First of all, to Sony: 'grats for finally getting the PS3 down to three hundred bucks. I can't say that I understand or agree with every decision you make, but this is a no-brainer. A tolerable price and svelte new form factor are just what the PS3 needs to reinvigorate the console before what should be an exciting Fall season, full of awesome games...which the PS3 has...haters. The PS3 has had many self-imposed hurdles to overcome over its life cycle, but price has certainly been one of the most damaging. Should the rumored Xbox 360 price drop to $300 pan out, these two should be well-matched for even more competition than before. I don't plan to get one myself - I jumped on the slim PS2 eagerly, as that update came at a time when space was precious in my apartment; now I wouldn't think of letting go of my backwards-compatible 80 gig - but if you haven't gotten on board, then this is the best chance yet to do so.
In the wake of this good news has been some speculation from the analysts that a slimmed-down Xbox 360 is also in the works: not merely an interesting notion, but an inevitable development. I think that they may be getting a little too caught up in the when without giving due consideration to the if. First of all, I don't feel the 360 needs it; it has a just-right shape and size that's easy to work with in most home electronics set-ups, especially when compared to the extra-gravy OG Triple. But that's not necessarily the sort of thing that would hold back a tech giant that would love to cram the retail shelves with slimmer boxes. What does need some reconciliation is the hard drives. Would a slim Xbox 360 (Xbox 180?) support the current stable of hard drives, having them clip into the side perhaps instead of on top, or would Microsoft create a new line of drives for the new box? If they took that route, then it would again splinter an already splintered market. The best way might be to make a slim 360 with an internal hard drive, and eliminate the pitfall of having totally separate lines of accessories for the two machines.
But like I said, that's a lot of ifs to deal with. I expect that as Spring comes, Microsoft will be better-served by putting their hardware efforts straight into Natal. Natal's release really is a matter of when, but also of how...as in how it'll actually work. And how it will help the 360 challenge the Wii as a family-friendly, motion-controlled party console. We'll see...
What I'm Playing:
- Main Campaign: Rocket Riot, Marvel Ultimate Alliance
- Side Quest: Space Invaders Infinity Gene
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