Who's getting a XBox 360 day one?

[Agent_S13]

Wow, seems to be a lot of die-hards game fanatics. I'm keen on watching this unfold and thought I'd throw my pennies into the mix

1) Everyone who's fond of the X-Box 360 hasn't gone into detail of which system they're getting? The $299 bare-bones or the $399 "deluxe" one?

If I remember what I read in the article, the $399 system comes w/ the 20 GB HD (no HD in barebones version, which is odd cuz the original comes with a 10 GB HD) and also a free year? (maybe 3 months) of X-Box Live Gold

There's X-Box Live Silver, but that's free to everyone who owns an X-Box, to buy random crap, but no playing X-Box games online.

2) Going further into that X-Box Live thing... that's the only reason most people are into X-Box. I have both and I wouldn't mind playing X-Box Live, its got great support, many people are using/playing it so finding a game is not hard. Everyone's using the same hardware (unlike different PC's) and the only issue is bandwidth so it does kind of even the playing field here.

I've always been a fan of the Playstation and was really excited that they added the HDD and Broadband Adapter, but Sony's lack of infrastructure in creating an online world never materialized. MS jumped on that w/ XB Live and now they dominate the market.

Sony has plans for an online community, a free one at that too --- but I can't see it coming close to the details/features XB Live has included. I think the only reason MS is selling their system to Japan is because of tradition. I think MS already knows they make the money selling the XB Live service in the US -- its greatest market (and if they get a few more subscribers in Asia... more money to them)

As for games, MS has picked up a lot of developers to produce games for them. I think the way business is now, a company can't bet on a certain developer to take the lead (aka EA/Square/Konami etc during the last generation) and hope that their "exclusives" sell enough for them to make a profit too. Now game companies realize that they have to produce for all systems to actually break even/make a profit --- game development costs keep rising (some are pricier than movies) and selling to all system owners increases their audience and sales numbers.

Lastly, I thought I'd ask this question:

What's the next Gen DVD Format going to be? Both Sony and MS have taken their respective, conflicting sides and I fear that this might be a "betamax" situation that can affect Sony's future.

I for one, don't care as long as 1 format is agreed on. Both have their merits but it seems like this can tear people apart not only for backwards compatibility but also in the future production of DVD movies and their use in certain DVD players.

Its such a waste but all factors I put above (and more if people want to add them) will definitely play a part in the future leader of the console wars.

and just for Kazuo --- Yes, the Revolution will contain a feature for downloadable content... basically their entire NES/SNES library of games perfectly emulated on the Revolution for a fee per d/l probably. (What that is, I dunno... but it makes me wonder if they can appeal to kids and adults looking for nostalgia?)

Wow, damn long post... think I've thrown in more than my 2 cents.

-Aaron
'91 240sx coupe