Because their system has already been out for months (with a new, special, “can-actually-find-it-in-store” feature), they didn’t have much to unveil. They did have a couple of tricks up their sleeve. Or not, as we either saw most of these coming or heard rumors about them weeks ago.
First, Microsoft unveiled their HD-DVD player and camera, called the Xbox Vision. No price or official date was announced either, but the camera will be out before the drive, I think in September.
The trailer for Gears of War was very cool, or so I heard. Read the PS3 article as to why I haven’t seen the trailer, and loathe you if you have. Halo 3 has a teaser trailer as well that can be downloaded either via Bungie.net or Xbox Live. Also, Grand Theft Auto IV was officially announced for both Xbox360 and PS3. As the PS3 won’t be released in time for the game’s launch on October 16th of this year, Xbox360 will see it first.
They also announced Lumines for Xbox Live Arcade, complete with new musical updates. Also, they introduced Xbox Live Anywhere, which will allow Xbox Live users to access their Xbox Live account from Windows Vista and mobile phones.
All in all, it was a lackluster offering from Microsoft, but really what can you do when the other two competitors have new technology to show off?
Wii. That’s the name of Nintendo’s new console. Not “Revolution.” That was just a code name. No, I’m not joking. I guess they revealed this little tidbit of information this week so as not to detract from any other new developments with their new console at E3. And they’d better have some great developments, because the name is just laughable, at least in the states.
Now, Nintendo is not dumb. They actually have reasons for their name, corny as they may be. According to the official Wii website, “Wii sounds like ‘we,’ which emphasizes this console is for everyone. Wii can be easily remembered around the world no matter what language they speak.” Gamespot thought it was worth noting that “ii” in Japanese means “good.”
Nintendo does have high expectations for its console, no matter how corny they may be. “And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd. So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because, it’s really not about you or me. It’s about Wii. And together, Wii will change everything.” Lofty expectations from the company that brought us the Virtual Boy. Of course, this doesn’t make the system any less competent, at least to those of us that know what the system is and what it’s capable of. But it does make it a possible disaster in the eyes of the uninformed consumer. Analysts have mixed opinions, but mine is that this name is corny and stupid. Then again, so was the Xbox 360 and it’s still selling.
This week several juicy rumors surfaced regarding the PS3 and Xbox 360. 360 rumors first, because they’re more plentiful. The first, and largest, rumor is that the system will encounter a $100 price drop in October for the premium package, and an $80 drop in the core system price. That would be quite a drop in price, especially considering the supposedly high price of the PS3 (see more below on that one, though). Also, Microsoft is preparing a 100 GB hard drive for their system, but no release date or price was specified.
But wait, there’s more: their HD-DVD device will be $100 and release some time in September, along with their new camera peripheral priced at $50-70. Halo 2 will ship in March 2007, Gears of War will ship in late October, Microsoft is supposedly in talks to get “exclusive rights for a high profile ‘urban game,’” and they’ve struck a deal with Sega to get their games playable on the 360, presumably through the Xbox Live arcade. This would be much like Nintendo’s recent deal with them.
All of these rumors come two sites, Meristation.com (Spanish) and xbox365.com. We’ll probably hear more about these items at E3, though the price thing in particular seems fishy to me – Microsoft just released recent financial results, and reported that they’ve lost quite a bit of money on the 360 so far. I wouldn’t expect them to turn their system in to a profitable one this year if they knock 100 bucks off of the price. Then again, they may do it to remain competitive, especially if…
… Sony’s rumors are true. Many have speculated on the price of Sony’s system. Most expected it to cost about $500 without a hard drive. PSM is reporting in its latest issue that the system will ship in the first week of November with an internal 60 GB hard drive for $399. That’s quite a deal considering all the speculation around the high price. However, no one has confirmed that price as of yet and some analysts believe that Sony won’t reveal their price point until late summer. If they don’t reveal these two points of interest regarding their new system at E3 though, I’d expect to hear some very compelling reasons as to why.
