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Netflix HD vs. Blu-ray

Ever since the New Xbox Experience was released a couple weeks ago people all around me want to know what my opinion on the Netflix HD video service is and how it compares to Sony’s flagship HD media option, Blu-ray. It’s hard to compare the two considering one is a download service and the other is a physical product. For argument’s sake let’s look at them this way: they both offer HD content to a general public that knows very little about high-definition media and what it has to do with entertainment. The statistics are overwhelming in favor of low-resolution DVDs and non-digital television leaving one to think that neither Netflix HD nor Sony Blu-ray really matter all that much to anyone other than gamers and computer nerds.

Personally I think there is not an assumption in the world that is more wrong. HD content is the future of movie and television entertainment, it’s only a matter of time before the FCC follows through and removes non-digital cable and more companies jump on the high-definition bandwagon. For that reason alone this battle between Blu-ray and the Netflix HD service on the Xbox 360 is important to everyone who cares about this form of entertainment. I will look at the positives and negatives of each service and at the end choose a sole winner, based only on these points and my personal interaction with the service (which has ramped up over the past month for purposes of this article). This is only a comparison of the actual Xbox 360 Netflix service, as that is what most of our readers would want to know about.

Blu-Ray: It’s well-known that the major reason Blu-ray was able to conquer HD-DVD in the format war was the release of the Playstation 3, which had a built in Blu-ray player and was offered at a much lower price than anything the competition could sell. Once the format war was over and Blu-ray won it’s right to be the lone-provider of disc-based HD content to consumers most thought this was the end; it was Blu-ray or nothing (see below why this is not the case). Blu-ray has a ton of positive things going for it: 1) the resolution is unbeatable, 2) it is easier to sell movies in a physical form, for now, 3) thanks to the PS3 it has a huge user-base, and 4) many studios exclusively support Blu-Ray for their HD content. The negatives for me are a bit more serious: 1) expensive (around $20 per movie), 2) expansive but not complete catalog of available films, 3) physical nature of Blu-rays can be destroyed/lost/damaged, and 4) inconvenience of going to brick-and-mortar store to pick-up/purchase a Blu-ray (or delivery time from internet).

Netflix HD: It was a big day when Microsoft announced that it’s New Xbox Experience (NXE) would include the option to use Netflix’s service right from the comfort of your own home via the Xbox 360 console. At first I was a bit skeptical but after some time with the service it has become a daily thing in our family’s home. If there is some down-time me and my wife pull up the Netflix webpage, put some movies in our queue and sit down to decide what to watch. The process is so simple that I have taught my brothers, sister, and parents how to do it (they all now use Netflix instead of their Blockbuster subscriptions). For me the positives of the integrated Netflix HD service are overwhelming: 1) ease of use, 2) availability of HD movies, documentaries, and television shows (lots of unknown content), 3) instant access (no wait for store trip or delivery time), and 4) decent HD quality of content. The few negatives are: 1) not as large of a selection as Blu-ray and 2) depending on internet issues watching movies can be a hassle.

And the winner is . . . Netflix HD, by a small margin. This could change over time and feel free to bash and/or disagree with my opinion. The future of entertainment is heading in a downloadable direction, personally I have been getting a lot more use out of the Netflix service than my growing Blu-ray collection. People want instant access to things, and Netflix HD is currently the best option for that. Only time will tell if the service continues to be supported and the movie selection continues to grow. Sound off in our forums by clicking the link here or in the comments section below.

Source: PlanetXBOX360

Tags: NetFlixHD, Xbox 360, Blu-Ray, Sony HD movies, nxe, Xbox Live

NXE hitting 360s with red ring, freezing and avatar issues?

If you wouldn’t mind looking up from that avatar creation screen for a second — yes, we’re aware of how much that t-shirt selection means about you as a person — you might notice that your Xbox 360 is dead. At least, a few hapless souls on the Xbox forums seem to think NXE is to blame for such atrocities. Numerous folks are reporting variously bad red ring configurations, random freezing and a huge pile of blockbuster titles that won’t just play themselves. The biggest problem is that Microsoft isn’t universally treating problems caused by NXE as an “oh, our bad” sort of situation, and at least from anecdotes we’re seeing has charged quite a few folks $100 to fix their freshly-out-warranty Xbox 360s — not to mention separating them for weeks from their precious murder simulators.

Source: Engadget.com

Tags: NXE, Xbox 360, avatar, RROD

The wait is over: GoW 2 vs Resistance 2 final battle

The wait is over. Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 are available this week for everyone to enjoy. After playing around with these impressive shooters, I have to agree with this article I came across at Gamedaily.com. It is the same article but I just rearrange it to have everything in one page:

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Best Single Player Campaign

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Gears of War 2 takes you on a blood-soaked thrill ride across the planet Sera, as Marcus and company splatter Locusts across sprawling battlefields and in close quarters. You’ll fight humongous creatures, play with 17 excellent weapons and enjoy a riveting story with Hollywood style cut scenes and great voice acting. With Resistance 2, you’ll explore Chimera infested California, Chicago and other locations, using a bunch of high-powered weapons to topple a variety of creatures, one of which is 300 feet tall.

In a surprise twist, Gears of War 2 transformed Marcus, Dominic Santiago and the rest of the heroes from mindless grunts into people with a wide range of emotions. That’s what makes Gears’ single player mode superior. Resistance 2’s main character, Nathan Hale, lacks personality. As a result, we have a lot of trouble attaching ourselves to him and his cause. We love blasting Chimera, but we do it because we can, and not because the fate of the world depends on it.

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Best Multiplayer

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Both shooters have great multiplayer. Resistance 2 debuts a sweet perks system where you gain experience playing all three modes (single player, multiplayer and co-op) that transform your average soldier into a beefed up killing machine. In addition, the game has a mind boggling 60-person mode that splits everyone into squads with specific objectives. Finally, there’s a separate co-op mode for up to eight players where you choose one of three classes (soldier, medic and special ops) and work together to kill enemies.

Gears of War 2 has co-op single player and more intimate five-on-five deathmatches, but also modes like Wingman, where two man teams wage war across the game’s varied maps; and Submission, a variation of Capture the Flag where you must incapacitate a shotgun wielding non-player character and drag him back to your spawn point. However, Horde is without question GOW 2’s greatest mode. A five-person team bands together to outlast 50 waves of increasingly difficult Locusts. It’s amazing.

Resistance 2’s large-scale battles rock, but we also dig GOW 2’s five-on-five affairs. However, co-op story mode puts Gears ahead just barely.

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Best Graphics

WINNER: Gears of War 2

At first, this seemed like an easy win for Gears. Hundreds of Locusts pour out from emergence holes, punctuated by TV rattling explosions and gorgeous environments, all powered by Unreal Engine 3 make for brutal, yet beautiful warface. Resistance 2 fans always have the jaw-dropping San Francisco scene, with legions of Chimera ships blowing it to smithereens, but the rest of the game doesn’t look as good. Gears 2 looks gorgeous throughout.

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Best Audio

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Now is the time to splurge on surround sound, as Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 feature weapons and explosions that’ll further immerse you in the experience. That said, Gears has a superior soundtrack, while Resistance 2 has this odd bug where turning around significantly lowers the volume of those speaking to you.

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Best Monsters

WINNER: Tie

This one’s too close to call. Gears of War 2’s Locust Horde are evil and ugly bastards that have no qualms chopping you into fish bait. Drones pour from emergence holes and open fire, while Maulers chase you with razor sharp machetes. As for Resistance, the Chimera come in both organic and robotic forms, and the humongous Leviathan in Chicago is breathtakingly massive.

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Best Weapons

WINNER: Gears of War 2

Gears’s 17 different weapons include the trusty Lancer Assault Rifle (with chainsaw attachment), Scorcher Flamethrower, Mortar and Mulcher chain gun, all of which do an excellent job helping you kill things. Resistance 2 also presents an impressive arsenal of deadly toys (the new Splicer fires razor sharp blades), each of which has a devastating secondary fire. However, Gears gets the nod for chainsaws, poison grenades and the always destructive Gnasher Shotgun.

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Best Special Edition

WINNER: Tie

The Resistance 2 Collector’s Edition ($80) comes with the game, a Chimera action figure, a bonus disc full of goodies, an art book and a download code for an exclusive HVAP Wraith multiplayer skin. Gears of War 2’s $69.99 Limited Edition comes in a special metal box, has a 48-page book, bonus disc and download code for an exclusive gold-plated Lancer Assault Rifle.

It seems like a tie, but wait! Amazon.com has a special offer where you can bundle the Limited Edition with a replica Lancer, as in, a life size blood-covered replica. If you pre-order by November 6th, you can score the Lancer and the regular edition of GOW 2 for $139.99, or it and the Limited Edition for $149.99.

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And the winner is…

Sorry PlayStation 3 fans, but Gears of War 2 is simply superior. Resistance 2 is great, but its lack of character development and less impressive weapons puts it in GOW 2’s rear view mirror.

Tags: GearsofWar 2, GOW2, Resistance 2, Playstation 3, PS3, Xbox 360

Questions about the New Xbox Experience?

Attention Xbox 360 owners: The New Xbox Experience is coming. November 19, if you’re wondering. Some of you might have read our hands-on preview of the free downloadable update, but we know there are still many questions still unanswered. So, we thought it would be a good idea to ask you, the lovely VideoGamer.com readers, what you wanted to know before we left for a NXE session with James Houlton, UK product manager, LIVE, and Robin Burrowes, EMEA product manager, LIVE. Read on for the answers you so crave.

Take a look… >>>

Source: Videogamer.com

Tags: NXE, Xbox Live New Experience, Xbox 360, Avatars

Xbox 360 to offer first-ever Netflix HD streaming

When Microsoft unveiled the plan for the new Xbox Live experience back at E3 2008, we were thrilled to hear that Netflix instant streaming was among the features announced.

That news just got a little sweeter now that Engadget HD is reporting that Xbox 360 owners will also be able to stream selected Netflix titles in HD.

While a list of HD-ready movies is not immediately available, some 300 titles will be ready for HD streaming when the service launches–along with the new Xbox Live experience–November 19.

Judging from the screen grab, it looks like the Netflix 360 player will gauge your Internet connection and decide whether or not your hookup can handle glorious high-definition content.

This is certainly big news for Xbox 360 owners, as no other device has the ability to stream Netflix in HD. Can you hear that? It’s the sound of a Roku player crying.

From: crave.cnet.com

Tags: NetflixHD, Xbox Live Experience, Xbox new experience, Xbox 360

New Xbox Experience and Avatar Creation

For those who can’t wait until November 19th, here is a really nice video showing the process for creating avatars on your Xbox 360 new Live Experience:

http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/B59496E6-D737-4F63-8A82-C92D06F4F964/0/vidCreatingAvatarsHi.asx

Wuld you linke more information? visit the official XBOX site at http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/live/nxe/default.htm

Tags: Xbox360, Xbox Live experience, NXE, Xbox Avatars

Xbox 360 Outsells PS3 in America

According to data from market research firm NPD, the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in September. Nintendo continued to lead sales charts with 687, 000 Wii and 537,000 DS systems sold. The Xbox 360 sold 347,000 consoles compared to the PlayStation 3’s 232,000 consoles. The PlayStation Portable sold 238,000 units and 173,000 PlayStation 2s were also sold as well.

The increase in Xbox 360 sales follows price cuts made in early September. Compared to September 2007, the overall video game market was down 7 percent according to a Reuters article that summarized the NPD statistics. Several factors contributed to this decline as last September was when the much anticipated Halo 3 was released which had a large impact on software and hardware sales. According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier Halo 3 generated a full 35 percent of software sales for all of 2007.

Frazier’s analysis of the NPD numbers were discussed in a Gamasutra article where it is mentioned that decline in prices of each of the videogame consoles also contributed to the overall decline. According to Frazier, “Hardware unit sales were flat versus last year so the decline in dollars is due to lower prices. The average retail price of hardware across all platforms declined 8% from last September.”

Despite the decline in September sales compared to the previous year, the video game industry continues to be healthy. Frazier states, “Overall, the health of the video games industry remains quite strong despite the rocky economic conditions. Tracking against typical industry seasonality, the U.S. video games industry is positioned to realize $22B or more in revenues for the year.”

Overall, the market is at $11.82 billion in sales for January to September 2008, compared to $9.38 billion in sales for the same period in 2007.

Source: DailyTech news

Tags: NPDnumbers, xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii

Microsoft’s New Xbox Experience storage “solution”: Free memory cards, discounted hard drives

Source: Engadget.com

Microsoft’s New Xbox Experience has been pored over and dated, but now that Major Nelson has revealed it requires “at least” 128MB storage available to work, where does that leave suckers Core and Arcade SKU Xbox 360 owners? Enter the Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Program, doling out free 512MB MU’s or $20 20GB HDDs to Core owners, and a $30 20GB HDD + 3 months of Xbox Live package to Arcade owners looking to upgrade. November 19, Xbox Live becomes a storage-only affair (that goes for Netflix streams too, requiring 8MB of free space), so grab your serial number and console ID from the current Xbox 360 Dashboard and hit the registration website. Impressive customer service gesture to extend functionality for all, or more evidence of a short sighted and flawed dual-SKU launch plan that’s cost gamers and developers alike? All we know for sure is we’ve probably figured out where the profits from those $149 120GB HDDs are going.

Tags: XboxExperience, Microsoft, Xbox Live Experience, Xbox 360

Xbox Experience vs PS3 Home

Source: Blorge.com

This generation has seen a new battleground for the console wars: the online community offerings. Up to now, few would argue that the Xbox 360 has ruled the roost, with Xbox Live offering a brilliant and user-friendly place for gamers to congregate. But the battle lines are now being redrawn as the all-new Xbox Live attempts to go up against Home on the PS3.

The Tokyo Game Show has brought few surprises, but some interesting announcements, nonetheless. In terms of the new online offerings from both companies, Sony confirmed that its long-awaited Playstation Home service, exclusive to the PS3, will be here by the end of the year; while Microsoft announced details of its New Xbox Live ‘Experience’ - coming to a 360 near you on November 19th.

Home has been a long time coming and there are still mixed views over whether it will actually live up to the hype built over the past three years. It’s still not quite here, currently stuck in private beta, but a full, open beta has been promised before the end of 2009.

Home will allow PS3 owners to create an avatar and decorate their own apartment. They will then be able to live out a virtual life, online, in a kind of Second Life way. Community will be the order of the day, with meeting new people, chatting, hanging out together and generally cohabiting being the main bulk of the experience.

Other features will include a virtual cinema, showing movies, stores by companies such as EA, Rockstar, and Sega, and of course the chance to play against other gamers online for free.

The New Xbox Live ‘Experience’ demonstrates a whole new way of thinking by Microsoft. According to an interesting look at the new online playground by CNET, the Experience is mostly about the new avatars, which themselves are just a rip off of Wii Miis.

Another new feature will be ‘Parties’, a new way of interacting with friends and keeping track of who’s playing what. But apart from that, there doesn’t look to be too much to get excited about. And to be honest, I can see many Xbox Live veterans not being happy at the changes, clearly intended to appeal to the more casual end of the gaming spectrum.

I can see both services having difficulties for a few months, with Xbox 360 owners struggling to adapt to the changes while PS3 owners will have to come to grips with the complete change of pace on their network. In the end though, despite all the difficulties, delays and disappointments in getting Home here, I think it’ll prove to be the ultimate winner.

Tags: Microsoft, Opinion, PS3, PlayStation 3, Sony, Xbox 360, Xbox Experience, Xbox Live

New Xbox Experience Coming on November 19th

Microsoft has announced at the TGS08 that the release of the New Xbox Experience - in 24 countries, localized in 19 languages, is coming to everyone on November 19th.

Tags: NewXbox Experience, Xbox 360, Xbox Live