golf93871

When the microsoft Xbox 360 was released with two different versions, the tactic was debated endlessly regarding the merits of offering consumers a lower-priced bundle with fewer features. Staring a $400 price point in the face probably prompted microsoft to offer a lower cost package to point to when the Xbox 360s price was inevitably criticized.

The Playstation 3 will probably blow those arguments out of the water in terms of scale as two versions launch, one console at a price point of $500, the other at a price point of $600. Most of the early adopters of the Xbox 360 opted for the premium bundle and expectations are that the Playstation 3 crowd will be no different.

The two bundles each feature the infamous Blu-ray drive, a Bluetooth-enabled controller and an HDMI port for high definition output from the console. Similarities end there as the basic bundle includes a 20 GB hard drive to that package and calls it a day. Sony has priced that next-generation package at $500, a steep price to get a foot in the door of Sonys Playstation 3 vision.

Naturally, higher cost comes with more bells and whistles. In the $600 premium bundle, all of the basic bundle's features are included but the hard drive is bumped up to 60 GB, Wi-Fi is built in to the console and an on-board flash card reader is included. While the basic model's hard drive can always be upgraded and a flash card reader can be added later with an adaptor, those upgrades will likely come at a cost higher than the $100 difference between the models.

One point of debate has been Sony's reluctance to include HDMI cables with either bundle, more or less requiring the consumer to purchase the cable to experience the high-definition gaming so central to Sony's marketing strategy for the Playstation 3.

Composite cables can also produce a solid picture, so that might take some of the sting out of the announcement, but the move is still a disconnect from the marketing message describing the ultimate, high-end gaming experience. Sony's specific Playstation 3-branded HDMI cable will retail for $50, but other HDMI cables can be had for less.

To round out the accessory costs of the Playstation 3, the console's special SIXAXIS controller, complete with motion-sensing ability, will retail for $50. A remote specially made for the Playstation 3s Blu-ray player will retail for $30 and perhaps the most important accessory of all, games, will see a $60 price point for Sony first-party games.

Sony has truly entered a new realm for high cost and it will be up to the Playstation 3 to make consumers and critics alike focus less on the money involved and more on the high-end gaming experience that Sony is trying to achieve. Time will tell whether Sony will emerge the victor.

halo 3 was recently released amidst great fanfare as an exclusive title to the latest microsoft gaming console: the Xbox 360. The halo games have been the flagship titles on the xbox consoles since the first xbox was released with the first halo back in 2001. halo: Combat Evolved quickly became a popular culture phenomenon, being hailed by many industry authorities as the best first person shooter available on a console. It quickly spiraled into an industry of its own, spawning original novels, comic books, toys and more.

halo is the evolution of a genre that goes back to the earliest 3D game graphics. Once it became possible to put a game character in a maze and then show that maze from the character's perspective - the first person perspective - rather than the overhead view previous video games had used, it opened up the door for the development of the "first person shooter", or FPS. The original FPS, Wolfenstein 3D, looks crude by today's standards, but it was cutting edge in both graphics and sound quality on its release in 1992. Certainly it was unlike anything that anyone had seen at the time. While the concept was simple - you walk through a maze and shoot bad guys - its execution allowed gamers to feel like they were inside the game in a way that hadn't been experienced before.

Prior to Halo, the most well-known FPS was the second major FPS to hit the market: doom. doom gained notoriety beyond the gaming world for its violent content and rampant popularity. It was the first FPS to allow multiplayer gaming over a modem or network, an updated version of which is one of Halo's main selling points. doom became popular enough that a major Hollywood movie was made, starring The Rock and Karl Urban. Following in Doom's footsteps, Halo is also slated to be made into a motion picture, though - as of writing this article - that project is still in development.

Each installment of the Halo series has only increased the frenzy around these games as Bungie and microsoft come up with new features to add to increase replayability and multiplayer functionality. While Halo 2 sold eight million copies worldwide and was the most played game on xbox live for two years, Halo 3 is expected to eventually blow those figures out of the water. 4.2 million copies were shipped to retail outlets for the release date and its release has nearly tripled sales of Xbox360 compared to pre-Halo 3 sales of the console. There's no denying that the Halo series of video games has become a major force in popular culture, and will likely remain so for years to come.

The Xbox360 is a video game console that is visionary. It competes with the Sony Play Station 3 and Nintendo Revolution. A gamers dream machine, the xbox 360 is sold in two versions a premium edition that has a hard drive, a wireless controller, headset, ethernet cable, a HD AV cable, and an Xbox live silver subscription and a core system.

Powerful and futuristic the Xbox360 includes HD gaming, perfect sound, and sensational graphics. The system offers high-end gaming with several exciting possibilities. It revolutionizes video game consoles and is, in actuality, a computer dedicated to gaming. It is not just a gaming machine it is a media center that allows you to play games, network with other gamers around 360 of them, rip, stream, and download high definition movies, music, digital pictures, games, music, and play DVDs and CDs. It is what makes dreams into realities.

The Xbox360 has around 18 titles in the US including games like call of duty 2, Dead or Alive 4, Every Party, FIFA 06, nba live, Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, and Project Gotham Racing 3. Technically, it has advanced graphics and a 115 GFLOPS theoretical peak performance. All games support a six channel Dolby Digital Sound with no voice echo.

Apart from video and dvd playing the X box 360 live market place allows the user to connect to xbox live even if offline. Users can view messages and game invites sent by other xbox live members. The live market place allows download of avatars, trailers, as well as game demos.

With the Xbox360 a person can view a complete record of games played, play games downloaded from marketplace, play game demos, watch movie as well as game trailers, listen to music customized for the user, view pictures as well as videos stored on a camera or any other portable device, and activate the media center extender.

The xbox 360 has backward compatibility and so, users can play games originally developed for the earlier versions of the box. wireless connectivity and wireless controllers offer great freedom and connectivity at large distances. And, you can download and play arcade style games using the xbox Live arcade. game demos and trailers are offered free but full versions of games have to be purchased using xbox Live Marketplace using Microsoft points which can be bought through Live or via game cards sold retail.

Technically a few small glitches have been reported. There is what is known as the Xbox360 screen or death which is an error screen. This stops the console and the user is requested to contact technical support. Another problem is that of the xbox 360 freezing due to overheating. To solve this, users are requested to ensure proper airflow and a cooler environment. If the xbox is moved from its vertical to its horizontal position while reading a disc, the movement causes the pickup assembly to brush against the disc resulting in radial scratches. Often the xbox displays red lights instead of a green ring of light to indicate errors.

The X box360 transforms gaming experience into something futuristic and exciting.