XBox 360 News, views and reviews

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• UK Agency stomps on Cops & Robbers game
  One single person complained, so the ASA pulled the rug from under Microsofts game. Read my take on it
  
  
• Microsoft announce HD-DVD for the XBox
  
  
• XBox 360 and HD-DVD's
  
  
• Shop for XBox 360 games and accessories
  
  
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• My XBox 360 keeps crashing…
  
  
• XBox 360 game release dates
  
  

April 2007 : XBox 360 Elite - too little, too late?

Our American cousins will already be taking (limited) stocks of the lastest XBox incarnation, but I feel it is a bit lacking, especially compared to the PS3! Don't get me wrong, I'm not favouring the Playstation console, especially after Sony stitched up Europe (yet again), but at the same time, I'm not letting the Seattle boys off lightly seeing as the basics that could and should have been in the XBox360 still don't make it to the Elite revision!

Specifically I refer HD-DVD and HDMI v1.3, or more glaringly, the lack thereof.

True, hardly any televisions support HDMI v1.3 but they will in the future and it annoys me that some bean counter probably ordered the specs lowered to save a few cents on each unit. The only real difference from 1.2 to 1.3 is the specific support with high definition surround sound formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and potential (greatly) increased colour. Besides, it rankles that the PS3 managed it! On the plus side, Microsoft do include a HDMI cable for the whole out of the box experience - something the penny pinchers at Sony choose to skimp on.
I did read somewhere that the firmware is flash upgradable to 1.3, which, if correct, begs the question, why wasn't/isn't this being done on the assembly line!?

However, not building HD-DVD into the unit is reprehensible:

Buy the new XBox 360 ELITE, it has a premium black finish, it supports HDMI, it supports 1080p resolution, it has a whopping 120G hard drive (the largest available for any gaming console), it only costs $480, and it, er, um, *cough* doesn't include HD-DVD, that's an optional extra. You want fries with that?

I'm sorry, what part of the definition of 'Elite' didn't Microsoft understand? I know why they excluded it, and that just annoys me all the more. They could have done it, but it all comes back down to price points. I read claims somewhere that Microsoft never did and and still does not currently have plans to put an HD DVD drive in the 360. Cobblers! I know for a fact that they where in talks with vendors about this several years ago!

Anyway, it annoys me for several reasons: It should have been there from the start, and expecting to plug an external HD-DVD into an 'Elite' XBox 360 just seems wrong at so many levels. Plus, the fact the PS3 comes with Blu-Ray as standard just rubs salt in it. It also slightly slews the market in favour of Blu-ray over HD-DVD is the HD standards race. Besides which, while correctly predicting a new Xbox announcement, I was wrong about the inclusion of the HD-DVD and I hate being wrong!

• Elite Console (it's black)
  
  
• 120GB hard drive (Meh, 60Gb was fine!)
  
  
• HDMI (should have been on the first one, that's not 'elite' it's a fix!)
  
  
• There are said to run cooler than existing XBox 360's
  
  
• will be offered alongside a stack of colour-coordinated accessories, most of which will work with existing 360s
  But, said list of premium black extras seem to exclude the USB HD-DVD, which will stand out like a sore thumb if it only comes in cream
  
  
• and $480 price tag. (Which no doubt translates to £480 IF it reaches the UK)

*SIGH*

I suppose when they move the chipset to 65nm later this summer HD-DVD drives will be starting to reach mass market and Microsoft will finally revise the unit and make it right.

… goes off grumbling.

March 2007: Looking at (NOT getting) the PS3

The electronics giant said last week that it had removed the Emotion Engine from the European and Australasian machines in a move to cut costs.
Sony now plans to provide emulation software for limited backwards compatibility with PS2 games.
VNU: Sony does u-turn on PS2/PS3 compatibility

My children share a birthday this month, coinciding with the UK release of the Playstation 3… and, that's right off their present list now. I'm used to the arrogance of Sony etc. making Europe a 'last thought' for releases, but to remove backwards compatibilty (on the grounds of costs) and then put the price up compared to the rest of the world (yet again - same old story)…

Well, Sony can get stuffed!

I for one cannot be doing with the kids tantrums when all their PS1/PS2 games no longer work - because Sony want to save a few dollars on a unit. (Expletives). If they can't bite the bullet and show us the same respect they offer us the US and Japanese markets then I've had it with Sony. Fed up with all the (greed) of the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD debacle too. (Several more expletives.)

All in all, it just emphasises the superiority of the XBox 360 over the PS3, not simply in terms of graphics crunching but because of the way the vendors treat their customers. Microsoft opted for a worldwide release, same model for all - Sony decide Europeans and Australians only deserve a stripped down version, oh and we can pay more for the privilege (while they subsidise the North American market). (More expletives). Sick and tired of all this!



January 2007: XBox360, HD-DVD and HDMI
Personally I'm a bit miffed about it all and refuse point blank to let the kids have an XBox360 until Microsoft get it together on the HD/HDMI front. I know for a fact that Microsoft in talks with manufacturers over 2 years ago about using HD-DVD as the default for the xbox360. Similarly is it a given that HDMI (v1.3a was ratified last year) will become the defacto standard on all new HDTV's this year. It's not even a compatibility issue as their new USB based HD-DVD shows.

What is the problem guys? Just release a XBox360-HD version, you know we want it!

*Ponders*
Say, why not announce it to coincide with the European launch of Sony's PS3, with it's built in Blu-Ray and HDMI 1.3… Look Ma, we got one too!

Personally I was scouring CES for just such an announcement and all I got was fobbed off by PR suits. I do have a great deal of respect for the company but some of their employees… Anyway, I did stumble across the following of interest:

The second Xbox 360 revealed: codename Zephyr
Posted Jan 5th 2007 8:51AM by Ryan Block

Ever wonder why Microsoft hasn't released an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360, or whether the AV port was really capable of digital out? Well, here's your answer: we landed pictures of what appears to be the second Xbox 360 -- the Xbox 360 v2, if you will -- codenamed Zephyr. (The original Xbox 360, if you recall, was codenamed Xenon.) The long rumored about and awaited update to the console won't just feature a new, cooler 65nm processor, it's also finally added an HDMI port for full digital 1080p pleasure, as well as a 120GB drive, just what the doctor ordered. The 120GB drive may or may not come bundled with the kit, we don't yet know, just as we also don't yet know how much a Zephyr 360 is going to run (we imagine it'll go for the same price as currently so they can keep up a little on their expanding margin). But our very kind Xbox insider seemed happy to let us know we'd be able to get them "soon."

Permalink and Cite: Engadget

Christmas 2006: World Wide Wait for Xbox 360: 70,000 delivered & sold out to (UK)

Is it worth queuing?
Is it heck! According to VNU, Microsoft has admitted the initial batch of will contain about 300,000 units, with retailers around the country warning that they have already sold out on advanced orders alone. Pretty much, if you didn't pre-order well in advance, don't hold your breath!

Some of you, especially those without one `on the day` might curse Microsoft for the world wide wait, but I say kudos to them. The likes of Sony treat the UK like third rate citizens. Try getting a PSP and you'll see what I mean, get other countries have had them for ages.


Xbox 360 vs Xbox 360 Core System
Which one is right for us?
I'm sorry, but I don't think there is a choice. For the price difference I genuinely believe you would be stupid to buy the cut down version. I lost my notes but I think you save something in the order of £80 ($150 -ish) buying the bundle. For some of you it might come down to price, in which case it applies even more as you need the hard drive to play the back catalogue of existing - of cheaper - XBox games… If it comes down to well I MUST have one for the kids for Christmas, well, personally I think your children need a reality check and less susceptibility to TV marketing and peer pressure. .

No really, there's a news story of some idiot with more money than sense paying over $10,000 for an XBox over eBay. For that sort of money I'd wait a years, never mind a couple of weeks while the freighters reach your shore. Madness!

Yes, you'll disappoint them, but if they can't handle not getting the latest 'next big thing' on the day, then I have to say you have far greater problems to deal with than a box of chips, hmmm!



I'll fill this out over the next hour or so. There are a last number of reports floating around about bugs and problems and crashes, which might but some folk of, but I don't think that's wholly fair myself. These people are using pre-release consoles and games, for the most part. The 'B' in beta test stands for bugs, eh.

Meanwhile, here's some early news from my main site…


Double take
I've included this for completeness rather than any genuine interest in the genre. Apart from a few Gameboys … we have no consoles, nor am I likely to get any for the kids.

Well, that was then, this is now and I have to say, in between the ability to play DVD's and the absolutely stunning graphics on the new XBox 360, I've changed my mind! I can't use them myself sadly as the motion affects me, but I'm content to buy the kids one after Xmas then they are more readily available.

Out of interest, there was more than a hint that Microsoft where going to do a deal with NEC to use backwards compatible next generation HD-DVD's instead of regular DVD's but obviously that hasn't happened yet. Don't rule it out though, because sooner rather than later it will happen. I'd given it mid-2007 myself, but it's on the cards

That said, there are already 44 games out or lined up with specific support for the XBox 360 and for HDTV. Of these, I'd say Quake 4 (or Perfect Dark Zero), King Kong and Call of Duty 2 will lead the pack for the foreseeable, while Microsoft's own Project Gotham Racing® 3 will set the standards for racing standard of the future. What can I say, I've gone with the safe bets because they are…

Console News (from mid 2004)

Every five years or so a new generation of consoles replaces the current cream. That time, it seems, is creeping up on us again.

Microsoft:

Xbox 2
... 2005 timescale
Predicted sales of 10 million in Europe by 2010
Also likely to have a USB slot, Smart Media card and a hard drive.
Like the PSX, expected to double as a video recorder, burning your soaps to DVD
Boasts three 64 bit IBM designed CPU's
HDTV quality resolution, compliments of a new ATI graphics card
Backwards compatible
...