MS didn't choose BT--BT chose MS.
Microsoft has been trying to sell their IPTV system to all comers for five years. The others said no, BT said yes.
That simple.
They mean you have to sign up for the new BT IPTV Video service which runs over BT broadband. This is *not* a video streaming service; it is a cableTV type service. Think of it this way: cable companies are offerin voice and data services, trying to take customers away from the phone companies. IPTV is the phone companies returning the favor and trying to take video customers away from the cable companies.
Putting together an IPTV package is not a job for dealmakers. It requires a whole set of broadcast industry technology and expertise in server OS technology. MS has been working in this field for 15 years, believe it or not. There is exactly *one* other company on the planet that has even a prayer of delivering an alternative to the MS Mediaroom system and that is Siemens. And they are three years behind MS, maybe 5.
Sony is a member of a japanese consortium that is trying to cook up a...
The same blarney came out when the Elite was released last April.
Simple point of fact; HDMI buys you no new capability. It is just a convenience (single cable connection) unless your TV is:
1- 1080p capable
2- Only supports 1080p via HDMI
3- Doesn't overscan HDMI like most do
If all those are true *and* your TV doesn't support native resolution inputs via VGA, then you need HDMI if you want to upscale DVDs via 360.
Otherwise, you will not see...
...offers the exact same channels that cable and satellite video providers offer. The only difference is all channels are digital and offer DVD-or-better quality for SD content and the HD isn't overcompressed out of existence.
Probably the SDK tools.
MS is a software company and they have a ton of experience with system level software tools. Their tools are simply the best in the industry.
Plus, the 360 software specs are stable.
Sony changes theirs monthly. (More or less.)
An unstable platform makes it a lot harder to get the final product onto the box.
Now, if you're a PS3 fan you just shrug this off.
Its only Blazing Angels and you have Lair, right?
No biggie.
If you can't say anything good about your product, bad mouth the other guy's product.
You have to understand that MS has committed one totally unforgiveable sin; they made a gaming console that is seriously outselling the Playstation the PS3 kiddies grew up with.
That *has* to be remedied one way or another.
So if Sony won't do something (like getting playable games out there) then the 12 year olds that gre up with Playstation have to take matters in their own hands.
As the price goes down, you bring in different gamers. Specifically, you get more casual gamers, more renters, and the ratio of "game-a-month" players to consoles goes down.
Remember, your typical suburban kid player gets one game or two for xmas, another for b-day, and rents/trades for the rest of the gameplay time. Also, as the market expands, you'll get more XBLA players (and some of those games offer *lots* of replay value) so you can't count on people buying as many reta...
Its a 2008 schedule release and has been listed as that pretty much since it was first shown, much as Fable 2, Halo Wars, and a bunch of other games.
All you need to remember is that at E3 MS only showed games that were scheduled for 07 release. They figured they had to draw a line somewhere and 40-some games was enough to promote at the show.
The only thing folks have seen of Alan Wake, to date, are a few video clips and presentations so its most likely a late 08 release.
...But there's no real spoiler there.
Its purposefully ambiguous and can be read pretty much any way you like. Doesn't even say what planet that symphony is playing on...!
Move along...nothing to see here...
You send in a copy of the receipt, the UPC code sticker (no need to cut up the box!), and a copy of the online PDF file listing which five movies you want. 8-10 weeks later you get your five movies.
You get a choice of one (out of three) in five different slots. So, technically you choose 5 movies out of 15. There are a couple of turkeys in the mix but most folks should find at least one good movie in each trio. Most are pretty good examples of the video quality available with ...
...full of "stupid Oblivion tricks" that ran about 15 minutes or so full of oddities you could stage; bears tumbling down mountainsides, keg parties, flying horses, what-not...
A lot of it was funny.
This?
Not so much...
The best trick to date is still the Cheydinhal Apocalyptic riot; the guy who started an all-out civil war and got everybody to kill each other in town.
Now *that* was clever...
Mostly...
Thing is MS is not quite playing the 360 game *solely* for marketshare. They can't. Because of the way PS3 has launched, MS is walking a tightrope (called the shadow of antitrust) where they need to build up installed base as quickly as possible while at the same time making something ressembling a profit within the next year so that if Sony totally tanks it, they can't claim MS is competing unfairly. (Never mind that it is Nintendo and not MS that is eating Sony's breakfast ...
As the OP pointed out, MS has been building more Premiums than Elites and Cores. Basically, the sales split seems to be running 20-60-20. So it makes sense to reduce the more abundant model the most.
Plus, it establishes the new price differentials up-front.
Think about it; currently, there is a $100 differential from Core to Premium and $80 from Premium to Elite.
The Circuit City scans suggest the August price cut will flip that around to $70 from Core to Premium and $10...
PS3 needs to be at $399 *today*.
(next year is next year's problem).
$499 didn't do it in Dec 06 and it won't do enough in dec 07.
It certainly isn't doing much in Japan where the 20Gb is still available. (Or did they quitely axe it there?)
Getting to $399 in NorthAm next year may be too little too late if 360 gets to $199 this year or if Nintendo just runs away with it.
"Microsoft just traded Peter Moore to EA for Don Mattrick and a player to be named later to accomodate Mr Moore's desire to play closer to his off-season home and spend more time with his family." ;-)
Hopefully Moore will be bringing some of his gamer-vibe to EA where too often it seems the bean counters are in charge and its starting to affect their rep; as pointed out, EA is the biggest game publisher and one of the older independent developers still around. In fact...
They need to get their stories straight but they can't.
(Not on the "price cut"--where the euro guys undercut the US crew's snow job--and not on VOD.)
Both guys obviously have different agendas and they're fighting over this and in public no less.
Thing is Tretton has to answer for US sales--where MS is raking in decent money ($125Million in 8 months) off VOD--while Kaz is in Japan where the corporate focus is all on BD.
Sounds like Tretton is trying to g...
Sony's own player is better and cheaper.
http://www.sureneeds.com/bd...
The only reason to buy a PS3 is for its games...
...it just got a lot less likely to come in august.
http://www.gamasutra.com/ph...
Turns out Sony didn't really cut prices at all; they're just clearing out excess inventory...
Which means Microsoft's wait-and-see position from monday was quite reasonable. Nowadays you have to take everything Sony says with a pound of salt and read the fine print before believing anyt...
...sorry to break it to you but Bioshock *is* a FPS.
Say g'night to Blossom while you're at it.