also, how can you compare The Grudge with this? Most of it is different. That girl was 16 at least, they didn't show anything against her like here, you are 1st person here, ...its very different. Besides, this is not a movie blog.

thanks.

theanalyzer411

It's not different. Movies, books, games, TV, etc. are all media that can contain violence. If it's OK for movies and TV, then it's OK for games. Vice versa, as well. If it's not OK for one media, then it's not OK for another. There is absolutely NO evidence that the interactivity of a game influences a person when depicting violence any more or less than that person watching a violent movie or TV show. Your topic is a broad topic that deals with violence in the media. You cannot ignore different mediums just because you think it helps your argument.

The Grudge, is just one example of many. Children of the Corn is another. So is The Omen. The X Files dealt with this issue. The video game FEAR is another and there are many, many other examples in literature, TV, movies, and games. It's actually a very common occurence in Japanese culture to have monsters/ghosts/evil beings resemble children, especially a young girl.

I guess where I disagree with you the most is that it seems to me that you cannot separate a 'monster' from an 'innocent child'. Nearly everyone can, except for those that have some sort of psychosis or schitzophrenia. Just because something resembles something, doesn't mean it is something. These girl-like creatures in Bioshock are evil beings that walk around with evil-looking, pupil-less eyes, with a huge syringe for an arm, harvesting genetic material from mutated corpses in a fictional, underwater, genetically mutated, evil city called Rapture. How you can't separate that from aroom of innocent school children in the real world is beyond me. Just like in The Grudge, these characters are MONSTERS, fictional evil monsters. Besides, in the game, when you 'harvest' from the 'harvester', you don't actually see anything. Other than this action, the girl-like monsters cannot be killed or harmed.

Have you run a diagnostic on your 360 of your connection? What does it say? Is your NAT open? How is your internet connection outside of LIVE? Can you download quickly to your PC? Who is your ISP? Do you have DSL, Cable, T1, etc.? Run a speed test on your PC to see exactly how fast your internet connection is.

As for your Gears disc, I've never had that happen nor have I heard of it happening with multiple discs of the same game. Usually, if a disc is bad, a replacement solves the problem. If it keeps happening with multiple discs then I'd assume it was the drive itself, however you said you just replaced your 360. You'd have to be incredibly unlucky to get a new 360 with the exact same drive problem.

Regarding 360s breaking down, MS made a mistake and admitted to it. The retroactive reimbursement and 3 year warranty is pretty unheard of. So while it would have been best for the mistake never to have happened, MS is handling it very well IMO. Since the new hardware revision is hitting stores now and addresses the 360 hardware problem, your FREE replacement will be an improved unit. IMO, as long as MS pays for it and fixes the problem, then I'm fine. The day I pay extra, though, for their mistake.....we'll I may reconsider. Remember, though, this is nothing new. The PS2 defects were atrocious as well and it took a lawsuit to get Sony to do anything. Even then, MS has handled it much better. Point is, stuff happens and it's how the company deals with it that influences me on whether I'll stick with them or not. Plus, right now and for the foreseeable future, the 360 game line up dwarfs the competition.

dont let discussion bother you so severely.

theanalyzer411

Think before you speak or write.

When someone uses research and facts to discount your idiotic claims, don't just ignore it and respond with some worthless, subject-changing, weak attempt at advice.

first, never said anything about the whole game, just that part, but since you said it, the game actually does have a significant component of killing children; its called "harvesting." Other games were not my focus, and besides, even if killing men is as bad as children, nothing you said detracts from my point. Lastly, don't overreact.

theanalyzer411

First, your point is ridiculus. It is pathetic when people try to bring attention to themselves by attacking a popular entertainment media. It's obvious from your posts that you don't really know anything about the game and are just blowing out your @ss to get attention. The game is rated M. M stands for mature. Meaning, similar to a rated R movie, only 17+ aged people can purchase it.

If you actually took any time to research what you're attacking, you'd know that the game is NOT about violence towards children. It's a game about the player getting thrown into a genetically altered underwater city, populated with various baddies that interact with each other, and having to make moral choices to survive and decide the outcome of the city. There are bigger evil characters that protect the girl characters. The girl characters actually are the harvesters. Their purpose is to harvest the gentetic altering component called 'ADAM' which, first discovered in sea slugs, has become the 'currency' of this weird city who's populance became addicted to altering their genetics. The city spins out of control and becomes 'evil'. Therefore, the charcters in the city are also 'evil', monsters even, making the game NOT about killing innocent children.

Either way, the player has the option to save the girl characters from the evil they have become or just harvest the genetic material, ADAM, just like the girl characters do. Keep in mind these girl characters look and act more like monsters than they do actual children. There have been many movies, especially Japanese with their American spin offs like The Grudge, in which the evil monster of the movie was childlike, even resembling a young girl. Only these creatures and the girl characters in Bioshock are NOT little girls. They are evil monsters that resemble little girls, just like in another video game, FEAR. If you can't separate monsters from innocent children, then you have some personal issues that you should see someone about.

So, before you make a fool of yourself, like you have, do a little research first. Frankly, the idea of leeching off of video games for personal attention is getting pathetic and old.

So are these starting to show up in stores now or will it be a little while?lukin321

Yes, the ones with the HDMI port and sticker advertising it are in stores now. The label only says HDMI, it says nothing about 65nm chips, but they wouldn't label the 65nm chips as all consoles go through many hardware revisions and the revisions aren't labeled. I think it's safe to assume that the chips would be included in the new HDMI version, what with the recent price cut and 3 year warranty.

awesome, so if my elite craps out (hopefully not), i can get an updated 360 (cooler and quite)

fazio93

Well, I'm not MS, but that only makes sense. The idea of business is to make money. What some people don't realize is that this hardware f.up is costing MS a lot, not only in potential sales do to loss of rep, but also in the shear amount of money they have to spend to fix the problem. Sony didn't do nearly this much with the PS2 disaster, waiting until they got sued to do anything at all, and lucky for them the PS2 went on to sell like hotcakes. So, while I give MS credit for stepping up, they still are going to do things to reduce the cost. Logically, not replacing bad units with bad units is a good step. That's why, IMO, this 3 year warranty is so great. IF my unit does crap out, I get a better one for free. Also, by offering the 3 year warranty, MS can't afford to ship shoddy units, since they are fronting the bill if they do, so this forces them to fix the problems ASAP. A 3 yr warranty is nearly unheard of for electronics. Figuring that consoles last typically 5-6 years before the next one comes out, this 360 warranty covers the 360 for half of its lifespan. Of course, not making this mistake in the first place would have been best, but what's done is done, and they way MS has handled it, IMO, is great.