According to some Uber Mole deep within the confines of Microsoft, there are going to be price cuts on all three Xbox models this September. The Arcade, Pro (60 GB) and Elite will be marked down to $199, $299 and $399 respectively.
The New Xbox Experience can’t be the only reason for the added memory could it? This isn’t Sony people! I mean honestly, who’s planning on ripping games to their HDD eight gigs at a time? (Especially for those of us still sporting 20GB HDD’s).
In the impossible event that Bungie and Microsoft were to part ways, (impossible need I remind you), who would take over the Halo universe?
I don’t know when the hell they got involved in the gaming industry, but some guy from MTV has made list of eleven possible candidates.
Now, I deeply question the gamer credibility of anyone affiliated with MTV, but this guy brings up some good points.
Lets see, a game that rakes in 300 million in the first week and good ol’ Billy is going to let them go? Yeahhh…
As for Epic making the next Halo…that’s just about as sacrilegious as anything gets.
[UPDATE]
THIS JUST IN…PIGS CAN FLY! The week long rumors have been confirmed. Here’s what Bungie had to say.
KIRKLAND, Wash. — Oct. 5, 2007 — Bungie and Microsoft Corp. today announced a plan for Bungie Studios, the developers of Microsoft’s “Halo†franchise, to become a privately held independent company, Bungie, LLC, in which Microsoft will hold a minority equity interest. As part of this transaction, Bungie and Microsoft have forged a deep and long-term development and publishing relationship focused on the continued success of the “Halo†franchise. It is also the intent of both parties to expand their partnership to include new IP created and owned by Bungie.
You can check out the rest of the press release here. I must warn you, it is quite emotional.
Minority equity interest huh? Didn’t see that coming!
And not just the ending, either. The whole game. As in to download and play. This of course isn’t unusual by any means, especially with a few stores breaking street date, rebel employees, and a flood of copies on ebay. In the right hands (or wrong, depending on your perspective) that equates to a scene release or torrent.
From the looks of it, at least two groups have released Halo 3 in the past two days, with ccclx the only making it onto nforce (nfo).
Today Microsoft has released a minor update to enable support for the future “big button” remote. There is already speculation this update has something to do with Halo 3, and “the banhammer.” While there are currently hacked firmwares to play this release and others on your 360 undetected, Microsoft could once again up the ante and ban all modded consoles that connect to Live. There haven’t yet been any reports of banned consoles after todays update.
Word on the street (well, Gamespot) is that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is going to be the sweet price of free. Sure, GT HD was a free preview as well, but Sony keeps promising that Prologue will be a full fledged game. Here is the quote from Gamespot:
Today, we sat in on a presentation hosted by Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi as he demonstrated some of the new features that will be present in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The game is due for release on the PlayStation Network as a free download later this year.
Something lost in translation? Not as full of a game as we’ve been lead to believe? Or a free gift from Sony? For now, your guess is as good as mine. There is always the chance the game will be ad supported. Sony was just blabbing about how ads and nickel and diming microtransactions are the future (hello Home). Time will tell.
Do not believe this preview. I had the first hour of the game played in front of me, and none of Destructoid’s criticisms are valid. This is either truly awful taste or a pathetic attempt to get more hits. Possibly both.
Mass Effect has the most incredible facial animation of any game ever (at the time I saw it, anyway…Heavenly Sword tops it in cutscenes, IMO), and the voice acting is perfectly fine. The beginning of the game is all space navy “Sir, we have visual” shit, anyway. It’s obviously not going to be Gone With The Wind.
There are plenty of things to worry about with Mass Effect without making up shit about the presentation. This preview is simply not describing the game I saw.
Just what I suspected. This all but confirms my suspicion that Destructoid is a piece of crap, immature site. But I guess someone has to cater to the 12 year olds that wont stop uttering curse words in my headset.
If there is any inkling of truth here, this is just downright devious.
While the $100 price cut of the 60GB PS3 may seem like a good gesture and an attempt to move some stock, SCEE president David Reeves tells us a different story. He told GameIndustry.biz:
Well, [U.S. customers are not really given the option to pay a lower price], because what the US are offering from the 1st of August is a USD 599 version with one game. All they’re doing is taking their stock in trade that they’ve got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July.
Whaaaa?? Slow that down. GameIndustry followed up, “So once the 60GB is gone, that will be the end of the 60GB then?”
In America, yes.
Straight out of the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s mouth: Sony is dumping its stock of 60GB consoles at $499, and once they are gone, you will only be left with the $599 80GB model. Effectively, there is no price cut. Don’t look at me, I didn’t say it.
The scary thing is, the logistics make sense. I couldn’t understand the logic of creating a new SKU for $100 more than the 60GB model, with only a measly 20GB and Motorstorm to gain. Who would want that? Apparently anyone who wants a PS3, because it very well may be the only option.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Is this just one European exec venting at the fact that Europe isn’t see a price cut, too? If it turns out to be true, it will forever be remembered as “the great PS3 price cut conspiracy of 07.” Until then, keep that grain of salt in hand.
I’m sure you’ve heard the 60gb PS3 price has been cut $100 to a more stomachable $499. And that there is a NEW $599 SKU which gives you… an extra 20GB and Motorstorm. I can’t help but agree with the commentary I’ve read. It’s seems Sony has put themselves right back where they were at launch. There are two price points at $499 and $ 599. Of course you are getting more for your money now, but I’m concerned about the perceived price and value. The 20GB PS3 was canned because no one wanted a gimped PS3 (although there is one collecting dust next to me). The 60GB PS3 definitely isn’t gimped, but with the added SKU, there is still the inhibiting $499/$599 price barrier.
I just can’t see the logic. The 360 is somehow doing fine with 3 SKUs, but at least there is a sizeable difference between them. I guess that’s the trick. You need them to be different enough the justify the price differences, but all must still appeal to a sizeable audience. With the 20GB PS3, most consumers saw how much extra you get for the $100, so it was a no brainer (why the 360 Core didn’t have the same fate, I’m still scratching my head). I would guess now Sony will have the opposite problem (you want $100 more for WHAT?!). All this coupled with the fact they haven’t escaped the $599 price point. Even if no one buys it, Sony needs to ditch that fatal price and get some good PR back.
Even the $100 cheaper 60GB will seem expensive if the rumors pan out true that the 360 is getting a price drop to $249/$349/$399. That puts it in Wii price territory.
All this, and I haven’t even mentioned the new PS3 is dropping the Emotion Engine so they are taking a step backwards in backward compatibility (even though in my opinion the last gen should be behind us, but it looks like the PS2 is selling better than PS3, and is getting more and better games). Oh, plus PS3 is losing exclusives and non-exclusives left and right (no Katamari for you). This should be an interesting E3.
This video, titled “Gears of War PC ‘E3 Action’ montage”, got the old post and pull treatment at GameVideos.com. Does this confirm Gears is PC bound? Or maybe the title was in error. After all, I didn’t notice any similar content to the Gears we currently know and love. Future DLC, or a peak at the sequel? Time will tell.
In the past hour or so, while some are busy finishing (the beta) fight, the rest of the internet is up in arms wondering where their Halo 3 beta is. So far, the official word is a collective, “We Know!” Bungie states, “With any luck this will be a short delay.”
Meanwhile, in the past hour or so, the Halo 3 Beta page on Xbox.com has changed. The site USE to read that the beta begins “May 16 at 5 a.m. PDT and run(s) through June 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.” It now reads:
Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today confirmed the multiplayer beta of Halo 3 will debut to audiences worldwide via Xbox LIVE on May 16 at 10pm EST and run through to June 7 at 4:59pm EST.
So if these figures are to be believed, you could be waiting up to another 10 hours to get your game on (if you are getting in through Crackdown, at least). It’s a 17 hour delay from the original time, but the 17 hour extension should make everyone stop complaining. Right?
Update: Turns out, the Xbox.com link is to an Australian page. I don’t know why it says EST (does it stand for anything besides Eastern Standard Time?), but 10pm in Australia, is roughly 5PDT that has always been promised. The time US Xbox.com page remains unchanged. However, the following notice has been added:
Customers are reporting problems downloading the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta via Crackdown. The Xbox team is well aware of this issue and working diligently to resolve it. Please check back for more information as it becomes available.
Rumor has it Rockstar has some aces up it’s sleeves with GTA IV. Spoilers are after the jump, so only continue if you’re okay with that. If it turns out to be true, chances are you will have a hard time avoiding this info between now and when the game hits. Worse case scenario, it’s just wishful thinking. The tipster apparently revealed that there was a jetpack in San Andreas, and no one listened to him. Lucky guess or liar?
