Xbox 360

[btweensunandmoon]

so who preordered a 360 and is going through the same BS that I am? I preordered at my local EB (3 months ago) and was guaranteed to have one on launch day (today). I was #31 on the list. They were supposed to get 35. Well that number dropped to 14 with only another 10 more coming in before xmas. The local walmart was in even more dire straights with a whopping total of 6. I have been a part of several system launches and realize that supplies almost always come up short...but...i have never witnessed the supply shortage being this bad. What makes the situation worse in my eyes is the large number of games that were promised before xmas and at the last moment were pushed off to next year. This seems like some suspicious marketing tactic was going on by promising both machines and games that microsoft probably knew it couldnt deliver. If i have to wait until January, i may just wait a few more months and grab the PS3. I would think others may go this route too. Not a smart move by microsoft to launch if it wasnt prepared.

[fettouhi]

What a crock .

Regards

André

[Bahamut]

I'm actually a manager for EB lol. I can't speak for the company, but I for one am just as pissed off as you guys. I got people physically threatening me over a video game lol.

And yes, I firmly believe its a marketing tactic.. Some of the other retailers are making it even shadier. Circuit City won't sell you just a system, you have to buy their "bundle" with 3 games and a bunch of accessories most people don't need, so instead of paying $400 your paying $600 or $700.

Add to that the dumbasses that are actually willing to shell out that much just to be one of the first to own one, and the lameness spirals so far down into stupidity that its hilarious.

Whats really funny, is so far the games don't even look that great. Yea, they're pretty and all, but I've yet to see one that merits shelling out $400 for a new system.

BS indeed.

[jemsite]

Those EB stores mislead and ripped people off taking preorders before it was announced. Around here in a large mall they took 300 preorders This was a front-page article in a large newspaper yestereday.... 360 is getting ALOT of media coverage. Don't blame microsoft. It's not a marketing tactic... they'll sell every one they make and are doing a worldwide launch (japan/UK next month). They can't just punch these out like popsicle sticks. LOL.

mine is in transit (not the core system). I made a last minute purchase online and got lucky and should arrive next week. i haven't played much video games since the Sega Saturn era.

your best strategy is a place like BestBuy or circuit city or Target (who doesn't take preorders) and find out the day/time of next shipment thru the holidays. Good luck...glen




For video gamers, a new Xbox under the tree
Microsoft expects 360 console to be hot gift this winter
Monday, November 21, 2005
BY KEVIN COUGHLIN
Star-Ledger Staff

This holiday season could pose some tough fiscal choices.

Heating oil ... Xbox 360?

Xbox 360 ... heating oil?

After months of hype, Microsoft's new $400 video game console hits store shelves at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow. If pent-up demand is any harbinger, some folks may be lowering their thermostats this winter to snag the season's hot toy.

At GameStop in Edison, more than 300 people each plunked down $50 to reserve an Xbox 360, says senior game adviser Rose Higginson. She plans to buy one, too.

"I'm more of a (Sony) PlayStation fan, honestly, but the (Xbox 360) graphics are really nice," says Higginson, 20.

Packing about 10 times more horsepower than the original Xbox introduced in 2001, the 360 promises great graphics on a regular TV and stunning images on high-definition sets.

The Xbox 360 also is something of a Trojan horse, meant to conquer the living room and keep you buying new game titles, at $50 a pop. Eighteen titles in several genres should be available tomorrow, with more to come as Microsoft, the No. 2 player in the U.S. video game industry, takes its battle with No. 1 Sony and No. 3 Nintendo to another level. For their part, Sony and Nintendo are promising new consoles next year.

Sleek and concave, the new Xbox console can play DVD movies and CDs. Users can substitute favorite songs for game soundtracks. The premium model boasts a 20-gigabyte detachable hard drive, perfect for storing photos, songs and video -- which users can swap online via the Xbox Live gaming network. Content can be downloaded to the Xbox 360 from an iPod, or (with some optional gear) streamed wirelessly from a computer, for playback on TV and stereos.

But no computer is required.
Page 2 of 2

That means Microsoft, which plans to evolve into a company that sells software and services online, now can think seriously again about targeting groups that prefer a TV remote to a computer mouse. Microsoft made a similar foray years ago with WebTV, but Internet technology was not quite ready for prime time.

"This is easier for adults and kids to navigate than TiVo," says Richard Doherty, a tech analyst for the Envisioneering Group, referring to the popular digital television recorder. He is considering buying an Xbox 360 for his in-laws, and hooking up a Webcam to check in on them via the Xbox Live gaming network.

Analyst David Riley of the NPD Group predicts holiday sales of Xbox 360 consoles, games and accessories will help the industry top last year's record $10.3 billion in sales.

"I couldn't imagine any kid or even any adult that wouldn't want one. It's the definite must-have," says Riley.

Microsoft expects to sell up to 3 million Xbox 360 consoles over the next three months, and as many as 5.5 million units by June. A "core" version, without the hard drive, will retail for $300. The world's leading software maker invited some 3,000 gaming fanatics to a hangar in the Mojave Desert last night for a nonstop gaming frenzy to usher in tomorrow's product launch.

The software giant lost gobs of money -- analysts estimate $4 billion -- launching its first Xbox. But Doherty believes the Xbox 360 will turn a profit within a year.

That's assuming Microsoft can keep pace with demand. Although Sony has sold about four times as many gaming consoles as Microsoft, the Japanese entertainment company riled consumers in 2000 when it ran out of new PlayStation 2 units.

The new games must be good, too.

Initial reviews have been positive, but gamers are demanding, and early games for new machines tend to be disappointing. About 200 older Xbox games should work with the new console, but most will require software downloads from Microsoft.

"No one has done quite this ambitious a launch in the history of video games," says Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research. "This is clearly a big and bold move on their part. Microsoft wants to leave no advantage on the table."

And then there is Mother Nature, the one thing even Bill Gates cannot buy. High fuel prices and low temperatures could chill sales.

"If it's a cold winter," Riley says, "people are going to be cutting every corner they can."

Kevin Coughlin covers technology. He may be reached at

[the.godfather]

I can safely say that I am going through exactly the same thing over here in the UK. Over here, the console is released on 2nd December. About 2 months ago, I pre-ordered mine from Gameplay. They I would get it on release.

I got an email last week saying that I would have to wait for the 2nd delivery.
Which pissed me off obviously.

Then I got another email from them, saying they dont know when the 2nd delivery is, and could even be in Jan 2006!!!

What an absolute rip-off.
My account wont get credited until they send the console. But still.....I was, and still am severly pissed off.

Now its too late to pre-order it anywhere else!
I want it on the release day for christs sake - NOT in Jan 2006

[AirGuitar]

I ordered mine from Amazon.co.uk in September (possibly august, i cant remember the exact date) and it looks like i might get it on the release day.

Problem is.... with the games that are out on it, i dont know if i even want it anymore. I upgraded my PC last month, and the one game i originally wanted the 360 for, Quake 4, works amazingly on my machine. Also, Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Oblivion will be out on pc too, and will probably be identical to the 360 version, so im half thinking about selling on the 360 when it arrives.

I was really looking forward to it, but without any "must have" games availible on launch, ive lost intrest a bit.

[Davey]

Actually I'm not that impressed with the graphics...

I don't know what I was expecting, but whatever it was, it was more advanced than what the 360 is dishing out.

The launch titles suck and to pull this kind of cr*p is unreal because in the short term the only people that are REALLY going to suffer is the kids that hope they'll be one under the tree for them (oh and the big kids that don't have enough patience to wait a couple of weeks) Parents are stuck in Arnie-mode (remember that film?)

What pisses me off is the scrotes that are going to benefit and make a profit out of all this. If you check out evilbay there is a guy on there right now that is trying to sell one for Ł1500(!) Most others tend to be around the Ł400-Ł450 mark ($800) and the worst thing is, they ARE actually selling them at that price.

Why doesn't Microsoft save everyone a huge headache and save the launch for January and throw out some decent launch titles to boot? Surely this makes sense, no?

I'm not going to suffer this year because I know that if I don't get one, at least I've got a Jap Sega Saturn coming with a ****load of 2D fighters :P (god I'm such a mark for Street Fighter) I don't really want one straight away anyway, but I've heard rumblings that Shenmue 3 is going to be released on it, so it's a must buy for me.

Bill Gates needs a slap.

[jemsite]

Originally Posted by Ibanez249

Actually I'm not that impressed with the graphics.

what type of montor/tv did you the first few games on?

[the.godfather]

I ordered 4 games with it too, and they are all arriving on release day! lol, so I will have 4 games but no console to play them on. I am still hoping that I may get one on the release date. They havent said I defenitely wont, so it is still a possibility.

I think the graphics looks quality though.

[Davey]

Originally Posted by jemsite

what type of montor/tv did you the first few games on?

It was one of the display stands that you find in Gamestations, Game, etc.

Maybe it's because I've been spoilt by high spec PCs either that or the games I've seen weren't up to much. Project Gotham looked awesome, but what's new?

[jemsite]

maybe the kiosk was incorrectly set to output 480p instead of 720/1080i (HDTV)... glen

[Davey]

I'm also a huge fan of the Dreamcast (again thanks in part to the 2D fighters)

I'm not sure how anyone else felt about it, but when I first saw the Dreamcast in action, it blew me away because it was graphically a huge improvement on anything I'd seen up to that point and I think that because of that, I was expecting the same thing.

Don't get me wrong though, this another reason why I had a gripe with the release titles, it sort of feels like the games are just a small taster of what the Xbox 360 will be capable. It'll be awesome when the games companies get used to the hardware.

[Davey]

Originally Posted by jemsite

maybe the kiosk was incorrectly set to output 480p instead of 720/1080i (HDTV)... glen

Good thinking, will keep my eye out.

[jemsite]

DC was great (while it lasted) and outperformed the PS2 graphics to my eye. 360 does the same thing when using a nice HDTV. i dont consider PC gaming a fair comparison given they can be played on smaller, hires monitors ...glen

[Ozzdoc]

DC was the best system ever, POWER STONE! best fighting game ever haha, I personally think that was the most fun system, FUN, maybe nt the most graphically amazing etc.. but it was plan fun....Why did it go bankrupt etc..? it seems every time sega releases a systems its super cool and popular and the next minute you cant get your hands on one cause they dont make em anymore....

I'm going to wait till 360 drops in price and wait for Halo 3..so that will be in a year or so....it looks sweet tho, Perfect Dark is a launch game right, it looks awsome