It looks like Microsoft might have a heart and will possibly be including a data-retention cable with the new and improved, back-in-black Xbox 360 model. Ars Technica has a line on a secret source who lets it slip that Microsoft had sent a new SKU for the upgraded unit, which specifies that this cable will be included.Additionally, the same source says that the cable will be included with the standalone 120GB HDD as well, which hasn't officially been announced yet. Will the cable and the HDD be available in both black and white? We don't want to mess up our precious gaming color scheme. We might see a rise of third-party HDD stickers and skins that'll let you dress that Xbox up in your love.
This will be a huge incentive towards getting existing Xbox owners to either upgrade their unit to the "Elite" model, or to buy the new drive, because no one wants to lose all their picture packs, arcade games, and episodes of Battlestar Galactica. We're just happy to know what we probably won't have to download that Eragon demo again. However, this sounds like one of those "use it once and you're done" items that'll soon be collecting dust in the back of a drawer somewhere, so look for 'em on eBay not long afterwards.












(Page 1) Reader Comments
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Man I gotta get me one of these 360s...
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Yeah, like the Betamax, or the UMD, those were proprietary at all...by the way, how did those turn out? If I recall, the UMD is losing multi-media support left and right as far as movies goes (nothing against the games at all) and the Betamax...well, we just won't get into that....
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Couple of interesting things about this
1. After all the noise about the PS3 being expensive and "copying" features, it turns out that a more expensive 360 that copies PS3 features is a good thing. Oh, the deceit!
2. If you buy the USD100 hard disc which is proprietary for 360 (the "choice" console) OR swap your old console for new (a loss of say USD60) the cost comes close to USD500 / USD530 - so the final cost comes to almost same as the PS3 DESPITE no HD or multiplayer.
hmmm..let me think whats the spin xbots will put on this?
The most popular:
Thank you M$ for launching a year early with a low spec, high-defect, noisy, no BC console instead of those evil SONY people who supported the PS2 for 2-3 years longer and brought out games like FF12, GH2, Okami, GoW2, KH while we had ZERO good exclusives on the 360 for nearly a year.
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How is UMD anymore more "proprietary" than CD, DVD exactly? How was Betamax anymore "proprietary" than VHS again? What's your point? Oh, because Sony is the technology leader behind a format (versus Philips, or Toshiba, etc), then is MUST be proprietary right? Or, if a company introduces a format that doesn't take off, then that obviously makes the format proprietary? Maybe it's because I haven't had my coffee yet, but please help me, explain your logic.
Thanks for coming out, want to play again?
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Last time I checked, I could stick a DVD and a CD in a lot of devices to have them play.
Where else do you stick a UMD? Just asking.
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If you are unhappy with the 360, then by all means do not purchase one, enjoy your PS3, and STFU.
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Zamfir could stick it up his ass. It would play movies just about as good up there as it does anywhere else.
And if you need me to explain to you why the Betamax was an enormous mistake for Sony, then yes, you do need to have your coffee.
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whats the big deal? you can get the same drive for your current machine, you know that came out in 2005?
HDMI is not a feature, sorry. it's an A/V connector. it doesn't change the resolution the 360 supports.
anyone who claims it's a feature has been reading the back of the PS3 box over and over again because they have no games to play.
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-Leshrac
http://alinktothefuture.com
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"A multitude of technical drawbacks along with the PROPRIETARY nature of the Betamax format hurt it in its competition with VHS, in spite of the Betamax's superior video quality. Other proprietary formats from Sony such as Memory Stick, UMD, and ATRAC have since been similarly criticized."
Done now? Just makin' sure...I'll stop back later in case you have any questions...
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please show me a link on a microsoft page so i can read more eabout this.
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rfom, as a PS3 and 360 owner, I can say without a doubt, that you are full of crap. Stick with your one machine and miss out on all the great games that Wii and 360 have to offer. Right now my PS3 is only being used as a Gow2 player (not that I couldn't use my PS2).
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Do me, and all of us, a favor. GoW2 is capable of being displayed in 480p on the PS3. Could you do a comparison of it running on the PS2 and the PS3, and tell us the difference?
I'm interested.
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PS3 progressive scan through hdmi looks better than the ps2 counterpart on progrssive scan. It may be the difference between the hdmi cable and the component....
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I was thinking about getting the new 360 and giving my old one away to a buddy. This is good news for me.
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I'm thinking of doing that too. My buddy couldn't care less about HDMI, a 120G HD, and the colour black. You know, he's one of those people that many Joystiq posters forget exist.
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lol. tools.
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i feel a hundred times better about my $400 purchase in 2005 than my $600 in 2007.
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How can you say people are getting excited when you had the 3rd comment...WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO!!!!! You did even let people weight in on it until you started bitching about it. STFU!!
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MS is smart with offering options and not making the consumer pay a high price just so they can stick a BR player in your house.
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for example, he won't answer how the 'low-spec' 360 has a better videocard than the PS3 $200 more and a year later.
and why was all he talking about PS2 games? we're talking about THIS generation. guess he's not a european PS3 owner trying to play Okami....
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"how the 'low-spec' 360 has a better videocard than the PS3 $200 more and a year later"
"better" video card, no multiplayer, no HD, minimal disc space, pathetic BC, no HDMI / wifi, obselete in 2 years, greaaaaat deal
"why was all he talking about PS2 games? we're talking about THIS generation."
Well, M$ gained a year's lead in this gen by launching a premature, low spec console. So, the PS2 got so many GREAT games, well after XBOX1's kaput.
So, when cribbing about the PS3 price, why no mention of the fact that the PS life (7-8Y) >> XBOX life (4Y).
Cost of 360 = 399 / 4Y
Cost of PS3 = 599 / 8Y
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but i'll humor you. Sony makes a hell of a lot more money selling games to 100 million PS2 owners then trying to launch a new console. but obviously they sacrificed a lot on the PS3's launch because of it.
if the PS3 doesn't sell as much as PS2, and 360 'wins' this generation, you can BET the PS3 won't last 8 years. you'll see them focus on PS4 sooner to get the lead back. see how that works?
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1. Attack the individual if you cant beat the logic
"rfom excels at proving Darwin wrong"
2. Spin, spin and spin
" Sony makes a hell of a lot more money selling games to 100 million PS2 owners then trying to launch a new console."
???? Drunk? Sony sold MOST of those 100 million by 2005, and they didnt need to make GoW2 for PS2. They CHOSE to support the PS2 for 8 years, even after the PS3 launch. Whereas M$ CHOSE to discontinue support in just 4 year
"If the PS3 doesn't sell as much as PS2, and 360 'wins' this generation, you can BET the PS3 won't last 8 years. you'll see them focus on PS4 sooner to get the lead back. see how that works?"
Neither of us have a crystal ball. But:
FACT NO 1: Sony has publicly stated their commitment to PS3 for 10 years - M$ HAVE NOT.
FACT no. 2: Sony does not need a PS4 becuase they CHOSE to future proof the PS3, even at the cost of a delay, heavy loss and losing exclusives, by packing it with next gen tech (BR, larger hard disc, HDMI, wifi). Whereas M$ will NEED to bring out a 361, no matter how well 360 does, becuase 2-3 years later when game sizes increase and HDTVs are common, all those tech missing in 360 (which was rushed to market) will make it obselete.
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Simply retarded...
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as much money as sony makes selling consoles near the end of their life cycle, they make the vast majority of their money off GAMES, not hardware.
GoW2 is a GAME, going out to 100 million potential PS2 buyers instead of the fraction of that if it was a PS3 launch game. get it?
yeah rfom, i'm aware of all the things Sony have 'commited to'. are you? c'mon, regardless of the actual machine, Sony's statements have been the biggest laughing stock of the industry. of course they'll say that.
look, its in THE BEST INTEREST of a console maker to have their machine last AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. putting out a console is massively expensive, and if your machine is no.1 and people are still buying games for it, why would you rush it OFF the market?
microsoft saw they couldn't win with the xbox1 so they started over to try and take THIS generation. if microsoft gets its way, and the 360 wins this generation, they will do what they can to stretch it out as looooong as possible, just like Sony did with PS2.
c'mon stop reading the back of your PS3's box and think for yourself a little bit.
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you don't make money by INTRODUCING a console, you make money by selling millions of games to an ESTABLISHED console.
xbox couldn't get established, so they made they jump to 360 to try and establish the 360 instead.
Sony was still making phat money on PS2, and that's why they were in no rush to make PS3. remember how long PS1 lasted before PS2? *the older it is the more money they get*.
its pure business, not because they are dedicated to you.
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you don't make money by INTRODUCING a console, you make money by selling millions of games to an ESTABLISHED console.
xbox couldn't get established, so they made they jump to 360 to try and establish the 360 instead.
Sony was still making phat money on PS2, and that's why they were in no rush to make PS3. remember how long PS1 lasted before PS2? *the older it is the more money they get*.
its pure business, not because they are dedicated to you.
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