There was a firmware update about a year ago that fixed the load fan and drive noise issue when playing movies.
If you don't have proper ventilation for the x360 it will scream like a banshee after just a few minutes. A friend of mine stores his in an enclosed entertainment unit and it is extremely load.
In terms of a value D&D is still pretty cheap, even if they come out with new version every 4 years. I know I got lots of hours out of my old books and I look forward to what they are doing with the new edition.
I disagree, the graphics of Halo 3 use brilliant colors instead of the usual dull green / brown monotone games out there. Judge for yourself:
http://blogs.ign.com/ShishouMatt/2007/08/07/62622/
It is clear that when the colors on Halo 3 are desaturated the graphics look much better.
MISSION UPDATE -- JUNE 2007
GP-B SUCCEEDED IN COLLECTING THE DATA TO TEST EINSTEIN'S PREDICTIONS ABOUT GRAVITY
Over four decades of planning, inventing, designing, developing, testing, training and rehearsing paid off handsomely for GP-B. The 17.3-month flight mission succeeded in collecting all the data needed to carry out this unprecedented, direct experimental test of Einstein's general theory of relativity--his theory of gravity.
"Main board scans from the more recent Elite consoles have shown a reinforced main board surrounding the processors, and this change is likely also reflected in newly produced units as well."
In addition the elite also has epoxy to help reduce flexing of the GPU in relation to the mainboard. http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/news/inside_the_xbox _360_elite.htm So far I have not heard about reliability issues with the elite, as far as I know they have been addressed. It would be nice if you could cite a source indicating a high failure rate on the elite, in particular a high rate of 3RLoD failure.
It doesn't matter if the PS3 does 20 different things that the x360 doesn't, people just want to play games. For this job a x360 and/or a wii is a better value.
PS. MGS4 on 360 - Please, oh, please keep believing the desperate Xbox fanboy rumors! Nothing more precious than crushed fanboy dreams.
Stupid xbots, next thing you know they will think that the xbox 360 will be getting PS3 exclusives like GTA, Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry, Ridge Racer, Virtue Fighter, Fatal Inertia, Bladestorm, Armored Core, Ace Combat, Katamari Damacy and Mercenaries.
Wouldn't that mean asking Microsoft to drop the 360 as well? The PS3 has been outselling the 360 every day since Amazon finally had them in stock a few weeks ago (scroll down to "Sales rank of the primary Systems"). And yes, the Wii is still trouncing them both.
Number of games/accessories that can ship today
Current leader: Xbox 360
Salesrank of top 10 products
Current leader: Wii
Sales rank of the primary systems:
Current leader: Wii
# in top 100
Current leader: Xbox 360
# in top 1000:
Current leader: Xbox 360
So I see xbox, wii, wii, xbox, xbox; the PS3 isn't winning single category.
Actually it isn't known yet if there have been any process changes in the elite edition. While an MS marketing rep has made comments about the inclusion of a process shrink the wording used was vague and non-definative.
Splinter Cell on the Xbox 360 is 6.15 GB, two additional maps and one extra playable character does not consume over 2 gigabytes. In addition Ubi has made no mention of there being a size constraint on the Xbox 360 as the reason for the additional content on the PS3.
It is stupid to use a single drive from playing both movies and games because the lasers are only rated for 10,000 hours. This means just like the PS2's that are used as a DVD player and Game player they die after 3 years because of laser failures.
Since you are using the MSRP prices and not what the real prices on the street are then you need to include the official Sony HDMI cable which is 60 dollars.
Since you mention xbox live, you will also need a bluetooth headset, which the cheapest one Sony sells is 60 dollars MSRP.
Then you need to compute the amount of extra power the PS3 uses over the x360, since that is an additional cost.
You also neglected to mention that you get bundled games with most systems sold that the 400 dollar price point. This would add an addition 60 dollars. Also Hexic HD comes free with the xbox 360.
HDMI Cable = $60
Headset = $60
Games = $60
Power x 4 years = $80
Also how much for the PS3 unified friends list available in all games and seemless integration of countless other online features? Does the PS3 have a hardware certification program to ensure that all components automatically work properly online? These things cost money, something that your membership pays for.
In understand that this is slashdot, and therefore RTFA isn't required, so here is the relevent section from the link:
"(3) A general service incandescent lamp does not include an
appliance lamp, black light lamp, bug lamp, colored lamp, enhanced
spectrum lamp, infrared lamp, left-hand tread lamp, marine lamp,
marine signal service lamp, mine service lamp, plant light, reflector
lamp, rough service lamp, shatter resistant lamp, sign service lamp,
silver bowl lamp, showcase lamp, three-way lamp, traffic signal
lamp, or vibration service or vibration resistant lamp."
It would be difficult putting a compact fluorescent in an oven and have it work normally after using the oven.
There is backstory in the game manual that explains what his dad did, and why Fenix was in prison. Personally I enjoyed the ingame dialog, it is very entertaining. It would have been nice to have the whole context of the story introduced using the ingame engine, although I think that epic wanted bits left out to start community development much the way Halo did.
I think that the next release of Gears will have much more story and context.
I was shopping just yesterday and there was a good supply of PS3s in every store that I went to that sold them. I didn't see any wiis however, some stores were sold out of x360's.
Elfenland is the best family game that has a low amount of luck that game strategy is easily understood by younger players. Hare & Tortoise has a nice self balancing mechanism that gives an advantage to people in last place, it is an easy game to play with very few luck elements.
Keep in mind that there are 3 elements to every board game: Luck, strategy and interpersonal interaction. For example Monopoly is primarily based on luck, then secondly based on interaction then finally has a small amount of strategy.
Settlers of Catan is a good game to start with as well because most gaming stores in North America stock it, however this is just one good game out of hundreds of newer ones that have been developed.
Other good games that families can enjoy that have a greater level of strategy include:
- Ticket to Ride: Märklin (Don't get Ticket to Ride regular edition)
- Puerto Rico
Other good candidates depending on the age level you are playing with:
- Carcassone (Cheap game)
If you like fake money then my personal favorite is Power Grid, the game rules are simple for the players to understand but you need one competent person to manage the game because there are lots of maintenance procedures to handle.
I have a few hundred games, typically you can go wrong purchasing any game that has won the Spiel Des Jahres, you can find this list off of the funagain website. Any game published by Rio Grand is also usually very good and has good rules and game quality.
Games re-released by Hasbro under Wizard of the Coast I would avoid if possible, for example the new Cosmic Encounter was utterly destroyed because of the dumbing down of the game; if you can get an older edition it is much more fun. I also own Aquire which is a pretty mindless game that has too much money handling, I find it rather bland and boring.
It is interesting, until you realize that Xbox Live is a global system and that means many different currencies from different countries. This creates a large number of problems as currency exchange rates are constantly fluctuating. The provider needs to adjust game prices for each region depending on the currency, or your balance changes.
If you fix the game prices and balance to a single currency and do not change them, then you have people using multiple regional accounts to shop around for arcade games depending on the currencies value. This must be allowed because there are people that move their console from country to country, thus they must be allowed to legally purchase content in that region when they are physically located there.
UBI has been pumping out the games faster than they ever have before, as a result the game quality is lower. The graphics on splinter cell series use to be the best available, but now they look average.
GRAW is a great game with excellent co-op modes. I have heard good and bad things about Rainbow 6, from what I understand the co-op modes are very good but the multiplayer and single player modes are not excellent. I have played the demo and the game is okay, but not outstanding.
Gears of War is my personal favorite, the multiplayer is outstanding.
Verses the combined military might of Russia, China, France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy to name a few. Bring your head out of the clouds! In a conventional military engagement with the rest of the world the US would literally be slaughtered.
If the trailer's graphics are not representative of the graphics then upgrade your display to HD. You need to use the component cables, switch the setting on the cable from Standard Def to High Def, then go into the console and choose a HD resolution like 720p or 1080p.
I have no idea why you don't think the combat system is elegant or clever, it is definately both of those.
It isn't clear when you use grades, which are region specific, on consoles that are international.
For exampe a D where I am from indicates a fail, where as I think at D in the US is a pass.
Once again I would like to point out that North America is not the same thing as the United States of America. The North American allotment is 400k; North American has additional countries in it like Canada for example.
400k is not the US allotment; Canada is not part of the US yet. The US allotment will likely be about 360k, with 400k units allocated to North America.
Slashdot Mirror
There was a firmware update about a year ago that fixed the load fan and drive noise issue when playing movies.
If you don't have proper ventilation for the x360 it will scream like a banshee after just a few minutes. A friend of mine stores his in an enclosed entertainment unit and it is extremely load.
In terms of a value D&D is still pretty cheap, even if they come out with new version every 4 years. I know I got lots of hours out of my old books and I look forward to what they are doing with the new edition.
I disagree, the graphics of Halo 3 use brilliant colors instead of the usual dull green / brown monotone games out there. Judge for yourself: http://blogs.ign.com/ShishouMatt/2007/08/07/62622/ It is clear that when the colors on Halo 3 are desaturated the graphics look much better.
http://einstein.stanford.edu/
MISSION UPDATE -- JUNE 2007
GP-B SUCCEEDED IN COLLECTING THE DATA TO TEST EINSTEIN'S PREDICTIONS ABOUT GRAVITY
Over four decades of planning, inventing, designing, developing, testing, training and rehearsing paid off handsomely for GP-B. The 17.3-month flight mission succeeded in collecting all the data needed to carry out this unprecedented, direct experimental test of Einstein's general theory of relativity--his theory of gravity.
"Main board scans from the more recent Elite consoles have shown a reinforced main board surrounding the processors, and this change is likely also reflected in newly produced units as well."
In addition the elite also has epoxy to help reduce flexing of the GPU in relation to the mainboard. http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/news/inside_the_xbox _360_elite.htm So far I have not heard about reliability issues with the elite, as far as I know they have been addressed. It would be nice if you could cite a source indicating a high failure rate on the elite, in particular a high rate of 3RLoD failure.
It doesn't matter if the PS3 does 20 different things that the x360 doesn't, people just want to play games. For this job a x360 and/or a wii is a better value.
You don't need Window Media Center, you can use Windows Media Player with Windows Media Connect, a service that runs on your computer.
Stupid xbots, next thing you know they will think that the xbox 360 will be getting PS3 exclusives like GTA, Assassin's Creed, Devil May Cry, Ridge Racer, Virtue Fighter, Fatal Inertia, Bladestorm, Armored Core, Ace Combat, Katamari Damacy and Mercenaries.
Number of games/accessories that can ship today
Current leader: Xbox 360
Salesrank of top 10 products
Current leader: Wii
Sales rank of the primary systems:
Current leader: Wii
# in top 100
Current leader: Xbox 360
# in top 1000:
Current leader: Xbox 360
So I see xbox, wii, wii, xbox, xbox; the PS3 isn't winning single category.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/xbox -360-elite-interview-with-microsofts-albert-penell o-247635.php
http://splintercell.us.ubi.com/newspost.php?news_i d=4905
It is stupid to use a single drive from playing both movies and games because the lasers are only rated for 10,000 hours. This means just like the PS2's that are used as a DVD player and Game player they die after 3 years because of laser failures.
Since you mention xbox live, you will also need a bluetooth headset, which the cheapest one Sony sells is 60 dollars MSRP.
Then you need to compute the amount of extra power the PS3 uses over the x360, since that is an additional cost.
You also neglected to mention that you get bundled games with most systems sold that the 400 dollar price point. This would add an addition 60 dollars. Also Hexic HD comes free with the xbox 360.
HDMI Cable = $60
Headset = $60
Games = $60
Power x 4 years = $80
Also how much for the PS3 unified friends list available in all games and seemless integration of countless other online features? Does the PS3 have a hardware certification program to ensure that all components automatically work properly online? These things cost money, something that your membership pays for.
"(3) A general service incandescent lamp does not include an appliance lamp, black light lamp, bug lamp, colored lamp, enhanced spectrum lamp, infrared lamp, left-hand tread lamp, marine lamp, marine signal service lamp, mine service lamp, plant light, reflector lamp, rough service lamp, shatter resistant lamp, sign service lamp, silver bowl lamp, showcase lamp, three-way lamp, traffic signal lamp, or vibration service or vibration resistant lamp."
It would be difficult putting a compact fluorescent in an oven and have it work normally after using the oven.
I think that the next release of Gears will have much more story and context.
I was shopping just yesterday and there was a good supply of PS3s in every store that I went to that sold them. I didn't see any wiis however, some stores were sold out of x360's.
I agree, the PS3 is definately worth it if it is free.
Keep in mind that there are 3 elements to every board game: Luck, strategy and interpersonal interaction. For example Monopoly is primarily based on luck, then secondly based on interaction then finally has a small amount of strategy.
Settlers of Catan is a good game to start with as well because most gaming stores in North America stock it, however this is just one good game out of hundreds of newer ones that have been developed.
Other good games that families can enjoy that have a greater level of strategy include:
- Ticket to Ride: Märklin (Don't get Ticket to Ride regular edition)
- Puerto Rico
Other good candidates depending on the age level you are playing with:
- Carcassone (Cheap game)
If you like fake money then my personal favorite is Power Grid, the game rules are simple for the players to understand but you need one competent person to manage the game because there are lots of maintenance procedures to handle.
I have a few hundred games, typically you can go wrong purchasing any game that has won the Spiel Des Jahres, you can find this list off of the funagain website. Any game published by Rio Grand is also usually very good and has good rules and game quality.
Games re-released by Hasbro under Wizard of the Coast I would avoid if possible, for example the new Cosmic Encounter was utterly destroyed because of the dumbing down of the game; if you can get an older edition it is much more fun. I also own Aquire which is a pretty mindless game that has too much money handling, I find it rather bland and boring.
If you fix the game prices and balance to a single currency and do not change them, then you have people using multiple regional accounts to shop around for arcade games depending on the currencies value. This must be allowed because there are people that move their console from country to country, thus they must be allowed to legally purchase content in that region when they are physically located there.
GRAW is a great game with excellent co-op modes. I have heard good and bad things about Rainbow 6, from what I understand the co-op modes are very good but the multiplayer and single player modes are not excellent. I have played the demo and the game is okay, but not outstanding.
Gears of War is my personal favorite, the multiplayer is outstanding.
I have no idea why you don't think the combat system is elegant or clever, it is definately both of those.
It isn't clear when you use grades, which are region specific, on consoles that are international. For exampe a D where I am from indicates a fail, where as I think at D in the US is a pass.
Once again I would like to point out that North America is not the same thing as the United States of America. The North American allotment is 400k; North American has additional countries in it like Canada for example.
400k is not the US allotment; Canada is not part of the US yet. The US allotment will likely be about 360k, with 400k units allocated to North America.