Fixed.

What big name PS2 game is still coming? God of War 2 and Final Fantasy (XII or XIII?) are both out, and really all that is left are the annual sports games and casual games like Lawnmower Racing.

That has to be the weird crossover I've ever heard of. Will David Duchovny be back to voice XIII?

I went over a friends house a few months ago and he had a 360 with the HD-DVD add-on. He had about 10 HD-DVDs too. All hooked up to his 4:3 non-hd 36" TV. They were hooked up via component, but when I checked his TV it didnt even support 480p.

Buy a new display while you're at it..........

But most people just want to play games. They don't care if it is SD or HD just as long as there are new games to play. If they want to play the new Metal Gear, GTA, Halo, etc the latest in those series will only be on the new consoles. So a new console would be essential for them, but a HDTV is not. 360/PS3 games still look pretty impressive in SD; they simply look better in HD.

Did he notice any difference at all in his HD-DVDs? I would think any difference would be a placebo.

XBLA was the feature that convinced me to buy a 360...then I had to buy a HD projector, and then I had to buy a HD add-on, and then I had to buy a completely new home theater surround system....damn XBLA!!!

I would think most people who can save up $400 for a system could save $500 or so for a cheapo HDTV...granted with the way people in this country save, it might take them a year to save that much.

I'd like you to meet my buddy Debt. He gets most Americans what they want now, but boy does he have a mean temper.

Paybacks a bitch!

Chris

Yeah, seriously.

I'm pretty shocked by this, I would have thought people spending $400 to $600 on a system would know that it's either hi-def. (360) or can play hi-def. movies (PS3). I could understand if these were cheap systems you buy on a whim, but I would think people would do more research when they are dropping that much money. At this point we are still talking the early adopter crowd that generally is pretty knowledgeable on what they are buying.

I guess I just research the hell out of anything I buy, especially items that cost more than a few hundred dollars. I can't imagine somebody dropping $600 on something they know little about.

I, for one, know of all the features. I got my 360 as a gift, and my g/f and I are waiting until we have most of our debt paid off until we get an HD. Sure we could pick up a cheapo 30incher, but why not save that money, pay off the debt we have, and when we get an HD in a year, it will be a better, cheaper model than we can afford currently.

That must explain why HDtv sales are increasing, SDtvs getting phased out at electronics stores and why more tv shows are being broadcast in High-definition.

That has nothing to do with the population. The FCC has a mandate and broadcasters and manufacturers are the ones ushering in the format. Not the consumers.

Yeah, HDTV sales are increasing because prices are dropping, and the because of that FCC mandate mentioned above.

As for this article, I have an HDTV and that's what made getting a 360 worth it to me. I certainly wouldn't have bought one if I didn't have it.

Of course HDTV sales are increasing since SDTVs are no longer available in most stores. If someone's SDTV breaks or whatever, then they are FORCED to buy an HDTV (either that or live without a TV). I wouldn't be surprised if there were people that would still buy VHS if it was still being produced...

Well if its dumb to own blu-ray then you're practically brain dead for purchasing hd-dvd seeing as its being raped by blu-ray and will be lucky to be around to see 2009. Oh, but of course the sales figures don't mean anything neither does the 7 major studios on blu's side compared to the 3 on HD's side. Denial has left you with some pretty expensive coasters.

Yeah isn't 2009 when the standard changes to digital (HD et all)? I hear people will need at least a converter to receive digital broadcasts around that time.

Neither side is raping the other since HD disc sales are such a small fraction of total movie sales. DVD is assraping them both so let's not get ahead of ourselves. There is no need to start a flamewar, and this is the videogame forum.

However even if HD DVD were to die, those discs don't suddenly stop working. They will still play in any HD-DVD player they have, or more likely, they will play in all combo players since it looks like that's where we are headed.

As to the topic at hand, I don't know if videogames "early adopters" are for the most part the knowledgeable people that we have on these boards. Remember that they just see "oh shit new videogames" and listen to whatever retail employees tell them about a system's features. We all know how much 95% of retail employees know about the product they sell.

That makes even less sense. So now, instead of the next gen costing $350-500, it costs $1350-5000?

Why would I need a HD TV to enjoy the Xbox 360? I don't plan on buying either system right now, but I certainly don't believe I need a new TV before buying one...

however, maybe most other people do believe that considering how slow sales are for these next gen consoles.

you don't need one at all, it's just highly recommended

No, people don't care about HDTV, they care about a flat-panel tv. Seriously. I know at least 2 people with flat-panel HDTV who do not watch HD broadcasts (they'd need to order the special box from their cable/satelite provider). My dad is one of those people -- I'm not sure he even knows the difference.

My sister had a flat-panel HDTV for months before they got the new box from their cable company and that was after I mentioned it to them.

Very highly.

That's correct. February 17th, 2009. But bear in mind this is a date that keeps getting pushed back due to the lack of HD penetration.