Genosyde

In order for the publishers' point to be valid, there must be a big customer base who wants to buy a PS3 but cannot afford one but at the same time is not interested in a 360. IMO the number of people in this category is insignificant. Sony fans would have bought a PS3 already and those on a budget would have bought a 360.

A lower price for the PS3 would attract 360 owners who want to a PS3 to play exclusives just like there were probably a lot of PS3 owners who bought a 360 when the price dropped. However, I don't see how this helps the publishers as they will be selling to the same crowd.

I have a few wishes and solutions to some of the more popular requests.

Appear offline - save the setting but have the dashboard prompt the user if they wish to remain hidden so that you don't begin to wonder why your friends are no longer inviting you to games if you forget to switch it off or accidentally switch it on.

I'll like a web browser as well. Why? There are so many times I'm chatting with friends on MSN Messenger and they send me a URL and I have to tell them I can't check the link out as I'm on the 360.

For XBLA games, how about locking the games to the hard drive or memory card instead? Sure, you will lose it all if the hard drive dies but comparing the mortality rate of hard drives vs the xbox, I'll go with the hard drive.

I would like support for movie/demo playback stored on external drives. This is one simple way for MS to counter the user changeable drive on the PS3. This way I don't have to make hard decisions on what to remove from my measly 20GB drive and I don't want to spend on a new drive. Just keep the 20GB for XBLA and save games.

MS can never make a product that never crashes. They should learn about quality from apple and sony.

All manufacturers have their fair share of problems but the problems plaguing the 360 is way higher than industrial norms but to place Sony is an example for good quality is laughable as they have many goof-ups including the potentially dangerous exploding notebook batteries.

"They could do what the Japanese do (Actually in Japan, the only RROD claims have been on imports. All Japanese 360s use IceLink technology to keep it cool not to mention they have carbon fiber x-clamps instead of the plastic ones used here."

I wish that was true. I had two Japanese Xbox 360s died on me. The second one just a week ago. Both lasted less than 6 months. I don't live in Japan and the Xbox is not officially supported where I live so it really sucks when it breaks down. I've sent my 2nd unit to have the xclamp replaced. Hopefully it can be successfully repaired.

Those who have not experienced any problems with their units, thank your lucky stars.

"what other system do you know allowed you to run backup games without a mod chip?"

All the cart based systems? I don't think piracy was a factor. Trust me, pirated PS1/PS2 games were much easier to find than pirated DC games where I come from.

Based on the merit of the console itself, the Dreamcast could have succeeded but not many people even gave it a chance. Yes, Sega made some bad choices earlier on but all I'm saying is that the Dreamcast is a great console and probably would have succeeded IF Sega had been as financially sound as Sony or MS.

The Dreamcast failed primarily because it got crushed by the juggernaut that was the Great Sony Marketing Hype Machine. Lets look at the situation objectively. The Dreamcast was cheaper, had comparable or better looking graphics (remember the PS2 jaggies?) and was easier to program. Unfortunately Sega was badly wounded by the failure of Saturn and just did not have the resources to go up against Sony over a long period.

Sony has a formidable opponent in Microsoft, a company with almost bottomless pockets and can take more than a few hits without kneeling over. Even if the Xbox360 does not win this round, I think it has done well enough to ensure that we will see the next iteration of the Xbox.

Nintendo has made the right decision with the Gc and Wii. Like Sega, Nintendo probably doesn't have the kind of resouces to slug it out with the other two giants. They did the smart thing and concentrated on a niche market and yet remain profitable. Microsoft may have taken over as No2 with the Xbox but they lost billions getting there.

I'm a Malaysian and I'll check it out the next time I'm at MidValley. However, from examining the picture, I'm quite sure it is real. If you look at the tiny writings under the LOT 18 words on the upper right, you can make out the words "DIMILIKI OLEH ENGADGET DIGITAL MOBILITY SDN BHD" which translate to "OWNED BY ENGADGET DIGITAL MOBILITY LTD". It is common to have the actual name that the company is registered under to be listed on the signboard. While a prankster might take the trouble to fake the main sign correctly, it's unlikely he/she faked the tiny words as well.

With the help of perspective and photoshop, I was able to "move" the DS closer to the Revolution/GO mockup to give a better perspective of its size. I'm assuming that the DS in the original photo was placed at the edge of the display top.

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=117039312&size=o