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Microsoft targets families with Xbox 360 Arcade

One of the worst-kept secrets in Microsoft's "lock box" was finally unveiled today. The Xbox 360 Arcade was leaked and spotted in the wild well before the official word came from Microsoft -- much like the leaks that preceded the announcement of the new holiday bundles for the Xbox 360 Premium and Xbox 360 Elite.

As expected, the Xbox 360 Arcade features a wireless controller, HDMI output and a 256MB memory card which is highly useful as the Arcade does not feature a HDD. Also included with the console are five games: Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship Edition and Uno.

"As families gather together this holiday, it’s the perfect time to launch a new low-priced, high-value Xbox 360 that plays games, TV shows and music for everyone to enjoy," said Microsoft's Jeff Bell. "In addition to offering an incredible all-in-one package for families to get right into the fun, the Xbox 360 Arcade system features the industry-leading Family Settings, which allow parents to control what their kids are watching and playing -- and we know how important that control is to families around the world."

The Xbox 360 will retail for $279.99 -- the same price as the outgoing Xbox 360 Core. Microsoft is using the added value included at the $279.99 price point to set its sights on families for the holiday season.

Microsoft's goes on to talk about Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Looney Tunes and Blue's Clues in a separate press release which highlights its dedication to families. 100 episodes of TV shows from Warner Bros. Entertainment and Nickelodeon will be available via Xbox Live and Microsoft notes that more than 200 "E" and "T"-rated games will be available for the holiday season.

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Boom Boom Rocket
By mdogs444 on 10/23/2007 10:02:34 AM , Rating: 2
Is it just me, or does the name of this game give you an idea that it could be about several different things?




RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By Lord 666 on 10/23/2007 10:06:27 AM , Rating: 3
Just you


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By Moishe on 10/23/2007 10:09:39 AM , Rating: 3
Looks to me like they've run out of good game names and are now letting 3 year olds name the new games for them


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By Chris Peredun on 10/23/2007 10:24:20 AM , Rating: 3
I take it none of you ever owned a Dreamcast?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChuChu_Rocket!


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By MonkeyPaw on 10/23/2007 10:54:39 AM , Rating: 2
I Chu Chu choose you, and there's a picture of a train.


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By Mitch101 on 10/23/2007 11:16:14 AM , Rating: 3
Gotta love the simpsons. Bring back Futurama!


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By Lakku on 10/24/2007 7:15:09 AM , Rating: 2
Futurama is brought back, and will be airing new 'episodes' in Janurary on Comedy Central. It was original set up to be 3 to 4 TV movies that would be shown as specials, but they redid them, broke them up, and made them into a semi-full new season. This means it will actually have an ongoing plot from episode to episode this time. I believe they are supposed to start aroiund Jan. 8th to 16th, but don't qoute me on that part.


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By murphyslabrat on 10/24/2007 4:45:48 PM , Rating: 2
I never owned any of the Sega Machines, but I do have Chu Chu Rockets on the GBA, and it happens to be one of my favorite games ever. It seemed like a rehash of some old game I remember playing--you used pipe pieces to guide this red ball thing through a puzzle, I'd appreciate it if anyone could give me the name. Nonetheless, it was a lighthearted, mildly-sadistic blast.


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By mdogs444 on 10/23/2007 11:56:37 AM , Rating: 2
Nope, never owned one. I had a Nintendo (NES) and still have it to this day - we still play drinking Tecmo Bowl, and had a 360 until i ebay'ed it. Played it about 3 hrs in over 1 year since i had it.


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By StevoLincolnite on 10/23/2007 3:23:14 PM , Rating: 2
The Dreamcast came out after the Nintendo 64, and before the PS2, Unfortunately it was a great console which had allot of great games, but everyone was to interested in the PS2.
I still have my Dreamcast, and games still get released for the Platform :) Plus the Homebrew, and HTPC abilities are awesome.

I had issues playing DivX on the console, until I overclocked the processor, still, I have NES, SNES, N64, PS1 games emulated on it :)

I still wish to this day I was a Multi Billionare and tried to save Sega and the Dreamcast - That was a brilliant console.

I also think the games looked more "Colorful" than the PS2's graphics as well.


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By gradoman on 10/23/2007 12:25:48 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I take it none of you ever owned a Dreamcast?


Though I never owned that game, I really enjoyed my Dreamcast. Q3A, PSO, SF3, Soul Calibur, Skies of Arcadia -- those were some of the games I absolutely enjoyed. I played it far too much, however, and I went through about 3 or 4 DCs. God, I loved it!

Off topic : How many of you owned a Sega Nomad? LOL!


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 10/23/2007 12:18:25 PM , Rating: 2
No, it definately reminds me of some choice phrases used in the movie "Hamburger Hill".


RE: Boom Boom Rocket
By AstroCreep on 10/23/2007 7:59:29 PM , Rating: 2
Well, it sounds like it could be the title for a film you find in one of those 24-hour "Adult Novelty" stores...
...or I'm just weird.


Attractive price point
By MarcLeFou on 10/23/2007 12:07:16 PM , Rating: 2
With the memory card and wi-fi, I'm starting to be mighty tempted with the 360 now.

I only hope they follow suit and put the canadian price the same as the US one like the PS3 did and I think they'll have one more sale.

One question though, does it work with a normal HDMI cable or does it have to be a "special" 360 only cable they can sell you for 80 bucks ?




RE: Attractive price point
By MarcLeFou on 10/23/2007 12:09:19 PM , Rating: 2
BTW I meant wireless remote and not wi-fi. I don't really care for online play anyway.


RE: Attractive price point
By Chris Peredun on 10/23/2007 12:35:12 PM , Rating: 2
It does still come with a regular RJ45 jack on the back, which is always the better choice if it's available.

To answer the grandparent post question - yes, you can use any standard HDMI cable. If you need to use an HDMI-to-DVI cable though, you may have to disassemble and/or chop up the standard AV cable to get audio, as the stacked AV and HDMI ports make it difficult to plug both cables in at once.


RE: Attractive price point
By Lakku on 10/24/2007 7:27:22 AM , Rating: 2
You should also be sure to let people know, if they ask in the future, that not all TVs can actually decode the audio portion coming over the HDMI cable so you may be better off with component/Toslink anyway, or that you need an A/V receiver that can decode the digital signal.


RE: Attractive price point
By Locutus465 on 10/23/2007 12:27:33 PM , Rating: 2
HDMI is HDMI, nothing speacial here... So you can buy from monoprice if you want... One thing to note, the 360 does not have a SPDIF connection built on to the actual housing (at least not as of HDMI premium), so you might be better off getting the MS 360 HDMI pack anyway so you can have the dongle (this assumes your receive is not HDMI compatible). You can get the dongle on ebay, but at little to no savings over the whole HDMI pack from MS...


RE: Attractive price point
By timmiser on 10/23/2007 1:48:44 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I only hope they follow suit and put the canadian price the same as the US one like the PS3 did and I think they'll have one more sale.


Heck for the price of the US Dollar, they should make the price in Candian funds $50 less than the US price.


Wii Demand
By Mitch101 on 10/23/2007 9:53:19 AM , Rating: 3
If it werent for the demand of the Wii. I wonder if Nintendo would be dropping the price about now. Going to be interesting to see how this pans out.

I will get mine next year if they put in the HD-DVD otherwise like I have said many times before I think the PC has one of the best linups going into the holiday season to hold me over for a while.




RE: Wii Demand
By Moishe on 10/23/2007 10:08:49 AM , Rating: 2
PC gaming this year has been and is still being incredible. There are more good games than I have time to play (unfortunately).

I think this arcade bundle is an indirect admission by Microsoft that the Wii's kid friendly target is successful. This lineup looks aimed directly at kids.


RE: Wii Demand
By Mitch101 on 10/23/2007 10:31:33 AM , Rating: 2
I dont remember a time when I was this excited for PC gaming going into a holiday season. If I only had more time in a day.

I think I am going to upgrade my video card for the holiday season instead of adding another console. I really hope they consolidate the 360 to include the HD-DVD so I can begin to simplify the number of devices I have connected now. Im real close to throwing in the towel and doing a Media Center PC in the living room but a 360 with internal HD-DVD would be great because I could stream the content from my media center pc instead and use it to watch HD-DVD movies. I cant put the media center in the closet where this is because I need an extra cable run which is next to impossible without opening up 3 walls to do it so I would lose my HD recording abilities without the extra line. There are already about 15 lines (Speaker, Cable, IR, Ethernet) running in there now. The guy before me did a great job of having the entire house wired for sound with good speakers and on the wall volume controls.

If they add more kids titles it makes it that much easier for me to get one.


RE: Wii Demand
By Mitch101 on 10/23/2007 10:31:59 AM , Rating: 2
I dont remember a time when I was this excited for PC gaming going into a holiday season. If I only had more time in a day.

I think I am going to upgrade my video card for the holiday season instead of adding another console. I really hope they consolidate the 360 to include the HD-DVD so I can begin to simplify the number of devices I have connected now. Im real close to throwing in the towel and doing a Media Center PC in the living room but a 360 with internal HD-DVD would be great because I could stream the content from my media center pc instead and use it to watch HD-DVD movies. I cant put the media center in the closet where this is because I need an extra cable run which is next to impossible without opening up 3 walls to do it so I would lose my HD recording abilities without the extra line. There are already about 15 lines (Speaker, Cable, IR, Ethernet) running in there now. The guy before me did a great job of having the entire house wired for sound with good speakers and on the wall volume controls.

If they add more kids titles it makes it that much easier for me to get one.


If you want some serious competition...
By daftrok on 10/23/2007 5:31:59 PM , Rating: 2
Come out with one Xbox 360 console. Call it: The Xbox 360. Give it 120 GB HDD, a wireless controller (rechargeable with cable), a headset, an ethernet cable, and your choice between the composite/component cable or HDMI cable. Sell it for $299. Sell the wireless adapter for $49.99 and wireless controllers WITH the rechargeable battery and wire for $49.99. Then come out with a 4 GB memory card for $19.99. This is for those with the core console (idiots) and allows them to play xbox games and download content, maybe even rent movies (at 480p, 720p is roughly 5-8 GB). And for the big finish, sell the HD DVD add-on for $99.99 and comes bundled with 5 movies of your choice. This will put some serious hurt in the competition both big and small.




By daftrok on 10/23/2007 5:33:29 PM , Rating: 2
Oh yeah, sell the 20 GB HDD for $49.99 and the 120 GB HDD for $99.99.


By Kromis on 10/23/2007 6:27:42 PM , Rating: 2
As soon as I read the word "younglings", it reminded me of Obi-Wan telling Padme about the younglings at the Jedi Temple and how they were greeted by Darth Vader's lightsaber!




By Brandon Hill (blog) on 10/23/2007 7:35:23 PM , Rating: 2
LOL, the shock and sadness in his voice still brings me to laughter :)


UK
By Lonyo on 10/23/2007 11:45:42 AM , Rating: 2
MS have decided to release the Arcade in the UK at a higher price than the Core.
The Core dropped from £200 to £180 (most online places are selling it for £170) when the price cuts happened, but now they are launching the Arcade at the old £200 price point.
Pretty crappy IMO.




Finally...
By Locutus465 on 10/23/2007 11:52:11 AM , Rating: 2
Finally MS is starting to get their marketing strategy lined up nicely... The newer HD-DVD integrated model will fill out nicely at the higher end... Now if they could totally button down the QA issues they're having they'd be all set.




“And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it’s superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say?” -- Bill Gates on the Mac ads

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