Halo 360 bundle for Christmas?

By Robert Purchese Published 9 October, 2007

Picture evidence says yes.

Microsoft could be preparing a special Halo 3 Premium 360 (HDMI) bundle in time for Christmas.

Rumours emerged from Game Portugal (pointed out by Kotaku), who produced a listing stating it would cost 409.96 (GBP 283.68).

This was followed by Spanish forum elotrolado.net publishing pictures of a purchased bundle, flaunting Master Chief on the packaging and a special "bundle" copy of the game.

The photographs also showed the HMDI port, Hitachi DVD drive, general contents and pictures of the receipt, showing EUR 384.90 (266.38) as the price.

Microsoft was unavailable to comment at the time of writing.

Yesterday the platform holder confirmed it would be bundling copies of Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance in with Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Elite units as part of a special Christmas deal in the US, adding up to a saving of around USD 90 if you were to buy the games separately.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (104) Latest comment 5 years ago

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  • Steroyd #1 5 years ago

    I thought there was already a Halo bundle? o_O

  • kincaide #2 5 years ago

    Will this be quieter though?

  • Eraysor #3 5 years ago

    It's almost like they positioned the Master Chief on the game case cover to be perfectly framed by the "Bundle" yellow label!

  • bigbadbeasty #4 5 years ago

    All the bitching about the PS3 SKU's, and Microsoft has what? 3 or 4 Sku's for the 360 now?

  • jonsaan #5 5 years ago

    Hey you, factory worker, what's that huge pile of unsold games over there?

    erm...it's Marvel Ultimate Alliance boss.

  • TriggerHippie #6 5 years ago

    "All the bitching about the PS3 SKU's, and Microsoft has what? 3 or 4 Sku's for the 360 now?"

    And not one of them is a lobotomised version of the console.

  • bigbadbeasty #7 5 years ago

    "And not one of them is a lobotomised version of the console."

    Is that not the Core version?

  • lambtron #8 5 years ago

    "All the bitching about the PS3 SKU's, and Microsoft has what? 3 or 4 Sku's for the 360 now?"

    Err - isn't this just a bundle, rather than a SKU?

  • TriggerHippie #9 5 years ago

    "Is that not the Core version?"

    Nope, it was available from day one. It just ships without a HD, which is available seperately.
    Edited by TriggerHippie at 09/10/07 @ 14:37

  • captainrentboy #10 5 years ago

    PGR 4 demo's up on the marketplace. Holllllllllla!!!

  • MonkeyMagik #11 5 years ago

    and so is the simpsons demo

  • Penguinzoot #12 5 years ago

    Err - isn't this just a bundle, rather than a SKU?

    I would say this is a limited edition SKU rather than a bundle. Looks like a specially pressed "bundle only" copy of Halo 3 which comes inside the box, rather than a conventional bundle where the retailer just grabs extra controllers, games or whatever off the shelf and chucks them into your giant carrier bag along with the console.

  • bigbadbeasty #13 5 years ago

    "Err - isn't this just a bundle, rather than a SKU?"

    Nope tis a SKU

  • PaRRoT #14 5 years ago

    In Italy I found this Xbox 360 package since Halo 3 launch.
    385 euro

  • Steroyd #15 5 years ago

    Nope, it was available from day one. It just ships without a HD, which is available seperately.

    And for the price of a HDD you could get a PS2.

    Ahyuck.

  • richardiox #16 5 years ago

    @Besty

    The main culprit for lambasting the idea of multiple SKUs was actually Sony rather than the public. Thus the irony of the PS3 taking the exact same route with about 6 different hardware itterations in less than a year! I think MS kept with just 2 SKUs for the first 12-18 months of the 360s life.

  • urban #17 5 years ago

    can't deny that shit.

  • TriggerHippie #18 5 years ago

    "And for the price of a HDD you could get a PS2"

    For the price of PS3 you can get 4-5 PS2's :)

  • monkie_king #19 5 years ago

    Hmm, bit weird sticking a huge ugly "BUNDLE COPY" banner across the game box. Maybe to prevent shopkeepers splitting the bundles and selling the game at full price?

    Oh, and is it Falcon? And does it matter?

  • mattigan #20 5 years ago

    "Is that not the Core version? "

    Nope the core is fully upgradeable to Premium (non HDMI) spec for a few (well quite a few) extra pennies.

    Try that shit with the 40GB PS3 and see where it gets you!

  • Charroux #21 5 years ago

    SKU is a bloody stupid term anyway. The terms "bundle" and "model" are far more accurate, and far more descriptive.

    In the real world, a SKU is an internal number assigned by a merchant - not by the manufacturer.

  • Rash' #22 5 years ago

    richardiox, That's because there was no competition. the market is constantly changing and thus the changes in hardware SKUs reflect that. Granted it can be argued that Sony got it wrong from the beginning, explaining the admittingly large number of changes, but as an owner of the original release, I beg to differ. The original SKU, at least here in europe was designed for the up market high tech consumer. The price of the end product reflected that. The company is now repositioning the product for mainstream consumption. A little sooner than most imagined, but most would agree it's a positive strategic move.

  • Artemis_Matsas #23 5 years ago

    You can buy the Halo3 bundle in Greece too. 385 Euros.

    Although, i find far more tempting another bundle i spotted:

    Xbox360 - 20Gig version HDMI
    wireless controller
    headphones
    cables etc
    Bundled--> Gears of War + PGR3 !!!!!!!!!!!

    All this, for: 349.99 Euros!!!

    I know what i'm gonna get myself for Christmas :)

  • Steroyd #24 5 years ago

    The main culprit for lambasting the idea of multiple SKUs was actually Sony rather than the public. Thus the irony of the PS3 taking the exact same route with about 6 different hardware itterations in less than a year! I think MS kept with just 2 SKUs for the first 12-18 months of the 360s life.

    Doesn't work like that. With the introduction of the 40GB we'll basically have 2 SKU's for the first time in the UK, 3 different SKU's in Europe, 3 in the US and 3 in Japan which is the same number SKU's on the market as MS.

    Someone buying a PS3 in the UK isn't going to get confused by an SKU in America for example.

  • Grogmonkey #25 5 years ago

    @richardiox

    "The main culprit for lambasting the idea of multiple SKUs was actually Sony rather than the public."

    Actually, at the original PS3 announcement (E3 whateveritwas) Sony unveiled 3 PS3 SKUs. Microsoft came out and said "Three is too much. We're sticking with two." Then Sony released the PS3 as two SKUs, MS went with 3 and Sony retorted with the "lolSKUs" comment.

    It usually transpires, in most aspects of life, that whatever the competition is doing is 'the wrong way to do it'. Until you do it, when it becomes the right way, obviously.

  • Rash' #26 5 years ago

    TriggerHippie, Sorry, mate. Doesn't matter how you look at it the core is the gimped 360. It was that at launch and it still is that now. You can't take advantage of Live, which is half of the 360 experience. Don't feed me the games crap because games like Halo wouldn't be half the experience they are without online.

  • Bumhug360 #27 5 years ago

    @Charroux at last someone else getting fed up with the buzzword sku being taken completly out of context. What is wrong with using the term model these days?

  • TriggerHippie #28 5 years ago

    "TriggerHippie, Sorry, mate. Doesn't matter how you look at it the core is the gimped 360. It was that at launch and it still is that now. You can't take advantage of Live, which is half of the 360 experience. Don't feed me the games crap because games like Halo wouldn't be half the experience they are without online."

    . I think the Core unit is shit to be blunt. However, the features it lacks compared to the Premium can, as has been stated, be added to it. Its not a console that has had previous key selling points stipped out of it to make it cheaper.

    And yeah, you can still play Halo etc online with it. You just can't download Arcade titles/demo's etc.
    Edited by TriggerHippie at 09/10/07 @ 15:19

  • Arcadiian #29 5 years ago

    Er, if the Premium 360 suddenly had it's HDD reduced to 10GB, a USB port removed, and absolutely no chance of BC, it would be a "lobotomised" version of the console. Which is what TriggerHippie means. I think.
    Edited by Arcadiian at 09/10/07 @ 15:18

  • JonFE #30 5 years ago

    Rash', in what way one "can't take advantage of Live" as you put it?

    Edit: Apparently I'm not the only one to have spotted this...
    Edited by JonFE at 09/10/07 @ 15:20

  • themerlin13 #31 5 years ago

    Totally off topic but.......PGR4 demo is live now, got it dl :)

  • monkie_king #32 5 years ago

    "The original SKU, at least here in europe was designed for the upmarket high tech consumer."

    I think that's the fundamental mistake Sony has made with PS3. They've been trying to upsell it as a home-entertainment multimedia-experience digital-lifestyle thing.

    That gadget-nerd audience certainly exists, but PS3 will ultimately stand or fall on its worth as a games console. And they've done very little so far to sell it to gamers.

    Still, the competition is proving to be good for prices of both 360 and PS3, let's hope we get this bundle in the UK and not the Forza/Marvel one.

  • Arcadiian #33 5 years ago

    @themerlin13.

    Cheers. =)

  • zuljin #34 5 years ago

    @TriggerHippie
    Only thing stripped out of the new PS3 is BC, everything else can be added too.

  • monkie_king #35 5 years ago

    @Supine: how do you download patches/updates on Core? Halo2 wouldn't let you onto Live without the latest patches. Do you have to stick them on a memory card with 360
    Core?

    @Steroyd: the puke-green Halo 360 didn't actually bundle a copy of the game, which is pretty crappy. I guess MS reckoned that anyone dumb enough to buy a console that looks like a nasty discharge won't mind being stiffed for the price of the game too.

  • Carlo #36 5 years ago

    65mn proc finally?

  • Bigglesworth #37 5 years ago

    Not quite sure about the point of this new XBox SKU, after all sales of Halo have already flatlined.

  • JonFE #38 5 years ago

    zuljin, but BC was one of PS3 unique selling points...

  • TriggerHippie #39 5 years ago

    "Only thing stripped out of the new PS3 is BC, everything else can be added too"

    Yep, I'm not saying that the new model ps3 is crippled or anything. Its just Sony have taken the PS3 they said they wanted everyone to have and experience and removed what they themselves called a "Core Value". Simply put its not the console it used to be. I'm not saying it not a good move, I'm not saying its not a good console. Just that Sony are not selling us the console, or the message, they were trying to sell us 6 months ago. Or last month for that matter.
    Edited by TriggerHippie at 09/10/07 @ 15:30

  • monkie_king #40 5 years ago

    @Bigglesworth: well, Halo3 is a system-seller. Makes sense to add the extra incentive of bundling in with the hardware.

  • Bigglesworth #41 5 years ago

    @monkie_king

    Good point, I didn't think of that. I suppose they need something to do with all those leftover copies ;)

  • monkie_king #42 5 years ago

    LOLLERSKATES!

  • DonnieDarko333 #43 5 years ago

    They do love their Forza don't they? Shame i'm not to keen on it....a tad of a dissapointment.

  • Rash' #44 5 years ago

    JonFE: "Rash', in what way one "can't take advantage of Live" as you put it? "

    Supine: "You can still play online with a Core 360; the only thing you cannot do is download demos/expansions, etc."

    What he said including Live games...

  • CyberClaw #45 5 years ago

    Game Portugal already has the bundle Halo 3+XBox on stores exposed and on sale. I saw one yesterday.

  • Rash' #46 5 years ago

    "Just that Sony are not selling us the console, or the message, they were trying to sell us 6 months ago. Or last month for that matter."

    Because they removed BC??? BC is to do with PS2 and PS1 not the fundamental PS3 experience.

  • TriggerHippie #47 5 years ago

    "Because they removed BC??? BC is to do with PS2 and PS1 not the fundamental PS3 experience."

    Really? Because Sony said it was a fundamental PS3 experience. Sony's PR department should be renamed the Ministry of Truth.

  • FlamingCarrot #48 5 years ago

    All these SKUs - smacks of a clusterfuck to me. At least my early adopted PS3 has memory card readers and more USBs! Wow i feel blessed. And very grateful to Sony to my 6 months of waiting for something interesting to happen, sorry, exclusivity and free copy of Casino Royale, woo yay etc

  • Rash' #49 5 years ago

    TriggerHippie, I'm wouldn't get too hung up about it. The system clearly needs to compete with Microsoft's strategic positioning of 360. To reduce the price this early something had to give. In light of 360's BC issues (nonexistent on the core) I don't think it's worth feeling aggrieved about.

  • zuljin #50 5 years ago

    @TriggerHippie
    See I took:
    "And not one of them is a lobotomised version of the console."

    to mean that it is crippled. In all fairness, I'm sure both MS and Sony remove features based on some reasoning. Who knows though...

  • FlamingCarrot #51 5 years ago

    So what will be Sony's killer app that will sell the PS3s to little Timmy this Xmas?

    Sonys sales and marketing strategy seems to be reactive not proactive.

  • Garulon #52 5 years ago

    "@Supine: how do you download patches/updates on Core? Halo2 wouldn't let you onto Live without the latest patches. Do you have to stick them on a memory card with 360
    Core?" There's a set-aside area on the MU specifically for that. You can also download Arcade titles (you can fit quite a few on a 512MB MU) and extra content, assuming they'd fit on the MU. Hell if demos fitted on the MU (some do) you could download them as well. About the only things you can't do with an MU-only is rip music to it, play Original XBox games (as they need a HDD), play MMOs (they need a HDD), and load some games a bit slower.

    I seem to be typing this in every three months or so. Why don't people read up on this sort of thing before just mouthing off how gimped something is?

  • monkie_king #53 5 years ago

    @FlamingCarrot: not trolling here, genuinely, what actually prompted you to buy it then? On the bright side, at least you got a BC one.

  • Garulon #54 5 years ago

    @FlamingCarrot:

    "So what will be Sony's killer app that will sell the PS3s to little Timmy this Xmas?"

    It's looking like the increasingly ironically titled Uncharted. After all people loved Tomb Raider didn't they?

    In 1995!

  • monkie_king #55 5 years ago

    @Garulon: calm down, guy! It's something I've been wondering about and thought Supine would probably be able to give me a quick answer. Sorry for not doing my research before posting.

    Jeez.

  • mattigan #56 5 years ago

    All this talk of the Core being comparable to the "new improved" PS3 is bollocks, you can play online, you can download XBLA games to memory card and play them, if you decide that you want to get maps DLC etc, then you can go out and buy a HDD and away you go, with the 360 you get the choice if you want it you can have it, if you don't then that's OK too.

    You get no choice with the PS3, or at least won't have any soon.

  • FlamingCarrot #57 5 years ago

    @monkie-king.

    Good question. In hindsight i got swept up in the hype. I had / have a 360 but thought the PS3 may offer something more. I was wrong though and hope that it will come into its own. However, I really like the 360 and the consoles are so similar that there is not enough to really split them. Brand loyalty backfired on Sony and Nintendo swallowed the market with MS producing a cracking machine that suffered thanks to poor engineering. I hope the PS3 will get its ICO + Colossus but if i could go back and not buy it at launch? Hell yes...

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #58 5 years ago

    "So what will be Sony's killer app that will sell the PS3s to little Timmy this Xmas? "

    Im guessing Sing Star and Ratchet and Clank for the kiddies

  • TriggerHippie #59 5 years ago

    "TriggerHippie, I'm wouldn't get too hung up about it. The system clearly needs to compete with Microsoft's strategic positioning of 360. To reduce the price this early something had to give. In light of 360's BC issues (nonexistent on the core) I don't think it's worth feeling aggrieved about."

    I'm a gamer not a fanboy. I am, at some point, going to buy a PS3. I'd just like to see some sense coming from Sony. At the moment Microsoft are doing a damn good job of making the 360 an attractive console. There are questions about its reliability sure, and the three year warrenty takes a lot of the sting out of that. Sony are making a pigs ear out of the PS3 by constantly revising the message and the hardware. I honestly have no idea whats coming next from them, do you? At the moment they seem capable of announcing just about anything. "BC is a core value" ,"BC isn't important", "Rumble is last gen", "Rumble is the way forward". If they don't know what they're selling us, how the hell are we supposed to know?

  • monkie_king #60 5 years ago

    @Flaming: well, I imported a GameCube at US launch, and apart from Waverace, Luigi's and Super Manly Bloke, there was quite a long fallow period before the really good stuff came along. Happens to all consoles really (remember PS2? Tekken Tag and The Bouncer, bad ports of Crazy Taxi and DOA2), but then most consoles aren't hyped like PS3.

  • Rash' #61 5 years ago

    FlamingCarrot, It's important to have some perspective on your purchase, mate. It's in it's first year, which naturally means it's games are relative to the time devs have had with the console. It's no different to how the 360 was at the same point in it's life cycle. Look at the Wii for example, it catalog of games isn't worth shouting about either...

  • FlamingCarrot #62 5 years ago

    @Monkie.
    And Zone of The Enders, Smugglers Run etc I agree with you totally. I still revere the Dreamcast. Still, HOME may appeal to alot of people when it finally launches. I just love gaming and thats all there is to it. The 360 has been superb this year and November is COD4, Mass Effect and Assassins Creed to name but three. I just have a problem with Sony's sales strategy and almost casual disregard of people who were stupid enough to pay out big money for not alot. I still wince a bit but thats the curse of early adoption.

    + @Rash Agreed.
    Edited by FlamingCarrot at 09/10/07 @ 16:09

  • JonFE #63 5 years ago

    @Rash', if by "Live games" you mean Xbox Live Arcade games, then you are clearly wrong. After all, the size restriction on them (once 50MB, later increased to 150MB) was so that they would fit to the memory card.

    As for BC being a fundamental part of the PS3 experience or not, I don't think Sony would put themselves in the awkward (and costly) position to include an all hardware solution for the US and Japan launch models, cut it to a half software / half hardware solution for the EU launch models and finally removing it altogether (which will probably happen across all regions, IMHO, sooner or later) if they didn't think it was important.

  • dr_faulk #64 5 years ago

    I bought another 360 Premium w/ Halo 3, both 2nd hand for 300 the other day.

  • Rash' #65 5 years ago

    TriggerHippie, I think you're blowing it out of proportion. If the company decided Blu-ray was not the way to go then I understand, but in the long run BC will be a non-issue and rumble clearly is important, which suggests Sony is fluid enough to re-evaluate it's plans to suit the demands of it's consumers. PS3 is about next gen multimedia content shared through an online environment. That hasn't changed as far as I can see.

  • FlamingCarrot #66 5 years ago

    @dr_faulk
    I hope not GBP!!

  • monkie_king #67 5 years ago

    @Trigger: if it was possible for me to agree more than 100% with what you just said, then I would.

    I just want to play great games, and don't care what hardware I need to buy to play it on. But everything Sony has said or done for about the last two years has put me off PS3 a little bit more. They've become extremely arrogant about the power of the PlayStation brand, started believing their own hype, and it's made them complacent. They genuinely seemed to think that the console would sell itself at any price, regardless of software.

    Yes, there are annoying trolling Xbots on EG, but there are also just a lot of people who are acting perfectly rationally, and saying "I'll buy a PS3 when it's worth it, but right now, the 360 is a better proposition". Thinking like that doesn't make you a fanboy. Whereas buying a PS3 because Sony told you it'll be really good probably does.

  • ronuds #68 5 years ago

    What's with the Sony Defense Force showing up for something so small as a Halo 3 bundle? Such anger over nothing. "SKU this" and "SKU that."

    Is it because Sony's had to basically give PS3's away to get anyone to want one? Maybe they'll come out with another SKU that'll remove the PS3 completely from shelves! They'll still charge you to look at the empty space left on the walls of course.

    I'm sorry Sony's having a terrible time getting anyone to believe the PS3 is worth anymore than a console that constantly RRoD's and has a "gimped" version (that apparently can't log onto Live. LOL!!!), but deal with it. I know that you're worried that Halo 3 included in the bundle will make the PS3's new "deal" look like a complete waste, but you'll live.

    Right...and the "gimped" version will be shipped with a memory card soon. Though, even without it I could get a Core and buy everything separately and still save myself some money over a PS3.

    Get a grip.

  • thejeek #69 5 years ago

    I may be the only person in the world that feels this way but I'm actually regretting not buying a Core 360 instead of my Premium

    I could have saved a hundred quid to be spent on games instead. As it is, I don't use the HD for anything - my music is on a USB stick and I don't buy any downloadable content so the HD just sits there empty...

  • monkie_king #70 5 years ago

    Rash', "fluid enough to re-evaluate it's plans to suit the demands of it's consumers"? o_O

    Is that a direct quote from a Sony marketing droid? Either way, it basically means "Sony fucked things up royally and then panicked into 180-degree U-turns on both rumble and BC".

  • Rash' #71 5 years ago

    JonFE, alright, you can play live games. Doesn't cahnge the fact the online experience is limited with Core. There's the difference. In the long run Core forces consumers to pay through the nose for features that should have been there from the beginning i.e. a HDD.

    As for BC, Ninty and MS have force Sony's hand. Will they admit it? Of course not. It's not business sense and it's naive to assume otherwise. Bottom line is something had to give for PS3 to drop this cosiderably in price this early in it's life cycle. That happens to be BC. In the long run it won't be an issue.
    Edited by Rash' at 09/10/07 @ 16:29

  • The-Bodybuilder #72 5 years ago

    SKU SKU, WHAT THE HECK DOES IT MEAN?

  • Rash' #73 5 years ago

    monkie_king, Nice bit of cynicism there. You call it fucked up. I call it responding to the competition.

  • ronuds #74 5 years ago

    @Rash

    You're correct that BC will soon be a non-issue, but it's a sad fact. Sony has been deceiving with almost anything they've done this generation yet people are so quick to forget and buy their products anyway. So, Sony will learn nothing from this and next gen we'll have a PS4 that costs 2 thousand and is nothing like what its original specs.

    Sony wouldn't have done as well in the beginning if they stuck to their original gameplan, but at least people would've respected them for it. Now people just see them as greedy little bastards trying to shove their hands in your pocket - at any cost.
    Edited by ronuds at 09/10/07 @ 16:30

  • monkie_king #75 5 years ago

    Yeah, Sony like responding to the competition. I remember when they responded to the N64 by bringing out a crap analogue controller mid-way through the PS1's lifecycle. Then they responded to the N64 Rumble-Pak with the Dual Shock.

    More recently, they responded to competition of the Wii by shoehorning a tilt-sensor into the pad at the last minute.

    Another phrase for "responding to the competition" could be "realising that you got it wrong in the first place". Only a cynic would suggest that, of course.

  • mattjohnston #76 5 years ago

    @TriggerHippie

    I understand what you mean with reference to the PS3 and Sonys marketing, however I have to say I think the hardcore gamer/geek audience of a console these days is severely outnumbered by the regular guy on the street who pays little or no attention to gaming websites or tech news websites. So to them, all they have seen is:

    PS3 Launches > More spacious PS3 released > PS3 bundled with some extra (crappy) titles > PS3 price dropped by over £100.

    Its practically that simple, in fact I doubt most of those types of customers were even aware of the existence of BC in the first place.

    Its basically same with the 360

    360 launches > More spacious black 360 released > 360 bundled with some extra (crappy) titles > 360 bundled with some decent titles

  • Rash' #77 5 years ago

    ronuds, I think what many are failing to realise is that it isn't Sony failings. Their hand, as I've said already has been forced by the competition. Would this price cut have come if 360 hadn't have had that early start to establish itself in the market? Would Sony have dropped those features to get that price drop if Ninty weren't doing so well globally? Sony had a strategy for the PS3 and that plan most likely involved dropping the price next year. Microsoft and Ninty are having an impact on the market and Sony needs to respond strategically to compete. It's just business. I find it amazing people take these things so bloody personnally.
    Edited by Rash' at 09/10/07 @ 16:39

  • JonFE #78 5 years ago

    Rash, the only thing that forced Sony's hand was that people didn't fall for their arrogant stance, not Microsoft or Nintendo...

    Edit: How long has it been since the last PS2 price drop? Why do you think that is? Could it be because it's still selling strong?
    Edited by JonFE at 09/10/07 @ 16:43

  • Rash' #79 5 years ago

    monkie_king, "Another phrase for "responding to the competition" could be "realising that you got it wrong in the first place". Only a cynic would suggest that, of course."

    Indeed.

  • JonFE #80 5 years ago

    @The Bodybuilder: Stock Keeping Unit.

  • Rash' #81 5 years ago

    Question: what did they get wrong????

  • monkie_king #82 5 years ago

    or, in Sony's case, "Still Keeping Up?".

  • ronuds #83 5 years ago

    @Rash

    I don't take it all THAT personally, but somewhat so. When Kutaragi goes up on a stage to speak, he's speaking to me. If I blindly believe his ramblings and go out and buy his product, shame on me. I am just the type who only gives my money to the people I think are most deserving.

    Now, don't get me wrong, of course MS isn't made up of saints, but the 360 today is still basically the same as we were told it would be from day 1...and this is over 2 years later - not less than 1.

    It's ok though...I made the choice a while back to go with the 360. I just had a feeling that if I bought a PS3 there'd be a little Japanese guy standing in a corner, pointing and laughing at me.

  • rhinoxious #84 5 years ago

    What a fucked up comments forum:

    1. SKU is Stock Keeping Unit,it's about retail. So everytime there's a new official bundle, there's a new SKU. However in discussion on this and many over websites the term is used to describe actually different hardware versions. So any argument is based on an incorrect usage in the first place.

    2. Both MS and Sony are as gulity as each other. They both tried to push the hardware, then had to release cut-down versions to hit the price point their marketing teams required.

    We're serious gamers here, we buy based on what we need and we buy multiple consoles, who cares about the bloody core version! Sony are more guilty in this case until they announce a new version with a bigger hard disk, which is inevitable, but overdue the instant they withdrew the 60gb model in the long term.

    3. Given all the pictures of this Hlao3 bundle, I'm just waiting for MS to pull the usual, ' we don't comment on rumours and speculation line'. Comedy Gold.

  • Rash' #85 5 years ago

    ronuds
    Not like the little american guy in the corner pointing at the RROD?

  • Rash' #86 5 years ago

    rhinoxious: "Sony are more guilty in this case until they announce a new version with a bigger hard disk, which is inevitable, but overdue the instant they withdrew the 60gb model in the long term."

    I don't see how, as the HDD in PS3 is user replacable with any 2.5 HDD at whatever cost the owner can find. Where as with Premuim and core the consumer is charge extortionate rates by Microsoft.
    Edited by Rash' at 09/10/07 @ 17:16

  • skillian #87 5 years ago

    i wonder if you see forum members at lastminute.com going apeshit when Virgin go on about being the best airline to fly with, or British Airways change their menu to make it better than a rival.

  • DjFlex52 #88 5 years ago

    "Only thing stripped out of the new PS3 is BC, everything else can be added too"

    So you can add the 2 missing USB ports and memory card reader later on?

    I don't think so ;)

  • mattjohnston #89 5 years ago

    Sure you can, buy a USB hub and a USB Memory Card reader, probably cost you less than £50 and that functionality is instantly returned.

  • ronuds #90 5 years ago

    @Rash

    I don't think the American guy is laughing because that RRoD problem just cost him a billion. If anything, I'm laughing at him, saying, "I'll be in touch when I need a new model, thanks."

  • ronuds #91 5 years ago

    @Skillian

    What if American told you you'd get a free meal, but when you show up they tell you you're actually not?

  • monkie_king #92 5 years ago

    yeah, need more annually-updated sports shovelware.

  • mattjohnston #93 5 years ago

    I seem to recall Bioshock selling particularly well?

  • orakio #94 5 years ago

    It seems the eurogamer community doesn't give a darn about anything other than the PS3/XBOX360 war. Every other announcement gets left in the cold while these things hit 100 comments in a single blink of the eyes.

  • ronuds #95 5 years ago

    In the US, EA games don't sell nearly as well as they do in Europe (except for Madden, of course), so you can't really use them as an example of what Microsoft should be doing.

    Plus, God save us if all VG developers went EA's route of rehashing the same trash year after year. Hasn't Activision taken over as the leader over EA anyhow?

  • Rash' #96 5 years ago

    ronuds, maybe you should explain why you feel if you bought a PS3 "there'd be a little Japanese guy standing in a corner, pointing and laughing" at you. Granted Microsoft aren't laughing about the debacle that is the RROD, but in rushing the console to market they certainly are reaping the rewards, so yes, on the one hand they're not laughing but on the other they are. They're also laughing at those that invested in the Core and most likely the premuim in the future, when movie downloads and IPTV kicks of, because as I've pointed out already, they charge extortionate rates for they're MS only peripherals.

    I think Arbiter's point is Halo isn't a franchise sufficient enough to convince the mass market 360 is an investment taking up. He points out Gear and Bioshock to draw attention to the point that ultimately a lot of Microsofts software strategy is geared towards the converted i.e. the hardcore/enthusiastic. So "annually-updated sports shovelware" or not, that's what draws the mass market. Not (puts on cynical cap) the annual shoot 'em up hardcore fest.
    Edited by Rash' at 09/10/07 @ 19:34

  • Machiavellian #97 5 years ago

    Hmmm Halo 3 almost sold 4 mill world wide in it's first week and you didn't think the sales would taper off. MS sent out 4.3 million copies of Halo 3 to retailers making sure they had plenty of copies to for anyone with a 360 who wanted the game. Yeah, Halo 3 is a turd commercially?? The thing is, you will probably see Halo 3 in the top 10 for some time and you probably will see it sell better with the holiday rush. Hell, I can see the attach rate for the 360 go through the roof with so many games available by Christmas. Gamers buying the PS3 at this time will have so much choice that it can really be daunting. MS has pretty much every genre covered besides adventure/action games. Conan can slid into this area but the 360 definitely has that area locked with Folklore, Heavenly Sword, Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted and Ninja Gaiden Sigma. I did not list Lair because no matter how much you want to like this game it's definitely not a buy. I would put Heavenly Sword in that category because it is so short and has no replay value but it's still a fun game.

    IPTV doesn't need a HD, only if you are using DVR functions do you need the HD and even then I believe you can use your Vista PC or Media Center PC for storage. The 360 already do Movie and TV downloads with the current 20 gb version so no biggie there. Only TV downloads are permanent and you can off load them to an external HD but you cannot play them from there.
    Edited by Machiavellian at 09/10/07 @ 19:44

  • Rash' #98 5 years ago

    Machiavellian: "IPTV doesn't need a HD, only if you are using DVR functions do you need the HD and even then I believe you can use your Vista PC or Media Center PC for storage."

    You have to be pretty proficient with your knowledge of the 360 to know that, not as I continue to point out mass market territory. I'll wager now more than half those that buy the 360 this holiday season won't even know 360 is compatible with their PC (if they have one, what with Apple's continuing rise... but I digress).

    Machiavellian: "The 360 already do Movie and TV downloads with the current 20 gb version so no biggie there. Only TV downloads are permanent and you can off load them to an external HD but you cannot play them from there."

    Not simple then? What mass market consumer has time for that??? I guess this also rebutts ronud's claim that 360 is the same product it was at launch... And for the cynics out there, Sony did claim PS3 is an platform that will grow, evolve, change (call it what you want) over time.

    Edited by Rash' at 09/10/07 @ 19:56

  • Sl1pstream #99 5 years ago

    There's already a Halo bundle with a normal 360. It might have HDMI (though I haven't checked), but they're already in stores. It has Master Chief on the box and all.

  • Machiavellian #100 5 years ago

    Apple rise is still pretty low to even blip the PC Market in computer sells so thats a none factor. Since you can run Vista and Media Center XP on a Mac, might end up being a moot point.

    Copying your episode from your Main 360 drive to an external drive is pretty simple. If you have the elite then you only need to archive the shows you will not be watching that much anyway so it's a smart move.

    The PS3 media center abilities isn't mass market either. If you really look at it, the 360 Elite is pretty much mass market as it comes since it does TV and Movie downloads from Live in HD and SD. You can store your music, pictures etc also and play them back. you can play back your music while you also play games. IPTV will give you HD channels including DVR functions without extra hardware unlike the PS3. You still have the option of using your Vista, Media Center PC or just regular XP for Movie, Picture, Music Storage and streaming. Vista and MC can also become your TV DVR recorder.

    The PS3 using Tversity can also do the movie, music, Picture streaming from Vista or XP as well but the DVR stuff you will have to pay for extra hardware.

    Last but not least, I believe I heard that the 360 will be given to people that use the IPTV service just like a Cable Box thus increasing the penetration of the 360 into consumers homes.

    If you are looking for a Media Center device and do not want to buy into BlueRay just yet, the 360 offer just as much if not more advantage then the PS3 with features that are more integrated and mass market then the PS3 at this time.

  • penguin_overlord #101 5 years ago

    A Halo 3 bundle? Now there's a surprise. At times, it sems that the only reason that Microsoft introduced the 360 was to launch Halo 3. They've been talking about it since day one and have put it on a pedestal as the title that will make the 360 invincible to the PS3.

    Except that's not what's happening.

    Sure, Halo 3 has been a big sales success and it needs to be as it's the only way that MS will make any profit this year on their games division (since the launch of the original Xbox they have only ever had one quarter when they made a profit). But it's not a hardware seller. The figures released so far do suggest there's been an increase - no surprise there - but not even a doubling a sales. That's because (as Arbiter superbly put) MS are "catering for the core market". They seem to be totally unable to break out of it. Halo 3 is primarily being bought by people who've already bought a 360 to play the likes of GOW and Bioshock. Look how slowly sales of the 360 have risen this year compared to its first year. And why haven't Halo 3's four million odd sales seen an explosion in hardware sales, too?

    So what happens next? The 360's two big exclusives left this year are Mas Effect and PGR4, great games to be sure, but not system sellers as they cater to the exact same core audience who've already bought a 360. Compare to the PS3 which has Uncharted (for the Tomb Raider crowd), Ratchet & Clank (for kids old and young), Haze (to appeal to the FPS fans) and Singstar (for the mainstream).

    The fact of the matter is that sales of the 360 are reaching a plateau already whereas sales of the PS3 have yet to reach the pace they shortly will now that the price has been reduced to a point more favourable to the mainstream.

  • DjFlex52 #102 5 years ago

    @Arbiter

    Have you also tried to relay in comments that Sony is incredibly fucking stupid too? Sony had a collosal share of the last console generation and they've bungled this new generation like they just joined the videogame industry last year. Nintendo has outsmarted them mercilessly and MS has done the same marginally.

    Or is being fucking stupid only a MS thing?

  • Rash' #103 5 years ago

    Machiavellian, I agree, at this time, 360's multimedia functionality is more massmarket than PS3's... I don't think this will last though.
    Edited by Rash' at 10/10/07 @ 12:47

  • Machiavellian #104 5 years ago

    Sony hasn't done anything for the PS2 besides sell it and why not since it still sells and makes a profit. After GOD of War 2, you have seen absolutely no new games for the system from Sony. This to me means that it's dead in Sony's eyes as far as development goes.

    @Arbiter
    Your whole viewpoint is wrong because you are basing your opinion on what Nintendo does compared to what MS does. You only have to look at all the games that have sold over a million on the Wii to see that if it's not created by Nintendo then you are fighting for scraps. The Wii will be a great platform for Nintendo but for other publishers not so great. First and foremost, the Wii sell to casuals who probably only buy 2 to 3 games a year. The problem with this is that the games they probably will buy are Nintendo games. That mean that 3 party developers will be fighting for maybe one game these casuals will purchase outside of Nintendo games.

    Also you fail to understand that MS knows quite well that they need to expand their market and thats why they are pushing the core as a Mass Market system. Calling the system Arcade and giving customers 5 mass market casual games position the system as being a device for the family. Next you see games like Buzz and other games like Naruto exclusive to the system.

    So what I am saying is that MS caters to their core buyers and thats smart because they are the ones who buy multiple games year round. These are the people who make MS and 3rd party devs happy which make more developers including Japanese feel they can make money on the 360. Developers know if they make a quality game on the 360 it will sell and if they make an excellent game on the 360 it will be a sells hit. Yes, MS will proclaim the 360 has the hits and game reviews support their position. MS will continue to strengthen their ties with their core customers because they buy games. MS will also produce games for the casuals to broaden their market but not to the determent of their core customers like I believe Nintendo has done. MS is looking for the 360 to become like the PS2 where you had such a broad selection of games that it could please everyone. Right now the Wii is looking like it will please the casuals but it might end out missing out on more Hardcore customer base and maybe even their more staunch customer base.

    On the Wii this is not the case unless your game is made by Nintendo or Nintendo publishes it. The large amount of people who are buying the Wii do not read reviews or watch trailers. They do not know what games are coming out for the Wii but when Nintendo name is on a game, they immediately recognize it and usually will purchase it.