XBOX 360, YES!!!!!

[Seeker]

Just got in. It's now 1:16 a.m. and my son will be getting an Xbox 360 for Christmas. Been waiting in line sinece 6p.m. yesterday.

[A Lost Soul]

Good luck. They're pulling the same crap they did with the PS2 release. Stores were promised, say, a thousand units but in reality only received 300 in time for Christmas. It seems to be a trend for consoles to do that lately. If you can get one, awesome! Good for you! Either way, I wish you luck.

[Henfe]

Europeans have to wait untill next month before we can get our hands on an Xbox360(we could of course travel to the US but who orkar(<--nobody knows what that means HAHAHA). Damn Bill Gates for making us wait. I'm not really gonna buy an Xbox but I still think that what Microsoft is doing is kinda mean.

[A Lost Soul]

Oh yeah! Seeker, a word of advice: Have it sent to your home if possible. That way, you can avoid the nasty mothers who will no doubt mug your ass in EB.

[Seeker]

No LS =P. I stood in line at Walmart. They put them on sale at 1 minute past midnight, so I walked out of the store with the console and accessories. It's only a core system though, the store got in 24 premier systems and 18 cores, that was 42 total. I arrived 6 hours early and got system #39. The first guy in line had been there since 8 a.m., the guy that got the last premier got in line at 11a.m. I have to say, I was impressed by the caliber of people waiting in line. Many of them were hardcore gamers, with a few old farts like me and my wife mixed in. Everyone was cheerful, friendly, and generally had a great time.

[InTheMoment]

I wonder how many people would have left the line if the fire alarm sounded?

[Kula]

There's a demo system in my local store and the graphics look pretty neat. It kind of looks like very high-end PC graphics. I assume the graphics would look better over time, once new games are developed? Personally, i'm waiting for PS3 (and keeping my fingers crossed for a FFVII remake!) If a remake was announced for PS3, i would put a deposit on one as soon as humanly possible

[bradybaker]

Originally posted by A Lost Soul Good luck. They're pulling the same crap they did with the PS2 release. Stores were promised, say, a thousand units but in reality only received 300 in time for Christmas. It seems to be a trend for consoles to do that lately. If you can get one, awesome! Good for you! Either way, I wish you luck. That's a psychological tactic to boost sales, first used with the Cabbage Patch Dolls. Every year there is a "hot toy" (think Furby and Tickle Me Elmo), this year it's XBOX 360 (along with those stupid robot things walk around or something). What the retailers do is promise a huge supply of units to the customers, then intentionally order fewer so that they'll sell out quickly. Then through late Nov and Dec, consumers are running from store to store looking for one. They are psychologically comitting to buying the item. Then, consumers start seeing those ads in the classifieds, "XBOX 360! Sold Out Everywhere! You can own one for $1500!!". This is actually the retailers and Microsoft who place alot of these ads to make some serious profit on each unit. Then, a few days after Christmas, they flood the stores with units. So all the parents who desperately looked for them unsuccessfully (psychologically comitted) can buy one for their kids. Countless studies have confirmed that committing effort to a certain task significantly increases one's desire to successfully complete the task. And voila. Toy retailers solve their biggest problem. January and February.

[Roller]

Yeah I was going to say brady, less supply = higher demand, but you explained it a little better than that. I can see how people get 'commited' to buying it if they've been looking for it for ages, they'd get to a store wtih one and say "finally! There's a bloody Xbox 360, I better get it before someone else does!" With the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 and whatever the other one is, it is increasingly obvious that people no longer need to have a life. The games are getting so massive and intricate that you start to wonder where they'll stop.

[AirRick101]

These corporate men are so evil, money sure is addictive. The ps2 lineup was frustrating, I didn't make it when I lined up. It's kind of obvious they are pulling the same trick, but almost to a point that they should be ashamed. I was surprised to see this thread, and to see that the author was seeker, I thought you were a gamer for a second.....weird, but I saw "son" in the message and it cleared up everything.

[Night Wolf]

Now that's what I call dedication Seeker! That's one lucky son you've got there!

[Cyclic13]

I used to work at a Software ETC as a manager and at that time I sold my reserved PS2's (3 of them) to customers without reservations basically to the highest bidder. I made about 500 per unit (after cost). Hype is a silly thing sometimes, people bought the PS2 without even knowing about the games or the specifications. If you remember PS2 had only about 10 games on its release and the only one worth buying was dead or alive 2 and that was already out on dreamcast (came out with dreamcasts release in 9/9/99). Pretty sad how easily people fall prey to the marketing bug. I used the hell out of hype during PSP fever around this time last year. Im in japan right now so we had it before the rest of the world and so I put those things up on ebay and watched them sell like hotcakes. I made so much money off of that, I think I sold about 20 when all was said and done. The first one I sold went for 650$ and later, sales slowly tapered off around 450$ (retail price 250$ + shipping 30$). Altogether I made around 2000$ profit in 2months. If you are able to get your hands on one, whats the point in having it before anyone else? Bragging rights? Wouldnt you rather have some extra money and have a good story to tell as bragging rights instead? My recommendation: If you get one sell it to the highest bidder and use consumerism for all its worth and tell your son/daughter Santa doesnt partner with monopolies so he doesnt make Xbox's but you will get it for their birthday. Games used to be a big love of mine in order to escape the drudgery of school life but once real life habits/hobbies are made, free time for games goes out the window. Games are too involving and unless you are unemployed or socially inept its really not worth getting into. Same thing goes for TV and any other useless form of entertainment: good in small doses only. Personally, I find making music much more stimulating and at least you have something to show for it in the end (not just data on a memory card). But, hey, to each his own

[will.i.am]

YES SEEKER! We now have joined the two million people on the planet to get an X-Box 360; they will be sold out for months! My friends and I waited in front of a Best Buy from 11 pm to 9 am! It got down to about 20 degrees that night.... that part really sucked but my friends and I were the last three people to get the premium system. lol And now we are going to put them up on eBay, they are going for around 1,500 easy. In total, we spent 1,600 dollars at Best Buy that morning and thank god we had a rewards zone card, got like 60 bucks from that buy! Not to mention we saved about another 60 with various coupons they gave us. Man we'll make a KILL'IN! :vibes:

[kimpossible]

Mine showed-up on the doorstep yesterday... Still in the box, I haven't had time to play with it. I also received PGR-3, Perfect Dark 0, and Kameo.

[♥Mark]

Originally posted by Roller+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Roller)</div> ...the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 and whatever the other one is...The games are getting so massive and intricate that you start to wonder where they'll stop.[/b] ... It's the Nintendo Revolution. It's ironic that you should omit this system and go on to say how games are getting more complex because Nintendo seems to be the one trying keeping it simple. <!--QuoteBegin-kimpossible Mine showed-up on the doorstep yesterday... Still in the box, I haven't had time to play with it. I also received PGR-3, Perfect Dark 0, and Kameo. And a gamer, too? What don't you do?! Eh... let me know how Perfect Dark turns out.

[♥Mark]

Originally posted by kimpossible+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kimpossible)</div> ...it's such a time-sink...[/b] I certainly won't dispute that point. I've found I haven't had much time for games recently either. Between work, sleep, making flash movies, and going on the internet, games have just taken a back seat. I think I've wasted too much time on games, anyway... Ah well, I'da just wasted it somehow else. At least I had fun wasting it. <!--QuoteBegin-kimpossible Otherwise, I'd probably wait a year. That's probably what I'll be doing, if I get a 360 at all. Personally, I'm anticipating Animal Crossing DS more than I was/am the 360.

[AirRick101]

You think you're so cool because you get these consoles for free, huh. And you probably are, you're saving hella money, and don't even play the games much!? What a crime.. I would ask how u get'em for free, but I get the idea you wouldn't want to tell us. I enjoy games as more of a social activity, especially arcades, which I go to frequently. To play just by myself has become less of a interest these days.

[kimpossible]

No big secret... I've been in the industry a long time. I get all kinds of stuff. I just ask for it...

[icedawg]

Originally posted by Seeker Just got in. *It's now 1:16 a.m. and my son will be getting an Xbox 360 for Christmas. Been waiting in line sinece 6p.m. yesterday. holy crap, that's awesome of you to do that! i'm sure your son will love it.

[AirRick101]

So what do you do, Kim, since you are "in the industry"? This is getting interesting. My friend and I were in line one morning for a sale at an electronic's event, and were joking about the names of videogame consoles. Nintendo is the only one making original names (or maybe they can't find the right name to settle with) and how PS or Xbox is gonna get repetitive soon, and if Xbox is going to add another 360 degrees to their next console..honestly, that's a silly idea....

[Hotshot]

Originally posted by Mark75 ... It's the Nintendo Revolution. It's ironic that you should omit this system and go on to say how games are getting more complex because Nintendo seems to be the one trying keeping it simple. Simple? Definitely not. Have you seen the crazy contraption of a controller (dare I even call it that?) that it comes with? Similar to holding two remote controls with a wire running between them, and they are motion sensitive. I would go as far as to say that it looks painful to play the Revolution for a long period of time. There was a video of it a while back, and it was ridiculous.

[♥Mark]

Originally posted by Hotshot+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hotshot)</div> Simple? Definitely not. Have you seen the crazy contraption of a controller (dare I even call it that?) that it comes with? [/b] In fact the controller is exactly what I was referring to when I said that Nintendo was stressing simplicity. Originally posted by Hotshot@ Similar to holding two remote controls with a wire running between them, and they are motion sensitive. Actually the regular controller is just a single-handed device. What's so complicated about it? Think of how much better it is to aim using a lightgun versus using an analog stick. It's easier because it's far more natural. And what a better way to manipulate objects in a video game than to have you physically manipulate them the same as/similar to what you would in real life? (e.g. the clips where the chefs are cutting food with a chopping motion, the dentist with his drill, the old guy and boy fishing) Or how about using a mouse to aim versus an analog stick? That's essentially what it is. It's a combination of a lightgun and a mouse that works in 3d space. It doesn't get much simpler than point and click. Never mind the fact that it has less buttons than the other two next gen consoles (I consider this a good thing, by the way). <!--QuoteBegin-Hotshot I would go as far as to say that it looks painful to play the Revolution for a long period of time. There was a video of it a while back, and it was ridiculous. You may have more of a case on this point. I can foresee it getting a little tiring swinging one's arms around excessively. It's not like every game is going to require you to jump out of your chair and roll around the room like in that one video, though. It is worth mentioning that Nintendo has announced that they will make an add on for the controllers to turn them into a more conventional style. Source: http://cube.ign.com/articles/651/651559p1.html (near the bottom)

[♥Mark]

And it could well happen to the Rev's controller as well. I hardly think it will doom the system, though, seeing as how it would be pretty easy for Nintendo to just start releasing conventional controllers as standard. Anyway, back on topic of the 360, I hear they have some serious ventilation issues. From what I understand, there have been a few cases where fires have started due to insufficient ventilation. Can't say I've ever heard of any other systems that require you to make sure the backblast is clear before playing...

[Lomebririon]

Jeez Seeker! Your son's lucky to have such dedicated parents. I don't think i've ever waited anywhere that long for anything in my life.

[Roller]

Yeah I saw an article on the BBC website where three 'experts' argued the talking point of each of the new consoles respectivley. The Xbox guy talked all about how the X-box was the next step in techological evolution, bringing home entertainment into one package etc etc, and being able to link up with PC's and all the rest. The Playstation 3 guy talked about the PS3's superior power, better games, much more dedicated developers etc etc and also talked up the internet intergration. All the Nintendo Revolution guy said was "well we've got this really cool controller that you wave at the screen." If this is all Nintendo has going for it, then I don't see it fairing too well, unless they stumble upon some killer games. I'm looking forward to the PS3 a LOT, I never got around to buying the PS2 but I loved the old original grey box, and I generally prefer the game line up the Playstation has. Just to be superficial, I think Sony could have done a lot better with the look of the PS3... it just looks a bit underdone to me, unless they're going to *suddenly* reveal a new design for it or something. Oh well, have to wait and see I guess.