I don't think it's just the ESRB. The BBFC in Britain banned this game which is an extreme step as they're a pretty open and progressive (contrast with the MPAA). If they banned the game then its clearly not just politics since they have strict guidelines to follow.
I agree. It's almost as if they thought they could publish whatever they want. What could have possibly given them that idea?
Who knows? Since it isn't true that they can publish what they like at least for consoles. According to news reports Sony and Nintendo both have a strict policy of not certifying anything rated AO. Since Manhunt 2 is rated AO, Take Two are screwed. They should have known this when they were making the game.
They might be able to shove out a PC port since there is no policy for games there. But for consoles they're going to have to bring the game down to an 18 or it simply won't get published.
While I love Rockstar games as much as the next person, I don't see how they possibly thought they could get away with this game. It's almost as if they're are determined to go bust.
More the reason that I should be able to train UAC. I'm quite happy that Vista should adopt secure by default. I actually want UAC, but I'm not going to use it when it nags me constantly. I do not see why it should be all or nothing though for people who need to run legacy apps.
It's apps, not an app. Besides, if you claim that UAC shouldn't allow any user intervention, why even allow users to disable the feature? I disabled UAC because I find it's constant popups over a range of apps to be a nuisance. The fact is that it should be trainable just like firewalls. Windows Firewall allows the users to train the behaviour on a per-app basis, remembering to block or unblock the app depending on the user's decision. UAC could be strict by default, but for those of us who know what we're doing, an intermediate level IS necessary. Otherwise we'll simply turn it off altogether.
Microsoft retroactively applied a security policy and expects us to live with apps that don't meet their expectations. Reality is not like that. Either UAC is trainable or it should allow non-compliant apps to run in a "safe mode" (e.g. the app thinks its writing to the registry but it isn't). Either way, the user should be the ultimate arbiter.
Exactly WHAT is wrong with UAC triggering these things? UAC will *not*, I repeat *not* trigger in normal usage. If it DOES trigger with say your RSS reader, your app is needlessly asking for admin permissions. In short, your app sucks.
Except it does trigger in normal usage. Strange as it may seem, apps written in the past have no foreknowledge of that which one day Vista deems illegal. UAC should at least allow the user to train it with what apps should show warnings it should show and which it should not. As it doesn't it can be summed up as annoying and basically worse than useless.
MS Paint could support multiple documents at the same time, scaling (with proper filtering), PROPER import / export of graphics formats, zoom in / out with mouse wheel, photo editing tools such as red eye reduction, a proper colour picker, smooth / smudge / blur tools, clone tool, antialising on brushes & pens etc. Perversely the picture preview tool has some photo editing functionality but it should be in MS Paint or the two tools should be merged into one.
Notepad could support CRLF / LF / CR line endings with an option to fix them, syntax highlighting, smart indentation, record / play macro, tabbed editing, multiple levels of undo, tabs to spaces, spaces to tabs, bookmarks, collapsing sections, line numbering. Apps like Notepad++ demonstrate that there is a hell of lot that can be done with a simple text editor.
Calc could support graphing, formulas, history, macros / variables, convert between weights & measures, currency functions, undo. Microsoft have a "Power" calculator included in Powertoys for XP. Why haven't they picked it up to use here?
These apps have been virtually ignored for Vista. If Microsoft saw fit to completely rewrite Minesweeper and Hearts for Vista (as they did), there seems little excuse for ignoring these other apps.
SELinux is great when somebody else preconfigures it for you. It sucks if you want to need to configure it yourself.
Anyway, I don't understand why UAC is so hideous. If you could train it and it remembered then it might prove useful. The problem is that you can't. It asks the same stupid questions over and over again. It's not just related to legacy apps either - it will bug you without you ever leaving the desktop, e.g. when you go into the control panel.
I have an iPaq with a touch screen. You can write on it normally or via block letters (like a Palm Pilot) or tap in via an onscreen keyboard. It also has predictive text and spelling correction. I can say wholeheartedly what a pain in the arse it is to write on the screen for any substantial amount of time. I doubt there is anything that the iPhone could do to improve on this - it's bound to show a screen keyboard with text prediction too.
This is why I mentioned the perception of usability - it probably doesn't occur to some people what a pain screen entry can be until they use it for themselves. They probably see the big screen and automatically assume it's better when isn't necessarily so.
That is missing the point. GP is wrong, people don't buy the iPhone because of its beauty, but because of its usability.
They might buy it for the perception of usabilty, but I doubt it will be more usable in practice. A touch screen can be great for many things, but it sure as hell doesn't beat a thumb pad if you spend any time at all writing emails or texts.
Funnily enough MS sent me Vista for free for watching some technical videos. While I don't consider Vista an essential upgrade if you have XP, it is a very pleasant environment, stable and I don't think it deserves most of the badmouthing it is getting. That's not to say it's without annoyances - UAC is a piece of crap and was the first thing I disabled and it annoys me no end that MS Paint, Notepad and Calc NEVER get updated. But the desktop is excellent, as is the Aero Glass theme. I haven't had any significant application compatibility issues with UAC disabled, except for Developer Studio 2003 which I had to enable a UI compatibility mode to stop it hanging during a find in files operation. Other apps and games that I use have worked just fine.
I think people will buy the iPhone because of its beauty, and not functionality. There are a number of phones that come standard with the features loaded in the iPhone.
And arguably most of them are as "beautiful" in their own right and cost half as much under contract as the iPhone. It seems a little odd that anyone would want an iPhone when they could probably afford an 80Gb iPod from the change left over from buying another phone with similar specs.
While this is somewhat interesting, the problem is that it doesn't matter at all. Neither HD-DVD nor Blu-ray has managed to get any sort of decent penetration into the home market aside from enthusiasts. There are a couple of reasons for this.
You're forgetting the biggest reason - TIME. DVD didn't take off over night. It took several years for the cost of players to be remotely affordable or the range of titles to be attractive. My first DVD player was a modded Pioneer 717 which cost one and half the price of PS3 today. People don't realise how expensive DVD players were but these days you can buy a player for 1/20th the price.
I think the situation for Blu Ray is going pretty much the same way DVD did. The format is just emerging from early adopter land and going mainstream. Once that happens and players are affordable, there is precious little reason to buy DVD in preference to BD any more. Even if you have an SD set you might consider BD simply because it "future proofs" your experience. You may even see dual format flipper disks where one side is BD and the other is DVD. This is possible just like it is for HD DVD and it might prove popular with some studios.
The future ain't DVD, of any format. The future be network distributed content, no matter what the US film industry wants you to think.
For rentals you're probably correct. However I think it's a different matter for movies that people want to keep. I don't know about you but I wouldn't trust any proprietary distribution model implemented by Sony, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon or anybody else to keep my collection safe. It might be different if there were a single model and movie format for downloaded content, allowing the consumer to move their files around but there isn't.
It's not just two of everything since both formats have their own exclusive titles. It's also about profitability. If BD sales outstrip HD DVD two to one then it's likely that the same is true for rental. In other words a BD gets rented twice as much as the HD DVD. Given the finite amount of shelf space, it seems obvious which format a store like Blockbuster would choose.
Dual format players are never likely to become commonplace. The few that are for sale appear to be pitched at videophiles who want to hedge their bets. Once a winner emerges (some would say it already has), then the studios on the other side will immediately become platform neutral (i.e. give in), and re-release the content in the new format. So it seems rather pointless to buy a combo player unless you already have a significant investment of discs in the dead format.
Someone's getting paid off. With no clear winner in the format war, it doesn't make sense that they would want to stock both.
Define clear winner. Toshiba has been heavily subsidizing its players to make them sell, yet it's still had to slash its 2007 sales estimates almost in half. Sales of Blu Ray discs outstrip HD DVD almost two to one and the format has the support and backing of the majority of electronics companies and every major studio except one.
It's not a question of if HD DVD will fail but when. Now perhaps some cheap HD DVD players will charge over the hill and save the day, but I think it may be too late for that.
That doesn't mean Blu Ray has set the world alight - it's still transitioning from early adopter to mainstream. But it looks inevitable that in a few years the only things selling in your local store will be DVDs and BDs.
When Apple is ready to launch iPhone in Europe - it has previously said Q4 2007 - I have no doubt they'll be launching it, whether it's with one partner or multiple, or Apple makes some compromises to make a deal happen.
The problem for Apple is carrier or not, it costs the ludicrous $499 / $599 + contract of the AT&T deal. That is one expensive phone. EU carriers offer most of their contract handsets FOR FREE depending on the price plan you choose. Even if you pay some money because of your plan, you'd be hard pressed to find a phone that costs more than 300. It would be hard to justify an iPhone in any circumstances when you could buy an excellent top of the line from any other maker and any tariff and still have money left over for an 80Gb iPod. The iPhone is going to enjoy a life of sitting on warehouse shelves unless it becomes substantially cheaper.
It's easy. Use the theme engine and no matter how your widgets are implemented, they will render in the current theme and the correct metrics. XP and Vista have a single uxtheme.dll with documented functions that allow for this. For example Firefox and Java do not use native widgets yet they still render in the correct way - because they use the theme engine.
I used Safari for about 10 minutes, realised it was a pre-alpha mess and have no intention of using again. I expect if 1 million people did download it (which sounds like puffery), that many were like me. Perhaps if Apple pull their finger out and produce a Windows look & feel version I may give it another shot. Otherwise I don't see much draw.
Even though The Godfather is a bad game on all platforms and Trauma Center is better on the DS?
Seriously, every Wii game thinks it has to reinvent the control scheme even when it is gratuitous and tacked on. Gestures may work for simple actions that have a 1:1 mapping to real life. Gestures suck rocks for anything for anything more complex.
And yes the Wii is last gen. Having a gimmicky controller does not change that fact.
The PS3 needs exclusive games that are "good" or better. Darkness isn't exclusive, nor is Assassins Creed.
Not really. It needs a constant stream of titles, including hits, including downloadable content. I mentioned those games because they're coming out soon. The second half of this year is very full. Sony has plenty of exclusives lined up too for that period..
I don't know why people keep mentioning Singstar. Do you honestly think a karaoke/DDR game is going to convince anyone to buy a PS3? Even fans of those games aren't going to spend $600 (or even $500) just to get a single game.
They keep mentioning it because Singstar sells by the shitload. Perhaps not in the US, but the EU has dozens of versions of Singstar. It's very popular. Even the US might catch on once it goes online.
Warhawk is very confusing, as it was first a Blu-ray game, then was a online only deathmatch type game that you would download, for free even. Now it's supposedly both a BR AND download game?
I don't understand your confusion. Download or buy retail. Pick your model. Retail has a bluetooth headset included, download is probably cheaper and more immediate. Same game, same content. I believe XBL games are also available through bricks and mortar - same deal here. Warhawk is also garnering extremey favourable comments from people on Neogaf who are involved in the beta phase.
Furthermore, even if Sony did manage to lower the price this year (unlikely) and quadruple its sales, according to the latest data, that would put the PS3's sales at about 350k in the US.
That's my guess but I don't consider it unreasonable. I don't know why you think it unlikely that there will be a price drop. It's almost a sure thing considering noises made by Sony and everyone else recently.
This is lot better, and may even beat monthly 360 sales for once. Unfortunately, the 360 still has its 12 months head start, plus months of outselling the PS3. Also, any move that Sony makes will simply be matched by Microsoft who unlike Sony, is actually making a small profit off their hardware at the current time. On top of all this, the Wii is expected to continue its strong sales into 2008, meaning it will still be ahead of the PS3, and ever gaining on the 360.
The Wii does have strong sales, but the fact is that its no more powerful than an Xbox. It's last gen and nothing will change that. It doesn't have the legs to carry it more than a few years.
Finally, consider this, the 360 has Halo3 coming this fall, and that alone is expected to be a major incentive to buyers. The PS3 has nothing nearly as compelling on its schedule at this time. Yes, I know Lair! Heavenly Sword! But remember - those games aren't out yet. Many folks feel they got burned by the PS3's launch lineup which only managed to turn out 1 OK/good exclusive game. Even Genji, which was expected to be a major inticement for gamers, turned out to be fairly mediocre and worse still, buggy. I sincerely hope that Lair, Heavenly Sword and others live up to their hype, but past experience tells me that this is rarely the case. I'm sure they'll be good games, but not the WOW-GREAT! titles that the PS3 needs right now.
Halo 1 & 2 were great games and Halo 3 will probably be too. But it's not the only FPS in town. Arguably Halo has had its day even on the XBox when you have the likes of Gears, UT2007, HL2, R6: Vegas and doubtless others all this year alone. I also know that the PS3 has a very strong lineup of titles including 20 or so 1st / 2nd party titles and many of them are hotly anticipated titles.
The release schedule is cranking up significantly. Major games like The Darkness, Rainbow 6: Vegas, Ninja Gaiden Sigma are imminent, with Stranglehold, Lair, Warhawk, Singstar, Heavenly Sword, Assassins Creed appearing in the next 2 or 3 months. In total there are something like 70 or so titles appearing before the end of year many of which are exclusives.
I think if Sony knocked off $100 or $125 that combined with the busier release schedule they'd probably quadruple their sales.
What they need to figure out how to do is to cut the production cost for the system so it can be sold for a lower price which will encourage sales. Once more units are sold, there'll be more incentive for developers to develop games. As for cutting production costs, I've not a clue how they'd go about it.
I believe they're already doing that. Some people think that the PS3 costs what iSuppli said 9 months ago. This is clearly cannot be the case by a long shot. Sony are selling blue laser diodes (for example) for $7-8 wholesale. Whatever issues existed back then do not exist any more. It seems likely that an entire BD player isn't going to cost anywhere near the $125 iSuppli had down and probably $50 or less seems more plausible with the price dropping further. Same for components like RSX & Cell where if the yield goes up, the price can drop significantly. Further cuts can be made by dropping the PS2 hardware for emulation (as seen in the PAL PS3). And they're going to 65nm which could increase yields further and open up other savings (e.g. smaller PSU, heatsink and maybe even a smaller form factor).
It wouldn't surprise me if they're at or past break even. That said I have no idea when they'll drop the price and take some red to get more sales. My naive guess would be the end of 3rd quarter in time for Christmas, with a fairly decent catalogue of games to support it. If they can knock $100 or $150 off the price they will see a lot more sales. Though I expect that Microsoft will respond with their own price drop if it happens.
I don't think that $600 is actually bad value considering what the system can do, but it does look expensive compared to other consoles.
Apple is not forced to sell through a carrier. All they need to is produce a GSM enabled phone with a SIM slot and they can sell these things through their store like any other device. Let the consumer choose their own carrier.
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I don't think it's just the ESRB. The BBFC in Britain banned this game which is an extreme step as they're a pretty open and progressive (contrast with the MPAA). If they banned the game then its clearly not just politics since they have strict guidelines to follow.
Who knows? Since it isn't true that they can publish what they like at least for consoles. According to news reports Sony and Nintendo both have a strict policy of not certifying anything rated AO. Since Manhunt 2 is rated AO, Take Two are screwed. They should have known this when they were making the game.
They might be able to shove out a PC port since there is no policy for games there. But for consoles they're going to have to bring the game down to an 18 or it simply won't get published.
While I love Rockstar games as much as the next person, I don't see how they possibly thought they could get away with this game. It's almost as if they're are determined to go bust.
More the reason that I should be able to train UAC. I'm quite happy that Vista should adopt secure by default. I actually want UAC, but I'm not going to use it when it nags me constantly. I do not see why it should be all or nothing though for people who need to run legacy apps.
Microsoft retroactively applied a security policy and expects us to live with apps that don't meet their expectations. Reality is not like that. Either UAC is trainable or it should allow non-compliant apps to run in a "safe mode" (e.g. the app thinks its writing to the registry but it isn't). Either way, the user should be the ultimate arbiter.
Except it does trigger in normal usage. Strange as it may seem, apps written in the past have no foreknowledge of that which one day Vista deems illegal. UAC should at least allow the user to train it with what apps should show warnings it should show and which it should not. As it doesn't it can be summed up as annoying and basically worse than useless.
These apps have been virtually ignored for Vista. If Microsoft saw fit to completely rewrite Minesweeper and Hearts for Vista (as they did), there seems little excuse for ignoring these other apps.
Anyway, I don't understand why UAC is so hideous. If you could train it and it remembered then it might prove useful. The problem is that you can't. It asks the same stupid questions over and over again. It's not just related to legacy apps either - it will bug you without you ever leaving the desktop, e.g. when you go into the control panel.
This is why I mentioned the perception of usability - it probably doesn't occur to some people what a pain screen entry can be until they use it for themselves. They probably see the big screen and automatically assume it's better when isn't necessarily so.
They might buy it for the perception of usabilty, but I doubt it will be more usable in practice. A touch screen can be great for many things, but it sure as hell doesn't beat a thumb pad if you spend any time at all writing emails or texts.
Funnily enough MS sent me Vista for free for watching some technical videos. While I don't consider Vista an essential upgrade if you have XP, it is a very pleasant environment, stable and I don't think it deserves most of the badmouthing it is getting. That's not to say it's without annoyances - UAC is a piece of crap and was the first thing I disabled and it annoys me no end that MS Paint, Notepad and Calc NEVER get updated. But the desktop is excellent, as is the Aero Glass theme. I haven't had any significant application compatibility issues with UAC disabled, except for Developer Studio 2003 which I had to enable a UI compatibility mode to stop it hanging during a find in files operation. Other apps and games that I use have worked just fine.
And arguably most of them are as "beautiful" in their own right and cost half as much under contract as the iPhone. It seems a little odd that anyone would want an iPhone when they could probably afford an 80Gb iPod from the change left over from buying another phone with similar specs.
You're forgetting the biggest reason - TIME. DVD didn't take off over night. It took several years for the cost of players to be remotely affordable or the range of titles to be attractive. My first DVD player was a modded Pioneer 717 which cost one and half the price of PS3 today. People don't realise how expensive DVD players were but these days you can buy a player for 1/20th the price.
I think the situation for Blu Ray is going pretty much the same way DVD did. The format is just emerging from early adopter land and going mainstream. Once that happens and players are affordable, there is precious little reason to buy DVD in preference to BD any more. Even if you have an SD set you might consider BD simply because it "future proofs" your experience. You may even see dual format flipper disks where one side is BD and the other is DVD. This is possible just like it is for HD DVD and it might prove popular with some studios.
For rentals you're probably correct. However I think it's a different matter for movies that people want to keep. I don't know about you but I wouldn't trust any proprietary distribution model implemented by Sony, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon or anybody else to keep my collection safe. It might be different if there were a single model and movie format for downloaded content, allowing the consumer to move their files around but there isn't.
It's not just two of everything since both formats have their own exclusive titles. It's also about profitability. If BD sales outstrip HD DVD two to one then it's likely that the same is true for rental. In other words a BD gets rented twice as much as the HD DVD. Given the finite amount of shelf space, it seems obvious which format a store like Blockbuster would choose.
Dual format players are never likely to become commonplace. The few that are for sale appear to be pitched at videophiles who want to hedge their bets. Once a winner emerges (some would say it already has), then the studios on the other side will immediately become platform neutral (i.e. give in), and re-release the content in the new format. So it seems rather pointless to buy a combo player unless you already have a significant investment of discs in the dead format.
Define clear winner. Toshiba has been heavily subsidizing its players to make them sell, yet it's still had to slash its 2007 sales estimates almost in half. Sales of Blu Ray discs outstrip HD DVD almost two to one and the format has the support and backing of the majority of electronics companies and every major studio except one.
It's not a question of if HD DVD will fail but when. Now perhaps some cheap HD DVD players will charge over the hill and save the day, but I think it may be too late for that.
That doesn't mean Blu Ray has set the world alight - it's still transitioning from early adopter to mainstream. But it looks inevitable that in a few years the only things selling in your local store will be DVDs and BDs.
The problem for Apple is carrier or not, it costs the ludicrous $499 / $599 + contract of the AT&T deal. That is one expensive phone. EU carriers offer most of their contract handsets FOR FREE depending on the price plan you choose. Even if you pay some money because of your plan, you'd be hard pressed to find a phone that costs more than 300. It would be hard to justify an iPhone in any circumstances when you could buy an excellent top of the line from any other maker and any tariff and still have money left over for an 80Gb iPod. The iPhone is going to enjoy a life of sitting on warehouse shelves unless it becomes substantially cheaper.
It's easy. Use the theme engine and no matter how your widgets are implemented, they will render in the current theme and the correct metrics. XP and Vista have a single uxtheme.dll with documented functions that allow for this. For example Firefox and Java do not use native widgets yet they still render in the correct way - because they use the theme engine.
I used Safari for about 10 minutes, realised it was a pre-alpha mess and have no intention of using again. I expect if 1 million people did download it (which sounds like puffery), that many were like me. Perhaps if Apple pull their finger out and produce a Windows look & feel version I may give it another shot. Otherwise I don't see much draw.
Seriously, every Wii game thinks it has to reinvent the control scheme even when it is gratuitous and tacked on. Gestures may work for simple actions that have a 1:1 mapping to real life. Gestures suck rocks for anything for anything more complex.
And yes the Wii is last gen. Having a gimmicky controller does not change that fact.
Not really. It needs a constant stream of titles, including hits, including downloadable content. I mentioned those games because they're coming out soon. The second half of this year is very full. Sony has plenty of exclusives lined up too for that period..
I don't know why people keep mentioning Singstar. Do you honestly think a karaoke/DDR game is going to convince anyone to buy a PS3? Even fans of those games aren't going to spend $600 (or even $500) just to get a single game.
They keep mentioning it because Singstar sells by the shitload. Perhaps not in the US, but the EU has dozens of versions of Singstar. It's very popular. Even the US might catch on once it goes online.
Warhawk is very confusing, as it was first a Blu-ray game, then was a online only deathmatch type game that you would download, for free even. Now it's supposedly both a BR AND download game?
I don't understand your confusion. Download or buy retail. Pick your model. Retail has a bluetooth headset included, download is probably cheaper and more immediate. Same game, same content. I believe XBL games are also available through bricks and mortar - same deal here. Warhawk is also garnering extremey favourable comments from people on Neogaf who are involved in the beta phase.
Furthermore, even if Sony did manage to lower the price this year (unlikely) and quadruple its sales, according to the latest data, that would put the PS3's sales at about 350k in the US.
That's my guess but I don't consider it unreasonable. I don't know why you think it unlikely that there will be a price drop. It's almost a sure thing considering noises made by Sony and everyone else recently.
This is lot better, and may even beat monthly 360 sales for once. Unfortunately, the 360 still has its 12 months head start, plus months of outselling the PS3. Also, any move that Sony makes will simply be matched by Microsoft who unlike Sony, is actually making a small profit off their hardware at the current time. On top of all this, the Wii is expected to continue its strong sales into 2008, meaning it will still be ahead of the PS3, and ever gaining on the 360.
The Wii does have strong sales, but the fact is that its no more powerful than an Xbox. It's last gen and nothing will change that. It doesn't have the legs to carry it more than a few years.
Finally, consider this, the 360 has Halo3 coming this fall, and that alone is expected to be a major incentive to buyers. The PS3 has nothing nearly as compelling on its schedule at this time. Yes, I know Lair! Heavenly Sword! But remember - those games aren't out yet. Many folks feel they got burned by the PS3's launch lineup which only managed to turn out 1 OK/good exclusive game. Even Genji, which was expected to be a major inticement for gamers, turned out to be fairly mediocre and worse still, buggy. I sincerely hope that Lair, Heavenly Sword and others live up to their hype, but past experience tells me that this is rarely the case. I'm sure they'll be good games, but not the WOW-GREAT! titles that the PS3 needs right now.
Halo 1 & 2 were great games and Halo 3 will probably be too. But it's not the only FPS in town. Arguably Halo has had its day even on the XBox when you have the likes of Gears, UT2007, HL2, R6: Vegas and doubtless others all this year alone. I also know that the PS3 has a very strong lineup of titles including 20 or so 1st / 2nd party titles and many of them are hotly anticipated titles.
I think if Sony knocked off $100 or $125 that combined with the busier release schedule they'd probably quadruple their sales.
I believe they're already doing that. Some people think that the PS3 costs what iSuppli said 9 months ago. This is clearly cannot be the case by a long shot. Sony are selling blue laser diodes (for example) for $7-8 wholesale. Whatever issues existed back then do not exist any more. It seems likely that an entire BD player isn't going to cost anywhere near the $125 iSuppli had down and probably $50 or less seems more plausible with the price dropping further. Same for components like RSX & Cell where if the yield goes up, the price can drop significantly. Further cuts can be made by dropping the PS2 hardware for emulation (as seen in the PAL PS3). And they're going to 65nm which could increase yields further and open up other savings (e.g. smaller PSU, heatsink and maybe even a smaller form factor).
It wouldn't surprise me if they're at or past break even. That said I have no idea when they'll drop the price and take some red to get more sales. My naive guess would be the end of 3rd quarter in time for Christmas, with a fairly decent catalogue of games to support it. If they can knock $100 or $150 off the price they will see a lot more sales. Though I expect that Microsoft will respond with their own price drop if it happens.
I don't think that $600 is actually bad value considering what the system can do, but it does look expensive compared to other consoles.
Apple is not forced to sell through a carrier. All they need to is produce a GSM enabled phone with a SIM slot and they can sell these things through their store like any other device. Let the consumer choose their own carrier.