ahh. badnegro. you are exactly the type of american that spreads the arrogant perspective of Americans. I have a question have you ever been outside your country? Did you realize that the US is the world's only industrialized country that refuses to sign the Kyoto treaty? And btw the human rights record of the US isn't exactly clean is it? Especially when the United States was built from conquest and war.

Seriously just because Japan doesn't buy xbox360s doesn't mean they are arrogant self-centered nationalistic people. This type of attitude toward other cultures that have interests that differ from your own is exactly the type of attitudes that the rest of the world thinks of america. Thank you americans for once again potraying your own arragance and hypocracy to the rest of the world. May this steriotype of americans live on...

A/V multi out on the 360 is most likely akin to the av multiout on the current and next ps systems. It is most likely to be analog thus ruling out that possibility.

"Blu-Ray is a moot point. It is meaningless to 90+% of people, and worthless to the 95% of people who don't have HDTV. You won't even be able to benefit from it with the $499 version of the PS3 because it doesn't have HDMI. A lot of people will get bad tastes in their mouths."
ICT flag won't be set until 2011. Comfirmed that HDMI is not part of the blu-ray spec until 2011.

"Finally, HD-DVD is likely to get far better support because it's not controlled by one (greedy) party."
If you think blu-ray is controlled by one party then you are greatly mistaken. Blu-ray has BY FAR the most support. http://www.blu-raydisc.com/ has the list of the members of the blu-ray disc association. Sony is only one member of the blu-ray association. If anything Toshiba is controlled by one party as Toshiba is the only CE company backing it. Also less than 40% of hollywood back HD-DVD where ass more than 90% of hollywood back blu-ray. HD-DVD is backed by warner brothers, and Paramount. Both of which also back blu-ray. It's lone exclusive support comes from universal. Blu-ray, on the other hand, is supported by warner, paramount, Sony pictures, MGM, Buana Vista, Disney, Pixar(owned by Disney with heavy influence from steve jobs), Lionsgate, 20th century fox (no star wars movies for hd-dvd unforateunly), and digital playground(porn studio).

Firm hardware specs? The cell, RSX, blu-ray drive, and ram is all you need. All the other stuff is extra. After all those articles from IBM explaining the cell architecture, you would assume that the specs are pretty firm. However it is not FINAL. You know they released the PSP a month before it was actually released? Analysts including CNET were predicting the PSP to be priced over 500. Does any1 believe Sony would give microsoft a 2 year advantage and launch in 2007?

Read the PS3 specs at the official product overview at playstation.com. It says AV MULTI-out which is an all in one analog output much like the 1 that both the ps2 and 360 uses. The fox not downconverting was old news. This is the only artical i can dig up at google news. http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/13975197.htm
"Before you toss out your "old" HD set, let me stress that down-rezzing is optional. At least one studio, 20th Century Fox, has allowed it won't mess with a good thing, not wanting to antagonize the current HD fan club. Other studios have intimated that the flagging will be done very selectively"

Um Sony will have component outputs. It has an AV multi-output which means it will have component and HD quality. HDMI and DVI is needed for blu-ray. But that's only for select movies. Studios decide what movies that they will downscale. Fox said that were not going to down convert their movies for analog inputs.

This is exactly why xbox360s can't sell in japan. And these comments are exactly why Americans are thought as arrogant fat people all over the world. Just because Japanese people have different tastes than you, doesn't mean Japan sucks. It's a different culture. What you think is best, and what is best isn't the best for another world.