When will Xbox 360s become widely available?

[Jangle]

So... when will I be able to walk into a shop and buy one without having to fight my way through an angry mob standing outside?

 

[The Mullinator]

If Microsoft has this as a marketing ploy then there will be enough about a week or two before christmas, although it might not appear that way because of how many people will be rushing to get one.

If this shortage is because they simply can't produce enough fast enough plain and simple then I would say at the very least a couple weeks after the Christmas/boxing day sales.

 

[Jack_Karverboy]

If Microsoft has this as a marketing ploy then there will be enough about a week or two before christmas, although it might not appear that way because of how many people will be rushing to get one.

If this shortage is because they simply can't produce enough fast enough plain and simple then I would say at the very least a couple weeks after the Christmas/boxing day sales.

No ther doing it for money, even though Bill Gates is already the richest guy in the world.

 

[VirusType2]

Depending on where you live, you may not be able to walk in and buy one for months.

There are still that haven't recieved theirs yet that paid for them durring the summer

 

[destrukt]

In other 360 news, analyst P.J. McNealy speculates that between 300,000 and 400,000 of the consoles have been sold so far, and MS would have “sold another million if they could have. They just don’t have them.”

so, unless you have some type of 'proof' about them purposefully delaying distributing consoles, please be quiet.

 

[The Mullinator]

so, unless you have some type of 'proof' about them purposefully delaying distributing consoles, please be quiet.

No one here said that is what they did. I simply listed what think would happen if that is what they did.

 

[Evo]

Well, i think it is a widely known marketing strategy to do that kinda thing, it further builds up the interest with many people hearing about the 'shortages' and getting wized-up about the console

 

[Iced_Eagle]

I think probably Spring/early summer of next year is when you will be able to find them everywhere.

That's just what I"m guessing though :-\

 

[Puzzlemaker]

Um.

There is a problem with that strategy; you know... cause there are shortages.

So people dont buy them.

So they dont get money.

I think this is really an accident. I think they made a "Oopsie!"

 

[bvasgm]

When will the Xbox 360 become widely available? When does the PS3 come out?

 

[FoxDie]

Um.

There is a problem with that strategy; you know... cause there are shortages.

So people dont buy them.

So they dont get money.

I think this is really an accident. I think they made a "Oopsie!"

But if people don't buy them for a month because of the "shortage," instantly turning the 360 into the "hot" holiday gift that every kid "must have," then Microsoft could theoretically release a huge shipment right before Christmas, and people will buy them like crazy because of the mass hype and hysteria caused by the shortage...

...so which way makes more money :smoking: ?

Patience is a virtue :thumbs:

 

[Zeus]

lol...it's not an accident..this is microsoft we're discussing here..they have highly trained/payed marketing strategists who know everything about buisness. This is a very good strategy for microsoft to make money

 

[VirusType2]

When will the Xbox 360 become widely available? When does the PS3 come out?

Judging by the PS2's horrible launch that was similarly plagued with problems like overheating and breaking during playing a movie, the PS3 is likely to have a rocky launch also.

releasing a new console is not easy... obviously if Sony and Microsoft have trouble doing it, than any company would.

Look at Atari and Sega to understand the difficulty in launching new consoles.

Overall I think the 360 launch is a success. If I had the money I would have pre-ordered one or stood in line and likely got one by now.

My brother went into wal*mart about november 28th and put a raincheck on a 360 and they promised him one on Dec.9 and to come in to pick it up.


So if you want one, go to your local game dealer and pre-order one

 

[destrukt]

lol...it's not an accident..this is microsoft we're discussing here..they have highly trained/payed marketing strategists who know everything about buisness. This is a very good strategy for microsoft to make money

.. and your proof is where ? in your marvelous spelling/grammar ?

 

[Iced_Eagle]

lol...it's not an accident..this is microsoft we're discussing here..they have highly trained/payed marketing strategists who know everything about buisness. This is a very good strategy for microsoft to make money

I don't think Microsoft is faking not having enough units... I think that they inadvertently sparked all this "We don't have enough!" marketing ploy when they started telling people that they really didn't have enough... People thought they were joking, but they weren't People still do, and trust me Microsoft people have said that there is no "secret store house"....

X-Mas is 3 weeks away and Microsoft is pushing X360's out the door as soon as they are done...Remember that this is a World-wide release so they have two factories running 24x7 IIRC and those have to distribute to the US, UK and very soon (as in, this week) Japan... Three territories all within a very short ammount of time.. Usually companies wait months before releasing in another territory (they focus all their units on one country, then when there isn't such a huge demand they go to the second country, etc etc)

 

[Zeus]

.. and your proof is where ? in your marvelous spelling/grammar ?

Your grammar isn't perfect either..I just don't take the time to spell and type correctly because its an internet forum, not English class..

and my proof is, ok I don't have any proof that was just my speculation

 

[destrukt]

it doesn't need to be perfect.

exactly.

 

[Evo]

Amazon is also reporting shortages of 360 supplies

Can we really be sure Microsoft are telling the truth about the lack of stocks though? They probably are, but who knows.

 

[dream431ca]

Febuary...but take my advice..don't buy one until at least march..let some good games come out first.

 

[Sui]

I've seen a programme about the Xbox 360 which had interviews with various people working on the marketing of the Xbox 360 (both UK and US) and the simple fact is they have not made enough. You will not be able to get an Xbox 360 before christmas, unless you've already got one / buy one off ebay.

Now for the speculation; I've heard it'll be another 3 months until the next big wave of Xbox 360s arrive, and I honestly wouldn't be suprised if this is the case.

 

[Sui]

I've seen a programme about the Xbox 360 which had interviews with various people working on the marketing of the Xbox 360 (both UK and US) and the simple fact is they have not made enough. You will not be able to get an Xbox 360 before christmas, unless you've already got one / buy one off ebay.

Now for the speculation; I've heard it'll be another 3 months until the next big wave of Xbox 360s arrive, and I honestly wouldn't be suprised if this is the case.

 

[Jangle]

So I'm still going to have to take a cattleprod if I'm looking to get one in January?

 

[Vigilante]

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/670/670500p1.html

 

[Warbie]

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/670/670500p1.html

That's the biggest crock of shit i've read in a while.

 

[The Mullinator]

IGN wrote one up for each console actually:

PS3: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/668/668446p1.html
360: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/668/668897p1.html
Revolution: http://revolution.ign.com/articles/670/670500p1.html

They all bring up good points so none of them are really what I would call a crock of shit.

 

[FoxDie]

That's the biggest crock of shit i've read in a while.

What makes it a crock of shit? Their sister site listed the top 10 reasons to buy a 360, so they're playing devil's advocate and giving advice to gamers who can only afford one console. They have hands on experience with the new console...do you?

Objective opinions :O !

 

[Warbie]

It was a combination of stating the obvious and criticising the 360 for something most consoles and pcs have been guilty of for years (especially the pc), all while ignoring what it does well.

Objective my arse

 

[FoxDie]

It was a combination of stating the obvious and criticising the 360 for something most consoles and pcs have been guilty of for years (especially the pc), all while ignoring what it does well.

Objective my arse

Well, objective in the sense that it wasn't just a mass hype fest

But yeah, you're right, it was ragging on the 360 for some generic flaws. But put together with the articles that Mullinator linked to, it's actually some good information :thumbs:

 

[AfternoonLemon]

As soon as they release Fuzion Frenzy 2, I'm there!! :naughty:

 

[VirusType2]

IGN wrote one up for each console actually:

PS3: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/668/668446p1.html
360: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/668/668897p1.html
Revolution: http://revolution.ign.com/articles/670/670500p1.html

They all bring up good points so none of them are really what I would call a crock of shit.

HAHAHA i laugh at this crap

5 of 10 of their reasons for waiting for a PS3 are either false outdated, or countered by MS


Here they list the Eye Toy 2 camera as a reason to wait for the PS3

Reason #5: The HD IP Camera
The EyeToy is one of the all-time most successful peripherals released for a console for a number of reasons -- the biggest being that it works phenomenally well in its simplicity. The PlayStation 3 will see the release of the HD IP camera, which we'll assume will be called the EyeToy 2, or at least something that sounds a little more consumer-friendly.

But maybe someone should tell them that Microsoft has 1uped them offering live video-chat with their camera over xbox live

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/8416/Xbox-360-Peripherals-High-Resolution-Pictures/

Xbox Live Camera

The Xbox Live Camera for Xbox 360 opens up a new world of gaming and entertainment on Xbox Live, the world’s premier online video games service. With the Xbox Live Camera, video chat and video messaging with your friends becomes more than just a feature set; it is an integrated part of the Xbox Live experience. Connect and communicate while playing the same or different games, watching movies, listening to music, and more.

The Xbox Live Camera also takes personalization to a whole new level and allows you to customize your gaming experience by putting your face on characters in your games, all while being able to video chat with your friends as you play online. And with next-generation online motion-detection-enabled games, the Xbox Live Camera puts you entirely in the game and in control of the on-screen characters over Xbox Live.

High-end online camera supports up to VGA 640x480 video at 30 frames per second and takes 1.3-megapixel still photos.
The camera includes a microphone that connects to the controller, so everyone in the room can chat online with their friends.
The camera supports built-in video chat and video messaging on Xbox Live.
Your face can be imported into games and can also be placed next to your name on leader boards for even more recognition or fame.
Chat with your friends while you play online in Xbox 360 games as well as in the Xbox Live Arcade.

Here they list 1 game as a reason to wait for the PS3. lmfao 1 game. Hate to tell you guys but Metal Gear is a Konami game, not a Sony game, so unless Sony wants to pay Konami to stay off of the 360, which would be stupid becuase Konami could make a lot more money selling Metal gear on the 360, then it is quite possible it will come for 360 also. Regardless if 1 game is enough to warrant buying a PS3, then what about the 360 games like Oblivion?

Reason #2: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Here they say that PS2 was so successful becuase of stronger Japanese Developer Support, but If you know anything, half of these companies already have launch games out very soon for 360! Square Enix (FFXI & XII), Capcom (RE 5), Namco (Ridge Racer 6, Ace Combat) and possibly others

Reason #3: Stronger Japanese Developer Support
One of the PlayStation 2's most powerful allies in the current-gen console wars was its strong relationship with fan favorite Japanese developers. Square Enix, Konami, Capcom, Bandai, Atlus, Nippon Ichi, and Namco (among others) each offered unique content for Sony's system that you weren't going to find anywhere else. Tekken, Final Fantasy, Ace Combat, Devil May Cry, and a host of other games are just a few examples of this successful relationship... and none of them ever came out for the Xbox.

Now here they go on to say that PS3 will have full backwards compatibility and that 360 won't. But this has changed. Microsoft has recently confirmed that all xbox games will be compatible with the 360. All will run in either 720p or 1080iHD with minimum of 4x anti-aliasing. They also speculate that the PS3 will improve the graphics in some way, but judging from the PS2 this won't be the case. The PS2 offered no improvement for their old PS1 games as far as i could tell. same shit, different system. So untill i hear word from Sony (which I won't be listening so you guys let me know k) I will take this " info "with a grain of salt.

Reason #4: Full Backwards Compatibility
360 will let you play Halo and whatever other games Microsoft chooses to eventually support, but Sony has the PSOne and PS2 library covered, save for a few minor exceptions. Imagine booting up Tobal No. 1 just because you feel like it or taking on Shattered Soldier because you haven't gotten your ass kicked enough lately. That's what PS3 can do for you.

The coolest part is that PS3 may also be able to enhance the older games. Much in the same way PS2 improved PSOne games with better texture filters and enhanced load times, we expect PS3 games to add even better texture filtering, quicker loads, full scene anti-aliasing graphics and goodness knows what else.

Last but not least, they list the fact that the PS3 isn't here yet as a reason to wait!
god they must have been desperate for reasons
Cheers for stating the obvious. ****ing retards!

Reason #7: You Can Still Pre-Order
With a release date of just under a year away, the PS3 still lets you do this. The Xbox 360, on the other hand, does not.

 

[Vigilante]

That's the biggest crock of shit i've read in a while.

lol....and youre usually a Nintendo guy .

 

[Cole]

. Microsoft has recently confirmed that all xbox games will be compatible with the 360. All will run in either 720p or 1080iHD with minimum of 4x anti-aliasing.

In time of course.
At launch yes quite a few games are, but how come the all popular battlefronts arn't?? Of course they probably will update it with time.
Then there are bugs with the emulation, and no doubt will be the same for the Ps3.

The PS2 offered no improvement for their old PS1 games as far as i could tell.

Offers the same improvement as Xbox to Xbox 360.
Quicker loads, and higher level of AA.
The Ps2 offered quicker loads, better texture filtering, and full scene AA, and thats how they can say "The Ps2 made Ps1 games look better", Microsoft does the same thing. No doubt the Ps3 will do the same thing, higher level of AA and quicker loads.

In the end it will be about the kind of community you like, the kind of games you like, and etc... It wont be about "Omggg I can see other people in my game omg!!".
Maybe for the first few minutes you might thing it's cool, but that shouldn't force you to decide what console to buy.

In the end it's about waiting till both are out their, and maybe playing a few games at your local store, and deciding what games you would rather play. You can't really judge a game by whos making it but by watching actual gameplay videos, or actually playing the game, reading the good and the bad reviews, etc..

So heres the reason to wait until the other consoles come out:
1)The Games.
They tell you what console you should buy, what console is better, and they're the reason why you should buy it.

 

[Sui]

I feel like throwing my opinion into this boiling pot of arguments.

The Xbox360 is pointless.

It has no good games, apart from those that are on the PC / will be on the PC. Perfect Dark Zero? I haven't seen one thing that's made me want to buy that. Just an average shooter. Err.... I'm trying to think of other "good" Xbox360 games to criticise, but the point is there are none. Oh, Halo 3, but to be honest I'm more looking forward to the movie they're making (Weta and PJ!).

What else does this big white box offer? Umm.. better graphics. WOW, I care so much. In fact, since my PC has buggered up recently I've been playing my PS1 games again and I'm having so much fun. I can't be bothered with my Xbox; it has no truly great games, just expansions of old ideas.

Comparing the Xbox360 to the PS3 is like comparing an Apple mac to an Alienware PC. I want to play decent games, not stare at "next gen" visuals (which can be achieved on the PC anyway).

Rant over.

 

[Jangle]

Whyyy? Why does every thread mentioning a console turn into a huge debate about which one is better? ;(

/me breaks down into tears.

 

[clarky003]

muhaha, Ive decided to boycott the 360 for now, the games just dont appeal enough at the moment, it really is a waste of money if you have a good PC.. all I want is to play on crytek's new engine XD.

but i dont understand peoples stance on the PS3 being allmighty.. the video's shown where souped up techdemo's, they showed a cool looking first person game, the visuals where stunning but you have to be fooking dense if you think that was realtime ingame, lol, the only realtime display was the MGS4 clip to my knowledge and even that was clearly a predefined cut scene but it did look nice indeed, snake really needs to die tho imo or move into a beautifully rendered retirement home.

 

[VirusType2]

Whyyy? Why does every thread mentioning a console turn into a huge debate about which one is better?

/me breaks down into tears.

its like talking about politics or religeon.

In time of course.
Offers the same improvement as Xbox to Xbox 360.
Quicker loads, and higher level of AA.
The Ps2 offered quicker loads, better texture filtering, and full scene AA, and thats how they can say "The Ps2 made Ps1 games look better

the PS1 didn't use AA, if it did it was only on stills or menus or something. the taxing games ran at like 16 fps already so to slap AA on there would have been suicide strobe-light fps. I mean come on, this system couldn't even run Doom 1 all that great.

if by better texture filtering you ment trilinear instead of bilinear then maybe. I doubt you could possibly notice the difference however with how bad of a video output the PS2 had. The PS2 didn't run full screen, full motion anti-aliasing either. well, not that i know of. The video output was so muddy that it didn't need it -there was no way you could see individual pixels and stairstepping jaggies.

I tried my PS1 games on my PS2 and they looked exactly the same as they did on my PS1. Horrible.

The Games.
They tell you what console you should buy, what console is better, and they're the reason why you should buy it.

quoted for truth.
QFT :thumbs:

 

[Warbie]

The Xbox360 is pointless.

For what it's worth - i'm enjoying the 360 a great deal. It's been one of the better launches I can remember.

PDZ has me in its grasp now, there's no escape. Whole days and nights have vanished in a co-op frenzy. It's a shooter that many dont get, and one that gets better and better the more you play it. So many flaws, not as good as the original, and still the most enjoyable fps i've played in years.

The other launch games are also very decent, and easily as good, if not better, than any other consoles initial lineup - they all look staggeringly good too, which is nice.

I've a fairly decent pc (A64, X800 xtpe etc) and the 360 absolutely slaughters it in terms of power. Infact it runs CoD2 considerably better than my mates uber 7800 gt SLI rig (something he's not very happy about) For the money you are getting very good hardware ... which is nice when games like Oblivion are just around the corner.

I can also play Smash TV over Xbox Live with friends now - which is worth the paltry subscription fee alone.

 

[Warbie]

lol....and youre usually a Nintendo guy .

I still am - the article was just full of poo.

 

[Sui]

I've a fairly decent pc (A64, X800 xtpe etc) and the 360 absolutely slaughters it in terms of power. Infact it runs CoD2 considerably better than my mates uber 7800 gt SLI rig (something he's not very happy about) For the money you are getting very good hardware ... which is nice when games like Oblivion are just around the corner.

I remember now- Oblivion. That's the only other good game on the 360. PDZ, and Oblivion.

...oh wait, Oblivion is coming to the PC...

I guess it's just PDZ then.

 

[VirusType2]

For what it's worth - i'm enjoying the 360 a great deal. It's been one of the better launches I can remember.

PDZ has me in its grasp now, there's no escape. Whole days and nights have vanished in a co-op frenzy. It's a shooter that many dont get, and one that gets better and better the more you play it. So many flaws, not as good as the original, and still the most enjoyable fps i've played in years.

The other launch games are also very decent, and easily as good, if not better, than any other consoles initial lineup - they all look staggeringly good too, which is nice.

I've a fairly decent pc (A64, X800 xtpe etc) and the 360 absolutely slaughters it in terms of power. Infact it runs CoD2 considerably better than my mates uber 7800 gt SLI rig (something he's not very happy about) For the money you are getting very good hardware ... which is nice when games like Oblivion are just around the corner.

I can also play Smash TV over Xbox Live with friends now - which is worth the paltry subscription fee alone.

Holy shit it runs "considerably better than two 7800GT cards?" haha aweseome. and thats a Port from the PC. Activision did the port? Im glad to hear you saying that. It helps confirm that getting a 360 will be a good choice. I've read on other websites that it - for certain types of games, if programmed right, could out perform 2 top of the line cards. the top card is the 7800GTX now right?

Too bad activision didn't port Quake 4 also. I never really liked Activision much. theres only been a couple games they created themselves that i liked and ive been playing games created by them since the first console. Atari 2600 they had a game called Pitfall. Yea activision is high above average, but they just never did a perfect game yet IMO. their games are a little shallow or something and lack a lasting appeal. (except maybe pitfall - one of the standouts from the 2600) sounds like they finally hit their mark. They do very good ports. I remember they did Mortal Kombat II on SNES was the best port I had ever seen.

If Activision had nothing to do with it other than publishing it, well then I take back all the nice things i just said about them.

>=)