[quote name='ragtop70']I wonder who is making these decisions for Microsoft?
1. There is absolutely no backward compatibility for the $299 version that doesn't have a hard drive.
2. J. Allard has been touting the wireless controllers and hard drive that come packed with all Xbox 360 consoles. In the last month or so, it has been let know that this was basically a lie. For me, one of the biggest selling point of the Xbox was the hard drive. This means I don't have to waste money on memory cards. Surely I'm not alone here.
3. The analog buttons, or lack thereof, mentioned in this thread.
4. Since not all Xbox games will be compatible with the 360 when it launches, I'm assuming more will be made so via downloads. The problem here is that many people do not have Xbox Live. Sure they're giving a year of Live with the $399 system, but many people do not have a broadband connection.
5. Live is only available via broadband. I realize it is the same way on Xbox, but it was a bad idea then too. I couldn't play online with broadband users, but dial-up would still allow me to download patches and updates if I were able to connect. It would take a long time to do these things, but dial-up users would wait a few hours for the download before they'd pay the extra for broadband just to get Live.
I'm wondering why I'm even getting a 360 after typing all that. At least mine will have the hard drive.[/QUOTE]
1) Get over it. Backward compatibility is an asset but one of limited value. The Xbox market never achieved the number needed to be consistently profitable. Unlike the immense continuing strength of the PS1 when the PS2 arrived, there isn't nearly much incentive to keep Xbox development going. Especially since Microsoft will soon be unable to offer retailers any more supply of the original Xbox. Nvidia has ceased production of the XGPU and XMCP, so barring a new license agreement (or another possibility I consider such an extreme longshot I won't go into it now) the Xbox's installed base growth is soon to hit its peak.
There is only so much investment that can be qualified for running Xbox games on the 360. The circumstance are not those enjoyed by Sony but rather more like those experienced by Sega when the Genesis launched with the optional Power Base Converter to play Master System games.
2) Microsoft never, repeat NEVER, said the hard drive and wireless controller would be standard with every Xbox 360. The controller shipping with the $299 package can be upgraded to wireless through the addition of the battery & charging cable accessory. What console has previously offered the option to do that without buying an entire separate controller.
Good batteries are costly. Unlike the PSP's situation there isn't a critical need for a battery to be bundled with the Xbox 360 base package. To date, I've never seen fit to invest in wireless controllers for any console. I tried them and just wasn't impressed by the elimination of the cord. So I'd be just as happy to forego the cost of the battery for a feature I don't desire that has no bearing on game developer's decisions.
The hard drive in the original Xbox may have been a big selling point for you, as it was for many of us here, but it didn't make the critical difference for most of the market. The average shopper had difficulty understanding the advantages. On top of that, Microsoft made some policy error that prevented the drive from being exploited better. The drive ended up being a major addition to the manufacturing cost of the Xbox while doing little to justify that cost in increased sales and software that couldn't be matched on competing systems. Games like Morrowind were just too few.
It was imperative that the hard drive not be treated as a 'always there' feature on the 360 if they going to be able to cater to as much of the market as possible. I expect a solid majority of Xbox 360's will be bought with the drive or upgraded, and it may even come to pass the MS drops offering a model without a drive, but for now they need to create a large installed base ASAP to keep developers interested before Sony launches. Offering a lower price point to those who don't appreciate the drive is one of the necessary measures to being more competitive.
Nobody is forcing you to buy a memory card. The $399 package with hard drive will be there. This time around they aren't going to take massive losses for te features set. If you want the drive and other features you'll pay what it costs. Even then MS will take a loss on the hardware. Just not so severe as with the Xbox.
3) Notice how many people didn't even know that this feature was in the Xbox controllers? Most gamers don't care, most developers don't care, it adds cost, it's outta there.
4 & 5) Xbox Live will have two levels, Silver and Gold. Silver access will be free of charge and will almost certainly be used for such updates.
As for broadband, tough. Prices for DSL now start at $14.95 a month. If you cannot afford that, why the hell are you in the market for a new console? Can't get broadband where you live? Service areas are growing every month. Telcos like SBC and Verizon are putting in new RTs as a fast as they to cover their regions. Beyond that they're bringing fiber directly into more neighborhoods to offer incredible speeds for competitive prices.
Standardizing on broadband makes a major difference in the quality of service XBL can offer. There are times when quality trumps wider availability. At the current rate of expansion there will soon be very few Americans concerned with buying new video games who won't have at least one form of broadband offered to their home.
There is an alternative. It may sound exotic but here is this thing called a DVD-ROM. In the past these have been used to distibute demos and content otherwise only found on XBL. These magical discs can be found on the Exhibition packs in games stores and bundled with magazines like OXM. Just because they don't support dial-up it doesn't mean you cannot get updates.
its also going to be a ball holding L1 to talk now...or trigger 1 or whatever the 
microsoft tags it....
k
