Xbox360 preordered

[Circuit]

I am silly and dumb. :o

[Tai]

Thanks for saving me the post :bg: :paddle: ;)

Are you sure you're a Martian and not human?
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Beer Factor: http://againsttheherd.com/images/cans/3pack.gif

[Tai]

Having said that, can I come play on it? :jester:
--
Beer Factor: http://againsttheherd.com/images/cans/1pack.gif

[jackrabbit]

I plan on preordering, too. But this is a bit earlier than I plan to do that. :)

[Dg3Nr8]

I'll be pre-ordering as soon as I can online. I dont want to go into EB on launch day with all the smelly nerds :(

oh god how do I turn the emoticons off?

[Creole Ned]

First, you and the bunny need to overcome your emoticonphobia. Turning them off does not make you more cool than anyone else. Or so they've told me. Second, there's a checkbox right below where you type your messages.

Third, you people pre-ordering are crazy, I sez, although I'm guessing at this point in time it's relatively risk-free (that is, easy enough to back out of).

Fourth, I thought all nerds were smelly.

Fifth, is the idea of a "killer app" for consoles passe? I read about games that will come out for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Revolution and some sound interesting but there's none that really strikes me as "I must have this!"

[Dg3Nr8]

:) :) :) :) :)

now if only the setting would stick :(

[Paladin]

I'm planning to pre-order too.

As for killer apps, I'm definitely getting the new Burnout title for it when it comes out, and if they are really taking Ridge Racer back to it's arcadey rally car roots, I'll probably pick it up too.

[Dg3Nr8]

I'm pretty excited for online Ridge Racer too

[Circuit]

I'm only preordering now because everywhere I've called said they've had like a phazillion preorders already. Plus, it can't hurt anything. I'd much rather have one saved instead of having to call around to see who still has one after release. As for killer apps, I'm not sure, but there are several games I've seen that look really good that I know I'd buy eventually. I typically only buy one or two games with a new console and Project Gotham Racing 3 and Need for Speed Most Wanted are both confirmed release titles. There are several other games I want on the list that are also coming out for PC, so I'd probably get them for that instead.

[Tai]

Hubba - PGR3 is probably a must have.

[Circuit]

Hmm, I forgot about Full Auto. It's also said to be a release title. Cars with guns and crashing and exploding! :thumbup:

[Dg3Nr8]

the 360s pricing was finally announced today

http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/17/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm

breakdown:

$300 xbox 360: no hard drive, one wired controller, silver xbox live membership

$400 xbox 360: 20 GB hard drive, one wireless controller, headset, silver xbox live membership, media remote

[Tai]

pure rapage. :(

[jackrabbit]

I've already earmarked the money for this purchase. I'm a bit worried that early adoption will result in being Thompsoned, though.

[Circuit]

pure rapage. :(

Huh? Those prices match up just about every other console release in the past few decades. The fact that $399 will get me a shiny new game system WITH a wireless controller, headset, and remote right out of the box is quite awesome to me. The $299 price gets you everything (short of the under-utilized hard drive) that came with the original Xbox for the same price it was released at. I paid $400 for my damn Radeon x800, so this is a freaking steal. :)

[Creole Ned]

My worry is now that the hard drive is optional, it will not just be under-utilized but all but ignored. Optional hardware on consoles just doesn't get used by most developers.

Also, I shudder to imagine how these prices will convert to Canadian dollars.

[Circuit]

Well, it's been said that it will be used in pretty much the same way as before, which was basically just for Live purposes, gamesaves and storing music. The new system is just supposed to incorporate the media features more, so the hard drive will certainly come in handy if you intend on using it for that. I don't think they've ever had any intentions of using it for games in the way PCs do, so I can definitely see why it's optional. I like it mostly because I hate dealing with (and paying for) memory cards.

[Creole Ned]

Many games used the HD to speed up load times, which is why games typically load so much faster on the Xbox than on the PS2. With the HD now optional, it's possible many developers won't bother. That makes me sad and unhappy. Plus sad.

[jackrabbit]

Also, I shudder to imagine how these prices will convert to Canadian dollars.

My math professor says rational numbers can't go that high.

I'll get the HD version too, but I hadn't really thought about Ned's argument that since it's not built-in, it won't necessarily be a requirement. I do like the idea that I can grab just my HD and take it to a friends place and play my saves, but realistically the number of time I see myself doing that I could count on my vagina.

there was also talk of several sizes of aftermarket drives you could buy. I think if they allow the Xb0x360 to perform as a Media Center, the HD would be really handy. I do have 8 gig of MP3s I'd happily remove from my PC.

I'd bow before them if I could remove the HD, attach it to some kind of powered adapter, plug in headphones and take my MP3s on the road.

No. I don't see that happening, but I like to daydream.

[Circuit]

Many games used the HD to speed up load times, which is why games typically load so much faster on the Xbox than on the PS2. With the HD now optional, it's possible many developers won't bother. That makes me sad and unhappy. Plus sad.

How many games actually used it, though? Also realize that the 360 has 512mb of RAM as opposed to the Xbox's 64mb. I don't think load times will be a problem, but I could be wrong. I still play my PS2, though, and the load times never really bothered me on it. I've still never seen a load time on any console longer than some PC games, like the lovely Battlefield 1942 which sometimes took literally a few minutes. I know that was partly due to the copy protection they used, but I'm annoyed at extremely long load times regardless of the reason behind them.

BTW, the official site lists the VGA connection cables as part of the $399 package, which is pretty sweet. I've got money down on an HDTV at work finally, but I'm not sure I'll have it paid off by the time the Xbox 360 comes out. Being able to play it in high definition until I get the TV is fantastic.

[jackrabbit]

my wife would love me x10 if I could play on my monitor and not on the TV. Plus my PC desk is kind of my shrine to technology (allbeit OLD technology) and I feel safe there.

[Creole Ned]

Circuit, I'm just saying making the hard drive optional will have consequences. I don't think the world will flood or be cast into the sun as a result, but I also don't see the point in minimizing it - it will have an impact, however minor or major, and it won't be a positive one. That's all I'm saying.

And the reason for so many console games not having long load times is probably because they have made compromises with things like textures, world detail and so on to keep those load times down. Take a look at Doom 3 on the Xbox and compare it to the PC version. All of the GTA games look like ass on the PS2. Even with the higher-res textures on the PC, they still look like ass but at least it's a little more curvy. Compare the load times on the PS2 version to the Xbox or the PC. That's the difference a hard disk makes. If it doesn't bother you, that's great. I fully admit to being a gaming snob. I want short load times, good graphics, deep gameplay and a motherfucking slice of bluberry pie on top.

[Circuit]

I'm not saying that, though. I'm saying I don't think the load times on the Xbox benefited from the hard drive. I don't see how it could, really, since it was primarily in there for storage. I mean, how could programmers write games to use the hard drive if it was full of mp3's or whatever? What happens when there's not enough space there for games to cache to? Owning both an Xbox and PS2, I didn't notice many games that loaded particularly faster on the Xbox. There were some, of course, but I'm wondering if that wasn't due almost entirely to the fact that it had twice as much RAM as the PS2.

And yes, I know the difference a hard disk makes. However, I'm not sure how it applies to the load times on the original Xbox that had a hard drive. The difference usually lies in the fact that the system can pull data from the hard drive faster than from a CD or DVD. But in the case of the Xbox, that never happened as far as I know. Everything was still pulled directly from the disc. I could be completely wrong about that, but I've played several games that were basically identical on the PS2 and Xbox and the only differences I saw didn't make me think it was dramatic enough to be caused by anything except one console having double the RAM of the other.

I'm not saying it won't have an impact. But at the same time, it seems to have been a design decision they made long ago. For a while, MS wouldn't even say if they had a decision on whether or not the system would have a hard drive at all, which seems to indicate to me that, at the very least, they never had any solid plans of developing games that needed one. So I just don't see how it could have a negative impact on the system. If I'm wrong and games have intollerable load times and the actual performance of them suffers during gameply because of not being programmed for a hard drive, I'll gladly eat your hat. If it's made of cake. And only if it doesn't have that super sugary icing!

Either way, I'm getting one with the hard drive simply because I like using my own music for games and because memory cards are poopoo.

[Creole Ned]

Developers would use the hard disk as a "scratch space" - essentially using it to cache contents of the game so that it wouldn't need to always pull data directly from the disc. I don't have a list of games that did this, but I know Morrowind was one.

[Circuit]

OK. If that's the case, then I guess I personally just didn't really see any benefit in my games. Not enough to make me worry about the 360, anyway, since it has a decent amount of RAM. Either way, I'm right and you're wrong forever! :flowerhea

[jackrabbit]

as Dg pointed out to me in a heated debate (mainly over what mustard is made out of) even if the HD doesn't get the full use that it may be intended for, the extra $100 you also get a headset (hopefully plugs into the...) wireless controller, remote, and VGA cables. You'd probably spend well over $100 for those items otherwise, so worst case scenario you have more peripherals and a mainly unused HD.

[Tai]

I thought it was mustard seed and vinegar?

[jackrabbit]

You sure theres no rat pee in it?

Dammit. He was right.

[Andri]

Maybe you should stick with a piece of Ned's blueberry pie. Just to be on the safe side.

[Paladin]

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion will not require the hard drive to play.

I think you are all overlooking the most obvious reason for having a hard drive in it... the inevitable patches.

Supposedly, the hard drive will be a fairly easy thing to add/replace/upgrade, so if you don't get one initially or decide to get a larger one, it ought to be a fairly painless process. They haven't really said how getting the OS onto a do-it-yourself hard drive will be handled though... not that I've seen anyway.

[Circuit]

From looking at how the hdd attaches to the 360, I don't see how you could use a do-it-yourself one. It looks like the one it uses is custom made. I'm sure the adding/replacing/upgrading will involve buying it from Microsoft only.

[Dg3Nr8]

also, if you purchase the non-HDD version youre pretty much going to have to buy a $40 memory card.

[Tick]

If a 120 gig HDD costs like 80 bucks, why does it cost extra to get a 20 gig drive? Shouldn't we get paid for taking those off their hands at this point? They only make drives with 40 or 50 gigs a platter...how did they even get 20 gig drives? Can I only talk in questions now? What will I do?

[Dg3Nr8]

Its a 2.5" hdd used in laptops so it is more expensive that a normal drive but still under $100. Then theres the enclosure that it comes in.

I think each drive sold will also fork over a bit of cash to nvidia

[LogRoller]

Although I am sure that they learned plenty of lessons from the giant security holes in the xbox that allowed people to make cheapo thrid party devices, for every team of highly paid Microsoft employees devoted to solving those issues, there is a punk ass genius at MIT with an axe to grind and too much time on his hands.

[Tick]

Actually, I'd say that for every employee at MS, there's a team of hackers with nothing better to do.

It took under 24 hours for the latest Harry Potter book to be turned into an e-book. That's 800 pages of text turned into a PDF in less than a day. (They didn't offer an e-book format on launch day for fears of piracy, oddly enough) It took something like two days to translate the whole thing into German. If it's a popular device, there will be people out there breaking it open and making it do things it just isn't supposed to do

[Dg3Nr8]

You guys have probably seen all these but I grabbed them just in case. The xbox360 marketing brochure (http://degenerate.shackspace.com/xbox360) was leaked and is up on several gaming sites now. It lists differences in the systems, accesories, etc.

Apparently you have to buy multiple faceplates to get the best gaming experience available.

[Tai]

Apparently you have to buy multiple faceplates to get the best gaming experience available.

Sadly, I fear people will actually buy into that concept :( Baaah!

[Circuit]

Tai, why does this all bother you so much?

[Tai]

Tai, why does this all bother you so much?

Are you asking why I am upset that humans are so silly that they believe they can only have the "best experience" if they own multiple faceplates? I just hate sales and PR.

Or are you asking why I dislike consoles? If the latter, I think it's mostly because I hate myself for going out and buying them upon release, and then not using them enough to warrant their existence. While I admit that consoles are now vastly improved over what they used to offer, I still feel suckered every time. It is completely my fault: I buy the football games every season, and end up playing the game perhaps 5 times, no more than 10 during the year. It's wierd.

Also, I tend to lean strongly towards multiplayer games, and Xbox Live and the like seem too awkward to use/clunky that I don't often enjoy the experience. (Then again, I really enjoyed playing Burnout 3 with you all, I wish for more events like this).

Anyway, don't take anything I say as judgmental and/or critical - I firmly believe everyone has the right to do whatever they want as long as they don't hurt others, and that's obviously not the case here (until I feel I have to go buy a 360 in order to get in on any multiplayer action on Mars, and even then, that's still my choice).

I should also point out, I love bumping my post count ;)

:jump:

[Circuit]

Are you asking why I am upset that humans are so silly that they believe they can only have the "best experience" if they own multiple faceplates? I just hate sales and PR.

I think you're taking that to the extreme, though. MS isn't saying you can only have the "best experience" if you have multiple faceplates. They're saying they're available and are a part of the whole "make your own experience" thing they're pushing. I don't see a problem with it, really. I would never spend $20 to change the look of my gaming consoles, but lots of people would. It doesn't seem any more ridiculous to me than people spending money to make their computer case look how they want it to.

But, yeah, that really did bump your post count. It went up by like 900! :eek:

[Tai]

But they are saying that - the sales material says a single faceplate gets you a 'good experience', and multiple ones gives you the 'best experience'. I, personally, don't feel that changing the faceplate on the console is going to improve my gaming experience in the slightest, however, I do understand if some people feel that way. I guess... but I'm still gonna mock them :)

[Dg3Nr8]

EB.com is out of their damn minds.

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/categories/systems/xbox360/default.asp

Looks like I may be having to go stand in line to pick one up after all. Now way I'm buying a $700 bundle.

[jackrabbit]

Four included games, one of which I'd ever play. If anything, this kind of crap would be the reason I *wouldn't* shop at EB games. I liked the idea of the Xbox shipping with Splinter Cell and Halo. Those games had universal appeal.

I couldn't be forced to play a Dead or Alive game, and Elements of Power I've never even heard of.

I'm sure better deals will be available. Competition will be stiff and we have the internets on our side.

[Dg3Nr8]

Kameo is actually supposed to be pretty spiffy. Apparently it impressed quite a few people at E3. That being said, I dont want it at launch. I may pick it up at a later date, but not then.

[Circuit]

Four included games, one of which I'd ever play. If anything, this kind of crap would be the reason I *wouldn't* shop at EB games. I liked the idea of the Xbox shipping with Splinter Cell and Halo. Those games had universal appeal.

I disagree with that. I own neither game for my Xbox, so it's not quite "universal", especially for people who prefer to play PC versions of games that are also on Xbox. I just generally dislike the idea of console/game bundles unless they're priced to where the games are basically free. If I don't like the free games, at least I didn't lose anything.

Most of the packages that stores like EB put together don't offer any sort of discount for buying the bundles, so the only point is to make more money off of the people who either don't know any better, have money gardens at their house, or are just desperate to get the new console. They're charging the same amount as if you bought all the stuff seperately and forcing you to get the games they put in there. It would be great if the stuff in those bundles are exactly what you want, though, just because of simplicity. It's sorta dumb that those bundles are the only way you can get the Xbox 360 from their internet store, though.

[Paladin]

It isn't just to make more money for the store, Circuit. It's passing along the manufacturer or wholeseller purchase requirements to the end user. My girlfriend was looking into adding video games to her eBay store, and the way it's set up sucks.

Essentially, the way the distribution deals work are like this:

In order to buy a copy of an 'A' game, the distributor makes the retailer buy one or more 'B' and 'C' games at the same time. How many 'A' games you can get becomes a direct function of how many of the 'B' and 'C' titles you are willing to get stuck for. Hardware works the same way. That's how it works for independents. Now, I'd expect companies like EB and Best Buy to be in a better position, being able to go around the distributors and buy directly from the manufacturer/publisher...but, just doing that doesn't necessarily let them get around having to buy bundles of stuff themselves. They may just get a better list to pick from or a little lower cost.

I suspect in this case, EB is merely passing along a set of purchase requirements that looked something like this:

To buy the system, you must also buy 2 add-ons. For the core system, they went with a memory card and wired controller and for the ultimate system. The system with the hard drive may have had a 3 accessory requirement, or they may be throwing in one of the wireless accessories to pad their pockets a bit. The sure thing is that they aren't making any money over cost on the system itself.

The games are probably similar; to get PGR and Perfect Dark Zero, they probably had to pick two less-desirable games, and picked two that have some decent (if not widespread) buzz, Kameo and DOA.

And in order to not get stuck with an ass-load of Kameo and DOA games (which they otherwise wouldn't be able to sell through on launch day), they are going this bundled route. And you are right, there is no savings buying it as a bundle:

Core System: $299.99
4 games @ $59.99 each: $239.96
Wired controller: $29.99
Memory Card: $29.99

Total $599.93 - the exact price they are selling the system for

[jackrabbit]

with the DoA series, they should just throw in the nudity they've danced around from the very first, slap an AO rating on it and let bad parents buy it for their kids by the truckload.

[Dg3Nr8]

Gamestop one ups their younger sibling with the ULTIMATE bundle!

http://www.gamestop.com/productmerch.asp?groupid=310

[Circuit]

Well, regardless, I'll be pulling out my preorder from Gamestop (who has the same bundles at the same price as EB, along with some other higher priced ones) if they don't allow me to just purchase the system. With new systems, I usually buy one game and rent any others I want to play. There's no way I'm going to be forced to buy several games at the same time, even if they're ones I'd like to have.

[FoeKilla]

so, did anybody actually get one of these beasts?

I found out my wife actually took the morning off to go wait in line to get me one, only to be turned away when they ran out.:(

[Shadowrat]

did anybody who actually got one of these beasts experience the crashing that appears to be happening to everyone?

[Circuit]

I think someone says "everyone's" game console crashes every time a new one releases.

And no, I didn't get mine. Despite preordering at Gamestop in August, I didn't make the first shipment, so I just got the money back. They were only receiving 17 on launch day and I was 35th in line. No big deal, though. I'm not in much of a hurry to get one. I'll probably look next week at some stores to see if I can get one, but I've got too many unfinished PC games right now anyway.

[jackrabbit]

The crashes are in part related to the power supply overheating. People have been suspending them off the ground and with better ventilation have been reporting fewer crashes. It only seems like a few people are having this problem as every post about crashes is followed by 90 helpfull posts saying "Mine doesn't crash. Lern2play n00b! lol" which of course means there is no problem at all.

Also, here (http://jckrbbt.com/files/xbox360.wmv) (right-click, save as) is an Xbox 360 commercial that you won't see here in the states. I would have liked a different background song as the one they pick doesn't fit, but the commercial itself is pretty cool even if it has little to do with an Xbox 360. (7.5meg. Rated MSV for mild simulated violence)

[Medic]

I think someone says "everyone's" game console crashes every time a new one releases.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051205/tc_nm/media_xbox_dc

Guess it's a bit more prevelant than we first thought...

[Circuit]

All that means is there's at least one person out there dumb enough to sue over defective electronics. I've yet to see any evidence of this being any different than any other console launch in terms of hardware reliability.

[jackrabbit]

at the risk of being dubbed a MS fanboy (I like games, not consoles) it's not a big thing for someone to file a Class Action Lawsuit. All they need is an attorney and a greif. In this case, they also managed to get publicity.

Filing a class action lawsuit doesn't mean MS is instantly guilty of making faulty consoles. It just means some guy with a lawyer wants to suckle the teat of the cash cow cause his Xbox 360 is faulty, and he hopes to validate his claim by having other people offer evidence.

[Dg3Nr8]

I finally got my 360 Friday afternoon. I lucked up Thursday morning and scored one online from Circuit City during the 15 minutes they were available. It was listed as a bundle including the 360 itself, an extra wireless controller, a play and charge kit and three games. Luckily they let you remove the games from the bundle. I dont know if this was planned or a screw up but I thank them for it either way. The best part was that I decided to get the express shipping for $22 instead of the overnight for $45 and got it overnight anyway. :D

I have it hooked up to my 19" CRT with the optional VGA cable going through a Linksys KVM switch. The VGA cable includes an adapter to take the two audio plugs and use it on the line in of your PC sound card which was nice of them. I was worried it wouldnt be included and I would have to run to Radio Shack but they hooked me up. Theres 7 or 8 resolutions you can choose to run in from the VGA adapter, some normal aspect and some widescreen, so you should be fine no matter what type monitor youre using.

The dashboard is fantastic. Everything is crystal clear, well laid out and very responsive. You have a system tab that includes all your basic setup. A media tab for all your pictures, music and movies including those streamed from an XP PC. The games tab has all the xbox live arcade stuff and other things related directly to the games. The yellow tab is your xbox live tab and includes your friends list and a few other things. They broke it down nicely so theres only a few things per tab and its easy to navigate around with the controller.

The low points are the DVD drive is LOUD and the thing puts out some serious heat. Neither is really a problem just annoyances. You really notice the DVD noise when you quit a game and go back to the dashboard. Huge difference in the sound levels.

This is turning out way longer than I thought, sorry. I'll make another post later concerning the games themselves including a couple of the xbox live arcade games that I tried.

[jackrabbit]

I saw that you'd picked one up, lucky bastard. I'm probably out of the market till Late January or February. Worst case scenario I'll pick one up in March with my bonus.

[Dg3Nr8]

Xbox Live Arcade Games:

Zuma: Same as the PC version (http://www.popcap.com/launchpage.php?theGame=zuma&src=big8) you just use a controller instead of your mouse now. I always enjoyed it so I tried it out on the live arcade. The graphics looks slightly better More of the same but I still loved it. I’ll play the hell out of it.

Hexic: Included on the hard drive for the 360. Similar to Bejeweled but instead of trying to get the colored gems in a row you try and group them. As with Zuma this version looks a little better than the PC version. (http://zone.msn.com/en/hexic/default.htm) Fun if you like puzzle games. I’ll probably play this a good bit too.

Geometry Wars Evolved: (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/geometrywarsretroevolved/review.html) You can get the demo for this on xbox live or on the PGR3 disc. It like Asteroids and Robotron dropped acid and had a love child. I’m quite sure this game is going to give somebody seizures.

I look forward to playing Smash TV and Gauntlet online. That’s going to rule. They need to hurry up and release Marble Blast Ultra. I cant get enough of that game.

Xbox 360 games:

Tiger Woods 2006: It’s no Links. I’ve barely touched this so far. It looks nice, especially Tiger. I think they spent half their time on his model and textures. It seems ok so far until you get to the green. Somehow they’ve managed to make putting painful. I guess they listened to all the complaints about last years being too easy. Jerks. I’ll spend more time with this during the week and reach a final decision on it. Microsoft, PLEASE bring me a new Links game.

Perfect Dark Zero: Looks nice but feels funny. I’m not quite sure what it is that bothers me yet. Maybe it’s the movement speed that’s a tad slow. I probably just need to get used to it. I got to play one of the missions co-op online and that was pretty awesome. The multi player component is getting really good reviews and I look forward to trying it out. I’ll report back on this one.

Need For Speed:Most Wanted: This game rules. 75% of my time this weekend was playing this. I couldn’t get enough of it. I gave up on the NFS series several years ago but EA did a great job on this one. I didn’t plan on picking this up but got a really great deal. Now I feel bad for not having to pay full price. Theres something really satisfying about beating somebody, taking their car and taking all the stickers and stupid spoilers off of it. When I go home for lunch I’ll probably have to race a time or two.

Project Gotham Racing 3: Another smash for Bizarre Creations. If you loved PGR2 you have to get this. Its basically PGR2++. They gameplay feels very similar but it looks a good bit crisper. The biggest addition is the in car cam. Its fantastic. The worst thing is they took the slower car classes out of the game. If it cant hit 170 mph it wasn’t included.

[Tai]

Do they finally offer a decent steering wheel with this new XBox? All the ones for the regular XBox suck.

[Dg3Nr8]

Do they finally offer a decent steering wheel with this new XBox? All the ones for the regular XBox suck.

I havent looked at any so I dont really know. I've heard conflicting reports about if the console itself supports true force feedback though. I've read that it does and I've read that it doesnt and only uses rumble to provide some force effects.

[Circuit]

Please disconnect your Xbox 360 and mail it to me k thx!!

[Dg3Nr8]

Please disconnect your Xbox 360 and mail it to me k thx!!

But then I wouldnt have a next generation console to play Gauntlet on! :(

[Creole Ned]

So, Circuit, tell us about your recent purchase...

[jackrabbit]

I've been trying to get my hands on one for the past month. I've recently heard mullings that in the next 4-6 weeks they'll be more widely available.

I do wonder honestly if more video games is what I want to do with my free time...

:(

[Circuit]

Yes, I finally got my 360. I cancelled my Gamestop preorder shortly before launch when they told me that August wasn't early enough to have reserved a system. So I just used the money for other stuff and decided to forget about the thing for a while.

But last week I got a decent bonus at work, so I got a hair up my ass to spend it on something stupid. "Oh yeah," I says. "Clown college! I mean Xbox 360!" And so began my hilarious (irritating) journey to find one 3 months after launch.

I did the responsible thing and took a very long lunch break at work to go find one of these rare creatures. Making some phone calls first, the Best Buy closest to work said that they had two Core packs in stock, but one was reserved. The lady asked me if she wanted me to hold the other one for me if I could come get it soon, but my keen sense of adventure prompted me to say "Nah. I'm going to keep looking for a Premium system. You see, I am stupid." Best Buy number two had one Core system, but still I haughtily refused their offer to hold it for me.

I then called every Circuit City and CompUSA within lunch break distance from me. They all said one of two different things: "We had one, but it sold 10 minutes after we opened" or "We haven't received any since Christmas". They all said the same thing after my follow-up question about when they'd get some in next: "We don't know. They just sort of show up." All the other stores wouldn't even get me to anyone who knew if they had any 360s.

Then I decided to drive around and have a look for myself. After the first two stores that had no Premium systems, I broke down and decided that I could live with the Core. Store number 3 had no Premium and no Core. I then went to the stores I had called that said they had Core systems. Guess what they did not have. Now I was just angry and desire to find a damn Xbox 360 was driven by pure hatred and I wanted to take it and throw it directly at someone's face or dog.

The rage faded and I went back to work, having burned my lunch break without actually eating lunch or accomplishing anything and discovering that I was being audited that day.

Someone paged me when I got back to work and said I had a phone call, which usually means I'm going to have to talk to an upset customer or check stock in the warehouse. Instead, it was a co-worker of mine who was off that day. He told me he found and bought a Core system for me and was coming up to work in a few hours to drop it off. Then there was much happy happy dancing.

So I ended up getting what is commonly known as the Retard Pack. The only thing it didn't come with that I particularly care about is the hard drive, which I purchased seperately. That brought the price up to the same as the Non-Retard Pack and I only really lost the headset, which I would never use, and the wireless controller, which I doesn't matter to me. I won't go into how hard it was to find a store carrying the damn hard drive.

The only game I bought is Project Gotham Racing 3 and it's great. It's not a huge departure from PGR2, but it's most definitely better. They basically took the same game and made it ultra pretty and refined everything else about it.

As Dg said, the Dashboard is very well-done. Xbox Live Marketplace is probably the coolest thing about the whole console and it will be the single biggest advantage over the PS3 if Sony doesn't do something super fantastic.

[Tai]

Let me know if you buy a steering wheel, PGR is one of the few reasons I would consider an XBox 360.

[Circuit]

Dg, when you post again in a few months, tell me your gamertag. :)

[Dg3Nr8]

whoops, sorry Circuit. My gamertag is BeerRun. :D

[Tai]

My gamertag is BeerRun. :D

I really like this man.

[FoeKilla]

my gamertag is FoeKilla (suprise!)

have PGR3, Tony Hawk's game, Burnout (whatever version it is) and Fight Night round 3

the burnout is freaking awesome
the fighting game is incredible!

[Creole Ned]

Now I want Chicken Fries, available at Burger King!

[jackrabbit]

I just ordered a Premium with an extra wireless controller, PGR3, Kameo, and Pefect Dark Zero. Should be here in 2-3 days. My gamer tag is Warbunny.

[Circuit]

Methinks we'll have to get some races going in PGR3. :)

[Reaver]

I'll be getting a 360 soon, now that I have finally started to make a lot more cash. (I'm working as a therapist now! :D )

There's a game cafe near here that rents out ps2 and 360's on these huge widescreen tvs. I played Ghost Recon and Burnout Revenge for hours. GR frickin' rocks. I know JR might not like it because it is a little arcadey, but it's so awesome being able to take cover and lean around a corner to shoot, a la MGS. Jumping over roadblocks and running dives is fun too. This game is damn intense.

My only real beef with it is the dumb controller aiming. I do ok, but I could do so much better if they just had one of those little notebook PC mouse pads to aim with. Is that too damn much to ask?? :(

I want to play with you other 360 owners! Gimme about a month to have my internet connect and a console.... :D

[Q]

(I'm working as a therapist now! )

Does this frighten anyone else here?

[Fitty]

Mine is showing up today and I think my gamertag is FittyTuck but it has been a good while since I was on Live.

[Paladin]

I stopped at Circuit City tonight and they had a display on the floor with 3 of the full systems and 2 cores remaining, so I think the shortage may actually be coming to an end. After much internal debate and several laps walking around the store, I left without one. I don't mind the price of the system, but the games being full price all the time and having to shell out for Live Gold to play online, I just couldn't see spending $600+ on a console. I know many of you have, and I'll miss playing with you guys when you're not in WoW, but I probably won't get one at least until the first batch of titles get Players Choice pricing.

[Tai]

There are plenty of PC games, don't listen to them!! :)

[Paladin]

Yeah, unfortunately ones I would like to play like Full Auto and the Burnout games aren't coming for PC too. However, GRAW is, and I'm hoping JR and Dg will pick up the PC versions as well.

[jackrabbit]

Yeah, I only rented GRAW for 360. I don't plan to buy it for anything other than PC. Right now I only have 2 games: PGR3 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Both are CRAZY AWESOME and I'm really happy with the purchase. However, looking at titles at Best Buy today, I feel certain that I own the only two games that I'd willingly pay for from the 360 library at this time. However, many cool ones are on the way.

My only problem now is what to play when I get home at night.

[Dg3Nr8]

Yeah, I only rented GRAW for 360. I don't plan to buy it for anything other than PC. Right now I only have 2 games: PGR3 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Both are CRAZY AWESOME and I'm really happy with the purchase. However, looking at titles at Best Buy today, I feel certain that I own the only two games that I'd willingly pay for from the 360 library at this time. However, many cool ones are on the way.

My only problem now is what to play when I get home at night.

I'll be sending you Condemned soon for you to borrow. It's super awesome.

[Circuit]

You don't like the Burnout series?

[jackrabbit]

I love Burnout, but I have two of them for the Xbox, I don't think I'll re-buy Revenge for the 360.

[Circuit]

Ah. I never bought Revenge for the Xbox to wait for the 360 version. It's very spiffy and the rival system is great.

[jackrabbit]

Well, this is day 4 with the Xbox 360 and I just had my fourth lock-up. The people I've talked to have said they've had theirs for months and haven't had any problems.

I'm a little bit scared that I may be that reported 1% that has problems with the system, but I've heard the horror stories of what people have had to go through, and I want no part of it. Plus I REALLY don't want to start over with a new harddrive.

[Circuit]

I've had one lock-up since getting mine and it was with Oblivion. Where do you have your powersupply and console located? From what I've read, lots of the lock-ups happen when the power brick overheats. I have mine sitting on the top of my TV stand behind the TV. Everyone says that you should absolutely not place it on carpet.

[jackrabbit]

mine's in the same place, on the TV stand on the corner, far away from the TV itself.