At launch, we offered two separate models of PLAYSTATION 3 to meet the diverse needs and interests of our PlayStation fan base. Initial retail demand in North America was upwards of ninety percent in favor of the 60GB sku, so we manufactured and shipped-in accordingly. Due to the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North America. In addition to the larger internal hard drive, the 60GB PlayStation 3 features added storage media slots and built-in Wi-Fi not found in the 20GB system. Based on retailer and consumer feedback, we have decided to focus our current efforts on the more popular 60GB model.
So there you have it. Customers haven’t wanted it, retailers haven’t been ordering it, and now Sony isn’t offering it. Actually, I’m not so sure it’s because there isn’t a consumer demand. I’ve read of a ton of people frustrated that they can’t find a 20GB model in stores. For people just looking to pick up a Blu-ray player on the cheap, the 20GB PS3 was your best bet. Everyone can call off the hunt, because the 20GB Playstation 3 is no more.
Just got the press release, so mark your calendars, and schedule the day off work/school. No other info on the beta has been released, just that it will arrive on the Xbox Live Marketplace May 16th. To hold you over until than, a new multiplayer Vidoc is available at Bungie.net, and on the Marketplace (in 720p). You can download it here.
Bungie also offers the following details, and confirms that there will be three maps:
The Beta itself consists of three maps – Valhalla, High Ground and Snowbound – graphically improved since our first MP screenshots – and all three will be playable in Matchmaking only (that is after all, what we’re Beta testing here). All three maps are suitable for a wide variety of gameplay types, and you will have the chance to try all manner of game types, familiar and new.
There are a number of new features you’ll get to test out – including a new grenade type, a completely different class of weapon and some of the enhanced online functionality we plan to bring to the game – but it should be noted, a lot of secret features are hidden in this Beta. We’re keeping a lot of our powder dry for Fall. In May, when your firing the Spiker, sniping vehicles with the Spartan Laser and sticking fools with the Brute Spike grenade, remember that it’s just a peek-a-boo fraction of what’s to come.
And do me a special personal favor – walk down to the beach, the river or the lake in High Ground and Valhalla, and take a look at the water.
Yes, it was all true. And that’s only really scratching the surface. The snap-on qwerty keyboard has also been officially announced. I remember writing about that thing back in October of 2005 (when this site was 360hacker). The biggest feature that remained under wraps? How about improved streaming with non-proprietary formats? Yup, come the week of May 7th, H.264 and Mpeg-4 streaming are coming to a 360 near you. Beyond the extensive Windows Live Messenger integration, here are some of the other new features:
* A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.
* Enhanced family settings features for Xbox Live communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.
* A new Xbox Live Marketplace blade lets Xbox Live members access the content they seek—whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States)—from one place on Xbox Live.
* Updates to Xbox Live Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox Live Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox Live members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded “Tell a Friend” capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.
* Expanded “Tell a Friend” capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.
* A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version Xbox Live Arcade games.
* New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace.
* Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.
This video was quickly pulled after being leaked by Gamespot, and shows all (some?) of the new features in the Spring 2007 Dashboard update. It’s a big one! Highlights include:
Releases May 7th.
- Add up to 600 Windows Live Messenger contacts to your Friends List.
- Text chat with up to 6 Live Messenger contacts at once during games or movies.
- The Marketplace will be getting its own Dashboard Blade.
- The Marketplace will be skinned independently of the Dashboard, for special events.
- The Marketplace will be getting a new, easier-to-navigate remake.
- Achievement Pop-ups will now display how many points and which Achievement you have gained.
- Low-power downloading (fans off) and auto-off after finishing queued downloads.
- View partially downloaded video files.
One question: does anyone actually use Live Messenger? This is a pretty major new feature, but I doubt it will get any use from me. Simple things do it best for me. I’m most excited about achievement pop-ups giving you all the achievement info. I hate it when I get an achievement and don’t press the Guide button fast enough to pull up the info, then you need to dig through the menus to find what you unlocked. Bravo, Microsoft!
This info is of course still speculative, and subject to change. We will let you know when concrete details about the Spring update arrive (most likely just confirming this info).
If you live in British Columbia, around the Vancouver/New Westminster area, check out this video. If you have any information regarding these a-holes, contact Game Deals. They really left the place in a mess, and really need to be behind bars. The more people to see this video, the better chance that happens!
Dear Aaron,
You must think the gaming community is idiots, since you keep trying to justify the price of the 120GB by comparing it to external self powered PC drives.
If you compare what we are offering with a real plug-and-play drive the closest thing would be to take a 120 gig self-powered external PC drive and in that case we are seeing those retail at anywhere from $160 to $200 for comparable laptop sized external hard drives.
Well, for the sake of argument I did a quick search on Newegg for “120GB external” and the first match is this drive. It is 5400RPM (same as the 360 HDD), self powered, “pre-formatted,” and even has a one-touch OS backup feature. There goes your “you have to format those and figure out how you are going to move your content over” argument.
Oh, and did I mention this drive is HALF the price of the Xbox 360 120GB drive?
Seriously, anyway you try to spin it, the 120GB drive is a ripoff. Just because there are other overpriced drives on the market, doesn’t mean we are dumb enough to buy one. If you want to throw us a bone, how about release a drive bay in the form factor of the current drive, and allow us to swap in our own internal 2.5″ drive (ala PS3).
The extension to a one year warranty was much needed, but consoles from the launch period are now finally having that warranty expire (again). You would hope if your console has lasted this long, you got a gem out of the bunch, only to be greeted by the 3 red lights out of the no where. It’s not just you. I personally know 3 people (besides these 3) who had this happen within the same week. Myself included.
For all you out there with a broken 360 out of warranty, this news might ease your pain. You will still get raped by the ridiculous service prices, but you are getting more out of it now. Here’s the scoop:
-Out of warranty repairs now have free shipping. You will get a postage paid box in the mail, and receive free shipping both ways…just like all those times you had to send in your Xbox while it still had that precious warranty.
-For out of service repairs, your return console will come with a brand new one year warranty. If your console is repaired under warranty, you get either remainder balance of your warranty, or 90 days. I believe that is an improvement over a previous 30 days, but I’m not certain.
-You will (most likely) get your own console back. If you have a noisy ass drive, unfortunately the gambling game wont work anymore. No more sending in your beaten up, noisy, and abused system hoping to get a cherry. On the flip side, if you’ve babied your console, and are lucky enough to have a quieter system, you will probably get your console back if you send it in for repairs.
To me, this sounds more or less an admission of the on going problem. I kid you not, right before I typed this I got off the phone with my pals at 1-800-4MY-XBOX. I have a box coming in 3-5 business days.
My word of advice: if you are given the option, if you do send in your Xbox out of warranty, try to purchase an extended warranty over the phone. One year is nice, but this console seems to be a time bomb waiting to happen. I have a sneaking suspicion that despite the ongoing and numerous reporting of the red lights, part of the issue lies in the fact that Microsoft just keeps sending out these same faulty systems over and over. That could be why people like myself have gone through this numerous times. Returning your own console seems to be a mixed blessing. What are they doing to actually fix it? Why wont it just happen again. I say just throw out this (large) batch of faulty systems, and send out new ones. But who’s asking me.
Luxor 2 is hitting the Marketplace tomorrow (Wednesday, 4/4/07). Here’s the description:
Set, the Egyptian god of chaos, again threatens the Two Lands, and you must save Ancient Egypt from his terrible wrath in Luxor 2. Wielding the powers of Isis, battle your way across Egypt. Use your mystical winged scarab to shoot magical spheres and destroy encroaching colored spheres by making matches of three or more. Stop them all before they can reach the pyramids.
So how is this different from Luxor (1)? Well, you get 88 new levels, some new powerups, etc. Basically, Luxor fans needs only apply. This one will set you back 800 points (roughly $10).
A title update for Gears of War is currently undergoing the certification process. The update promises to fix many bugs and glitches, as well as add a whole new multiplayer gametype, named “Annex.” Regarding the new gametype, Mark Reins only had this to say:
Some folks who got to play it a few weeks ago said they think it is our best multiplayer gametype yet but I’ll leave it for you fans to decide what you think for yourself when it shows up soon on Xbox Live. More details next week.
The update will also provide “720p for VGA users running at 1280×1024″ and “a whole bunch” of glitch fixes. I’ll keep you posted when new details arrive.
The update will also provide “720p for VGA users running at 1280×1024″ and “a whole bunch” of glitch fixes. I’ll keep you posted when new details arrive.