Xbox 360 to be lowest-priced next-gen video game console

One of the the biggest selling points of Nintendo's Wii video game console since its launch nearly two years ago has been that it was the lowest-priced of the trio of next-generation machines, which also includes Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.

To date, the Wii costs $249, while the lowest-priced Xbox, the so-called "Arcade," retails currently for $279. An 80GB PS3 sells for $400.

But Microsoft said Wednesday that it will drop the price of the Arcade on Friday to $199, breaking through what some have said is the all-important psychological price level of $200. At that price, industry observers say, the market opens up to mass levels of consumers.

Microsoft will also drop the price of its 60GB Xbox to $299 and its "Xbox Elite," which has a 120GB hard drive, to $399.

"The fact that the Xbox 360 is now cheaper than the Wii is definitely a big shift in the market," said Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360.

The news has been rumored for some time and was first reported as fact Wednesday by BusinessWeek.

For Microsoft, this is a crucial step along its path toward winning the next-gen console wars. At E3 in July, the company said in no uncertain terms that it will win the battle, at least with Sony. It hedged its bets on out-selling the Wii, which has been dominant over the last several months, according to industry analyst NPD Group.

In fact, BusinessWeek reported that Don Mattrick, senior vice president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business unit (and the person who had been on-stage at E3 and committed to winning the generation), said that he doubted the Xbox could catch up to the Wii at this point.

"I'm not at a point where I can say we're going to beat Nintendo," Mattrick told BusinessWeek. "We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony."

Of course, some have said that the appeal of the Xbox, despite being the first to hit 10 million units sold in North America, is still limited and that over the next few years, the PS3 will eventually catch up to and surpass the Xbox.

Until now, Nintendo has shown little interest in lowering the price of the Wii, and thus its profit margin. And while Sony has effectively lowered the price of the PS3 by offering only an 80GB version for the same price as what was previously a less-powerful version, it has little room to maneuver on price given that it is still subsidizing the PS3 at its current level.

By comparison, because the Xbox has been out a full year longer than both the Wii and the PS3, it has already achieved efficiencies of scale that have allowed it to slowly lower the Xbox's price.

To date, the 60GB Xbox has done about 60 percent of total Xbox 360 sales, said Greenberg, with the Arcade and Elite models each accounting for about 20 percent.

But with the Arcade's price dropping below $200, Greenberg said he thinks that model is "now picking up steam."

"Over 75 percent of all console sales historically were sold below $200," Greenberg said. "We know that there's tens of millions of PS2 owners who bought their systems when (the PS2) hit $199."

In other words, Microsoft is hoping that at $199, the Arcade can become the next PS2 and sell well over 100 million units.

Source: CNet.com

$199 Xbox with Motion Controller on the Way

Xbox 360 Fanboy, citing "a tip from a source close to Microsoft's marketing department," says the price cut to $199 for the Arcade system is meant to position that bundle against the Wii. So it'll get a huge family-friendly marketing push and title support. And in the fall, it gets a motion controller with some motion-controlled mini-games developed by Rare.

Again, according to this rumor (by the time I'm repeating it to you, it's fourth-hand) the controller will be sold separately and will be compatible with all versions of the 360 console. Reading the story, it sounds like you would get the controller plus an even larger list of mini-games if you buy it separately.

The new products are set to drop Holiday 2008, says Xbox 360 Fanboy. We shall see.

Source: Kotaku.com

Joytech HDMI Trilink Switcher

It’s a problem that nearly all of us have run into – a lack of inputs on our TVs. I’m sure every one of us has experience from days gone by, of leaning over the back of a hulking CRT TV and trying to unplug and re-plug A/V connectors without looking. The experience is often more time consuming and frustrating than you'd think, and worse still, might even damage your equipment.

Just because we now have flat panels and HDMI inputs doesn’t mean that this problem has gone away. With their pin-based connectors, HDMI cables, like the SCART ones that Europeans were used to before, aren’t very easy to disconnect and reconnect without looking at the input on the back of the TV.

Up until now, HDMI switch-boxes, to cure this problem, haven’t been easily affordable. Joytech’s “HDMI TriLink Switcher” is a revolutionary product for this reason. Available for only £35, it promises compatibility with the Playstation 3, HD DVD, Blu-ray, and other HDMI video devices, and allows 1080p video to be switched without problems. Naturally, I put it through our usual hardware grilling to see if it lived up to the promise at its low price point.

First Looks and Build Quality

From looking at the packaging, you wouldn’t really know that Joytech’s switch-box was a cheap device. The packaging is pretty ritzy, with a little window cut to show the device under the hard transparent plastic that’s holding the various parts. After finally busting my way into the rock-hard plastic container, I discovered:

• The TriLink Switcher
• A remote control with preloaded battery
• Power Supply
• USB Cable (explanation in a minute)
• Infra-red Extender
• Manuals / Catalogue

In case you’re wondering why the package contains a USB cable, it’s because the TriLink switcher pays attention to its design roots as a games console accessory and allows you to draw power directly from one of the Playstation 3 console’s USB sockets, saving you a precious power socket and meaning that you can pack the power supply away in its box. This is an incredibly smart design decision. The number of Home Theatre components that include USB sockets is growing: Home Theatre PCs will obviously have them as standard, and all of Toshiba’s HD DVD players include them as well, despite currently having no dedicated peripherals to make use of them. The fact that this device can be powered by any nearby USB device is innovative thinking that you wouldn’t expect to find in a £35 switch-box.

After unboxing, I connected the Tri-link Switcher up to a Playstation 3, an upscaling DVD player, and a PC (using a DVI to HDMI cable). I chose these devices to really put the Switcher through its paces, because each of them outputs a different type of video signal. The PS3 was outputting 1080p resolution with a 60hz scan rate, with Digital Component (Y/Cb/Cr) colour. The Upscaling DVD player was outputting 720p video at 50hz, also with Digital Component colour. Finally, the PC was outputting 1920x1080p at 60hz, but with RGB colour.

Each one of the devices operated without any problems whatsoever. Switching between the different inputs occasionally presented a static pattern on screen for a split second, which is a result of the HDCP Copy Protection system. This sort of behaviour is to be expected from switching between inputs and is nothing to worry about. I experienced no HDCP errors as a result of including the Switcher in the connection chain.

Remote Control

Joytech’s remote control is a miniature device powered by a slim CR2032 watch-type battery. The remote simply has three buttons on it, allowing you to choose Input 1, 2, or 3. It’s by no means ergonomically pleasing, but once again taking the price and functionality of this unit, it would be difficult to hold this against them.

The Switcher contains its own Infrared Sensor, so simply pointing the remote very close to the unit will allow you to switch inputs. You can also press the button mounted on the top of the Switcher for the same effect. However, the Switcher also comes packaged with an Infrared Extender, which is simply an Infrared sensor attached to a generous amount of cable, which plugs into the Switcher. The end of the Extender has a removable adhesive pad, which means that you can easily mount it on the bottom of your TV and plug it into the Switcher, and hide it away from view. I did this, and was able to switch inputs from the other side of the room.

The only criticism

My only main complaint regarding the Switcher is the fact that its size negatively influences its form factor. It’s small and lightweight, and all four of its sides are covered in holes of some sort, meaning that you'll quite likely have things plugged into at least 3 sides of it, making it hard to place in your home theatre setup. This means that it’s the sort of device you’ll want to plug in and hide away, but even this is partly a moot point as Joytech have included the Infra-red extender, allowing you to do just that.

Conclusion

It’s interesting that this revolutionary-priced AV product has come from a company that makes video game peripherals. I think that says a lot about how much the gaming and home theatre worlds are converging. All in all, Joytech’s device lived up to all of its promises and surprised me with the inclusion of an IR Sensor and unique (optional) USB power method. And, as it does its job properly with no problems, there’s no way that we could fail to recommend it to absolutely anyone who finds themselves needing more HDMI connectivity. Highly recommended.

One more question I've been asked: no, the Trilink Switcher doesn't come packaged with an HDMI cable - you'll need to bring your own. Once again, at this price - who can complain?

Source: DVDTimes.co.uk