by jonathan | Sep 24, 2009 at 9:43 am |
gaming
Nintendo is following up Sony and Microsoft’s price cuts with some of their own. On September 27th the Wii will drop from $249 to $199. Nintendo hopes that the cut will attract customers who are on the cusp of becoming gamers. However I have a feeling that Nintendo did not plan this price cut so early but needed to do something enlight of the cuts for PS3 and Xbox 360. With all the major game console players cutting prices what can we expect for black friday and the holiday rush.
It seems like the sweet spot for console prices had dropped as this generation of players ages. Xbox has $199 and $299 SKUs while PS3 has a $299 SKU. The more you look at it this really seems to make the Wii a very attractive and more reasonable price. It is the only console still in standard definition and the lowest quality of hardware. What doesn’t make sense is why it took so long. How many more could they sell, it seems like everyone I know has a Wii? And it prints money.
Sony has announced that it will be releasing a new Slim version of it’s PS3 for $299 this September. But where does this price cut put it with the competition. If we are to talk price then we must take into account the yet to be announced price shuffling of Microsoft’s.
The current PS3 now sells for $299 (80 gig), $299 (120 gig slim) and $399 (160 gig). There have been talks for a 240 gig slim model which could replace the current 160 gig.
It is well know that Microsoft is planning on cutting out the Xbox Pro for the well equipped Xbox Elite model while keeping the lower price. This puts the Xbox Arcade at $179 and the Elite at $299.
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by jonathan | Aug 5, 2009 at 12:53 pm |
gaming
The first round of titles for the Xbox ‘Games on Demand’ will be released on August 11th. The ‘Games on Demand’ section is part of the new dashboard update. If you are lucky enough to be in the preview program you probably know what I am talking about. If not the new section allows you to purchase and download full Xbox 360 games directly to your console. There are 21 titles in total set for this first round of releases. Prices have not been released but you can expect them to be “comparable” to the boxed versions. The full list is after the break.
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Microsoft announced today that they will be releasing the latest Xbox 360 dashboard update on August 11th. If you follow Major Nelson from the xbox live community you may have heard that Microsoft is looking to making the dashboard run quicker with less lag. Sometimes when viewing my friends list or when trying to add someone to a party there is a long wait time while the console “thinks”. There are no release notes about the speed up of the dashboard it self so I do not know if it will be included in this update or in the next update slated for later in the fall.
There is another thing I would really like to see update on the Xbox and that is how it handles music. I listen to music streamed from a different computer on my network and the way you navigate and select songs feels like it is from Window 3.1. My biggest problem with it is when you select a song or album to play and when you want to select a new song the system does not remember where you were in your library. You must navigate back from the beginning of the menus making song choosing a hassle. When I first got my Xbox I thought the ability to play my own music while I play or while the game is loading was one of the best features. It is to bad it has not received any attention in the NXE or recent updates.
Back on topic now. The update coming will include several great new features like better Netfllix integration, an Avatar props and awardables, Games on demand (why has this taken so long) and an improved party interface. If you didn’t know you can sign up to beta test the update much the same way you can beta test the new Power Pack 3 for WHS. Hit up the link here and sign in with your Windows Live account. Microsoft will get back with you later this week to let you know if you made it in.
A list of what is included in the update after the break.
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