Microsoft fires first salvo of new console wars!

[Dashken]

NEW YORK (AFP) - US software titan Microsoft takes the computer game wars to the Japanese enemy with the North American launch of its next-generation Xbox 360 console.

Unlike with its first foray into the competitive world of games hardware, Microsoft is stealing a march on arch-foes Sony and Nintendo by releasing the most powerful console yet well in time for the Christmas rush.

Neither Sony's new PlayStation3 nor the Nintendo Revolution is due to go on sale until next year, giving Microsoft the head-start that it failed to achieve with its first Xbox, which came out in 2001 a full year after the PlayStation2.

Microsoft has struggled ever since to catch up, but looks to have learned a trick or two to ensure that the sleek, silver Xbox 360 has already become the must-have gadget for this year's holiday season.

This week's launch, two days before the United States celebrates Thanksgiving on Thursday, is going to be "very, very successful", said Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst at Jupiter Research.

"It is the first shot across the bows and Microsoft wants it to be heard around the world," he said. "This is going to be a war that's going to last several years."

The Xbox 360 is scheduled to come out in Europe on December 2 and Japan on December 10, before being released in the rest of the world next year.

It will come equipped with a DVD player capable also of handling CDs and digital photographs through a built-in Windows Media Center -- the same bundle of applications found in Microsoft's
Windows XP operating system for PCs.

It has an Ethernet port to enable high-speed Internet connections for the popular "Xbox Live" subscription service, and other ports to hook up digital cameras or MP3 players.

And with support for startling image quality on high-definition televisions, Microsoft is confident that its new-look console has what it takes to challenge Sony, the runaway industry leader.

One big lesson that Microsoft learned with the first Xbox is that however powerful a console, it is unlikely to wow the public unless it comes with a solid stable of game titles at launch.

Partly because it was late to the game, and partly because it never mustered enough games, the Xbox division has lost Microsoft more than one billion dollars a year since 2001.

But this time round, the software giant has partnered up with all the industry's leading games developers -- including Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft -- and plans to launch the Xbox 360 with 18 titles.

They will include several sports franchises and the game version of "King Kong", based on the forthcoming movie remake by Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson.

From launch to the end of February, Microsoft hopes to shift three million units of the console and 5.5 million by the end of July.

Even before Tuesday's official release, Xbox 360s are changing hands for jaw-dropping sums well beyond the retail price, which stands at 299 or 399 dollars depending on the configuration.

Fears of shortages are driving a boom on eBay driven by fans who fret they will miss out on Tuesday to purchasers who have placed pre-release orders. Late Friday, one person paid 900 dollars to secure an Xbox 360 on the auction site.

"This is a very good deal! Don't pass it up," said another eBay user asking 850 dollars for his pre-reserved console, which he will receive at midnight Tuesday from his local retailer GameCrazy.

"I just got off the phone with the manager at GameCrazy and he said all GameCrazy stores are only getting about 20 units and Microsoft will not be reissuing any until January," the enterprising seller claimed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051120...tyleuscomputer

[aKho]

what a gimmick to earn your hard-earned dosh.. but without squaresoft.. i'm gonna stick to the ps3..

[zy]

with or without Gran turismo ..

i'm still not buying a console .. no time & no money

[Maximus_Detritus]

I have to admit, I am a Sony fanboy, almost through and through. However, I am sorely tempted by the X360.

[crashagn]

Umm ok.. now its kinda gotten me a wonderin bout somethin.. everyyear.. a new gaming console comes out on the market.. and its all the same thing.. parents and teenagers rush rush rush to go buy the newest in gaming gear .. xbox.sony.. nintendo.. well.. ok.. lets limit this down to 1 person .. say he/she goes and buys the newest gaming console everyyear..what is that? 300$ - 400$ ? well now here we got a proble. now you need to go get the latest games..what are they now 50$ - 80$ each? ... oops forgot about that livesubcription so you can can play "online".. the last gaming console i had was a sony playstation.. and it sucked for graphics vs even a slow 633mhz ..and that was the last ever purchased. But thats my opinion..Now im i just slow or behind in the times? i purchased a pc 5 yrs ago.. 600$.. installed new mobo 70$ upgraded cpu 60$..thats it. Ohh even when all my online buddies say.. ohh crash ya gotta get this game!!!
20$ yet? It seems like the last 5 or so yrs.. everyone has been getting the famous tech bug flu..Ohhh no.. cant wait for the prices to go down or even read up on the reviews.. its must have must have..

Sure i would like santa to bring me a 3.4 gig with a bada** mobo with 4 gig ole ram..but i sure aint gonna go out and buy it.. Ill just have to wait another 5 yrs and wait and then ill purchase all that for 500$ and ya know what. itll still play some cool graphics for me games.. and yes.. it will still get infected with a virus.. and mickysoft will still keep coming out with new patches....

Conclusian.. ? nope not gonna give 1.. maybe im to cheep? naa.. i just dont see how so manny people can be cought up in the rush to have somethin brand new .. mainly for bragging rights.. But go ahead and spend your hard earned cash.. as for me.. i think ill invest in a IRtracker or somethin.. they been out for awhile.. and sooo many reviews to read and check out

[Maximus_Detritus]

Ppl buy consoles for games.

Games.

If graphics are your priority, then it gets a little bit skewed. Its not that simple to say that its all about graphics, or all about having the newst each and every time. FYI, the Xbox360 is the first <b>brand new</b> gaming console since the Xbox itself way back in 2001. The PSP and the DS do not count as new consoles, although they are indeed extensions of their respective owners' platforms (Sony and Nintendo). If you do the math, spending 500 dollars on a PC 5 years down the line, is equivalent to spending 300 dollars on a new-gen games console, with maybe 3 or 4 games thrown in. And with a game sconsole, you knwo that the hardware will still stay the same for the next 5 years, and the graphics and gameplay will only get better.

Whilst there are invariably those who do indeed purchase gadgets and hardware merely out of a need to brag, the majority are gamers, and hardcore ones at that, who will nto stop a hefty price tag from letting them experience the best and brightest on offer. Games such as Shadow of Colossus (In my opinion, one of THE games of the year, irrespective of platform) , are not the best in terms of graphics, but it offers a gaming experience that does not appear on the PC.

It is for this reason that I own a PC as well as a Playstation2, because I do not wish to limit my gaming experience. I make sacrifices, worked overtime etc etc, to get to the level where I am today with my hardware, and I do not regret it one bit. If you are prepared to wait 5 years, then I admire your patience.

But gaming is for the moment. And i live for those moments that we all consider to be 'seminal'. The hour long boss fight in MGS3 with 'The End'. Taking down a 15 storey colossus in Shadows of Colossus with merely arrows and a sword. Or that final fight in Final Fantasy.

It's always going to be, and will always be, about the games. For most of us.

[joffa81]

Originally Posted by aKho

what a gimmick to earn your hard-earned dosh.. but without squaresoft.. i'm gonna stick to the ps3..

guess wot squaresoft have 3 games in devlopmet for the 360 for release in 2006 so your statement is bollox and ps3 will suck big time cause its sony promiseing people things it cant impliment correctly !!!!!!