...Toshiba had been able to stay in the game awhile longer. The competition was sooooo good for us consumers, who right now in this economy need more and more justification to make these kind of purchases. Not to mention all the buzz for HD discs created by the war. I know for a fact that Blu-ray prices (players and discs) have gone back up since the end of the format war, and as a result those discs/players are gathering dust on store shelves. I mean literally, I brushed some dust off a ...
...I can't wait to see those films on Blu-ray (Sorry HD DVD fans; we fought the good fight but it's over... time to move on). Bubble for you. Disagree with the idea that $22 is a mainstream price for Blu-ray discs, but absolutely agree that as more HDTVs sell and Blu-rays prices get lower, the format should finally take off. I am really beginning to think that some of these movies look better on Blu-ray 1080P than they did on the big screen....
...consumers will go HD when they are ready, bubble for you, and there has been too much invested in Blu-ray for it to be going anywhere soon. Question is, when do prices for Blu-ray players/discs begin to come down? BTW HondaSIRowner, do you like the new Si? Looks like a sweet ride to me....
...you just cannot expect Blu-ray to flourish. I know that HDTV sales will boom next year as prices continue to fall and the switch to digital television begins. Still, the prices of HDTVs AND Blu-ray discs just haven't fallen enough to stir the kind of excitement and buzz that it's going to take for MR. & MRS. AVERAGE TV/MOVIE WATCHER to get out there and buy buy buy. The boom in sales for the doomed HD DVD format once players fell below $200 all the way down to $100 and the HD DVD di...
...that shrinking the CPU and then the GPU and eventually shrinking both further together on the same chip is much more cooling and efficient, therefore reducing greatly RRoD. This really isn't a fanboy issue, although it's fair to question MS hardware after RRoD. Still, if this works out, it goes a long way towards continued MS profit on the 360, as well as cheaper, more efficient (slimmer?) consoles to keep the 360 around and relevant a lot longer. Well, at least until 2011 or 2012. Que...
...love the comment that MS will wait and see how the overall sales numbers vs. the PS3 in 2008 work out before starting down the road to a new console. Right now it looks like it will be awhile (2009?) before PS3 sales can overtake the 360. Where there is no smoke there is no fire, and we have heard nothing beside MS & Blu-ray possibly coming together that would infer the existence of a soon upcoming successor to the 360. I don't think the worldwide economy would stomach another conso...
...the critical errors they made with the original Xbox and the Xbox 360, at least I would like to THINK they wouldn't. Debatable whether abandoning the original Xbox was an error; seems to me that it was more like "Abandon Ship!", since MS was losing so much money on the first Xbox. The 360 gave MS a chance to finally start making a profit in gaming, profits that all but assure a successor to the 360 despite all of its problems (RRoD I'm looking at you). MS has to know that 19 m...
...anytime soon. The PS3 is just beginning to tap its huge potential, with the Blu-ray gamble paying off, and sales finally outpacing its arch-rival Xbox 360. Sony's heavy hitter franchises haven't even seen the light of day yet, and with the exception of Metal Gear Solid 4 this June, we won't be seeing the PS3 in full bloom until deep into 2009, with GT5 and Final Fantasy among many others. Unless Nintendo goes Full HD/Online in a new console to huge success in the near future, and unless...
...very intelligent comments, well done. Agree wholeheartedly that there are two huge factors all gaming console makers are facing in their decisions for new consoles. The economy is a huge factor, and the current downslide in the US must be giving the big three pause, despite all of the big numbers lately. And secondly, where are the compelling reasons to do so? PS3 is just finding its groove, the Wii is on an phenomenal run, and the 360 is approaching 20 million sold. New consoles in 2...
...just started downloading. Looking forward to Echochrome and Haze, but wish there were new MGS4, R2, SOCOM Confrontation and Killzone 2 HD videos. The PS Store just seems to get better and better....
...and really I would think more along the lines of 2011. MS has made their bed with the 360 and low they are going to have to lie in it for the next couple of years, if they don't want to alienate the fanbase they have built with the 360. November 2010 would mean 5 years, and I expect that we will start hearing the rumors and feeling the buzz for the 360's successor sometime late next year. Anything earlier would seal Microsoft's fate as perennial third-place in the mind of many many game...
...that REALLY bugs me about the Xbox 360. I was one of the unlucky bastards that waited all night in vain circa November 2005 for a launch 360, so I have obviously been a 360 fan from day one. I have supported the 360 through its triumphs, trials and tribulations, and have had some amazing times with my system.
However, this is the one subject that has rubbed me the wrong way. I understand that MS has been MORE than determined to make an overall profit on the 360 as oppos...
...without alienating 18 million 360 fans? Wouldn't an easier solution be to standardize the HDD across all SKUs? A faster, quieter, more reliable 360 (Jasper?), with bigger, cheaper HDDs to solve the storage/processing issues would be a more than welcome solution, as opposed to a problematic at-best Blu-ray fix. If anything, release a Blu-ray add-on for DIRT CHEAP. Just don't think forcing 360 owners to go Blu is the best way to go....
...you may be faster, but I'm much better looking in my mean Green... bubble for you LOL....
...finally get with the program and standardize the HDD. My first 360 was a Core, I couldn't find anything else circa January 2006, but the ladies don't call me "The Man With The Plan" for nothing. With trade-ins I was able to pick up an HDD and a wireless controller ON DAY ONE. No way in hell was I going to have an Xbox 360 without a hard drive, and I'm sure most hardcore 360 gamers would agree.
I don't think the majority of Core/Arcade owners have complained abou...
..."Can't we all just get along?" To each his own... I know a couple cats that HATE these next-gen systems and are more than a little pissed off that Grand Theft Auto 4 is not coming out on PS2... I too think that all Grand Theft fans should be celebrating the game's release (for either system) and not wasting time debating specifics. The reviews so far (loved the Game Informer review) have the game as a "10" on BOTH systems, so lock your stash in your safe deposit box ...
...that this is no big. Unless the fullscreen GTAIV comes with free satellite programming or free porn or something, count me in with the unimpressed....
...bubbles for you. Amazing how games such as GTAIV, Call of Duty 4, MGS4, etc. are bringing people back into gaming. Great times for us gamers, especially if you can swing a 360, PS3, PC and a Wii....
...there will be a downloadable patch in the 360 version's (near) future? Still think MS is going to have to deal with these types of DVD9 limitations sooner rather than later (Cheaper, bigger HDDs? Standard HDD across all SKUs? Blu-ray?), but disappointment not enough to keep me away from the game. Besides, I have "items" to put in that safe deposit box....
...can the powers-that-be who oversaw the introduction of HD discs AFFORD for Blu-ray to soldier on as a "niche product?" And if so, for how long?
The sad fact is that the way things are nowadays, most people are more than content (or have no choice but to be content) with DVD upscaling at under $100, with $5 DVD bins and the like....