Agreed, who is this guy?! Anyway, a teenager cruising around in the early morning (perhaps after partying all night) with a bunch of lady friends and mysteriously swerves off the road and flips a car ejecting several passengers? I guess I wouldn't suspect drug or alcohol use either :)

Just a quick response. The reason Live does require a subscription is because it does put every online gaming service to shame. Now Live has become the second largest movie download service behind Apple's Itunes. You get all this for about $1.50 a week, something tells me that if you can put money down on a 360, PS3, HDTV, and/or even a Wii the price isn't even worth mentioning.

However, something tells me that if the Live and Movie Downloads get even more popular (more downloads and advertising) then the Live service will become free.

I do agree that the price of the console should be dropped but with the elite coming out I think they will drop the price of the premium to $349 and the core to $249 to compete with the Wii. Also free Live wouldn't hurt either, although if your waiting for that you're going to be missing a lot of great gaming (I guess that goes for the 360 price drop as well).

I own a PSP, yup sucks but moving on, and have used the web browser on it. Wow, talk about the most inefficient and frustrating way to view the web. Seeing as the PS3 has the same basic interface AND the fact that the Wii's browser is also just as inefficient, I am going on the limb here and stating that consoles have no business going on the web, especially since we all obviously have computers.

I would much rather have access to HD movies, game demos, trailers, themes, gamer picts, voice chat, text chat, etc..

These new features seem great and I agree that the marketplace needs it's own blade just like the multimedia tab. Navigation is getting a little too complex and goes against the entire idea behind the blades. Glad to see a new update and keep 'em coming MS.

Ultimately, after a couple of generations of games both systems graphically will look nearly identical to each other. However, I would still give the slight edge to the Xbox 360 because of how the memory is set up. The 360 can display 512mb of textures at any given time while the PS3 is capped at 256mb. If you look at Gears (360) vs Resistance (PS3), Gears just has some gorgeous and sharp textures. Look at screenshots for any PS3 game and you will see some blurry textures. Looking at Resistance screens closely, you can't really see any sharp textures at all: The fences are blocky, the streets are nothing but blurry grays with some cracks on it, and the characters clothing looks pretty plain. Since this is a hardware issue this will never be any better. Sony will probably do what they did with the PS2 and make things more complex (add more low res environmental objects) and increase the effects (smoke is my personal favorite when it comes to covering up these issues). Go ahead and look at any PS3 screenshot and its the same thing in all of them. Which leads me to this thought: What good does 1080p do when there aren't any textures, etc., worth looking at? Movies, sure, but gaming it is absolutely meaningless. Sony put together a garbage and unintelligent machine, you have Blu Ray but it makes the system incredibly expensive, you have a great 9 core processor but only 7 are functional (of course the consumer is paying for all 9 though) and only 256mb of gaming memory to work with?! What a mess! Let's not forget that the Xbox 360 GPU is actually capable of more than the PS3 GPU.

I still don't think the systems are even functional. No controllers and the consoles are fit pretty tightly into that glass casing. With a 9 core processor (granted only 7-8 are functional) it has to be generating more heat than the 360. You know, I haven't seen as many air vents in the case as the 360 either. Is there? Anyway, how is the system supposed to breath?! Sure the monolith structure might appear larger than it actually is, but it doesn't help to have built-in giant replica system underneath the enclosed "actual?" systems.

Sony and PS3 are blowing it.

MS really did their research this time around. They came out with a powerful system (not so powerful that it costs a thousand dollars...maybe we should all just work harder or get two jobs, LOL) that is modifiable like a computer. The fact is that no matter how powerful consoles are because PC's will match them in 6mos to 1yr. However, even if the cpu/gpu are equal, a dedicated gaming console will have more available processing power.

ANYWAY, a kiosk that doesn't work and the bottom line being just about everyone has a negative reaction towards it means that the kiosk sucks. Sony rips on Xbox more powerful hardware and price and says its all about games. That strategy actually seemed to work. It truly is bizarre that Sony is now taking the old MS strategy in overly powerful hardware and no games with the PS3 and PSP. The PSP is getting rocked by the DS and the PS3 will in my opinion get rocked by the 360. Let's face it, Nintendo will never be the market leader again.

The minute I noticed that the kiosk had no controllers, and even if it did the screens are in an unplayable height, I can't help but think that Sony is hiding something. I personally believe that the PS3 units aren't even playing the video. MS had playable 360 kiosks running months before launch (over 1yr ago), and Wii will soon have playable kiosks and already had them at E06 and other game shows. If Sony doesn't even have a playable system 2 months before launch the system is not going to be in time for the Christmas season. If Sony does happen to release some units for Christmas get ready for an absolute nightmare as far as defective hardware and overheating issues.

I hope this kiosk is located in the US because not only would that be a waste of advertising (the Japanese market will buy poo with Sony's name on it) but last I checked the Japanese are obsessed with small and sleek technology. But then again Sony did happen to advertise the PS3 in Europe at a Soccer game after they announced that Europe would not be getting any consoles and after MS announced soccer exclusivity to the 360.

Oh yeah, gotta love that Spiderman 3 text on the side...So why doesn't the monolith also have some Blu Ray propaganda all over it?

Here is my prediction:

There is no reason for a price drop this holiday season, neither the PS3 or Wii will have significant numbers to compete. That's if you even count the Wii as a direct competitor, the Wii will appeal to a very limited audience after the launch hype is all said and done. Let's face it, the Wii has nearly identical graphics as the GC so in a sense your buying another GC except with a motion sensitive controller...WOOPIE! Also, there are three major gaming markets and Japan is only one of them. Other systems did great in Japan but failed in Europe and the US (Saturn, PC Engine, Neo Geo, etc). The MOST important thing is that MS has gained considerable support from Japanese developers (one of original Xbox's major downfalls along with coming out about two years after the PS2) so whether or not they have the support of the Japanese consumers doesn't really matter any more. While Wii and PS3 will probably do great at launch in Japan and the US, MS has already established a foothold in two of the three major markets and is now getting a giant foothold in the smaller markets like India, Australia, and so on. It will take the Wii and PS3 probably until mid 2007 to even touch those markets.

My guess is that MS will release some bundles with free games this holiday season, push the marketing on their platinum titles, and release a black console to increase sales. When the PS3 (Wii won't matter) actually starts getting systems on the shelves then MS will make a considerable price drop to further hurt PS3 sales. MS is in a good position: The people who buy a Wii will probably realize how poor the graphics are and the people with the PS3 owners will realize there aren't any great games to play and be angry that they paid all that money for a system that looks nearly identical (except with a much weaker online service) to the much cheaper Xbox 360.

Here's a question: When was the last time you saw a game company advertise a controller as their key feature? Which is more possible: A) That a motion sensitive controller is so amazing that it doesn't matter that your playing GC ports and old SNES roms?, or, B) Nintendo is desperate to find an audience after the successive failures of the N64 and GC? With the GC Nintendo hasn't been able to get any 3rd party support and can only put a quality game out 2-3 times a year and it is only going to get worse for the Wii. But hey, at least they've got a great controller. Sure games aren't all about the graphics, but they are certainly not all about the controller. There is a reason why people are no longer playing the NES, Genesis, Sega CD, Dreamcast, Atari 2600,..., because they are outdated and disgusting to look at.

First the games and size argument for the PS2 over the Xbox, then they change their minds and say "nevermind, harware is what matters" with the PSP/DS and PS3/360. Now that the 360 actually has WAY more generalized processing power than the PS3 the fanboys are all of a sudden saying that size doesn't matter and making a "color" argument? Isn't it getting just a little pathetic.

To argue the power brick is a weak argument because it is actually a much smarter and economical decision to have it attach externally. Not only does it make the 360 fit easier in any space but if it happens to brake you don't have to send in the entire system for repair. "Well if the 360 had an internal power supply it would be just as big," that's exactly why it is external. MS has allowed its consumers the luxury of space efficiency, low cost, and options. They aren't producing a giant system and then jamming HDDVD down our throats. They shouldn't be condemned for that.

Also, with such a huge size why the domed top? Also, with everything built in (especially the power supply) the system is going to really heat up. Let's face it, most shelves in entertainment centers aren't made for such large devices and made of wood. Which means although the PS3 may fit it won't have much breathing room and air circulation. I'm predicting huge overheating problems and system repairs at launch.

Here is my top ten, the 360 is a great system and Live is simply the best online service to date.

1. Oblivion 98% (Loading times suck)
2. Project Gotham 3 94%
3. Dead Rising 94%
4. 99 Nights 90%
5. Halo 2 90% (Getting a little dated)
6. Kameo 90% (Unbalanced characters, short)
7. Call of Duty 2 88% (Terrible online play)
8. Fight Night Rd 3 85% (Terrible single play)
9. Condemned 85% (Gets a little repetitive)
10. DOA 4 81% (Same old stuff, achievement point dispersion sucks)

Trolls, please remember the summer drought and that during console transition times (especially for this new generation of consoles) developers have fiddle around with a lot of stuff including final specs and staff size. Also, PS3 not only has an terrible launch line-up but developers are beginning to pull their games.