Microsoft has done it again. The cost of the Xbox 360 Elite has been taken down to $250 after a $50 mail in rebate. In order to qualify for the rebate, you must purchase your system before October 5th, 2009. After looking over the instructions online it seems like there aren’t any crazy hoops to jump through to get the rebate approved. They even give until November 20th to fill out everything so buyers should have plenty of time to fill out the required forms.
Nice job Microsoft and of course Netflix.
Microsoft and Infinity Ward have revealed a new Limited Edition Xbox360 with a Modern Warfare 2 theme. And let me tell you, this baby is SWEET.
At the moment, Amazon is taking pre-orders for this Limited Edition console bundle.
It features a custom designed case, complete with authentic military GSA numbers, MW2 logos and graphics on a gunmetal gray case. It’s pretty freakin’ sweet guys.
The Limited Edition Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 bundle includes the custom designed Xbox 360 console, 250GB HDD for storage, two black wireless controllers, 1 black Xbox 360 Wireless headset, Xbox 360Composite A/V Cable and standard Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game. This console will probably NOT include the HDMI cable, as that has been removed from the Elite packages since the price drop. Apart from that, Microsoft also packs the standard free one month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold and free Netflix trial offer.
This package has an expected MSRP of $399.99.
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Bungie only took a little over a year to complete development on Halo 3 ODST, which was completed back in May. The game has been both feature and bug fix complete for almost 4 months now, being held back for the Holiday season to garner bigger sales. The news was revealed by Brian Jarrard, Community Director at Bungie, on a recent episode of GameTrailers Bonus Round recorded at PAX.
The Halo team at Bungie moved over to Halo: Reach back in May to develop a completely new game engine, meaning Halo: Reach will be that true next generation of Halo that gamers have been wanting. Halo 3 ODST will run on the same engine developed for Halo 3.
Personally, I can’t wait for both games. I’m a big fan of the Halo universe, so I’m excited to see how Bungie will bring these games into the fold, especially Halo: Reach.
While browsing the Xbox Live Marketplace today, I came upon a new item for UFC 2009 Undisputed which offers two new fighters, Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero. What struck me as odd is the description accompanying the DLC. As you can see in the above picture, this item costs 320 Microsoft Points. However, the description states “Download these free roster additions…” Did I miss something here?
I may have slept through a couple classes in college, but last time I checked, free did not equate to $4. Requests to Microsoft and THQ were not returned by press time, but we’ll keep you posted when we hear from them regarding this confusion.
[Update] Yes, I am aware that these are the same fighters that were offered as pre-order bonuses as GameStop.
Obama’s a fanboy…..pphhssssttt. Lame.
President Obama’s prepared remarks to the nation’s schoolchildren, scheduled to be delivered Tuesday, were released in written form today so that parents could review them and make sure he wouldn’t be saying anything they didn’t want their kids to hear. The release was also meant to placate Obama’s opponents, who have expressed concern that the speech would give him an unfair opportunity to advance a political agenda. But after seeing the text, maybe Microsoft should be the one objecting.
“Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility. I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn,” Obama will say, according to the text of the speech. “I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.” Hey, what about the Nintendo Wii?
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Sony announces some of their biggest news in years in dropping the PS3 to under 300 bucks and also introducing a new SKU, the PS3 Slim. What does MS do? They answer right back. The Xbox 360 Elite will now be $299.99. The only small difference is there will be no HDMI cable included. Go to monoprice.com and type in 3661 in the search bar. They are 10 bucks, not 70 as Best Buy would lead you to believe. The 360 Pro will be now $250, but will only be available until supplies run out. The Arcade version is down to $199.99. Here is the official announcement. There has never been a better time to buy consoles than right now. Sucks for me since I am gaming nerd and bought them all Launch Day for an exorbant amount of money.
Mostly Confirmed: Sony producing new PS3 Slim.
Mostly Confirmed: Microsoft pee’s pants a little, and responds by making the Xbox 360 Elite a little bit smaller a whole butt-load cheaper.
Anyways, some of you might remember the rumors of a PS3 Slim floating around our dear interwebs around the end of May, via an Arstechnica Mole. Then again in early July with Sony reportedly signing manufacturing agreements with both Foxconn and Pegatron. There is no mention of a price change there, so…whatevs. It’s a smaller PS3.
So, the Xbox 360 Elite will replace the Pro at the end of August, with a price drop to $299. This is pretty much a brilliant move by Microsoft, since the biggest shopping season of the year is LITERALLY knocking on our door. Just think, Black Friday is only 101 days away.
I personally don’t see how Sony can’t put in a price drop though. When Christmas rolls around, do you think Mom and Pops are going to spring for $299 top of the line Xbox Elite, or spend $469.99 for a PS3? HECK, for only $30 more, they could buy an Xbox Elite and an Xbox Arcade model. That’s 2 consoles for the price of one folks. Now, for extra credit, try to convince me how that’s not going to affect Sony’s Fall/Winter Sales Data.
Yeah, yeah, I know, Sony has the Blu-Ray. Sure, you don’t have to pay for every goll-danged extra thing like you do with the Xbox (wireless connectivity, online play), and the PS3’s DLC tends to be a lot cheaper too. but I really don’t think this outweighs the fact that the Xbox is now almost HALF the cost of a PS3.
These developments will definitely make the never ending debate of “PS3 vs. Xbox 360/Hardware vs. Value” more interesting.
Microsoft’s E09 Press Briefing stage was impressive, to say the least. Multiple staging areas, three huge screens, and some crazy ass lighting. The 5.1 channel sound system thumped the shit out of your chest too. Nothing short of awesome.
For the rest of the “Scenes from…” posts, I’ll be directing your to my Flickr account, where I’ll be posting all of my images from E3. It’s a bit easier and faster that way, so follow me on Flickr to get the latest pictures. I’ll even be uploading things there from my iPhone.
Check out the E309 Microsoft Press Briefing pictures.
Perched in the audience, I got a nice first hand look at all the goods Microsoft revealed this morning at their E3 09 Press Briefing. Many of us went in not knowing exactly what would be shown, but we had some good ideas. How well did the they deliver? I was damn impressed with most of the event. Read on for my thoughts on how it all went down.
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Halo Wars is one of, if not the best RTS game on consoles. Check out our review if you aren’t all caught up. Microsoft is looking to expand on the title with a few new modes for multiplayer.
- Keepaway Mode is the “Halo Wars” adaptation of Capture the Flag. Teams will battle it out to capture a free-roaming Forerunner Sentinel to score points before the other team. Capture three sentinels to claim victory.
- Tug of War Mode is all about having a stronger army than the opponent. Defeating enemies is essential, but success is determined by a combination of the army, buildings and resources left standing in the end.
- In Reinforcement Mode, all active battle units are provided in successive waves. Players must adapt their tactics and use the ever-changing set of units to outwit and outlast the enemy.
There’s also 100 more gamerscore points for you Achievement whores out there. No pricing or release date has been set as of yet, but I would expect at least $5, if not $10. My best guess for a release date would be early May, but who knows.
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