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I wonder if Sony is going to do anything soon? The Xbox is $100 cheaper than the PS2 and the GCN is $170 cheaper….that’s a pretty big gap if you ask me.

Maybe they’ll wait and see if these recent price drops effect their sales, then they’ll make the decision. That would probably be the smartest thing to do….well in my opinion at least.

I agree they’ll drop the price, but not in the short term. They probably won’t want to give the impression that MS and Nintendo are pushing them into it.

Sony have had 12+ months to sell their system and so they have a large amount of users already out there. Add that to the fact that they’ve been selling the console at a price they have set for pretty much all that time and they will come out of this much healthier than their competition.

Microsoft will (probably) be losing a fair chunk of change from each sale which means that they need to sell quite a few games with each console to get anything back. Long term prospects (predicted by my Magic 8 Ball) are that “you will have to wait”.

Nintendo will probably start off slow but once Mario and some Pokemon games come out I think they’ll overtake the X-Box. The Magic 8 Ball when asked will they fail tells me “Don’t bet on it”

And ask it if Sony will succeed and you “a definate yes” in reply.

(all views in this article are those of the magic 8 ball and may or may not reflect the views of KennyG)

I have fully paid off a bundle from Electronic Boutique for $585.95 so I then wonder if they will pass on the $70.00 saving so I should only pay $515.95? Seeing as the product has not been released and there has been a price cut, then I feel that I deserve the $70.00 back.

So what does that $585.95 entitle you to bob?

I’m getting Resident Evil for my US GCN very soon, very soon indeed…mwhahaha. sorry.

My $585.95 (which will be $515.95 once refunded) provides me with the console, extra controller, memory card, game and a EB carry bag for the GCN. But the best thing is that it is flexible. I was informed that I can get my money back at any time up until I pick up the console. So if I don’t want an extra controller on day one, then I can get my money back from that product. Or if I were to exchange my mind for a alcohol-soaked sponge, I could buy an XBOX instead of a GCN.

So you’re not getting any games? Or haven’t you specified any as part of the “bundle”.

As a consumer ready to buy a new console, I’d hardly say the ball is back in Microsoft’s court. If anything, now it’s in Sony’s court. Let me explain…
Having reviewed screenshots for the Sega game NBA 2002 on GameCube, Playstation 2, Xbox and Dreamcast, the only distinguishably improved example was the Xbox version. The other systems all seemed to be around the same level of
graphical quality. (I can provide the screenshots if anyone is interested) Gamecube was certainly no higher quality than Playstation 2, in fact if anything it looked blurrier and of a lower detail.
IMHO the GameCube is only worth the lesser price than the Xbox to begin with, and the Playstation 2 is definitely overpriced at $499 compared to Xbox at $399. Even if Sony dropped the PS2 price to $300 I would rather fork out the
extra $100 for a superior system. Every game you buy for it will cost the same whether its PS2 or Xbox, but you’ll be enjoying better quality for the same price. The Xbox games display markedly better visuals than any of the other
consoles. I don’t think anyone contests this.
I used to be a Playstation fan, but the PS2 was too much of a disappointment. They’ve only just worked out how to get better than Dreamcast quality graphics for it, and now Xbox is here, bigger and badder than anything PS2 can do.
Obviously I’ve never understood the whole N64 experience, which GameCube just seems to be an update of.

if your trying to compare the systems you should probably go into EB or something and actually try them out. comparing screenshots wont tell you much (atleast in my opinion, especially if the pics is in a lossy format). still pictures just cant compare to actually using the real thing. i dont think that the GC is as bad as your implying either, they look to have alot of quality games planned (star fox, metroid, warhammer 40k, pikmin, robotech, gauntlet, baldur’s gate, etc). only thing thats getting me exicted about xbox is the fact that microsoft owns all fasa games (battletech, shadowrun, crimson skies, etc), mechassault looks pretty damn good.
when i was comparing the 3 systems i couldnt really find any differences… but thats just me

I am getting Luigi’s Mansion, though I will change that on launch day.
Remember people, buy the system with the games YOU will want to play. There is no doubt that technically the Xbox is the superior console, but that doesn’t mean I will be purchasing that particular machine. We are at a time in gaming where even the so-called ‘primitive’ machine, the PS2 compares relatively well for a console that was seemingly rushed in development and has been out on the streets for 17 months.
If you are overly-concerned about comparing the three system’s graphics, sreenshots are often a very unreliable source of reference, as we all know.
My advice to you all is to try each machine and don’t think about what the console CAN do, but what it WILL do. For example, after the hype has died down what use is a broadband adaptor to those outside the city?

OK I can see where you guys are coming from re not judging by screenshots alone, but if one company develops a game for a couple of consoles, i doubt the gameplay is going to differ much unless theres a lengthy gap between versions like some of the new Xbox ports from PS2 games.
I don’t like the way sony has opted out of the price war. They have grown far too arrogant for my liking. I suspected Sony would refuse to lower their price. I hope many people will support Xbox instead because of the lower price.
Also bob you mentioned a broadband adapter isn’t much use. I heard its already been hacked to work on a network with an existing internet connection. But I have had Bigpond Advance and now I’m back on dialup (for financial reasons :) and I don’t play games online anymore. Dialup gaming isn’t of a sufficient quality to really bother with. I agree with Microsofts decision to go broadband only.

What the Xbox will do - Project Ego.

’nuff said.

I agree that Project Ego will most certainly be a system-seller for the Xbox, but I find the state of broadband in Australia should have been enough to warrant the exclusion of the broadband modem from the unit. I know that there is a very low adoption rate of add-on devices, but wouldn’t it have been wise for Microsoft to get the machine off the shelf at a reasonable price, instead off forcing many consumers to purchase a feature that they will not use in the life of this particular console.

People don’t realise how dire the broadband situation is in Australia right now, at least not many inside the access boundaries.

LOL…. Sony are such arrogant pigs for not lowering their price?

Perhaps it’s a deliberate and prudent decision not to throw even more money away with each hardware sale.

Ethernet controllers cost $30 to buy….that’s a retail price. For MS to include them with the Xbox would have cost them virtually nothing. MS wanted broadband so they included the NIC with the Xbox, because we all know that console add-on devices usually perform VERY poorly in terms of penetration rate into the actual console market. If you want a console to do something INCLUDE it with the console from the start.

Broadband in Australia is reasonably dodgy atm, but you’ll find that you can get ADSL, cable or satellite in the vast majority of Australian homes. If you live in the country or you’re a poor bastard…well tough you shouldnt’ own an Xbox anyway then :P

And although it’s already been covered who cares if the Xbox is technically superior to the PS2….The PS2 has more games it’s that simple…..and the PS2 will get 90% of 3rd party games whereas the Xbox and GCN may only get 50% of 3rd party games that are actually released. Thankfully I own all 3 consoles, but so far since the inital splurge of playing the Xbox it’s been collecting dust. While my PS2 is still being played (GTA3 and FF6), and my GCN is still the ultimate ‘party’ machine with Super Smash Brother Melee and Super Monkey Ball being played almost constantly.

Microsoft and to a lesser degree Nintendo still need a ‘killer app’. Halo and SSBM aren’t those games we’ve been waiting for. Zelda/Mario/Metroid might be, and Project Ego could be for the Xbox. The folks over at Sony have the right to be arrogant bastard when it comes to pricing, because as it stands no one can touch them.