Seems about right. I gotta make sure my pre-order's for the $399 version as the HD really helps and besides, a component cable is at least 60 bucks by itself as it is.

I don't know why anybody is surprised. My money's on Revolution (for having actual good/unique games I can't get on pc).

Everyone is surprised because of the press release a couple of months back which said:

“Microsoft detailed more key platform experiences that come standard with every Xbox 360 system:

* Detachable and expandable 20GB hard drive

* A wireless controller with Microsoft-patented wireless technology.”

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/e...

Arguably, they've kept their promise since it's the Xbox 360 *Core* rather than the Xbox 360 which doesn't have those features. But that's an argument based on sophistry rather than anything else.

I think the worry is the HD is going to have the same effect as the PS2 HD - none. It's better in that it is available from *launch* but developers are going to have to choose between requiring a HD (less sales), coding for both HD and HD-less consoles (more work) or not bothering with the HD (easy option).

I read the same press release a couple of months ago too. This is Microsoft we're talking about. Again, I don't know why people are surprised.

I don't know that surprise is the primary response. Even if it is though, that's no reason to dismiss what they've done - that would only re-inforce such actions.

To discourage such actions, I say nobody buys a 360.

Actually it was always “rumored”, I use quotes because the rumors came from deep sources, that there'd be more than one version of the 360 and that one would be a bare bones version sans HD.

As far as the HD not being used ala PS2. Pshaw. Xbox Live is actually successful, whereas PSOnline is shite. While games may not be required to utilize the HD, for cacheing etc., they are all being made to utilize Xbox Live in some manner, hence Xbox Live Silver being given away free which includes access to downloadable content. So, there's no worry that the HD will just sit there useless like the PS2.

The only bad part is, the days of free downloadable content may be over for the most part. Since I would imagine, especially after the success of the Halo 2 map packs, that more and more content will be for a price, except Roster updates for sports games.

They're not giving Live Silver away with the “Core” box...

Yeah, they are. All Xbox 360's include the Silver service free and from what I've read it is a requirement that every 360 game has to be Live-enabled at the very least.

http://www.xbox360news.com/...

Yeah, they have really been pushing the idea of “microtransactions”.

The real scary part is not paying for additional content. It is paying for content that should have been there in the first place. Like the “deleted scenes” on movies, we'll see things held back to sell microtransactions.

Now let's take that to the next step. A buggy game is released, which requires the purchase of “additional content”, which also includes a patch vital to playing the game properly.

It'll happen.

Yeah, actually that was the first thing I thought of when they first announced what the new Xbox Live would be.

I can just see a game like Need for Speed, for example, offering a small list of cars as part of the original game and then offering 30 cars you can download for $1.99 each. Or something along those lines.

Hopefully it won't be quite that bad, but as I said, given the huge success of the Halo 2 map packs, the world's definitely changed. I mean, here you had stuff that they said all along would be made free and yet, we all went out and either purchased them online or bought the disc. Man, us gamers are fucking suckers.

“Yeah, they are. All Xbox 360's include the Silver service free[.]”

It wasn't listed in Nelson's original announcement as part of the Core system.

“from what I've read it is a requirement that every 360 game has to be Live-enabled”

Well, Live Silver is basically only a friends list. And there are several games for the Xbox that let you log into Live now (Fable springs to mind) so that bar isn't exactly high.

http://www.xbox360news.com/...

On closer inspection, the graphic shows the Xbox Core is getting a wireless controller too...

(I'll not comment on the fact it lists the console itself as a feature - that's just marketing being stupid)