I rented it.
Then I bought it.
(Amazon has the "collector's edition" at the same price as the basic. Make of that what you will.)
Its not *that* bad.
Biggest problem is it isn't Oblivion.
Well, duh!
No Patrick Stewart or Linda Carter popping in for a few lines here or there. Its a b-flick; a Saturday night SciFi channel fantasy flick with second-tier production values. Its heart is in the right place but the actors and budget weren't up to t...
That would be cool...
...or maybe you time jump to a secret race course?
Hmmm....
...said this fall.
That is what the BBC talks are about; securing local content in addition to the Hollywood stuff.
Depending on how the talks go, you could get an October or November launch.
I just hope the deal cross the pond and at least some of the BBC stuff shows up in the US.
...those folks will *never* buy a gaijin console...
Its about japanese *developers*.
MS wants japanese developers to support 360.
Just like they want western developers to support it.
Selling the 360, even in tiny quantities, in Japan is making sure the *smaller*, potentially creative developers realize things are different outside their shores.
And don't confuse japan with the entire Asian market; MS is doing fine, via PC *and* 360, in asian markets outside...
...because the japanese console gaming market is flat and the rest of the world is growing. So the companies realize they need *export* sales. And that means targetting the consoles that sell *outside* japan with games focused on what sells in those markets.
They can't stay insular and just shovel out whatever sells in Japan on a take it or leave it basis.
Capcom figured it out first and did it right with Dead Rising and especially Lost Planet and made a bundle.
The owner...
There is nothing secret about the conference.
It was reported right here last week that MS had set up a pre-TGS conference to show off Bioshock, Halo, Mass Effect, and their lineup of JRPGS (Lost Odyssey, Last Revenant, etc).
In fact, the day after that Sony announced they'd be holding a pre-TGS conference too. But then it got delayed until after the show; they couldn't find a facility they could use.
A good BD player should cost about as much as an HD-DVD player, which is about $249, street. Admittedly, the standalone player comes with HD cables and a nice infrared remote, which isn't even an option on the PS3, but you can't ding them $100 for *that*. (A good remote can be had for $20, after all.)
Say $229, instead and most folks would agree its fair value.
(At least until the $149 standalone HD-DVD player ships, next month, anyway.)
;-)
Unless somebody is time-traveling...
But Sam would be more fun, anyway.
He could stalk Lara from the shadows, waiting for her to be contacted by relic-dealing terrorists, >;-)
First they fight and then they team up.
...and I'm not in the mood to go updating it since it should make it clear that in the 18 months since the 360 started shipping the original XBOX has lacked neither quantity nor quality in its games. The only real change has been a shift towards more family and discount games which is what you'd expect of a console going for $120, anyway:
2006 FIFA World Cup Release Date: 4/28/2006
America's Army®: Rise of a Soldier™ Release Date: 11/15/2005
Battlefield 2: ...
1- MS was losing more money on each old XBOX they sold than they did on the first 360's
2- Everybody who was going to buy an XBOX pretty much had bought one
3- Just because MS stopped making XBOXes didn't stop games from being made or the hardware from being supported; nobody has been left in the lurch.
4- The old XBOX architecture did not scale down so a hypothetical redseign was impossible; at a minimum MS would have had to buy Via and Nvidia to gain the ability to cost...
Just a bit on the generous side.
I rented it today and after about 6 hours of non-stop gameplay I have to say the thing isn't as bad as its made out to be.
Yes, the framerate is substandard.
Yes, the voice acting can get pretty bad in parts, but it also gets pretty good in other parts.
And yes, the combat balance at the lowest levels is out of whack. But that is because there is no monster leveling like in Oblivion. So those that complained about leveled opponents:...
Its not coming to the US. Or anywhere else.
Its UK only.
The US already has six similar services, anyway.
Canada is getting Video Marketplace next month (or so).
And you already have equivalent service through CinemaNow, anyway.
Coolroom is a PC-based media service in the UK, somewhat similar to Netflix and CinemaNow, that has been around for a while.
It is *now* available--via a Media Center plug-in--on Media Center PCs.
Because of this, the content is also accessible via the XBOX360.
This is *not* a Microsoft owned or operated service.
It is *not* XBOX-specific.
And it is *not* MS copying anybody.
Its just an extra option for UK Media Center owners with 360s.
There, ...
...isn't the score but the comment about how it runs on PCs; especially *single core* low-grade graphics.
We knew the thing was a half-baked PC port but its clear they retained the game's single-threaded code from the PC. And since the game needs to be dialed back to 1024x768 on PC it obviously isn't tuned for 720p, which has 25% more resolution; hence the frame-rate drop.
Proves you *can* just recompile a PC game to get it on 360 but that it is a very stupid thing to do so.
<...
Nothing is going to help a game that is genuine crap or absurdly repetitive or short. And the same crowd that hyped the game up the wazoo will quietly (very quietly) not buy it.
Hype gets you attention; quality gets you sales.
You can't get sales without attention, but it had better be good attention or you're toast.
Last I looked, US 360 prices were running about 30% lower than euro prices. Of course, US prices don't include sales tax (typically 8-10% or so), but still they're on the right side of the comparison.
Just because MS isn't ripping europeans off doesn't mean they're making the money up elsewhere; they're just not ripping anybody off.
Current US prices are:
Core - $279
Pro - $349
Elite- $449
HD-DVD- $179 <--- Seen as low as $149 or with...
...than a pre-installed/downloadable video since folks who don't notice there is an entire blade devoted to Media aren't likely to notice there is a video on the HDD.
Of course, those are the same folks who don't bother to read the setup instructions so they are just as likely to cluelessly ignore a DVD labeled "Play me!"
Not sure how much handholding you can do for the congenitally clueless...
But at least they're trying...
...back when it was a "confirmed" multiplatform title (circa June), was that it would come out in September for PS3 and January for 360.
"Exclusive for Christmas" doesn't sound like much has changed.
It is good marketing to allow the PS3-exclusive rumors to make the rounds so the fans dreaming of a Halo-killer will jump onto it. By the time the 360 version, which would only get lost in Halo- and COD4-fever, comes out they should have racked up as many...
...don't turn on your TV Sept 25-26... ;-)
You ain't seen nothing yet.
What MS is trying to orchestrate is a STAR WARS kinda free media campaign where the news channels and magazines promote the product for free because the release itself is news.
Kinda like those folks that are famous for being famous?
MS wants people to talk about Halo because people are talking about Halo so that even the people that hate Halo will be promoting it. ;-)
In other words: if ...