Posted on 08/17/2005 7:27:30 AM PDT by Panerai
Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 games console will launch later this year in two versions, one priced at US$299 and the other at $399, according to a report on the Web site of the Los Angeles Times that quotes the company.
The more expensive version will include a 20GB hard-disk drive, wireless controller, headset, Ethernet cable and wireless remote control, the report said.
Previously Microsoft, which couldn’t be reached for comment on the report, had said the Xbox 360 would be available in North America, Europe and Japan before the end of this year. The company has already disclosed many key specifications about the console but pricing remains one of the biggest question marks regarding the unit. That’s partly because of fierce competition looming between Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.’s PlayStation 3, which is expected sometime in the first half of 2006.
Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are considerably more powerful than current gaming consoles. Each supports high-definition video and are expected to deliver much more realistic graphics to gamers.
Microsoft has promised to announce major news concerning the console at a European gaming convention later on Wednesday.
Does that mean that the $299 model DOESN'T come with a hard drive? If it doesn't, I wonder if one can be added by the owner?
Yet.
Looks like games for the first XBOX are about ready to get a whole lot cheaper. It's time to start buying them up.
No, it needs a hard drive, memory to run the games. It might just be a few GB's. The bigger hard drive will be for those who would like to use the Xbox for other things done on a PC: photos, multimedia, etc.
No better game than Halo 2
Good news bump.
Check out "Project Snowblind", I am not saying it's better. I am playing it right now, and it's pretty cool.
I'll second the motion made by Rosemont on Halo 2!
A good graphics card will run at least $200 and you have to keep upgrading to take advantage of new releases. No way. Been there, done that. My X-Box has given me hours of entertainment without the hassle.
Now, let them release a new flight sim and I might buy a new PC to use it. Other than that, I'll stick with the X-box.
Thanks; I figured it had a hdd, since the current Xbox does.
That said, consoles are the future of gaming (God, I hate to say that!). The problem is that consoles simplify the gaming experience. PC hardware requires complicated choices during purchasing (quick, tell me which renders faster, a Radeon x800 or a NVIDIA 6800GT... entire gaming sites are dedicated to that argument... with answers like "it depends..."), some knowledge of computer operation, and regular updating of components, drivers, software, etc. to stay current. It is the gaming choice of the bleeding-edge gamer and the technologically hardcore.
Look at what is required to use a console game. You plug it into the TV and wall, put the CD/DVD in, and play. That's it. You don't have to worry about upgrades/hardware requirements/patches/etc.; you just play. Add to this that development times and costs are less for game companies (as you are developing for one specific hardware set), and soon you are going to see most games released on PC's as afterthoughts of console releases (see GTA:SA). And, because I would bet that most PC gamers also own consoles, why would anyone wait for the PC version? (Which will lower PC game sales even more.)
It's kind of like the PC vs. Apple debate of the 90's. Sure, Apple might have had a better product, but a cheaper and simpler (and Windows was simpler because it was what most users were already familiar with) PC grew to dominate most markets. I'm afraid the same will happen (if it hasn't already) with console games...
The Xbox 360 $299 model WILL NOT have a hard drive. All developers have been instructed to code the games for use assuming there is no hard drive present, even though the previous xbox's all had hard drives. You will not be able to play previous xbox games on xbox 360 without purchasing the hard drive.
The $299 model is a sucker's bet, meant to be used ONLY for the PR campaign so they can say that there is a $300 xbox 360 available.
Realistically, the difference in price is only $60, because you absolutely HAVE to be able to save your game progress somewhere, so if you get the model without the Hard drive, you are going to HAVE to buy the memory card, which is $40.
It's going to be expensive to stay on the bleeding edge, that's for sure.
(My Xbox Live gamertag: Carlucci )
I agree with your assessment. I have a similarly configured PC, and I'm not sure I'll go through the cost and headaches of upgrading again.
I'd be a console-only gamer if they provided a keyboard + mouse interface for first person shooters.
Having started with the keyboard and mouse on the PC, it's very difficult to go to a console controller. Halo 2 looks great, and I'd really like to play it, but I end up more frustrated than anything else because I can't interface with the game as well using the controller. I know what I want to do, but I just can't get the controller to do it, or when I try to get someone in the crosshairs, I'm all over the place. It feels like I'm playing with one hand tied behind my back.
Then I hop back on the PC for a little Call of Duty, and everything "clicks." (no pun intended)
I am in the same boat as you - I am a PC gamer who doesn't like consoles much.
But I disagree that consoles are the future of gaming. I think they offer cheap, simple, yet limited gaming.
Consoles are converging towards personal computers anyway. The XBOX is little more than a cheap PC with copy protection all over it. Okay it is dedicated to gaming and doesn't have to worry about such an OS overhead that modern PC's do, but there is a downside to that too.
Where PC's win flat out is the ability to run tools that allow games to be modded. I can buy Quake3, then go online and download a level editor and compile tools and build my own map, copy that into the quake3 directory and run the map. I can even download collections of other people's maps and play them too.
I can also download the game source code and make modifications to the weapon rules, gameplay, etc and then distribute that modification. I can download modifications that other people have made.
None of the above flexibility is anything PC gamers are willing to lose. So unless console games become as flexible there is no way PC gaming is going to disapear. In fact the only real way of making consoles as flexible as PC's is to turn consoles into PC's. I think consoles will remain for a long time. There is a niche market for cheap and simple gaming platforms that are not necessarily flexible.
Ahmen! I gotta have my WoW fix. :)
Cheers.
Spetz!
If you mean the watch, don't have one yet, and at the moment I am looking at getting another Omega, the Planet Ocean looks really nice.
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