Digi says Xbox 360s are €609

Here (Hamburg, Germany) it’s either 299 or 399 Euro. They also have Bundles for 470 wich includes the premium system + 2 games of your choice.

“games on the Xbox 360 are a lot better than anything on a PC”
Clearly you’ve not seen many PC games then. I’d like to see anything like Battlefield2 on the XBox and no, the crappy console port doesn’t count.

£279 in the UK, which I think is an absolute bargain

“games on the Xbox 360 are a lot better than anything on a PC”
You gotta be kidding me! My PC will never become obsolete, I just upgrade it’s hardware – unlike the consoles.
PC breeds innovation, consoles require licenced hardware (dev kits) and a game that is guarenteed to return profit (safe ideas) thus hindering creativity.
How a game like Alien Hominid (http://www.alienhominid.com/) ever managed to get published is beyond me! No, wait – they had to re-mortage their homes!

Digi.

Don’t generalize the argument. He said “a lot better than anything on a PC that I’ve seen”. So maybe he just has not seen it all. And either way, it’s the price point really. A 299 EUR PC just doesn’t have the same power as the 360. I’m a PC Gamer as well, and I spend like 250 EUR for my last graphics card alone.

Don’t generalize the argument. He said “a lot better than anything on a PC that I’ve seen”. So maybe he just has not seen it all. And either way, it’s the price point really. A 299 EUR PC just doesn’t have the same power as the 360. I’m a PC Gamer as well, and I spend like 250 EUR for my last graphics card alone.

Scoble – there are no HDTV programs out yet in Europe, and consequently no HDTV screens (other than LCD’s meant as computer screens, of course).

Legalese lingo mode on

Except as expressly provided otherwise in a written agreement between you and Microsoft all such is provided on an “as is” basis without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for purpose. Without limiting the foregoing, Microsoft makes no warranty that (i) the Xbox 360 will work; (ii) the Xbox 360 will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; (iii) the power supply can be used as heating unit.

I Love my PC (Don’t tell the wife) and I’m gonna get an Xbox but at the end of the day, I’m still gonna Love my PC, can’t read blogs on an Xbox yet.

I think a gaming console is not meant to be a replacement for a PC, and with its Media Center capabilities the XBox shows that its just a part of your entertainment center, extending your PC’s features and reach.

Oh, and do you really think Microsoft will ever produce a device which would be make a PC obsolete?

Robert, in response to your question (comment no. 6) no I have not (yet) but I have played it on a nice LCD screen. Factor in the cost of this screen and you’d have a better PC with a greater variety of games to choose from. I have both a Playstation 2 and an XBox and to be honest – I play my PSP more than any of them!

I will consider the XBox 360, obviously when the price comes down a bit (and if you manage to convince the powers that be to make a mouse & keyboard for it!)

FPS games are just not as good without WASD & a mouse!

Digi.

Talking with some of the european community via the Xbox.com forums, alot of them said it is a good deal.

Now, what Microsoft offers it at, and what a store offers it at (usually bundled) is a different story. Look at gamestop.com, the cheapest one was like $600 (USD)

All of the video quality in the world will not save bad gameplay and inferior control interfaces.

I’m sorry but Xbox 360 will never touch PC graphics. Yes I did play an Xbox 360, my friend came over and we plugged it in my 67 inch hdtv, set the output to 1080i since my TV upconverts everything to 1080p and I really wasn’t that impressed.

There is a difference sitting 6 feet away and sitting 6 inches away. The games weren’t that addivitve anyways, we played PGR3, Madden 2006, and Kameno.

The funny thing is, by the time the xbox 360 gets popular with enough AAA titles under it’s belt then the video cards out today will be cheaper than cheap.

You can get a x800xt or an x850xt for less than 300 dollars everywhere, and that thing will play the latest games beautifully.

Vista will be the ultimate gaming platform, not the xbox 360.

Personally I’m waiting for the nintendo revolution simply because of the fact that they are going to be offering their entire back catalog via emulation.

My favorite console EVER is a tie between the SNES and the Sega Dreamcast. If Microsoft wants to buy any more game studios… buy Sega. Those guys need a helping hand, and they are damn good designers to boot.

Robert – I hope you can understand how those of us in the US who are searching for Xbox 360s, both online and off, are exasperated with Microsoft and the way it has handled the rollout. Xbox 360 is coming to Europe! Yeeha! And those of us who are doing the store-to-store search in vain should be excited about this? This WAS a designed shortage by Microsoft, with a conscious decision to accept inventory shortages in the US to facilitate the European launch. The real pricing crime at the moment is the pricing on eBay, which is the only place US residents can reliably expect to find an Xbox 360, at premiums of $250 to $400 above retail.

Our household is a major Xbox consumer. We had to travel Tuesday for Thanksgiving, and couldn’t hit any stores until afternoon. All sold out, everywhere. Now we’re screwed, and all the info from Microsoft is just crap, and the information from retailers is even more incredible crap. The EBGames website is citing March 2006 delivery dates. If that’s bull, someone from Microsoft can certainly pick up the phone and fix that misinformation. But nobody does.

Microsoft has about a million blogs now, including yours. It’s a powerful megaphone. Why not use it to provide real, reliable information to customers? Cause what’s happening now is just not working on any level.

Hey RichM,

MS are pulling out all the stops to release worldwide almost simulataneously which is an unbelievable feat to achieve – yes, some americans might not get one, but there is the rest of the world to consider!!

“PC breeds innovation, consoles require licenced hardware (dev kits) and a game that is guarenteed to return profit (safe ideas) thus hindering creativity.”

Sorry dude, but look at the PC game selection. The PC game market is currently in one of its most stagnant periods ever. The only games worth playing typically come from Blizzard, Microsoft (two big titles this year), and other super high calibur companies. And there are typically maybe 5-6 games worth playing each year. Even the FPS PC market has dwindled. The strongest market on PC right now is for MMORPGs and if you think there’s much “innovation” going on there, your brain must be jelly Sadly, the adventure/point-and-click market has dwindled and largely lost its talent/creativity. They are STILL churning out Myst clones.

On the console market, we get games like Katamari Damacy, Shadow of the Colossus, all of Nintendo’s games, games like Rez, music games like DDR and Guitar Hero, pretty much the entire Japanese market, hell even most of the American and European developers as well, who churn out games like Prince of Persia and God of War, not to mention every sports and racing game.

The PC vs. console games debate was cute in the mid-90s, but there is absolutely no contest now. Take it from somebody who’s job is to cover such things.

Yeah but my PC won’t crash every 30 minutes

I am curious to see what the next version of Direct X, along with the new driver model is going to do to gaming on the PC.

People always get their panties in a bunch when a new console comes out and says that PC gaming is dead or going to die or it should die blah blah blah blah.

Every freakin generation. And you know what, we always win

“Scoble – there are no HDTV programs out yet in Europe, and consequently no HDTV screens”

erm… Check your local retailer, most lcds and plasmas in the uk are now all HDTV Ready, non-HDs are starting to be reduced like crazy. 1080p sets are still rare in shops but they are available…

Anyway, I’m not getting an xbox just yet, I’m a playstation man and am yet to be convinced that I’m getting any more out of an xbox that I can’t get out of my 3 year old PC with a (now) £50 graphics card. Half Life 2 runs great, Civ IV runs great. I’m happy

I suspect my perception will change once I see one running on a 40″ HD tv…

I am still amazed at how colossally trainwrecked this ill-advised worldwide roll-out strategy has become. First, pretty poor backwards compatibility, my games roughly only 50% supported. Then basic Supply Chain Management seemingly, is not something MFST seems aware of. And then to be hit with the very real and more widespread than they will ever admit, overheating and hardware failure reports.

Meanwhile the marketing fluff balls are bouncing on like nothing has happened, spending zillions on parties, giveways, Hollywood glitz and hype, all to sell what Sony will in half a quarter. I went into this the biggest fanboy, drinking way more Dew than good for my health, and after having to wait until God knows when to get my own and then making the Holiday rounds at my darned lucky friends and seeing firsthand 3 locking up units (uncanny) and having to do elaborate placements with string and fans to get COD2 to play for more than 15-20 mins. And then watching a Christmasy DVD and needing a sound muffler for whatever that DVD was doing. Geeeesus.

Add it all up, talk about losing your religion. PS3 Scene got my bookmark now. Maybe I will revisit in awhile, but my old Xbox, working just fine. I will wait, actually I have no choice, what 6 months before I will even be able to breathe near one.

I’m still amazed that Christopher has nothing better to do, than post disparaging remarks within blog comments.

;o)

When I upgraded my PS1 to the PS2 I never played any of the old games again. NEVER!! they were obsolete. I don’t really care if the 360 can play the old games.

I also don’t care that much about how many are out there. I can wait. I didn’t have one last month, If i don’t have one this month, or next, its hardly gonna kill me, unless there is some kind of emergency that requires me to drive a supercar, or play football in the world cup.

Seriously everyone needs to just chill, its just a game.

“I know there are people out there who pay $400 just for their video cards, but unless you’re one of them games are gonna be better on a console for the most part.”

Ah, the console vs PC. Isn’t it great how when a new console comes out, the graphics hardware is ahead of PCs, so all the shills are like “Look at those graphics!”

Then, when 6 months later, PC gfx cards have inevitably overtaken the console and move ever forward while the console hardware remains constant for 4-5 years, it turns into “We’re all about building great gameplay and rewarding player scenarios” etc.

Funny, that