I normally wouldn't post something like this, but with E3 coming up, I figured why not. If nothing else, this can be the official "E3 Rumor Thread" since I'm sure these won't be the only rumors going around the web before E3. The following is supposed to be a translation of what a MS employee said on a Spanish message board (you know how reliable they are): As with all rumors, take this all with a grain (or a hill) of salt. The price cuts and the HD DVD add-on price is probably the most interesting IMO...assuming it is true.
october is pretty far away (6 months) i would think there would be a price drop by that time anyways. i have no idea but is that around the time that playstation 3 is suppost to come out?
I hope to hear more about Fallout 3, from Bethesda. Oblivion is out now, and I know they like to stagger their releases so hopefully we can get some solid updates about Fallout 3. I am also interested in 9 Dragons updates. It looks like MMORPG with a Jade Empire feel to it. But it is still in the fairly early stages I believe. Speaking of which I would love to find out about or get some screen shots of a Jade EMpire sequel.
It seems like MS would just be making it harder on themselves by cutting the prices on the systems so much, so early. Even with the PS3 coming out in November, MS could still sell very well at $300/$400/$500 (with HD DVD). Unless demand is just terrible for some reason, they could make a lot more money I imagine by keeping the prices where they are. FWIW, I think the PS2 didn't get its first price cut (from $300 to $200) until almost 2 years after it launched. Hehe...it just recently got a $20 price drop from $150, a figure it has stayed at for about 2 years as well. A smaller price cut might work, but a ~$200 core system in October sounds like a little too much (not to mention a ~$400 premium-premium system). They could always put in another price cut at around E3 2007, which should give them enough time to cut costs on the hardware (EX: CPU using 65nm tech). That just seems like a move that could put MS in the same position they were in last generation.
$100 for the HD-DVD add-on? Isn't that a little cheap? Hell, getting a XBox 360 and the HD-DVD addon will be like $400 after the price drop? Thats not bad compared to how much the HD-DVD players are going for $500 now. I guess its trying to put it out there like PS2 did for DVDs when it came out.
If they drop the X-Box 360 price by that much, I will definitely look into getting one this Christmas.
Not to mention that if they do release the HD-DVD add-on and it connects to one of the USB 2.0 ports, that would be good for people who want the content but don't have a TV or receiver with an HDMI input, but with component inputs.
I can't imagine the price drop is true. Unless they are THAT concerned about the PS3 sales kicking their a**, a $100 drop in only it's first year doesn't seem plausible. IMO. Secondly, if the price drop in Oct. is true, why would they announce it at E3? Wouldn't that hurt them considerably since no one would buy a system for months leading up to the drop knowing they could get it much cheaper? Announcing a price drop a couple of weeks prior to the cut I can see. Announcing it 5 months prior, hard to believe. The other stuff sounds great. I think 360 owners have a lot to look forward to.
I'm in your boat... if there is a 100 dolalr price drop, im betting you can buy a 360 and a revolution...for the price of a ps3 ...sounds like a value to me
You can get the content (no down-scaling) on a normal HD DVD player already without having a HDMI input. Although depending on how MS implements the HD DVD add-on, people who buy it might be screwed if they have an HDMI TV and their HD DVD movies require HDMI. Another thing to consider is that it would be really, really easy to pirate movies if the 360 HD DVD add-on hooked up to the system via USB. Yeah, that wouldn't make much sense. However, I'm not sure if these are announcements that would be made for E3; I haven't paid much attention to the origins of these rumors (do you blame me?), but they may not be specifically aimed at E3. A price drop might be in the cards, but as you said, there's no reason for them to announce any price drops that won't go into effect until several months later.
I would wait until 2007 to grab a XBox 360. _________ Xbox 360 to get CPU upgrade in 2007 In a joint announcement, Microsoft and the manufacturer of the Xbox 360's CPU, Chartered Semiconductor, have announced that the console's processor will receive an upgrade in 2007. link
This sounds interesting: This is supposed to be a list of upcoming games that came straight from Bethesda. I thought that there might be a PS3 version of Oblivion, but I never thought there would be a PSP version as well.
My son has his 15th birthday coming up, and I asked him if he was interested in an Xbox 360. He surprised me when he said he was interested in the PS3 and the Revolution. (no instant gratification?? I was stunned! ) Right now, he's struggling with playing Oblivion on his laptop, which is severely overmatched by the demands of the game. If it comes out on the PS3 and/or the Revolution, he'll be stoked. Does the 360 have a USB port for mods? Will the PS3 and the Revolution? I've been putting off playing Oblivion on my PC, but I've read about the mods for the game, and I'm sure my son has downloaded some. Seems like a feature they should have. Thanks for the info, RC.
RC, just as an update to something we were discussing in a different thread a couple weeks ago, Square released their E3 lineup and FF13 was not in it nor any PS3-related stuff I still have a really hard time believing that rumor that FF13 is totally finished for the PS3
Oblivion for the Xbox360 does *not* support user-made mods whatsoever, like the PC version does. the 360 version only supports the official Bethesda mods that they release themselves, and you have to pay for
The 360 does not support user-created mods, as KePoW said. I doubt that the PS3 version will either. It might have a better chance of supporting them with Linux+HDD standard, but I doubt that will really help it that much. I suppose Bethesda could take the most popular mods and offer them through XBL/PSNP though. Maybe for free, although I could see them striking a deal with the creators of the mods and charge a fee for them. That would probably be a lot of work though. That was just their list of pre-announced games that they'll have at the show IIRC. FF13 could be a surprise announcement at E3, which is something they wouldn't want to take the thunder out of by burying it in a PR list with other games they'll be showing at E3. In a similar situation, Halo 3 might be E3, but MS won't be telling us that weeks before the show. That said, I'm not saying FF13 will be shown at E3. I don't entirely believe the "FF13 is almost done" rumor either, but I doubt we'll know for sure until E3 is over.
not sure if this has anything to do with e3, but i read on ign that they are about to have a really cool new gaming engine that will be the first truly next generation deal. its for the new indiana jones game and will be on 360 and ps3.
