Microsoft' rumored holiday sku repackaged, games pack in and Arcade sku

[silhouette]

Arwin, have you ever tried to play online with friends in other continents (NA or JP) and talk at the same time with PS3? I am really curious how the quality of the communication is when there are multiple people from different continents playing the game (communucation quality in terms of lag, amount of drop-outs, etc.)

One of the benefits I see of live is lag-free communication. When I play with someone at EU, I can listen the conversations of all people with 0 lag. And it does not depend on the game as well. Be it, it is Forza2, Gears of War or Rainbow 6. Yes, we usually observe lag in games.. When I fire, I sometimes see the result in more than 1 second. But, when I ask a question, the reply comes right after without any delay and without any dropouts. This is very important for me.

I believe that MS needs some dedicated bandwidth across continents to achieve this. This costs money and there is where my 3-4$/month goes I guess. As long as they can keep that quality, I am for it..

 

[archangelmorph]

Arwin, have you ever tried to play online with friends in other continents (NA or JP) and talk at the same time with PS3? I am really curious how the quality of the communication is when there are multiple people from different continents playing the game (communucation quality in terms of lag, amount of drop-outs, etc.)

One of the benefits I see of live is lag-free communication. When I play with someone at EU, I can listen the conversations of all people with 0 lag. And it does not depend on the game as well. Be it, it is Forza2, Gears of War or Rainbow 6. Yes, we usually observe lag in games.. When I fire, I sometimes see the result in more than 1 second. But, when I ask a question, the reply comes right after without any delay and without any dropouts. This is very important for me.

I believe that MS needs some dedicated bandwidth across continents to achieve this. This costs money and there is where my 3-4$/month goes I guess. As long as they can keep that quality, I am for it..

sounds great!

for u.. (do u kno how many people play online without a headset, then what are they paying $3-4/month for..?)

 

[avaya]

Any chance of a PGR4 or Ace Combat bundle this Christmas for Europe?

I wanna try and snag one this Christmas if they drop the price.

 

[JardeL]

[OT]Let me show you what the killer price is ;

Xbox 360 Premium Military Pack [ NTSC-U ] + 12 months Xbox Live membership + 4 games [ including PGR3, Viva Piñata, Kameo ] for $330 ... [/OT]

 

[one]

The strangest bundle!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7079484

 

[AlphaWolf]

The strangest bundle!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7079484

It's not that strange when you recall they were actually bundling 300 with the HD-DVD drive when 300 first released.

 

[NRP]

Arwin, that's awesome! Welcome aboard!

 

[avaya]

The strangest bundle!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7079484

heh.

Even Walmart can't get this right, HD media is not in a good way at all.

 

[AlphaWolf]

heh.

Even Walmart can't get this right, HD media is not in a good way at all.

its a combo disc...

 

[avaya]

its a combo disc...

I stand corrected.

 

[one]

Hmm, I should have used a

Spoiler

it's a double-sided combo disc which will confuse those who are not tech-savvy!

tag

 

[AlNom]

hm.. neither Futureshop nor Best Buy have the Core listed on their websites - only the Pro, Elite, and Halo 3 Edition.

 

[woundingchaney]

hm.. neither Futureshop nor Best Buy have the Core listed on their websites - only the Pro, Elite, and Halo 3 Edition.

I have heard rumor from several Best Buy employees that the Core isnt being carried by their store anymore, it may be feasable that the Core isnt being carried in several large outlet chains.

Although one knows how rumor goes.

 

[AlNom]

Hm... now that i think of it, I've only ever seen Elites out on display/shelf at Best Buy the last couple months.

 

[J_Saint]

It's official...

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/community/news/2007/1008-holidayconsoles.htm

The acclaimed Forza Motorsport™ 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance will both be included for the recently reduced prices of $349.99 for Xbox 360 and $449.99 for Xbox 360 Elite. Both bundles will be available at your favorite game retailer by the end of October.

 

[jb]

Well they are crazy if they think this will counter act the PS3 dropping to $400. MS has a killer line up this fall, but things start fresh next year....

 

[assen]

What do you mean "start fresh" - the (my guesstimate) 8-10 mln. advantage in installed base by Jan 1st 2008, the $100-150 price advantage and the leading platform status on most multiplatforms will suddenly disappear?

 

[AzBat]

Considering the 40gb hasn't officially been launched in the US Microsoft doesn't need to react yet. Once Sony does make that announcement then I'm sure Microsoft will have something to say.

What's interesting about today's announcement was lack of details on the so-called "Arcade" SKU replacement for the Core. Could they be waiting for Sony's announcement before they make theirs? There's no telling, but I can't wait for the price war that's sure to follow.

Tommy McClain

 

[liolio]

I wouldn't be surpriszed if MS offialize the rumors about 2 free full blown games given with both arcade and elite SKU.

 

[AzBat]

I wouldn't be surpriszed if MS offialize the rumors about 2 free full blown games given with both arcade and elite SKU.

Um, they already made the Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance bundle official today. Read above. The bundle is only available with the Premium and Elite SKUs. They made no announcement about the rumored Arcade SKU.

Tommy McClain