New XBOX Experience - General Discussion

[quote name='KingofOldSchool']Just because Gamestop gives low trade in values is nowhere near as bad as Wal*Mart making clothes and such in poor working conditions overseas where the workers get paid almost nothing.

Just saying, boycotting Gamestop over something like that is asinine when there are far worse business models going on.[/quote]

Ok. Just to reiterate.

Gamestop has sold me used games (save files on the carts) marked as new for the full retail price. Gamestop has accepted my money as a deposit in exchange for some preorder trinket and failed to give me the promised trinket yet taken my money nonetheless. Gamestop does not give me enough for trade ins for me to consider the trade in worthwhile.

These are three different business practices that I do not agree with and so I do not shop at Gamestop.

What is it, exactly, that Wal*Mart's labor conditions have to do with any of Gamestop's sales practices?
 
I'm not that excited about this new live. I think the current blade system works fine. Also, the avatars don't really do much for me, either. Who knows, I may like it once I actually get to experience it.
 
[quote name='cochesecochese']Ok. Just to reiterate.

Gamestop has sold me used games (save files on the carts) marked as new for the full retail price. Gamestop has accepted my money as a deposit in exchange for some preorder trinket and failed to give me the promised trinket yet taken my money nonetheless. Gamestop does not give me enough for trade ins for me to consider the trade in worthwhile.

These are three different business practices that I do not agree with and so I do not shop at Gamestop.

What is it, exactly, that Wal*Mart's labor conditions have to do with any of Gamestop's sales practices?[/quote]
Perhaps you are too loose with your money? If your game has a save file, bring it back and threaten to report them (your local GS) to the BBB. And as for pre-orders, if they don't have your 'trinket', get your money back or don't pre-order there.
 
[quote name='cochesecochese']Gamestop has sold me used games (save files on the carts) marked as new for the full retail price.[/quote]

Why on earth did you buy the open game and pay full price for it? That's your own problem. I know I would never, unless the game was extremely rare.

Gamestop has accepted my money as a deposit in exchange for some preorder trinket and failed to give me the promised trinket yet taken my money nonetheless.
Most pre-order bonuses are first come, first serve. You're not paying $5 for the bonus. You are paying $5 for the pre-order. If you don't get there in time to get the bonus, that's just the way it is.

Gamestop does not give me enough for trade ins for me to consider the trade in worthwhile.
Then, you don't trade there. Not that hard.
 
[quote name='cochesecochese']No, I'm referring to games being gutted and then brought home for employees to play. On three separate occasions I bought a 'new' DS game only to bring it home and find save files on it.

I worked at a GameStop in Vermont for a brief while. When I worked there it was a regular occurrence for the manager to give away preorder schwag to his longtime employees even though he was only sent enough to cover his preorders. From what I understand this was a common practice at all other Gamestops in the area. If Gamestop can't come through with the preorder bonuses then the chain shouldn't accept peoples' money for them.[/quote]

If you bought those DS games all from the same store, that manager should be reprimanded. A game cart is no different than a disc when it comes to the policy that if there is the slightest of use (scratch, save, whatever), then the employee must buy it regardless. Then again, that's why I only check out used games.

The Gamestop that you worked at in Vermont was one of the crap stores. The only way any employee has any way to be entitled to any preorder bonuses would be if the employee preordered the game or if the bonus had sat around the store after the game was released due to the customer not picking it up.

I can admit a bad manager can ruin a store. That's why it is hard to find a good Gamestop that you wouldn't want to screw over. If most of the managers really paid good attention to who is reserving stuff all the time, there wouldn't be as many gripes with the preorder bonuses or customer treatment in the stores.
 
[quote name='SynGamer']Perhaps you are too loose with your money? If your game has a save file, bring it back and threaten to report them (your local GS) to the BBB. And as for pre-orders, if they don't have your 'trinket', get your money back or don't pre-order there.[/quote]

I did bring back the games and I did stop shopping there. As I said before this is the reason I don't shop there anymore...
 
So, hopping back on topic, let's say I do luck out and get an invite from USA Today. Do my buddies on my friends list have to have the new dash update as well in order to try things out with them, such as the new party system?
 
So, the article has 279 comments, and the "Sign-Up" link has yet to be taken down...

There's definitely no way there hasn't been 250 sign ups yet, so I'm thinking our chances just got a bit dimmer.

Rolling through the comments, the author stated about 5.5 hours ago:

Mike Snider wrote 5h 36m (currently 9:28pm EST) ago:

Everyone who has sent their information in so far should be fine. (If you forgot some of the information, you need to resubmit.) We will not be contacting you directly. You will simply get the Xbox Live update when you start up, probably tomorrow night but possibly sooner.

Thanks again,

Mike

So by my estimate, if you submitted before 4pm EST, you should be good to go.

~HotShotX
 
[quote name='badramen']Question who have legit NXE, is the download queue still only six items?[/quote]

Good question, I hate that damn Download que. Very annoying sometimes.

Also for anybody with the NXE, Are there good sizes for the avatar? Cause I want my Avatar like me, Fat :D

Any good t-shirt options either?
 
The avatars only get so fat. I was surprised by that, but I'm sure some parent would throw a shit fit if they saw their kid's avatar being morbidly obese.
 
Author of article where you sign up update:

USA TODAY Staff
Mike Snider wrote: 5m ago
Hi, thanks for hanging with us. We're right at our 250. Just waiting for a Web designer to change the Sign In function. Thanks so much for participating. We'll get your data to Microsoft. Enjoy the new Xbox Live.

Mike


So Looks like everyone got in if you signed up, until 5 minutes ago. :)
 
[quote name='orbit18']Author of article where you sign up update:

USA TODAY Staff
Mike Snider wrote: 5m ago
Hi, thanks for hanging with us. We're right at our 250. Just waiting for a Web designer to change the Sign In function. Thanks so much for participating. We'll get your data to Microsoft. Enjoy the new Xbox Live.

Mike


So Looks like everyone got in if you signed up, until 5 minutes ago. :)[/quote]

now I'm all excited for maybe nothing. UGH
 
[quote name='TrueBlueLS']The avatars only get so fat. I was surprised by that, but I'm sure some parent would throw a shit fit if they saw their kid's avatar being morbidly obese.[/quote]


You'd be surprised how many games I actually make my self Morbidly Obese just like my Real self! lol.

But your right though of course. Damn parents.
 
[quote name='orbit18']Author of article where you sign up update:

USA TODAY Staff
Mike Snider wrote: 5m ago
Hi, thanks for hanging with us. We're right at our 250. Just waiting for a Web designer to change the Sign In function. Thanks so much for participating. We'll get your data to Microsoft. Enjoy the new Xbox Live.

Mike


So Looks like everyone got in if you signed up, until 5 minutes ago. :)[/quote]

Yep, I just saw that. Since I signed up a little over 4 hours ago I think I should make the cut. Excellent!
 
woo hoo! only a few days away. looking forward to playing my games with the new 16:10 support.

I currently have a 22" monitor with 1680x1050 native resolution.
 
[quote name='orbit18']Author of article where you sign up update:

USA TODAY Staff
Mike Snider wrote: 5m ago
Hi, thanks for hanging with us. We're right at our 250. Just waiting for a Web designer to change the Sign In function. Thanks so much for participating. We'll get your data to Microsoft. Enjoy the new Xbox Live.

Mike


So Looks like everyone got in if you signed up, until 5 minutes ago. :)[/quote]

Woo hoo, looks like I'm in then.:bouncy:
 
[quote name='KingBroly']I think the Halo 3 response given was a load of BS. Let's see...what's the main draw of the install feature? OH YEAH! TO PLAY YOUR GAMES IN PEACE! Their stupid game, along with every other MGS-published game I have runs louder than all non-MGS titles I have.[/quote]

I think they can set the fan speed and MGS titles purposely crank up the fan to keep the system cooler.
 
Cheapy, if you're reading - have you tried the "party" thing yet? You're the only person on my list with it so I haven't been able to see its value yet.

[quote name='KingBroly']Can you put old gamerpics on your Avatar's T-shirt?[/QUOTE]

Nope. I hope they let you sometime down the road though.

Someone mentioned the 16x10 support above...yeah it's nice to have the screen in proper aspect ratio, but it makes the overlay text/boxes on the dashboard look like ass. There's definitely some distortion/fuzziness going on with the text. It's not a dealbreaker but it's disappointing.
 
[quote name='espy605']I think they can set the fan speed and MGS titles purposely crank up the fan to keep the system cooler.[/quote]

It's possible, but MGS games also tend to push the system a little more.

Fable 2 is an MGS game I think, right? At least for me, there is no fan speed increase. In fact, I have yet to experience it. I think Oblivion gave it to me a few times back in the day, but who could tell with the optical drive roaring away.

I think the fan speeds up when the system gets warm. It's possible they could set it, via instructions in the game code, to come on more readily, but the bottom line is that it's triggered by heat.

So if you're having a lot of fan trouble, I'd check to make sure the exhaust vents are not obstructed on the system and that it's in a well-ventilated location. I also might consider one of those aftermarket fans, which are often quieter than the on-board fan; make sure to get one that has its own power, though, and not one that draws from the 360. That can cause big problems. (Although the ones that draw power from one of the 360's USB ports might be okay.)

If you install once of these external fans and have your box in a well-ventilated area, and the fan still cranks up all the time, I may stand corrected and it may just default to that for that particular game. :) Or, your aftermarket fan might suck, and you still might have it in a poorly ventilated area.

These are tricky systems to work with. (My optical drive won't even OPEN unless there's already a disc in there. Weird, huh?)
 
I may not be aware yet, but I do remember that there were some games that were free to play multiplayer (those that were also made for Live for Windows). You could play them with a Silver Membership but it was only going to be until they were ready to launch the new Live for Windows service.

My question, just out of curiosity as I don't have either of those games, is does the NXE make it so those games are now no longer available to play online for Silver members...or is this something that was already fixed and I just missed.
 
[quote name='badramen']Question who have legit NXE, is the download queue still only six items?[/QUOTE]

I read on GAF that it's been upped to 30.
 
Has anyone else had odd issues since they started this beta? I didn't make the cut (or even obtain it otherwise) and I've been having odd issues with things like my Gamerscore. I've added 30 points in the last week and it doesn't show to my account. I only post this here since I thought the timing was so coincidental. Anyone else having issues?
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']Has anyone else had odd issues since they started this beta? I didn't make the cut (or even obtain it otherwise) and I've been having odd issues with things like my Gamerscore. I've added 30 points in the last week and it doesn't show to my account. I only post this here since I thought the timing was so coincidental. Anyone else having issues?[/quote]
I haven't had any troubles.
 
[quote name='D4rkewolfe']I may not be aware yet, but I do remember that there were some games that were free to play multiplayer (those that were also made for Live for Windows). You could play them with a Silver Membership but it was only going to be until they were ready to launch the new Live for Windows service.

My question, just out of curiosity as I don't have either of those games, is does the NXE make it so those games are now no longer available to play online for Silver members...or is this something that was already fixed and I just missed.[/quote]


im confused about what you are asking....but if you have a silver account you CANNOT play online multiplayer.
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']Has anyone else had odd issues since they started this beta? I didn't make the cut (or even obtain it otherwise) and I've been having odd issues with things like my Gamerscore. I've added 30 points in the last week and it doesn't show to my account. I only post this here since I thought the timing was so coincidental. Anyone else having issues?[/QUOTE]

I've only had trouble with it posting to Xbox.com and sometimes to my Gamercard (not my actual GamerTag, but I mean from MyGamerCard.net and those types of cards). It works fine on my 360, but seems like it now gets delayed a few hours, to sometimes even a day, before it gets posted.
 
[quote name='Malik112099']im confused about what you are asking....but if you have a silver account you CANNOT play online multiplayer.[/QUOTE]

Actually for games that are also on Windows (i.e. Lost Planet, Universe at War) can be play online as a silver member. I havent check recently so it might have change.
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan'] It's possible they could set it, via instructions in the game code, to come on more readily, but the bottom line is that it's triggered by heat.
[/quote]

It's fact. Fan speed is easily adjustable in software from the developer end, but whether or not the developer chooses to do so or just rely on the system's auto-regulating is up to them. A game like Gears of War 2, as soon as it boots up, immediately cranks the fan way above normal levels, before any actual 3D rendering is done. When it did this, I thought the "play from hard drive feature" wasn't working, it was so loud.
 
I'm noticing that everyone with access seems to be using either the "$ chain" shirt (Cheapy, glockant) or the "metal" shirt (me, malik). We're going to need an infusion of new shirts once the update goes out to everyone.
 
[quote name='benjamouth']I suspect if you want T-shirts, you'll be paying for them.[/quote]


Hopefully it's not $15 per shirt like how some items are priced in LittleBigPlanet.

And I'm saving the points I got for free from that MSN Auto thing for Avatar attire. :oops:
 
[quote name='Chase']Hopefully it's not $15 per shirt like how some items are priced in LittleBigPlanet.

And I'm saving the points I got for free from that MSN Auto thing for Avatar attire. :oops:[/quote]
NEEEEEEEEERDDDDD!!!!

I want a Mega Man shirt. :cool:
 
[quote name='Chase']Hopefully it's not $15 per shirt like how some items are priced in LittleBigPlanet.

And I'm saving the points I got for free from that MSN Auto thing for Avatar attire. :oops:[/QUOTE]

What MSN auto thing?
 
A while ago, MSN offered points (200 points, or something) to create or rate car designs, or something similar. With a couple Gmail accounts, I... err... I hear people used the Gmail account trick (placing a period in a Gmail e-mail address) to score a lot of points.

Last week, the last stream of points flowed in. Just a bunch of 50 point codes.
 
[quote name='orbit18']Author of article where you sign up update:

USA TODAY Staff
Mike Snider wrote: 5m ago
Hi, thanks for hanging with us. We're right at our 250. Just waiting for a Web designer to change the Sign In function. Thanks so much for participating. We'll get your data to Microsoft. Enjoy the new Xbox Live.

Mike


So Looks like everyone got in if you signed up, until 5 minutes ago. :)[/quote]

If that turns out to be true, guess I'm in.
 
[quote name='screwkick']Still waiting on USA Today...[/QUOTE]

From everything that was said in the comments of the article, you'll get no notification. The only way to see if you got in early is to keep turning on your Xbox (when it does the check).
 
Cheapy convinced me to grab a big hard drive with his CAGcast talk this week. I'm waiting for one of two Target's near me to drop the price down to $89 for the 120 GB. They each have one, so if they sell out, I think I'll turn to eBay for a 60 GB.
 
So, what's the deal with the Target clearanced drives? I thought I read some were $80 and some were $130?

The local Target had one left in stock, and I'm pretty sure it was $130. I passed, hoping I could grab it if/when it dropped again, like I thought others stores had done.
 
Depends on your Target. AFAIK, they drop it a certain % whenever they want, or bi-weekly...one of those. My Target had one for 12x.xx. It was the last one, so I decided to jump on it since I'm pretty sure there's a hoarder in my area. Check the Target Clearance thread in the deals forum, it's the current topic of that topic at the time of my post.
 
My Target had...5 at $89.98. That's currently the lowest price for clearance hard drives. I'm guessing to make way for the 60gb HDD's...and probably something bigger next Spring.
 
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