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RadioShack Sales Flyer  (Source: Gizmodo)
Xbox 360 Arcade and Elite will get price cuts

Microsoft and Sony are still fighting it out for the scraps Nintendo leaves behind as it dominates the console sales figures. The Nintendo Wii is handily selling more consoles than the Xbox 360 and PS3 can move.

For a long time, the Xbox 360 outsold the Sony PS3, but over the last few months, that fortune has reversed and now the PS3 typically accept outsells the Xbox 360. Sony was able to gain ground on Microsoft's Xbox 360 and eventually pass it in sales thanks to a couple of factors -- price drops and storage capacity increases. In July, Sony announced that the 80GB PS3 would sell for $399 and at the same time Microsoft announced that it would drop the price of its 20GB Xbox 360 by $50 to $299.99.

Yesterday, Sony announced a new 160GB PS3 bundle that would sell for $499 in America. Microsoft is looking to fight back against the loss of market share at the hands of Sony with capacity increases and price drops of its own. DailyTech reported at the beginning of August that rumors were circulating that the Xbox 360 Arcade would drop to a price of $199.99 in September.

It appears that those rumors have been substantiated with a flyer from RadioShack surfacing that shows that the Xbox 360 Arcade would be dropping by $80 to $199 starting on September 7. The same flyer shows that the Xbox 360 Elite would see a price drop from $449.99 to $399.99.

DailyTech reported at the beginning of August that Dell was listing the Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite at a price of only $299 -- $100 cheaper than what RadioShack is showing the price to be starting in September. To get that discount you had to move fast, Dell currently shows the same bundle at $449.



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Fix the fan noise!
By SunAngel on 8/21/08, Rating: 0
RE: Fix the fan noise!
By ShapeGSX on 8/21/2008 1:23:09 PM , Rating: 2
360s actually have very little fan noise. The noise you hear when you start up a game is the DVD drive spinning up to 7000RPM. Well, you used to hear it on the old consoles. The newer DVD drives (Lite-on) they are putting in the 360 are very quiet. Mine is virtually silent.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By deeznuts on 8/21/2008 1:43:32 PM , Rating: 2
You sure? I have a newer elite built in may of this year. Supposed to be liteon. And it's still loud.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By Bonrock on 8/21/2008 1:48:47 PM , Rating: 3
Everyone has their own definition of loud, but my Elite was built in June and it's pretty quiet in my opinion. Plus, since most of the noise is from the DVD drive, that should get a lot better this fall when the new Xbox update allows games to be installed to the hard drive.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 4:13:32 AM , Rating: 1
Then majority of us will complain about the tiny 20 gb hard drive or the crap price fo the 120 gig drives.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By bill3 on 8/22/2008 6:18:50 AM , Rating: 2
Well, new systems will either come with 60GB or 120GB HDD's now, much more reasonable. Doesnt help current owners of course.

And the HDD's will be priced starting this fall at 60GB plus headest, three months Live, ethernet cable) for 99, and the 120GB=149. Sure not much, but some adjustment. And I'm sure you could throw your 20GB on ebay for 40-50 dollars to defray that cost.

And none of that is as bad as PS3 owners have it, due to a plethora of games with mandatory installs on that system. You were really screwed if you bought one of the early 20GB PS3's (20GB=13GB actual space after formatting, system stuff Sony/MS put on there etc), and now have to deal with multiple 6-7GB mandatory installs..even the 40GB PS3 is pushing it.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 7:34:52 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
And none of that is as bad as PS3 owners have it, due to a plethora of games with mandatory installs on that system. You were really screwed if you bought one of the early 20GB PS3's (20GB=13GB actual space after formatting, system stuff Sony/MS put on there etc), and now have to deal with multiple 6-7GB mandatory installs..even the 40GB PS3 is pushing it.


Yes, cause PS3 owners are forced into paying 2-3 times the cost of a hard drive when upgrading to more storage. Oh wait....they aren't.

I replaced my 60 gig PS3 hdd with a 160 gig. My 360 still sits on 20 gig, as the 120 gig hard drive is over 3 times the price of a standard 160 gig hard drive.

Also the PS3 is not a Xbox 360. The 20 gig hard drive doesn't drop to 13 gig storage space like a 360. Well, not a big deal. $65 bucks and you can get a 160 gig hard drive to put into a PS3.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By deeznuts on 8/22/2008 1:34:27 PM , Rating: 2
I am an original 20GB launch buyer, tell me how I was screwed again. I have played every major game that has come out. Of course, I can drop a few bucks and upgrade my HDD, but I haven't had to.

I like how you defend the MS hard drive model, yet say the PS3 owners are screwed, when they can order a drive off Newegg and pop it right in.

Remind me again how all PS3 owners who can drop in a 160GB or so HDD for around $60 are screwed ...


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By Shwanzig on 8/21/2008 1:49:01 PM , Rating: 3
Well the new dashboard update will allow you to dl your games to your HDD, so the DVD drive wont have to spin.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By therealnickdanger on 8/21/2008 2:41:20 PM , Rating: 5
I refuse to DL any games until they let me put in my own 2.5" drive like the PS3. Such bullsh*t! Sorry, I've been a long time 360 supporter and it's still my biggest peeve.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By ShapeGSX on 8/21/2008 3:06:31 PM , Rating: 2
<shrug>

Your loss.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By bill3 on 8/22/08, Rating: 0
RE: Fix the fan noise!
By deeznuts on 8/22/2008 1:35:53 PM , Rating: 5
So you're criticizing Sony for not facking their customer.

Amazing!


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By JAB on 8/23/2008 12:24:43 PM , Rating: 2
True that. I hate to think his opinion of people that are below average. How much brains does it take to open the bay connect the drive and close it? There are step by step instructions with pictures for the completely inexperienced.

If you can change the battery on your flashlight you can probability replace a SATA drive in a pop out tray.

Newegg had a 250GB drive for 99.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By SunAngel on 8/21/2008 3:10:03 PM , Rating: 2
while using the media center extender function the fans are very noticeable. also when just playing back media directly from the xbox 360 media player. you'll hear many more complaints about the fans this fall once netflix is added and everyone starts complaining because the fans are louder than the tv volume.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By FITCamaro on 8/21/2008 3:39:11 PM , Rating: 1
What are you talking about? I use my 360 all the time to stream stuff. I can't hear it at all when doing that. Been watching Babylon 5 episodes over it the past few nights.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By theapparition on 8/21/2008 10:27:58 PM , Rating: 2
Ah, Babylon 5.
The most under-rated series ever on television. I still enjoy watching the episodes.

Babylon 5 is what newer StarTreks should have been. Haven't seen anything to compare.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By Totally on 8/22/2008 3:08:01 AM , Rating: 2
Voyager was decent at the time.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 4:15:15 AM , Rating: 2
Hell ya. Pound me some Seven of Nine.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By StevoLincolnite on 8/21/2008 4:11:46 PM , Rating: 2
The fans are fairly silent, and you shouldn't notice them with a decent amount of sound, thus it brings me to my next question, are you using earphones sitting on top of your T.V as your "Sound" System? The only time the Xbox for me gets loud is when a DVD starts to spin up, even then I just simply increase the volume of my 7.1 surround sound system and you cannot notice it, if you do, then something is wrong.

I also have a 160gb USB External Drive which I store all my movies and TV shows on connected to my Xbox, which I play back through the dash, the last *thing* I notice is the noise from fans, Heck I would go as far as saying while not using the DVD drive it's as silent as my Toshiba A9 - Just a very quiet whirring sound from a fan, which is not as noisy as me typing on my keyboard.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By SunAngel on 8/21/08, Rating: 0
RE: Fix the fan noise!
By ShapeGSX on 8/21/2008 7:30:22 PM , Rating: 2
There is something wrong with your 360. The fans simply aren't that loud on a properly operating 360.

The DVD ROM drive on the older 360s is loud. Much louder than the fans. But the latest DVD drives are very quiet.

My new 360 is as quiet as my 80GB PS3 is.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By SunAngel on 8/21/2008 8:52:05 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
There is something wrong with your 360. The fans simply aren't that loud on a properly operating 360.

The DVD ROM drive on the older 360s is loud. Much louder than the fans. But the latest DVD drives are very quiet.

My new 360 is as quiet as my 80GB PS3 is.


We all agree the DVD drive is extremely noisy. Those XBox 360s manufactured in the last 9 months I can't comment on. But there are several million XBox 360s that were produced before then and some many people have those. I am not commenting on the DVD drive so we can move past that argument and stay on track about the internal fans.

The PS3 I owned made no where near the sound of the XBox 360s internal fans. I don't think anything was wrong the the XBox 360. The fans are naturally noisy. That being said, some will be okay with them watching their Netflix subscription. Yet, I will guarantee the only reason they keep saying their XBox 360 isn't loud is out of fear of looking like a hypocrite after telling everyone they have a silent system.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 4:21:18 AM , Rating: 1
I am a big supporter for the PS3. I wish every single game to come out was only available on the PS3. Just to show you that I think the PS3 is way better than the 360. Well, as you know my stance, I have this to say.

My 360 Arcade does not have a loud fan. Even after being on for hours on end, they aren't even 1/2 the sound of a hair dryer on it's lowest setting. It sounds more like you have issues with your 360.

My other 360 has replacement fans, as it's a 2nd revision. I replaced them with new fans that are quieter and move more air, so I really can't compare it to a different 2nd revision.

Yes, I have two 360s, cause Microsoft blows goats and didn't make games region free, so I am stuck having to have two 360s.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By santa590 on 8/21/2008 3:12:10 PM , Rating: 2
I'm on my 3rd 360. Although I do agree that they improved the noise over the years, the fan and dvd drive is still loud enough that distracts me while gaming compared to the PS3. I have the 360 (and PS3) next to me, so that could be the case, but for me, the difference is still huge compared to the PS3 noise.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By StevoLincolnite on 8/21/2008 4:18:10 PM , Rating: 2
My Xbox 360 broke down after only 6 weeks (Exactly to the day) Of Purchasing (Not the Red Ring of Death issue either), the DVD drive does bug me occasionally at night when others are asleep and I have the volume turned completely off, but otherwise to me it's fine, I enjoy the games, I enjoy Xbox Live!

Besides the high failure rate, which I personally believe Microsoft has done an excellent job in fixing peoples consoles, I think the Xbox is a rather good console, with some very awesome games on the Horizon. (I'm looking forward to Fable 2, Spore and Final Fantasy as well as the Almighty Gears of War 2).

The only reason why the PS3 is not the console for me is that the games I want aren't available for it, Like Fable 2, Halo 3 and several others.


RE: Fix the fan noise!
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 4:25:39 AM , Rating: 2
http://www.afkrotch.com/Random_Pics/Comp/DSC00145....

360 Arcade US, 1st Gen Japanese PS3, 2nd revision Japanese 360.

I don't see a huge difference in noise levels, except for the 2nd revision 360's dvd drive. It all doesn't really matter, as once I play a game/movie I can't hear any of it.


Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By BladeVenom on 8/21/2008 12:43:25 PM , Rating: 2
I'm curious if this will cause the Wii's price to go down. On the one hand they are still hard to keep on the shelves. On the other it might be a bad idea for Nintendo to wait and see if this causes the 360 to gain sales at the Wii's expense.




RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By ShaolinSoccer on 8/21/2008 1:12:07 PM , Rating: 3
If you ask me, I don't think the Wii is competing with 360 or PS3. It's in its own category. They don't need to lower prices because they are still selling like hot cakes. My family got lucky and had a relative who works in Wal-Mart. He got us a Wii and also the Wii Pad. Which is also hard to get. I plan on getting the PS3. Just waiting on prices to come down. I'm the kind of guy who doesn't mind waiting a year or two for console prices to drop. By the time I get a PS3, all the good games out now will be "geatest hits" and considerably cheaper. I have no interest whatsoever in the 360. I think it has a lot to do with the red ring of death. I have two friends who got screwed because of thier 360's dying after a year from when they bought it.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By Alexvrb on 8/21/2008 7:10:13 PM , Rating: 2
Given the fact that there's a 3 year warranty for the RROD, and that all newer consoles are quieter, cooler, and more reliable, you have no reason to hold back for fear of RROD. If you're a closet fanboy, if you just like the PS3 better, if you just don't like the 360 or MS, or if green lights give you nightmares, just say so. Any of those is fine. If your friends are stupid and don't take advantage of repair options, that's their fault. If your friends "got screwed", it was because they modded the consoles and voided their warranty.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By Totally on 8/22/2008 3:15:08 AM , Rating: 2
3 year warranty so what, I don't buy a products I expect break. Until a gpu shrink I'm not gonna pay any mind to the 360, I'll stick to gaming on the PC/PS3.


By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 4:39:50 AM , Rating: 2
The chances of the latest 360s breaking are probably as likely as a PS3 breaking. Unless you plan on buying an old used 360, there's no real fear of an RROD anymore.

I bought my PS3 a couple weeks before I bought my 1st 360 back in 2006. 1st 360 broke within a month. 2nd within a couple weeks. 3rd sometimes locks up, but doesn't break. 4th doesn't even lock up.

I've been considering replacing my 3rd 360 with an HDMI capable one, but that'll wait til I can get back to Tokyo.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By Aloonatic on 8/22/2008 5:30:40 AM , Rating: 2
Does the 3 year warrenty cover broken hard disks? Or DVD players that break. Both of which have happened to people I know and they have had to put their hands in their pockets again.

They are used to it of course, they bought their 360s, then had to buy their wireless adapters.

Then they bought their recharge packs for their controllers.

Now they've either had to buy a new 360 or a replacement drive, and it's not as if they can just buy any old drive off the shelf. Nope, they can buy a 120GB drive for the price of a 300GB one.

Of course, they are stuck, they got all excited in the first rounds of the fanboy wars and so can not face buying a PS3.

I'm just glad that I sold my 360 when I did. I got a pretty good price for it.

I don't miss the noise at all. I never got the fanboy noise suppressors/deflectors with my xBox, it was noisy as frack and I have never been comfortable living in denial, as many other people seem to be.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 6:24:10 AM , Rating: 2
3 year warranty covers any manufacturer defects. That would be the hdds or dvd-rom inside.

quote:
I have never been comfortable living in denial, as many other people seem to be.


Unless you're playing games on mute, the dvd-rom noise or fan noise isn't a problem.

Doesn't matter to me. Armored Core: For Answer is on the PS3, not 360. I've only been playing Idolm@ster: Live for You on my 360 recently.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By Aloonatic on 8/22/2008 11:01:30 AM , Rating: 2
Strange, my friends never got any work done on warranty, maybe they were just unfortunate or (probably close to the truth) too lazy to chase it up. In saying that, they really shouldn't need too. It should not be that hard to get a DVD drive and HD drive to last in this day and age.
quote:
Unless you're playing games on mute, the dvd-rom noise or fan noise isn't a problem.

Keep telling yourself that.

Maybe if all the games you play are noisy, constant action, music blaring type games then you may have a point and you are lucky but that isn't every game out there.

It will be hard for game writers to try to build up tension and suspense in a Silent Hill style game for example. Then you may want to watch downloaded films/TV programs and such and then the noise will be noticeable too.

Unless you have the aforementioned noise suppression devices installed of course.

I don't intend to change your mind by the way, fanboys are as fanboys do and pretending that glaring problems exists is pretty much the major MO of a fanboy and I am aware they they are unwavering in their support for their selected product/brand.

Not really sure what the last paragraph is about to be honest???


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By ShapeGSX on 8/22/2008 11:30:59 AM , Rating: 2
Not all 360s are the same, unfortunately. My 360 from November 2006 had a VERY loud DVD drive. But I sent it back to MS for a RROD a few weeks ago. They returned my original console (I marked the case) to me with the RROD fixed and a brand new DVD drive. The new DVD drive is just about silent.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By Aloonatic on 8/22/2008 5:48:19 PM , Rating: 2
Oh, so random hit and miss quality makes it all ok?

Don't worry you people with a noisy console, someone somewhere may have a quiet(er) console. In the xBox karma system your 720 will more likely be a quiet, non suicidal one, if the MS gods are smiling on you that is and surely your sacrifices will be noted by them?

Makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside that xBox owners are so happy to take one for the team on the quality front so readily.

The levels of denial and frankly weird support for the way that xBox owners are treated by Microsoft sometimes seems to verge on a strange S&M relationship, where the worse the MS master treats the xBox owner sub, the loader they scream out more, more, oh my god yes, more.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By ShapeGSX on 8/22/2008 6:37:26 PM , Rating: 2
Uh, no it isn't ok that the xbox quality is hit or miss. I didn't say any such thing.

I am, however, saying that just because you heard one loud xbox doesn't mean that they all are loud. You said we were deluding ourselves that we had quiet XBoxes. I was refuting that.

I don't know why you insist on going off on these rants about stuff that nobody is talking about. You obviously don't own a 360. Why do you take such offense to the fact that other people do enjoy them?


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By Aloonatic on 8/23/2008 2:16:23 AM , Rating: 2
I just find it amusing that so many people are in denial about these issues on this site.

I did own an xBox but offloaded it before it destroyed itself. I enjoyed the games at the time too. Crackdown was particularly good fun, as was Gears of War but it was clear that it was not a long term solution.

I wanted one big box under my TV and the PS3 just does more, better. Between a PS3 and a Wii, I don't think I'll be missing out on too much in the future. Halo was a bit of a let down, Gears 2 looks promising, but I'll play it at a friends if I really want too.

Everyone else that I know who has a 360 has had problems. Including glitching on screen, DVD drive failing, Disks scratching, Hard disks failing, and of course, the RRoD*.

That warranties had to be extended and that, after your machine has failed, you receive back a machine that performs how it should have done in the first place is nothing to boast about really?

Every single one of my friends xBoxes are noticeably loud too. That you have had to send your machine back to MS and now have a much quieter one is great.

The people I know who have PS3s** have had no such problems however, I would say that you get what you pay for but I think we all know by now that the xBox was not really that inexpensive.

If it was Apple who released a console that was as equally defective, expected you to send it back to replace parts that it would be easier for you to do yourself and charge you lots for over priced add-ons to bring it up to spec with it's nearest rival, whilst stopping you from upgrading things like the Hard Drive at the market rate, people would be going crazy.

You can call my comments rants if it makes you feel better, but it does not change anything. Reliability, warranties and noise issues were being discussed earlier in the thread too, so what I was "ranting" about seemed relevant to me, but what the hay, sorry if I hit a nerve?

I love the fact that people enjoy their xBoxes, I really do. It's just not my thing to blindly support a clearly unacceptably unreliable product and pretend that obvious problems don't exists for reasons that I don't really understand, using poor excuses.

Fair enough though, your comment did say that it is unfortunate that the build and component quality issues are hit and miss.

/rant

I am still curious to know why people are so happy to be treated so badly and even go out of their way to support the 360 regarding their quality/reliability issues whilst paying through the nose for the pleasure too. Is it some kind of console Stockholm syndrome?

* 2 out of 5 people have had this happen to them.

** For the record, I know 5 people who have 360s and only 3 who have PS3s.


By Aloonatic on 8/24/2008 2:50:18 AM , Rating: 2
Not that anyone cares now, I doubt if this will be read by anyone but....

I happened to go to my brother's home the other day. He has a PS3 and xBox.

I was pleasantly surprised at the better divX support that the xBox appeared to offer, and having changed his DVD drive his machine was a little quieter than before, so sat a long ways away it was not as bad as I remembered from my machine. I sold my xBox a fair few updates ago.

His PS3 is used almost solely as a BD player in his cinema room, there's no doubting the xBox's quality when it comes to the games available, it's still a very good machine for what it was intended.

From all of this, I guess I can only hope that MS will have learnt their lessons in time for their next console.

A quiet, reliable xBox 360 would have been amazing and certainly would have put Sony in a very uncomfortable place.

Sony has had a warning now however, but I'm sure the next round of consoles will be amazing, you just have to look at what is happening in the PC graphics card market to see how amazing the PS4 and xB720 will be.

A lot more people will have good HDTVs by then and BD will probably be the standard, if games are not all available for download only. Hopefully no delays because of blue lasers and 1080p on large TVs will be awesome.


By Alexvrb on 8/25/2008 10:48:30 PM , Rating: 2
GPU already shrank to 80nm half node. As I said, the new models are cooler, quieter, and more reliable. If you just don't want the 360, just say so. Even if the 360 CPU and GPU were 45nm, I doubt you'd "pay any mind" regardless.


RE: Will Nintendo Lower the Wii's Price?
By wallijonn on 8/25/2008 2:30:01 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Given the fact that there's a 3 year warranty for the RROD, and that all newer consoles are quieter, cooler, and more reliable, you have no reason to hold back for fear of RROD.


Waiting for Jasper.


By Alexvrb on 8/25/2008 10:44:30 PM , Rating: 2
The same people who say "waiting for Jasper" are much the same as those who were "waiting for Falcon". Yet you don't own a Falcon to judge it in the first place. The GPU already shrank to 80nm, and it works well. A second shrink to 65nm is going to reduce cost for MS, more than anything else.


Maddness
By SiN on 8/21/08, Rating: 0
RE: Maddness
By SiN on 8/21/2008 12:41:08 PM , Rating: 2
sry "Nehalem"


RE: Maddness
By ShapeGSX on 8/21/2008 1:20:46 PM , Rating: 2
The Elite also includes the $50 retail HDMI cable/audio output dongle and a high definition analog video cable.

Plus, the Elites are regularly paired with larger video game pack-ins. I suspect that there will be a new bundle for this holiday season.


RE: Maddness
By deeznuts on 8/21/2008 1:41:28 PM , Rating: 2
All of which costs $2.


RE: Maddness
By deeznuts on 8/21/2008 1:42:19 PM , Rating: 2
But I did get an elite two weeks ago from Dell ... for $299. It was available for $349 last week so check your hot deals site.


RE: Maddness
By ShapeGSX on 8/21/2008 1:55:21 PM , Rating: 2
That's funny! I got the same $299 Elite deal! DHL finally delivered the damn thing last Wednesday!


RE: Maddness
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 4:34:00 AM , Rating: 2
I bought two $10 HDMI cables for one 360 and my PS3. The HD analog cables are packed in there already with either the Elite or Premium.

Also packed video games are always a stupid I idea. Odds are high, the games are piles of crap or ultra cheap anyways. Last ones I've seen packed in were Forza 2 and Ultimate Alliance. Which you can just buy for $20-30 for both. I bought both those games as Used from Gamestop for $10. Needless to say, those games suck and I want my $10 back.


RE: Maddness
By ShapeGSX on 8/22/2008 10:01:22 AM , Rating: 2
The Elite includes the optical audio output dongle. You can't plug in an HDMI cable at the same time as the standard 360 video cable. That is why this dongle exists.

At retail, they are bundled with an HDMI cable and the package goes for $50.

And Forza 2 is an awesome racing game. If you don't like it, then chances are you just don't like racing games.


RE: Maddness
By bill3 on 8/22/2008 6:42:02 AM , Rating: 1
What is this guy bitching about? For $200 you get..

Headset, 120GB HDD, HDMI/Component cables (Arcade comes with no hi-def cables just composite), and a ethernet cable. And of course, black.

Purchased separately, I dont know how much the headset is but I think $15, the 120 HDD is currently 179, so you're basically there already. In the near future the 120 is dropping to 149, but even so Headset+HDD=$165, plus you still need to finagle up a hi-def cable.

And a lot of people will say some bitchy thing like "just buy HDMI cables on monoprice for $7" or something. That's fine, but it's not reality in most cases for most consumers. In most cases they're going to end up up buying cables from Best Buy or wherever they get their system and pay at least $20 for them. Hell I would rather do that than wait two fucking weeks for "monoprice" to get them too me, who the hell buys a $400 system and waits two weeks to play it??

But yeah, you can make some case (and I've seen it done on message board) thats its best to buy an arcade, because then you can add the HDD, HDMI/Component/audio dongle/whatever/headset, all for maybe slightly less than a Elite costs, plus you'll end up with a memory card and 5 free Arcade games out of the deal (Arcade comes with mem card and 5 free arcade games disc, although IIRC imo at least some of those games are crap). But that ignores that most of the holiday season if not the year (stock often lasts well beyond holiday season), Elite/Pro come with a two free full size game bundle (last year Marvel UA and Forza 2) and Arcade does not. So anyways yeah all told, the Elite is not a horrible deal any way you slice it.

But all this ignores the point of the Elite anyway, it's not aimed at value hunters, it's aimed at people who want the "best" and are willing to pay for it, and are probably upper income. So bottom line: stop whining.


RE: Maddness
By bill3 on 8/22/2008 6:56:17 AM , Rating: 2
Oh and also..this sku pricing stuff is not always perfect science. MS can make an sku more attractive to another by relative price. Example, in the last round of price cuts in 2007, MS cut the Pro by $50 (399>349), the Elite by $30 (479>449), and the Arcade by only $20 (299>279).

Obviously that made the pro (which is supposed to be the mainstay sku anyway) more attractive relatively, it got the largest cut. It was only $80 more than an Arcade, yet for that you got the 20GB HDD ($99 value alone) +headset ($15) +hi-def cables ($40 from MS). Buying pro>Arcade was a no brainer.

Well, this time the Arcade gets the largest cut ($80 versus 50 for the others). So it becomes relatively more attractive this time around. Maybe next round it will be different.

I think that MS was trying to hit the psychologically important 199 mark with the move. They mentioned Arcade sales took off in Europe once they hit 199 Euros.

So in summation, once again as I end so many of my posts, STOP. WHINING.


RE: Maddness
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 9:06:31 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
What is this guy bitching about? For $200 you get..

Headset, 120GB HDD, HDMI/Component cables (Arcade comes with no hi-def cables just composite), and a ethernet cable. And of course, black.


A 120 gig hard drive for a laptop only costs around $60. The headset is a super generic piece of crap that probably only costs $1 to make. The ethernet is cable is also a piece of crap that's too short to do anything with. Uncertain on the quality of the HDMI cable, since I bought a Premium and Arcade, which neither of them gave me an HDMI cable, nor a HD cable of any kind (don't ask me why a Japanese Premium a year after it's release wouldn't come with one.)

Either way an HDMI cable can be had for $5-10 from Bestbuy, Home Depot, Target, etc.

quote:
But all this ignores the point of the Elite anyway, it's not aimed at value hunters, it's aimed at people who want the "best" and are willing to pay for it, and are probably upper income. So bottom line: stop whining.


Yes, cause ppl who want the best want to have to spend another $70-100 for a wireless network adapter, $50-60 on a wireless headset, or $20 for a play and charge kit for each controller.

After all is said and done you've probably spent $300 more than the upper PS3 to have about the same features, minus next gen DVD. That's my main gripe about the system.

quote:
But yeah, you can make some case (and I've seen it done on message board) thats its best to buy an arcade, because then you can add the HDD, HDMI/Component/audio dongle/whatever/headset, all for maybe slightly less than a Elite costs, plus you'll end up with a memory card and 5 free Arcade games out of the deal (Arcade comes with mem card and 5 free arcade games disc, although IIRC imo at least some of those games are crap).


Huh? Buying an Arcade and a 120 gig hard drive puts you at/around the price of the Elite. Still haven't even got HD cables or a headset. Course at that point, you do have a memory card and some crap mini-games.


Sitting out this round of consoles.
By Mitch101 on 8/21/2008 3:49:46 PM , Rating: 2
I may still get the kids a Wii but for myself I am sitting this round out. Think I am missing out? Not really most consoles allow you to play their previous consoles games or at least the most popular ones that were worth playing. So if its the X-Box 1080, or PS4 only time will tell and they will be some sort of $20.00 platinum series anyhow. Still have plenty of PC games to hold me over until then. Sure I salivate at some of the games you all get to play but my PC is keeping me going until the next generation of consoles.

The reasons why?
I'm not taking sides each has something to offer but I know that the next gen to the 360 might be released as early as x-mas next year.




RE: Sitting out this round of consoles.
By ShapeGSX on 8/21/2008 3:57:23 PM , Rating: 2
If the next gen XBox was coming next year, it would already be announced.

It will be at least late 2010 or 2011 before the next XBox is released.


By StevoLincolnite on 8/21/2008 4:24:18 PM , Rating: 2
I agree, they would try to keep the Xbox 360 around as long as possible after the next Die shrink to maximize profits, plus there are some really hot titles coming out.


RE: Sitting out this round of consoles.
By afkrotch on 8/22/2008 4:46:29 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I'm not taking sides each has something to offer but I know that the next gen to the 360 might be released as early as x-mas next year.


Ah ha ha ha ha!!!

PS2 is in it's 8th year and is still going strong.
Gamecube went for 6 years.
Xbox went for 6 years.

360 is barely in it's 3rd year and the PS3 and Wii are in their 2nd. Sony already said they hope the PS3 will push 10 years. Microsoft will probably try for the same. The Wii I don't expect to last that long though.

The console wars have barely just begun and you expect a new generation to come out next year. That's hilarious.


By Mitch101 on 8/22/2008 10:54:24 AM , Rating: 2
Consider this you can upgrade the video card in your computer and it will play the same video games only now your new video card can render at higher resolutions and lets say adds additional anti-aliasing and smart shader to the same game. Same game extra level of detail is capable on the newer system. The 360 and its replacement plays the same games only the newer one can play at a higher level of detail.

Your DX9 games play on your DX10 hardware don't they? Dig out a DX7 game and I bet it will play. Half Life 2 is a perfect example of a game that spans multiple levels of hardware DX generations and adds a level of gameplay to what the hardware is capable of.

Lesson 1 learned:
Microsoft learned a lesson from SONY PS2 to PS3 if you don't back support your current base you stand to lose a percentage to another console. How many PS2 owners are now Wii or 360 owners and not getting a PS3? A LOT. So the next gen 360 will be 100% backwards compatible much like newer dx10 video cards can play Dx9 games. A lot of gamecube owners own Wii's. A lot of Gameboy owners own a DS. Backwards compatibility and supporting your existing game base is important. When Sony broke the PS2 compatibility they lost a lot of potential upgraders.

Lesson 2 learned:
Game developers love the idea because the game spans the older console and the newer console they do not need to build a next gen console base to attract developers to the next gen console because there is already an established base of potential buyers. Ones that have an incentive to upgrade to the newer hardware.

Lesson 3 learned:
Games are what makes profits not consoles. People upgrading to the newer console for the extra eye candy will sell their old ones. The people buying the used consoles are now able to buy even the newest games because they will play but not at the detail level of the newest console. This is a win win situation for Microsoft.

Lesson 4:
Eventually games will come along that only play on the newer console. With backwards compatibility this is a smooth transition in evolution as apposed to the cut and dry system of a new system and totally new development methods. Its incentive to upgrade to the newer console.

ITS ALL ABOUT CONSOLE MARKET BASE!!!

Normally when you hear next generation most assume the previous generation is obsolete. The rumor floating around is Microsoft may go more than a die shrink, cooler, and slimmer 360 next year and upgrade components like a half step upgrade. Hmmm there seems to be x-boxes that didnt come with HDMI ports yet small increases in hardware have been made.

Some games on the 360 are upscaled now from 540 to 1080 with a line doubling technique with the newer system they could actually render in true 1080p instead and with anti aliasing they could not do before.

Codecs in hardware have Improved since the 360 launched. You can assume that improved codecs in the 360 replacement would reduce heat as well.

Dont think this is whats going to happen? Nintendo rumored a Wii replacement that does Blue-Ray and HD output yet doesnt break backwards compatibility. So did the sony mention something similar. Look at todays consoles as DX9 hardware and next gen consoles as DX10. Games could scale the same console only newer gen consoles will add additional levels of detail. Look at the Valve (Half life engine) it scales back to DX7. Next gen consoles will be no different its no longer a start fresh concept and supporting your previous base is important.

A whole new development platform is a risky move. PS3 anyone? You can bet the PS4 will be a beefy PS3 that is totally backwards compatible.

Microsoft's next gen console is based on 2 items for a 2009 launch. 1 is DX11 and 2 is the hardware to support it. Both ATI and NVIDIA are already gunning for a DX11 product for next year the better might just win the launch for the 360 replacement.

Microsoft asked if I wanted to join their X-Box division a few years back (X-Box1 pre-release days). I will still consider joining them. I would be more than happy to demonstrate an area to Microsoft they haven't even thought of but consider I may plug the idea to Nintendo instead. There is a huge hole in the consoles waiting to be tapped.


Proper pricing
By FITCamaro on 8/21/08, Rating: 0
RE: Proper pricing
By ShapeGSX on 8/21/2008 1:21:35 PM , Rating: 3
The Pro already has a 60GB hard drive.


RE: Proper pricing
By FITCamaro on 8/21/2008 3:37:00 PM , Rating: 2
Oh. Sorry. Forgot they did that.


waiting for jasper
By whickywhickyjim on 8/21/2008 12:41:23 PM , Rating: 2
Hopefully this is signaling that the jasper die shrink will finally be available




RE: waiting for jasper
By Shwanzig on 8/21/2008 1:51:38 PM , Rating: 2
Same I ain't buying a new Xbox till these hit.

Gonna sell my old one to a friend


PS3 sales increased because of...
By Alexvrb on 8/21/2008 7:53:31 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Sony was able to gain ground on Microsoft's Xbox 360 and eventually pass it in monthly sales thanks to a couple of factors -- price drops and game releases .

Fixed that for ya. I thought the PS3 was going to be released and clobber the 360 in sales, steadily overtaking it, whipping it in total units sold in the US by now. After the runaway success of the PS2 (against all comers, regardless of whether they were cheaper, more powerful, or had a HDD), Sony should be disappointed by their latest offering. July is the second consecutive month PS3 has outsold the 360, unless you've got some early figures for this month which make it the third. At the rate they outsold the 360 in July (approx 20K units), they should overtake the 360 just in time for the PS5 and Xbox 1080.

Nothing to brag about. They should have stripped the HDD out and released a bare model from the start without backwards compatibility, and instead incorporate those features (and more, such as flash readers and extra USB ports) into the highend models. Then the entry level PS3 would be a more-or-less pure gaming machine, with the added capability to play blu-ray, and you could drop in a 2.5" HDD any time you wanted.




Better yet
By crazyblackman on 8/21/2008 9:34:17 PM , Rating: 1
Put a self addressed coffin in the box and I'm sold! More coffins! More coffins! What?? You have to start saving coffins for Japan? Oh....Damn.




Add Blu-Ray then I'll buy.
By mxnerd on 8/21/08, Rating: -1
RE: Add Blu-Ray then I'll buy.
By RamarC on 8/21/2008 12:46:23 PM , Rating: 1
blu-ray is comimg, probably for the holiday season. since lg's combo dvd/bd/hd-dvd retails for $150, ms should be able to replace the existing dvd drive with something similar and still keep the cost around $250. i just wish they'd add sdhc slots and let you use them as memory cards or in lieu of a hard drive.


RE: Add Blu-Ray then I'll buy.
By RamarC on 8/21/2008 12:47:07 PM , Rating: 2
i meant $350, not $250.


RE: Add Blu-Ray then I'll buy.
By Hiawa23 on 8/21/2008 4:19:58 PM , Rating: 2
Sony has made it clear they really can't cut the price any further anytime soon on the PS3 which is why they keep messing around with the storage capacity trying to keep the console in the $399-499 range, & throwing in a game here or there, so kudos for MS as this could benefit the 360.

I have a 11/2005 360 which is loud but I can't here it with the surround sound, & I have a 3/2008 360 that is jasper quiet so the newer consoles are quieter, & for the guy that said he is pissed cause MS doesn't allow you to put a 2.5 drive in like Sony, you might as well get over it, that aint changing. I am pissed off at Mitsubishi cause my 2006 Lancer Ralliart doesn't get 40MPG, LOL, get over it. This is a good move for MS & could balance the scales as I own 50 360 games & only 6 for the PS3, so the 360 is king in my home.


RE: Add Blu-Ray then I'll buy.
By JustTom on 8/21/2008 7:56:21 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
I am pissed off at Mitsubishi cause my 2006 Lancer Ralliart doesn't get 40MPG


MS could allow 360's to use off the shelf HDs much easier than your Lancer could get 40 MPG.


RE: Add Blu-Ray then I'll buy.
By bill3 on 8/22/2008 6:45:49 AM , Rating: 2
Enviromentalist liberals with guns will just ban the Mitsubishi soon anyway since it doesnt get 40 MPG, so your is stupid point.


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