I could've ordered a PAL copy of Burnout 3 I guess, but the simple fact of the matter is that I wanted to play the game this evening so that I could start unlocking cars for use against other GameSpotters on Live this weekend. Do I feel a little stupid for having bought three Xbox consoles now? Definitely. Do I regret today's purchase? Definitely not. Not only have I had a ball with Burnout 3 tonight, but after my recent EGN/GameStars Live trip to London I concluded that it would actually be easier on my wallet to add an NTSC console to my collection than to continue purchasing PAL games. In the UK, you see, new games generally sell for around £40, which translates to approximately $71.50 at the time of writing. So, by my reckoning, by the time I've purchased NTSC (as opposed to PAL) copies of Fable, Halo 2, Second Sight, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, Def Jam: Fight for NY, and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, my shiny new Xbox will be well on the way to paying for itself.

I did purchase a PAL copy of Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow during my trip to London, not because I'm remotely interested in the single-player campaign, but because it's the only game that most of my UK-based friends are playing on Xbox Live right now. SInce moving to the US a couple of months ago, Xbox Live has proved itself to be a great way for me to keep in touch with friends back home, and once Tiger Woods 2005 is released (along with the PAL Pro Evolution Soccer 4) I know that I'll be enjoying far more and lengthier conversations with my family--my dad and my brother anyway.

Before I call it a night here, I just have to let you all know how excited I am about the Xbox Live-compatible version of Pro Evolution Soccer 4 that'll be released in Europe next month. Sure San Andreas and Halo 2 are still on my wish list, but this... this is the one... :D