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HL2: E1 for $8 means you have to buy it
One of the primary tenets of episodic distribution is a lower price for a shorter game. In the case of Half-Life 2: Episode One that means $20 for about 5 or so hours of Gravity Gun-wielding fun. Err, rather, that meant $20 for 5 hours but, if you cash in on the current promotion at retailing box-store Circuit City, you'll nab it for the low, low price of $8! That's like $1.60/hour if you're good. If you suck, you're talking about a pretty phenomenal dollar to hour investment. The jig is up June 17th, and it isn't available online, so you best get going before the eBayers start grabbing em all. Indeed, at this stage in their evolution, they can smell a deal; their senses are acutely tuned to major retail discounts. For anyone who's already purchased a copy, don't feel bad ... cause you got to play yours earlier, right? Alright, you can feel bad.[Thanks, Andy; via Insane Central]
MS first party titles for $29.99
According their latest Sunday circular (helpfully scanned by Xboxic) electronics retailer FYE is letting aging launch titles PGR3, PDZ and Kameo go for the low, low price of $29.99. The offer doesn't appear to be available on their website, so consider it an old-fashioned brick and mortar sale, complete with fine print (no rainchecks, two per customer). Circuit City will likely match the price if you bring in the ad.
Cheap laptop shade
This laptop shade isn't going to win any beauty contests (though I bet it will garner so comments), but it is cheap and easy. So if you're worried about the MacBook's glossy screen worry not, as long as you have access to a cardboard box that is.[via Make]
MCJ's MDV-EXTREME 7530GX: the "budget" Blu-ray PC
Yeah, we know it hurts to read about those mega-spec'd and monster priced, Blu-ray Disc recording desktops when you're lean on the mean, mean, green. That's why we present you with the Mouse Computer Japan (MCJ) MDV-EXTREME 7530GX. For about $2,780, you get that BD recorder (which on its own will fetch about $1000), a 2.2GHz Athlon 64 X2 4400 CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 500GB of disk, and NVIDIA GeForce 7900GTX with 512MB of dedicated video RAM. Not bad. Oh, did we tell you these are shipping in Japan-only starting 29 May? Still kinda hurts, huh?[Via Akihabara News]
UK PlayStation 3 comes in at ?425, Sony loses its marbles
Sony has officially announced the U.K. price of the Playstation 3 as £425, representing the fully featured PS3 which comes in at $599 in the U.S. and 599 EUR in Europe. GamesIndustry.biz suggests that Sony won't be selling the cut down model over the pond, although this isn't confirmed. The PS3's price in England is higher than the console's price in the United States and Europe but we're not entirely surprised by this: British consumers are used to paying more for their consoles (although traditionally the U.K. gets identical or lower prices compared to Europe). Here's a breakdown of the U.K. premium over U.S. and EU prices: £109 more than the U.S. "Premium" PS3: the U.S. price is $599 which converts to £316. Take this away from £425 and you're left with a £109 premium. £20 more than the EU "Premium" PS3: the EU price is 599 EUR which converts to £405. Take this away from £425 and you're left with a £20 premium
Cheaper PS3 loses HDMI, slots, Wi-Fi, 40GB
As you can see above, there are a few things different between the two PS3 SKUs planned. (Hint: the obvious alterations concern high-def output and wireless connectivity -- though Bluetooth controllers should work just fine with both, with or without any chrome case highlighting.)So what's HDMI, built-in multimedia card-reader slots, wireless internet connectivity, and an extra 40 gigabytes' hard disk space worth to you? $100? Now that Sony's gone with the 2-SKU approach with its next-gen hardware (a la the Xbox 360's premium and "Core" systems), we can expect some tough consumer choices after six months -- with console shortages possibly for another six months after that -- as $100 separates the base $499 and premium $599 versions of Sony's "Clear Black" hope.HDMI is important to those who want to take full advantage of Blu-ray high def and have the new screens to use it; MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots would be nice for the PS3 memory-card users and those will run multimedia on the system; Wi-Fi's the only way to avoid stringing ethernet cables for online access; and 360 owners might appreciate the full 60GB available to potential buyers of the premium PS3 model. Neither model comes with a second HDMI port; thankfully, one should hopefully be all most users need. The details are laid out in a feature-comparison table at the end of Sony's official PS3 hardware press release, available in both Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word formats. Determine what's most important to your PS3 ambitions there.[Image pieced together from the PlayStation.com forums; thanks, Guru]
Dell Inspiron E1505 reviewed
If you've been looking to go Core Duo on the cheap then wait no longer. PCMAG just busted out their Editor's Choice award on the 15.4-inch widescreen Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop. Good reason too, since their $999 test model shipped pre-loaded with XP Media Center Edition 2005 (TV tuner costs extra), sporting a 1.67GHz Intel Core Duo, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, 80GB (5400rpm) disk, 802.11b/g, dual-layer DVD burner, and ATI Mobility Radion X1300 graphics -- not top of the line by any means, but oodles better than a lot of those integrated graphics craptops, and more likely to run Vista with some pep. PCMAG calls the E1505 "perfect" for people on a budget who "appreciate technology" which well, pretty much covers just about everyone we know. Knocks? Sure, the battery only managed about 3 hours and you have to enter a goofy Dell E-Value code "E1505PC" when ordering if you expect your kit to ring-up with that sub-grand price tag. Righteous pricing indeed for this full featured and powerful kit.
iPods spotted at Sam's Club
I don't know how long this has been going on, but Sam's Club apparently carries the iPod. I spotted it at my neighborhood Club this weekend at the lowest price I've seen so far: $289.98 for a 5G 30 GB black model. Maybe they didn't want to let Cosco have all the fun in selling iMacs?No word on whether Apple Stores will match this price, nor when the 24 iPod bulk pack will be available.
Toshiba's Dynabook Satellite CW1 flies low
Toshiba just squeezed their new low-end Dynabook Satellite CW1 laptop onto the scene. A base model kitted out with a 1.6GHz Intel Celeron M420 processor, 14.1-inch WXGA display, 60GB disk, 512MB of RAM, ATI Radion Xpress 200M graphics, and dual-layer DVD burner will set you back, oh just $957 in Japan. Yeah, that kind of green will get you Core Duo power 'round these parts but that still constitutes affordable in the land of the rising sun. [Via Akihabara News]
Averatec 7100 series laptops: lightest 17-inchers available
If you like it big and light (but not too powerful) then listen up son, 'cause Averatec just announced their 7100 series of laptops said to be the lightest 17-inch widescreen infotainment laptops available (though, as far as we can tell, that title still goes to the 17-inch PowerBook). Ok, considering all those 20-inchers dropping lately, they're not that big, but at 7.2-pounds and just an inch-thick they manage to pack in a 1.8GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-32 processor, dual-layer DVD/CD burner, up to 100GB disk, 2GB DDR RAM, 802.11b/g, and a healthy dose of USB, FireWire, PCMICIA, PC Express, and memory card slots for expansion in addition to that 1440 x 900 pixel display supported by an ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics card. These Microsoft Windows Vista Capable machines may not be the most powerful on the market, but at street prices from $849 to $1,199 (depending upon config) they're worth a look for the budget minded.[Via MobileTechReview]
How to get GRAW for $34
Here's how to save a few bucks on your copy of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfigher:The Asian region (Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore) can now purchase Xbox 360s specifically for their region. All of these are NTSC-J encoded, the same as the Japanese 360s. So what’s the difference? It’s actually the software. In an effort to bring as many games to the region as possible Microsoft is bringing English language North American titles over. For instance Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is the same as the USA version and it’s also compatible with US region Xbox 360s. Also all of the Asian version Xbox 360 games are sold at a budget price. Most import retailers are selling them for $39.99, considerably cheaper than the $59.99 price point for North American games.Indeed, Play-Asia.com is selling what appears to be a region-free version of GRAW for $30.90 plus $3.10 shipping. According to their compatibility chart, it's the only "Asian" game so far that will work on your Peoria-purchased 360. Can anyone confirm that it actually works? Update: I'm so used to paying through the nose, I forgot to ask: Why is Hong Kong getting bargain rates anyway? [via SiliconEra]
