The Digital Pulse 04.06.07: Micro$oft Goes 'Elite'
Posted by Joshua Richey on 04.06.2007
Microsoft unveils the 120 GB Elite 360... and I ain't happy.
Before we get started on this edition of The Digital Pulse, I'd first like to elaborate on what went down after my last column was posted. See, last week I wrote an article titled Conservative Jack Attacks – which was about Attorney Jack Thompson and the actions that he's currently taking to ‘tame' the Gaming Industry. Now I'm not sure if Jack Thompson is a 411Mania reader or if the guy just Googles himself every hour… but in either case, Jack contacted me not long after the article was posted on Friday morning. The following is what he had to say:
Maybe you could pick up the freaking phone and interview me, so that you might at least have the option to really know what makes me tick. Unbelievable.
Jack Thompson, Attorney
Land line: 305-666-4366, Cell: 305-588-3005
1172 South Dixie Hwy, Suite 111
Coral Gables, FL USA 33146 amendmentone@comcast.net
That e-mail made my morning. Really it did. I called all of my friends and told them that I had pissed off Jack Thompson – which only further sealed my legendary status with them. Hell, I even made a Myspace Bulletin bragging about my achievement. I wasn't about to allow that to be the end of it. It's been nearly a week since I wrote that article and I've still not been served with papers, nor have I been asked to file my deposition. So apparently I didn't do my job well enough. I responded to Jack's e-mail, and I offered him a serious one-on-one interview in which he could state his case. I've still yet to receive a response.
I've been a writer here at 411Mania for going on 11 months now. And in that time I've managed to piss off the following people: Electronic Arts, the Creator of Robot Wars, Bill Sindelair, and now… Jack Thompson.
I'm probably going to give Caleb (Gaming Editor) and/or Ashish (Site Operator) an ulcer by the time I can celebrate my one-year anniversary.
Now onto this week's topic…
Remember when the ‘in' thing to do was to make fun of the Playstation 3's costly price tag? You, me, your mother, your neighbor's cousin, my dog's groomer, we all made remarks about that $600 price tag. And you know that if we made fun of it's ridiculous asking price... Microsoft was going to have a field day with it; and they did. ‘For $600 you could buy a 360 and a Nintendo Wii' said one Xbox Executive that I'm too lazy to look up. You see, Microsoft used that aspect to make it appear that they were the Spartans while Sony were the Persians. I think that it's been well documented by now that I am an Xbox 360 supporter, but in retrospect that marketing strategy really pisses me off.
You see, Microsoft made you think that they were looking out for you – the causal consumer – and trying to prevent you – that casual consumer – from being screwed out of your money. So instead of paying $600 on a 60 GB Playstation 3 – I, and many others, spent our money on a $400 20 GB Xbox 360. Since that time, we've been pretty happy with that decision. And then Microsoft showed their true colors…
There is no question who is currently winning the next-gen console battle. Microsoft is now in control, with Nintendo on the rise, and Sony on life-support. Microsoft had a chance to go for the kill here. By lowering the price of the Premium Xbox 360 by another 50-75 dollars – Sony would have basically been as good as dead. Instead, what did Microsoft do? They did this:
The Elite Xbox 360… what the fuck is that? I'll tell you what it is… it's another way for one of the richest companies in the world to trick consumers into giving them even more money. Besides the obvious difference in color, the ‘Elite' has got a 120 GB hard-drive, it'll be quieter, and has upscaled DVD playback performance. What does that say to someone like me that supported the Xbox 360 from the very beginning? It doesn't make me go ‘oh, oh, I must have one of those! – that's for sure. I feel betrayed - as should all other Xbox 360 owners. Here we are, Xbox supporters, buying the games, the hardware, and preaching about how great ‘our' console is… and then this?
Now I know what you're asking yourself right about now… you're probably saying ‘But Joshua, surely Microsoft has some sort of trade-in option going on… right?' Nope. You cannot take your 360 back – the same Xbox 360 that you waited in line for for 4 hours at launch – in exchange for this obviously better made console and then pay the difference. No, these ‘Elite' consoles aren't for you; unless you feel the need to own two 360's… but why would you need two 360's?
The plan is this: if you're a current 360 owner and would like to upgrade from your pathetic 20 GB to a 120 GB – you're going to have to buy a separate 120 GB hard drive. Not too difficult, huh? Oh, I feel as though I should mention this one minor thing… that 120 GB hard drive is going to cost you an additional $180.00. Good luck.
I'm still confused as to why the 120 GB hard-drive would cost that much anyway. The only thing I can come up with is that they're Microsoft and they can essentially do whatever the hell it is that they want.
So let's do the math here…
$400.00 – Xbox 360
$180.00 – 120 GB Hard-Drive
$580.00 – Total (not including tax)
Hmm… yeah, that's such a better deal than buying a PS3 – which by the way doubles as a Blu-Ray player.
But I'm sure Microsoft will fix that too. Perhaps they'll release a Super-Dooper-Radical-Elite Xbox 360 next year that has a 200 GB hard-drive. We can only hope, right?
QUICKIE: Wow, I can't believe that another Ghost Recon game has dropped already… but it has. GRAW 2 basically does what made the first game so great and makes it better. Everything seems a bit more crisp and fluid. The warfare feels real, and the consequences for not pre-thinking your moves or setting a strategy are disastrous. Great game. Even if you've never played a Ghost Recon game, or feel as though this isn't your thing, give this one a go. I'm betting that you'd enjoy it.
Final Score: B
EYE CANDY: I'm not sure what to think of Mass Effect. I'm digging the graphics, and the RPG elements look appealing… but I don't know… just something about it sends signs of ‘let-down' to me. Maybe because it reminds me of one of those lame space shows on the Sci-Fi channel. Let's hope I'm wrong though.
PIMPIN': First off, I feel as though that I should go out of my way to ‘hate on' the film Children of Men. For months I heard that this movie was ‘amazing' and ‘life altering'. But I've watched it twice now… and goddammit I wish I hadn't seen it once.
As disappointed as I was with Children of Men – I was that much surprised by how damn good Blades of Glory was. I'm not a very big John Heder fan, and the movie looked like one of those that had all of the funniest moments in the TV commercials. Nope. Wasn't that way at all… funny as hell, and I would gladly pay to see it again.
Speaking of which, Nick Swardson stole the show in this one – just as he seems to do in every movie that he's in. The guy is going to be the next big thing. If you've not seen him, then check out Blades of Glory, Grandma's Boy, Reno 911!, and Benchwarmers. He also did a funny as shit TV pilot called ‘Gay Robot' that can be found on YouTube.
CLOSING ARGUMENTS: Before I go, I'd like to give myself a nice big pat on the back for this article. I started this article at 8:30 AM on Thursday April 5th – and I finished it at 10:03 AM on Thursday April 5th. Yeah, I pretty rock the shit – don't I?
I'd like to share one other thing before I go: I live about 4 miles from downtown Cincinnati, and as such am a big supporter of Cincinnati sports. I'm a die-hard Bengals fan – so fuck Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. I'm a Bearcat fan – so fuck the Kentucky Wildcats. I'm also a Cincinnati Reds fan… but after this, I'm kind of ashamed to have so many ties to this city. Below this is a clip from the Reds Opening Day. In Cincinnati, opening day is huge. It's a holiday. The first pitch is also a big deal around these parts. The likes of Nick Lachey and George W. Bush have participated in it. Well this year it was newly elected Cincinnati Mayor, Mark Malory. At this point, I'm just going to stop talking… just watch.
