cracked the glass on the ipad 2 fighting over it
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2 kids and they already cracked the glass on the ipad 2 fighting over it
I think that would be an acceptable legal defense for some pretty heavy child abuse.
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2 kids and they already cracked the glass on the ipad 2 fighting over it
So get them an etch a sketch until they demonstrate that they're old enough to respect their (or your) toys...or only let them use it while supervised by an adult.
Seriously, dude, buying another one (or two??) for them after they broke the first one? In the words of Great Big Sea, "I wanna be consequence free...". It's a nice philosophy for life, but a pretty irresponsible parenting model.
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yep
App store has lots of educational apps for reading, writing, math, colors, patterns, etc. my 5 year old can write full sentences. my 2 year old loves doing puzzles on the ipad
i was going to buy 2 ipad mini's this year and customize them for each kid, but now with all three consoles looking like crap i'll probably buy more ipads. its like the idiots running these companies make me give money to apple.
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its like the idiots running these companies make me give money to apple.
You could always pick up a couple Nexus', give your money to the Goog instead.
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if my ipad breaks i have 10 apple stores within an hour's distance. if my nexus breaks what do i do?
Hell if I know; at least you have the option. There isn't an Apple store within 500 miles of where I live, unless you include Best Buy (I don't).
Anyway, I was just responding to your statement, "its like the idiots running these companies make me give money to apple," by pointing out that you do have other options, disagreeable though they may be.
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You sound like someone who has absolutely zero experience with children.
Before the iPad 2, there was the iPad 1 (Score:2)
Why would you need a second ipad to do this?
That depends on what model of iPad alen already owns. How many new games are still compatible with the original iPad?
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all of them
all the new stuff like real racing 3 and dungeon hunter 4 run even on the ipad 2 and look good on it
And to be honest (Score:4, Interesting)
If what I've heard and read online is true in that the 720 will not allow you to lend physical game discs to friends and family to play as well as not allowing used games to be bought and played from stores such as EB Games/Gamestop all because they want to tie down physical game discs to the first console machine its played on with some DRM garbage then I hope enough people realize to say "Screw you Microsoft" and switch to the PS4 instead which is supposed to not have DRM lockdown garbage.
No mods means DRM lockdown garbage too (Score:2, Offtopic)
I hope enough people [reject Xbox and] switch to the PS4 instead which is supposed to not have DRM lockdown garbage.
Will the PS4 let enthusiasts develop and self-publish games even if they happen not to live in the Austin, Boston, or Seattle area? Will it at least let licensed game developers expose a rich modding API to enthusiasts? If not, it's still "DRM lockdown garbage".
Always Connected (Score:5, Insightful)
This item is just bizarre:
>Internet-connected. The next Xbox must be Internet-connected to use. This is the source of the “always on”/“always online” rumors and isn’t as Draconian >as many seem to believe.
If it must be connected to play local games, it's exactly as draconian as many believe. This would be a deal-breaker for me. When my Internet is down, I tend to play video games.
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Yeah, that's what I was scrolling down to find, someone else who RTFA. With the problems XBOX live has off and on on the weekends, I'd be pissed if I couldn't play, because the servers were down on a Saturday.
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Always-On Internet (Score:2)
Internet-connected. The next Xbox must be Internet-connected to use. This is the source of the “always on”/“always online” rumors and isn’t as Draconian as many seem to believe.
If this is true, I won't be buying it.
Always on Internet Connection (Score:2)
Internet-connected. The next Xbox must be Internet-connected to use. This is the source of the “always on”/“always online” rumors and isn’t as Draconian as many seem to believe.
MS, the only people who don't think an always on Internet connection isn't Draconian works for you or game publishing companies. Most of your consumers think it's very Draconian.
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If the next XBox must be always connected to the Internet, then it must not be purchased by me.
Fuck that noise. Consoles are supposed to be something I can fire up and play on quickly. If I have to screw around with making sure that Time Warner isn't sucking ass before it will let me at the content I've already purchased and have locally, then this is just as worthless as the DRM-riddled bullshit that EA puts out and gets burned by every single time.
$10 a month for Gold?!? (Score:5, Insightful)
So I get to pay $10 a month for the privilege of being able to pay Netflix $8 a month to watch some movies on my Xbox? No sale, chick.
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h4rr4r says October and the price will be $501 (Score:2)
H4rr4r says October and the price will be $1.
Since the judging is based on nearest to the price without going over, the odds favor him by a wide margin.
New Golden Age of PC Gaming (Score:5, Interesting)
Price (Score:2)
So... $500 for the console, plus an optional $40 for financing plus two years LIVE Gold membership (normally priced at $120). I can see that the latter would be the obvious choice for anyone interested in the gold membership.
I predict "RIIIIDGE RACER" (Score:2)
Sorry, I couldn't help it. I'm getting the same feeling as the PS3 launch. I sense the hype that MSFT is trying to build but deep inside it's just not for me. I'm more excited by the PS4.
Resolution (Score:2)
Only 720p? My phone has 720p, I would expect at least 1080p.
I think it'll tie in with Windows 8 (Score:3)
My prediction is that the 720 will run Windows 8 metro apps. It makes sense for MS in all respects: it increases the audience, drawing developers. It gives Xbox a bigger software library out of the gate. It bolsters consumer confidence in metro.
If they can map Kinect input to what would normally be touchscreen gestures, it would effectively become a living room PC; perfect as Microsoft's stealth play into being just that.
If they can complete the picture by bringing their pretty weak Xbox Music and Video offerings, they might have both a strategic and sales win through 2014.
That is, if they can don't do boneheaded things like always-on DRM or releasing hardware that can fry an egg and gives you a double red ring of death.
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My prediction is that the 720 will run Windows 8 metro apps. It makes sense for MS in all respects: it increases the audience, drawing developers. It gives Xbox a bigger software library out of the gate. It bolsters consumer confidence in metro.
If they can map Kinect input to what would normally be touchscreen gestures, it would effectively become a living room PC; perfect as Microsoft's stealth play into being just that.
If they can complete the picture by bringing their pretty weak Xbox Music and Video offerings, they might have both a strategic and sales win through 2014.
That is, if they can don't do boneheaded things like always-on DRM or releasing hardware that can fry an egg and gives you a double red ring of death.
There is one problem with this. Some developers might not like having their $60 games compete with $1.99 ones.
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It started with the last xbox.
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Service-based computing == separating fools from their money.
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how awesome is to to spend $499 on a console just to play the same FPS $60 games that take a day to finish and can't be sold or lent to friends?
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Easy solution to breaking the gaming habit. Get marry. As long as it's not to a gamer. Break smoking habit: live in California (where you're treated less than human) and have a baby.
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"BTW, all the magic on the PS4 happens on one chip. ONE CHIP. This makes our desktop systems look like they belong in a museum."
Except that one chip is from AMD.
Joking aside, I'm guessing it's a balance approach from AMD (just enough CPU power with really good GPU power).
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Re: wow, the economy must be getting a lot stronge (Score:2, Informative)
499 + 2 years of Xbox gold subscription( $120 ) = $619 > $539