Xbox 360 Kinect and 4gb console package announced for UK.

This actually officially got announced 5 days ago but I figured I'd post it here since no one else has.

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Kinect will be launched as a package deal with a new xbox 360 console (set to be the replacement of the arcade console too btw so look out for this) the console will be a 4gb version of the new shape 360. Together with Kinect it will be priced as £249.99 however I suspect that the 4gb console will not be launched as a seperate entity since Microsoft have probably realized that the majority of sales on the arcade would have been those with hard-drives buying replacement consoles. I will say however that if it does I suspect it will cost the same as the current arcade if not a little bit more expensive and who would want to buy a 4gb console for £160 or so when they can get a 250gb one?

So you get a disc grinder with the Kinect for only £249.99? Sweet. :D

So why isn't at least the 60GB SKU the standard one yet? Still wouldn't be worth it, but it would be less absurd.

The biggest demographic for this is current 360 owners looking to put their hard drives in a more reliable console. They probably won't release a standalone version as Iceglow suggested, so that way they can artificially boost sales numbers on the Kinect install base with a group that probably won't buy a single game for it.

Aaron Greenberg probably has the Twitter message saved in a file on his desktop and ready to go.

Actually Bolivar, just to kick your post outta here a little.

First up the new 360 shape is incompatible with the old hard-drives. The old hard-drives clip externally to the top of the console they are the ridge that stands up on a vertically positioned 360. The new consoles afaik come with a data transfer cable, they also made sure that merchandise retailers would get enough data transfer kits to transfer the data for every console sold and then some. Therefore the only reason to buy a new console shape if you want one is 1) new console shape 2) red ring of death is now no longer an issue which does give it an edge over the old one in terms of durability and reliability 3) built in wifi and 250gb hard drive or ofcourse 4) you don't own a 360 already but would like to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii.

Second up, I went back over the info pack at work about the 360 4gb console. They will be launched individually seperate from Kinect for £149.99 (supposedly) As this going forwards will be the future of the Arcade model 360 console. This is a huge step up from the previous Arcade model which sported a 256mb memory card. So whilst initially I did say I wasn't sure about a solo release I am now 100% sure there is a solo release for the console.

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Originally Posted by Iceglow

4) you don't own a 360 already but would like to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii.

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You forgot the PS2, which is more popular than any of those!

I own a 360, but I prefer to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii and the 360 and the PS2. :D

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Originally Posted by Rad Bromance

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Originally Posted by Iceglow

4) you don't own a 360 already but would like to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii.

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You forgot the PS2, which is more popular than any of those!

I own a 360, but I prefer to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii and the 360 and the PS2. :D

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You of course mean the worlds most popular console behind the ps2 and the ds and the wii and the psp and the xbox 360

The moment I saw Iceglow and Bolivar in the same thread I knew there would be trouble.

On topic though, this might be the push I need to re-buy a 360. Maybe Ill pick up MW2 too and accept my inevitable fate.

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

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Originally Posted by Rad Bromance

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Originally Posted by Iceglow

4) you don't own a 360 already but would like to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii.

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You forgot the PS2, which is more popular than any of those!

I own a 360, but I prefer to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii and the 360 and the PS2. :D

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You of course mean the worlds most popular console behind the ps2 and the ds and the wii and the psp and the xbox 360

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Oh, are we including handhelds now?

In that case, you are correct sir! :D

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Originally Posted by Dreddz

The moment I saw Iceglow and Bolivar in the same thread I knew there would be trouble.

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Originally Posted by Rad Bromance

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

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Originally Posted by Rad Bromance

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Originally Posted by Iceglow

4) you don't own a 360 already but would like to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii.

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You forgot the PS2, which is more popular than any of those!

I own a 360, but I prefer to play on the worlds most popular console behind the wii and the 360 and the PS2. :D

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You of course mean the worlds most popular console behind the ps2 and the ds and the wii and the psp and the xbox 360

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Oh, are we including handhelds now?

In that case, you are correct sir! :D

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lol, we just havin fun :p

Seriously, though, they need to fix this crap because even the new model is scratching discs!

Nothing new there Bolivar, any console ps1, ps2, ps3, xbox, xbox 360, wii, game cube, sega saturn, sega dreamcast and even Laptops are a hazzard for scratching discs if you move them when the drive is being used to read a disc. They're simply not designed to be moved or as he does in the video moved violently (it looks like he shakes it to look at the machine) when in use. You should never move any CD/DVD reading equipment when it's in use, hell you're not even meant to move it with a disc in the drive when off! To violently move a console like that is begging to get it scratching discs.

Dreamcast's never had that problem. Although I think its just common sense to not move a console while a disc is in the drive. That 360 sure didn't waste any time wrecking that disc though. Seeing as accidents happen all the time I reckon Microsoft should have been more thoughtful designing the console.

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Originally Posted by Dreddz

That 360 sure didn't waste any time wrecking that disc though. Seeing as accidents happen all the time I reckon Microsoft should have been more thoughtful designing the console.

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To be fair Dreddz, the disc spins at something ridiculous, a couple of hundred rpm to begin with. Something spinning at that speed suddenly exposed to g-force and such will slip/tilt add in to that the fact that the laser lens needs to be so close to the disc to read it and you're going to have contact, contact with the laser will scratch the disc. The problem lies in the fact that lasers have to conform to speciffic industry standards and also that the lasers for reading discs have limited read distance. If the read distance was improved then the laser could be further away and we'd never see this kind of problem. The only currently available soloution would be to have a disc drive with a hard spindle where like in a case you'd have to release the disc through force/pressure points. That would provide a steady soloution to the problem but means we can't have slide trays, they'd need to be pop lids on consoles.

As for accidents happening all the time, I used to live with my mom, sister and her 2 kids (now 3 kids) now her eldest kid is 8 and knows better because he plays games too. However I've never had a kid even mess with my consoles when they're on or knock them over, what kind of lifestyle are you living/flat/room do you have where this is even a possibility? The 360 default control pads are wireless and the usb pads will simply disconnect before the console so much as even realizes the cable was tugged. There is no real risk of the console falling over from everyday normal use, you would have to deliberately pick it up or else otherwise be a very clumsy person by nature to cause a wireless console to fall over.

Again, just having fun. Pretty sure doing that to any system is probably a bad idea, regardless of how fast or terrible it happens.

Still, I'm curious to try it with something cheap like Quantum of Solace to see just how durable Blu Rays really are.

I wanted to get the bundle before I found out that the harddrive has just 4gb of memory. That's a little on the skint side if you ask me.