Iokepa

Just got the VSX-1019 AH-K a couple of weeks ago... not sure if it has ABT 1015 scaler, but the video upscaling is pretty damn good.

Verizon FiOS subscribers do not have to worry about "tiers". All of their HD channels are part of the lineup. The only thing that subscribers need to pay for is the monthly rental for the HD STB. Although FiOS subscribers only have 30+ HD channels (including local HD), they don't have to pay for Food Network HD, Universal HD, HDNET 1 & 2, NFL HD, etc. I think DirectTV should start looking to use that model instead. As soon as Verizon FiOS supposedly gets all 150 HD channels on thier network (sometime in 2008 and lots more availability (they really need to ramp up laying fiber), you might see a lot of people look at FiOS as a viable alternative.

Sorry guys, I wouldn't buy a PS3 even if Blu-Ray wins out in the format war. To me, Blu-ray is a moot point.
1. The Blu-Ray format isn't quite yet the winner in this HD format war.
2. Even if Blu-Ray is a winner in the HD format war, then the prices of stand-alone Blu-Ray players will most likely go down in price.
What we have here in this discussion are true "early adopters".
Normal people don't give into this hype machine... let's face it $500 is not the target price point for ordinary people to spend their hard-earned cash on a video game system. Price points and fun are what people are really looking at.
Sony's PS3 doesn't have the right price point, and isn't fun (they need more solid titles) enough for normal people to pick up.
Nintendo, however, meets this criteria. Nintendo decided to make a true gaming machine, without all this other crap (hardware specs, overblown multimedia capabilities) that Sony and Microsoft are touting.

20. Wii = $200 - $250

X360p = $399 (+ wifi ($100) + HD-DVD ($100) + 1 year Live ($70) + Card Reader ($40)+ HDMI (?) = $710

PS3 prem = $599 (wifi (incl) + HD player (incl) + online gaming (incl) + Card Reader (incl) + HDMI (incl) = $599
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Wii ($200) + X360p ($710) = $910

Wii ($200) + PS3p ($599) = $799

hmmm... with Sony's online service, you have to pay to play against other people. What's free is:

Communication/Community:

Voice/Video chat
Messaging
Lobby/Matchmaking
Score/Ranking
Friend list/Avatar
Game data upload/download
Commerce:

Shop (accessible from inside games)
Content Download
Micro Payment
Subscription
Entitlement (user access rights) management

Xbox 360, that you don't mention, has a FREE Silver Live membership that gives you the same benefits. So you can tack on the "Premium" Sony online service on (which, i might add, they did not mention a price point for this service)

HDMI, I think, is a moot point. HDMI is important to you if you have a TV that ONLY supports it.

The HD "Blu-Ray" Player is not a proven format. If it fails you are SCREWED.

Also, at least, if you ended up buying the XBOX 360 "tard" package, you can upgrade your machine and get everything that the premium package has. With the PS3 "tard" package, you won't be able to do that.

Sony has lost sight of what's important to gamers. The PS3 is nothing more than a bunch of technology thrown together. This system was not at all well thought-out in design and I don't really think Sony really tried in adding anything original to their next-gen system.

So stop trying to justify a PS3 purchase. You're a Sony fanboy, just go buy the damn thing. Or unless you are having second thoughts about your PS3?? Are you? C'mon... I know you are...

ha, that chick in the picture looks wierd holding the wee wee sticks like that.

How the hell could you base that on just Nintendo's name? I mean, ok, diss it because of the graphics, because that's something that affects gameplay... blah blah blah...

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Whoa there Nellie...err i mean Jessie!!! Keep yer flames down. I'm not making fun of Wee wee, just the fact that YOU WILL hear some giggles from people in the press confrence tomorrow. You can't tell me that not one person is going to make a smartass remark when the Nintendo guys say "WEE" over those large speakers. Anyway, I'm not going to own a console that rips off apple and names it's console after genitalia. And the price of a PSWee? I'd rather build a computer that may cost more, but at least I can do more with it than just play games. Hell, the PC world is where online communities originated from. Consoles are just trying to catch up and capture this market. *Sigh*

$500 - $600??? Geebus. Nope, not gonna buy it. Not worth it.

Hmmm is it me or is Nintendo and Sony really screwing up things for themselves? It kinda looks like M$ has the more attractive system right now... but we'll see... Nintendo and M$ still have their press confrences tomorrow. I can't help but imagine the giggles from the crowd everytime they say "Wee". And I have a feeling M$ might have another boring press confrence like last year. Screw this, I'm just going to build a PC.

Well, these other company names mentioned in the article are either real words or words associated with a company's established trademark.

Wii is nothing. It doesn't mean anything, it's not a real word, and it's not associated to any trademark. SO, that's where I see the problem with the guy's comparison to other "unusual" company names.

Albeit, the console name seems original, but I think Nintendo is trying too hard to be something it's not.
It's trying go this "Hip" / "Think different" approach. I think the logo and name is a rip-off of another brand. For example: look at the "Wii" font. It looks too much like iPod's font. And the incorporation of the letter "i". Another apple rip-off. Really, I think this is probably lame attempt to be hip.

A game console name is something that portrays or encapsulates a console's image. Playstation... XBOX... Gamecube. Wii?? nope. Sorry Nintendo. You goofed on this one. Now, let's see if they don't goof on their games, especially their 3rd party support.

Nintendo, your system needs to live up to your gaming reputation, and hopefully, not your new console name.