cerial442

Maybe, but at least they aren't telling us to get a second job to buy their console.

GreenMonkey

If wireless internet is the deal maker for you, I'll just point out that you can set up wireless bridging very easily with a pair of 802.11g routers that support WDS bridging. I just picked up a Buffalo router for $25 a few months back that supports it to add a 3rd internet spot in my house.

You can set up wireless bridging for sub-$50 and it will supply you with (typically) 4 network ports in your A/V rack - perfect for all of your network enabled devices. (I have the 360 and the Toshiba HD-A2 hooked up to it, and eventually a HTPC, and someday a 20GB PS3).

It's really very simple to set up. I keep seeing people buying $100 wireless bridges for the 360 or bemoaning the lack of wireless in the 20GB PS3. You plug in the second router to your PC, set it to bridging mode, and do a couple of simple setup things (like making it have a different IP address than your main router), then move it to where your A/V stuff is.

PixyJunket

Yeah, I'd need wireless with whatever console I choose. My PC and TV are on very far opposite ends of the apartment and running a wire to each other would be a pain in the ass.

Ocelot

Again, it's all about opportunity cost... Wireless saves you tons of time! The pain is to setup the very first wireless network ($50 or so). Once you're set and have the encrypted code, any device with wireless network feature built in will be easily connected to the net.

Having wired network is not that bad too as long as you can easily set things up.

The last thing you want is to waste all of your time to have the console go on-line. I know a guy wasted a week or so trying to get his X360 to go on-line. He brought the a good wireless network card (semi-top of the line) and hoping the X360 takes it (well, the X360 was out for a while now). Anyhow, at the end, he gave up... got another network card (a compatible one).

darkside

I have everything in my house wireless except my main PC. My kids PCs, my laptop, PDA, DS, Wii, Xbox Media Center and PS3 are all hooked up wireless. I would never even consider going online by running cables or wireless bridges. Too much hassle. I just want to turn on my system and connect. I'm not paying a lot extra for that privilege. If something as inexpensive as the DS can include Wi-fi a $400 console definitely should.

If I do get a 360 down the road I think I can use my old Xbox wireless adapter on it, but still hate that I have to switch it back and forth when I want to also use the Media Center.

shumway

Stinking DS is the only thing keeping me using WEP instead of WPA.

ktown

i rather get a second job and buy a console i know that wont fail


but i learned the hard way and bought a piece of junk 360 that gave me the 3 red rings the warranty doesnt make a difference since they will keep failing since they use the same old junk

90 day to 1 year and now 3 year whats next 5 year warranty
y dont they just fix the god damn problem


i heard rumors they are bringing in new chips hopefully this will fix this problem which should have been done awhile back
but i guess microsoft wanted to see how high the failure rates would go 33% but i think ms still thinks thats not high enough

fumanstan

Considering some refurb 360's are going back with a new heat sink, i think they're trying (or did).

ktown

r they putting these new heat sink on the new consoles that are sitting in store shelves?

or only on the rrod's

Michael Corvin

I'm sure they are trying everything they can as it is costing them a fortune not fixing the problem.

Ocelot

Same mentality here... it's not that can't afford or even hate X360. It has to be good enough for "gentle" use (like 2-4 hours a day and turn off completely afterward, not asking too much really). When the X360 refuse to BC with the Xbox, it kinda tell me MS is lazy or don't care...

Michael Corvin

Not unlike European PS3s or the new American PS3s? When did they refuse? I'd like to see that article.

Baron Of Hell

Hey hey hey now. That is a feature according to the big N. Providing wpa and wep would confuse you.

KenKeith

metal gear solid looks yummy

lordwow

MGS4 does look good, but it's not enough to get me to buy the console at this point.

Michael Ballack

Agreed. I won't buy the console until it is $399.

GreenMonkey

If you can get that stuff online, you can set up a wireless bridge. In fact, it's easier that setting up the Wi-Fi on each system. One setup of less than 20 minutes. After that, you just plug things into the network ports. No WEP or WPA security codes/keys for each device - the router just functions as a wireless access point for all 4 game systems or whatever - they just see wired ethernet. It's actually easier than setting up each device via wireless.

Lastblade

I don't see BC as not caring, if anything, BC is not all that important. Why would you buy a next gen system to play last gen games? Even Sony is ditching the emotion (PS2) chip in their PS3 (the 80gig model will be BC through emulation, similar to 360). So if you want 100% BC for PS3, you might want to get a 60gig right now.

To me, I am buying a new system to play new games. BC is more of a convenience than a deciding factor on a new system. I see your point of the 360's reliability tho (crossing my fingers with my Elite).

KurrptSenate

it hasn't come up much with me, but I was extremely thankful I could pick up a game like Manhunt for 7 bucks, and enjoy more than a TON of titles on the 360 at this point. Graphics really aren't a deciding factor for me anyway

PixyJunket

For one thing, both the Xbox 360 and PS3 upscale their BC games to your HDTV's native resolution, eliminating HDTV lag.. and for those that won't notice that, at the very least, it eliminates making your HDTV deinterlace the image, which most TVs do a fairly poor job of.

taffer

Nobody specifically buys a next-gen system to play last-gen games. That would be just stupid. I know that some gamers will just play a game once, then sell it off. There are also gamers, myself included, that do not do that, and we will replay old games quite often. I am currently replaying Ninja Gaiden Xbox for like my dozenth time.

Space is another issue. Why have both an Xbox and a 360 taking up a ton of room when you can just have the 360 alone taking up half the room.

Michael Corvin

I don't replay games that often, I usually sell 'em off. Personally, I've never owned any PS console, so BC is a nice option for someone jumping into the fold. There are about a dozen games I wanted on the PS2, but maybe I'll just get a PS2 when it drops below $100 instead of waiting for a reasonable PS3 price.

fujishig

Considering the PS3 library is so thin right now, BC Ps2 games is what I used it for most of the time. It's not a deal killer, but I'm sure many Wii owners that never had a gamecube went back and picked up a bunch of classic gamecube games.

Besides the space issue of the consoles themselves, there's the space for the peripherals, the extra inputs you need to connect all the legacy systems, etc.

cerial442

BC is good for those games you missed if you didn't have the previous console.

I'm able to catch up on some Gamecube games on the Wii because of this.

GreenMonkey

Agreed. For us multi-platformers we get a bit tired of system clutter. And there's a lot of PS2 games I'm not giving up.

For a while I had a PS2, Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox, NES, SNES, Genesis, Saturn all hooked up. Once I added in the Wii, and then the 360, something had to give. I was spending hours rewiring the AV rack when I changed something. I sold off most of NES/SNES stuff just recently (hanging onto my almost-complete Dragon Warrior IV).

Now I'm down to the 360, Wii, PS2, and Saturn...along with an HD-A2 HD-DVD and a Dish HD-DVR and a HTPC work-in-progress. It's much more manageable.

BTW: I noticed that my Olevia LCD and my Onkyo SR605 receiver won't work with PS1 games via component video out of the PS2. Period. I ran component cables to my projector so I can play PS1 games, a PS3 would sove that as well as reducing/eliminating any deinterlacing/scaling lag.