The Elite's Sour Side

Now that the news about Microsoft's Elite has had a chance to set in, there are a few objections being raised by commentators. That 120 gig hard drive (the really expensive one) is going to come pre-loaded with content; all well and good, but the content transfer cable and software is a bit odd. Additionally, there are serious objections being raised over the frustrations of early adopters. Despite the easy dismissal out of hand heard on Major Nelson's Wednesday podcast, it's not as easy for early 360 buyers to roll with the changes. "Current Xbox 360 owners, who can purchase a separate 120-gigabyte hard drive at a cost of $179, appear to be getting a raw deal. Not only are these early adopters stuck with an older model of the console that offers less in the way of high-definition support, but factor in the cost of a current premium Xbox 360 ($399) and the price of the larger hard drive and the figure is close to $600 dollars, far exceeding the Elite's retail price, due to be $479."

Comments

Early Adopters?

[Conception]

So, the system has been out for like 1.5 years... The "Early Adopter" phase has come and gone. I picked one up last April and I wasn't an early adopter -then-. People are just being whiny.

The Beginning of the End?

[rGauntlet]

This is what i've been afraid of for the last several years.

Several Years ago, the main reasoning behind buying/owning a console (aside from exclusives) was that consoles are universally consistent, so you don't have to mess with drivers, memory, or any other variance. A Playstation is a Playstation, and if it works on one playstation it should work on all playstations.

As consoles become more "computer-like", and with Microsoft already in their planned obsolence mindset of Windows, they're invalidating this entire argument by releasing significant "upgrades" to their existing platforms. While it seems innocent enough, how long will it be before a game comes out that requires the 120G drive? How long before they start releasing memory upgrades, HDMI upgrades (which they're already talking about), and more? Each time they're creating something new and eventually people will have to upgrade just to stay current, just like with current PC's.

The way I see it, It could go either way:
1) The upgrades become increasingly difficult to ignore (mandatory for new games) requiring people to upgrade, making more $$ for Microsoft (who hopefully is learning that OS design isn't all that profitable anymore) and they slowly convert the XBox into a "Family PC".
2) The upgrades start to drive away consumers as they find their console "too old" to play the latest Halo, and simply walk away.

Re:The Beginning of the End?

[sqlrob]

For me, it's #2.

I'm still in the last generation, and each passing misstep makes it more and more unlikely that I'll bother with *any* of the next generation.

Lessons Learned

[Applekid]

Here's what consumers need to learn:
* Products get updated all the time.
The benefits of "buy now" versus "buy later" is the time between now and later in which you will own and enjoy your product. I remember buying Final Fantasy X for $55 and then seeing it in the Greatest Hits bin for $15 a year or two later. If you cry about it and the companies want to make you feel better, they won't do it by releasing something at a medium price like $35 forever, they'll do it by releasing it at the full $55 and never dropping MSRP. (At least those who got the 'tard pack can upgrade to a hard drive for the next difference in the price difference of Core versus Elite. It's not GREAT, but it's not a slap in the face, either.)

* What's top dog now won't be top dog later.
PC gamers have already figured this out. The fact that there are even "generations" of gaming consoles should have taught you this applies in the console world as well.

Here's what console companies need to learn:
* Newer, more premium products need to push existing prices down.
While it makes better sense for your bottom line, your base gets green with envy instead of less green by giving you money. Nintendo figured this one out already.

* Think about upgrade capacity.
Wouldn't it have been neat, instead, if you could take your existing 360 hard drive and piggy-back it to the new hard drive (like a daughterboard) and the drives would automatically move your contents and digital signatures to the new one and restore your old one to factory fresh? When I bought a new cell phone I set my old one to send all my contacts via infra red and set my new one to receive and it was quite nice to get it all done without a whole lot of pain. Nintendo tripped up on this with the WiFi being matched from the DS game to your DS's MAC / serial number, but they got it together on the Wii by using a standard and portable SD card for data transfer.

That said, with the said problems, if the Elite 360 is targeted for holdouts who don't already have a 360, it fails. I don't have a 360 but I've been waiting for lower noise/power consumption 65nm, HD-DVD, bigger HD, and HDMI and Elite represents only 1/2 of that. Oh, plus BLACK. Wee. Here's hoping for a Super Elite come Christmas for $399. ;)

Re:Early adaptor syndrome

[Puff of Logic]

I for one would be pissed if I had a 360 and heard about this. I bought the DS right when it came out, and I've felt like an idiot since the DS lite came out. I think as part of the technology/gamer crowd, this is a risk that all of us take. We understand buying a product shortly after release will almost inevitably result in us seeing a faster, slimmer, or cheaper version within a year or so of our purchase. It's the price of having the toy sooner than anyone else. Interestingly, some people take perverse pride in dealing with the inevitable bugs, revisions, and other issues so common to newly released products. It's like techno-masochism.

Of course, the solution is simple: wait a while before buying. Buying a PS2 is a fantastic deal right now, with a cheap price, huge game library, and a console that's mature. Of course, you won't have the new shiny, but you also won't have to worry about a better PS2 coming out. Similarly, the DS Lite is a good buy, and for the same reasons. I bought a Wii, knowing full well that it's right at the beginning of its life and may well be superceded by an more innovative, powerful, or more accurately controlled model within a couple of years. But hell, I'm playing SSX Blur now on it, so I'm okay with that.

What's the big deal?

[Perseid]

I have over 2TB of hard drive space on my PC and I am running low on free space, yet the 20GB hard drive on my 360 is more than I will ever need. I download game demos. I picked up the free South Park episode. And I still have 17GB free. 120GB on a 360? Come on. What are you gonna do with that? That's more than the average schmo has on their entire PC.

Elite HDMI version?

[SuperKendall]

Does the Elite HDMI connection support the HDMI 1.3 spec (wider bit depth for displays)?

The reason why there is a backlash

[Rosebud128]

Yamauchi (paraphrasing) has said, "What many companies do not understand about the video game business is that the software is the product, not the hardware. People buy the hardware only to get to the software." This solves the mystery as to why people moan and complain of new hardware (or buying more expensive hardware) but they were not complaining at all buying $70 games in the 16-bit generation. The amount of money spent on software totally eclipses what is spent on hardware with multiple $50 (and now $60) products. Just buying four games puts you to $200!

The image of the games industry is that the consoles are the main product with software revolving around it. Rather, it is the other way around. It is no coincidence that people always complain about the hardware (since it drains entertainment dollars they would rather pay for games).

Look at the pattern of outcry:

-PS3 announced at $599
-Multiple versions of Nintendo handhelds.
-GBA dongle thing to listen to headphones.
-Purchasing link cables and additional GBAs to play 'linked' Gamecube games.
-Xbox 360 failure rates
-Purchasing all the Wii controllers (and there are many!).
-16-bit (and earlier) gamers complaining how today's consoles don't come with a bundled game like they used to.

No one likes spending entertainment dollars on hardware (since you cannot play the hardware). Judging from sales results, no one is buying a PS3 or Xbox 360 based on its non-game functions of the hardware. The hardware sales revolve around the software sales instead of the other way around. Video games are about the software experience, not the hardware experience.

Anyone remember the very popular IBM mainframe called the 360? It was released in multiple versions and was structured that someone would buy a cheaper version and upgrade if their needs warranted it. This appears to be exactly what Microsoft intends. But why on Earth is Microsoft following the IBM mainframe model for their living room top box?

(Also, when the Wii launched everyone said it would have multiple versions especially a HD capable Wii in the near future. Yet, ironically, the consoles coming out with multiple versions are the Xbox 360 and the PS3 [who is rumored to have its own elite model coming soon as well].)

Re:Nothing says you 3 your customers

[nschubach]

That's why people buy consoles instead of computers. These things are supposed to be a constant. Microsoft more than Sony or Nintendo (but Sony has it's multi-SKUs as well) are trying to warp the console business into an evolving world like PC gaming. The reason console games are as bug free (mostly) is that they are in a controlled environment. They don't have to worry about branch code for different hardware. Evolving your console is possibly the worst thing you could do. Developers than have to determine the correct system and plan for it. Even a difference like the Core/Premium XBox360 and one version not having a hard drive is a BIG mistake in terms of consoles. Twenty vs. Sixty Gig drives doesn't really matter all that much. You likely not going to use all that space, but you don't have to check if the hard drive exists and run different caching code.