@metgear2000 @outlawoftorn yes i agree. but its just the concept of 'paying more for something you do not want/need' is hard to swallow for consumers.

i am a huge fan of halo. when it comes out for the X1, and if it lives up to expectations, i might consider getting an X1. its all about how much value those $500 hold for you currently.

if it gets worth it in the future, then yes of course people will start ignoring the inflated price.

@metgear2000 @outlawoftorn well then MS would have to explain what is it about their box that makes it $100 more. the hdmi-in port would likely not be seen as worth $100. so yes still people would ask why they are charging more.

right now there is a clear indicator: the price is inflated because of the kinect.

@metgear2000 @outlawoftorn yeah i think many people, including me, are upset because of it being a mandatory purchase. thats why there is so much interest in a version of the X1 that does not come bundled with the kinect.

@metgear2000 @outlawoftorn well we will have to see in real world tests how much better the kinect is than the PS eye. regardless, its good that at least the eye is optional.

i do not see what other benefits kinect would have. even the gaming benefits have not been demonstrated at all by MS. that just adds worry about its success.

the innovation from Sony is coming more in the gaming side, with drop-in multiplayer, live game streams of your friends etc.

I prefer specific gaming innovation rather than broad integration of tv with a console.

MS did not really innovate anything in gaming, they just added hdmi pass through and saved people a few button presses on their remote.

things like voice commands are secondary features of a gaming console. Good on Sony for passively releasing such information rather than actively advertising it as a unique selling feature. lets you know what their vision or focus is.

In my opinion MS should have done the same but i guess they wanted to emphasize why including the Kinect in the box is justified.

@barleybosh Sony was in the console business way before Microsoft.

Would you call Microsoft stealing Sony's brilliance? No.

Its the way of the world. Company's build competing products with comparable specs.

@rodd76dog its called corporate strategy. you evaluate what your competitor is doing and you evaluate what capabilities you have. then you make a decision.

its mere speculation what sony was or was not going to do. what matters is the package they presented to consumers.

@Shinra_Tensei4 @outlawoftorn @Addictgamer114 yeah forgotten empires. again a mod that was free and now taking credit for it as an official AOE expansion.

@CieloPerso @outlawoftorn @Addictgamer114 yes i seriously doubt he has any idea about gaming, particularly playstation gaming.

@Shinra_Tensei4 @Addictgamer114 i hate it that they released AOE 2 HD without any additional features.

they could have added stuff like rejoining the game if you disconnect. they just improved the resolution and release it for $20 (for which there was already a free mod).