Quoting MattyJames:

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Maybe not for long....I'm completley stuck on "Who Was In My Room Last Night" by the Butthole Surfers on the Hard setting. I need to take a break from that game for awhile seeing as how i can't bend my fingers on my left hand. 

Jeez, I'm not even starting on Hard yet. I just managed to get the first three 3 sets on Medium to 5 stars yesterday.

Oops, waaaay off topic!

Not that GHII = musical talent, just wanted to clear that up. It does equal having good dexterity though.

I am a musician as well and GH does indeed take musical ability. It is a good rhythmic tool and helps with hand dexterity (Along with being loads of fun!!!)

  Speaking of GH II, I just read on Teamxbox that Redoctane just released 3 new track packs as well as gamerpics and a theme on XBL today.

Link

I think the Track Packs are a little overpriced but i will probably buy a few of them as they are released. 

I totally understood what you meant and you're right.  Playing the game will not make you good at playing a real guitar per say. It does however help with the above mentioned. I also agree that the best part about the game is playing with friends. It is a great party game! I was a bit disappointed that it did'nt include online capabilities but i have read that it's not out of the question as a patch in the near future.

Quoting Calidain:

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Quoting Ascended_Saiyan:

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Getting back to the new Xbox Elite.  Should a console company release 2 and 3 consoles in the first 2 years of the formats life span?  Personally, I think a company should at least have the foresight to cover technologies in the near future so they don't have to put consumers through the rebuying process so soon.  To me that is not really a "next-gen" console...that is a "right now" console.  But like I said before, I do not regret my 360 purchase.  I have had over a year now with it, but going forward multi-platform game purchases will not be for my 360.

That depends, because in context of the continual improvements going on with HD content and the HDMI format, you can argue that MS was smart for waiting.  Can anyone confirm that it will be HDMI 1.3 on the new XBOX 360 Elite???

Also let's face the facts, there is no such thing as "Future Proof" in any technology!!!  So I have always hated the whole "Next Gen" terminology.  When a company announces a product as being next gen, it is next gen when it is in the theory, planning, and maybe even still during the developing stage, but upon release "Next Gen" is truly a misnomer

Yes.  MS is smart for waiting if they can get their customers buy another, more expensive, Xbox 1 year after launch with only two small increases in options.  IMO, at the very least, they should have waited for the 65nm processor cores before releasing the Elite.

It is HDMI 1.2 for the Elite.  HDMI 1.1 was available way before the Xbox360 launched.  With the Elite's current specs, HDMI 1.1 could accomplish same thing.  Why wait on HDMI?  Was it to cut back on how much they were going to lose per unit or did they just not think about it?

You are correct in saying there is no such thing as "future proof".  However, there is a such thing as "future proofing".  What is meant by that is it is MORE prepared for things to come in the future.  Basically, it's just looking out for your investment, so you won't have to buy basically the same product again for something that could have been placed in your product to save the consumer money in the near future.

Since PSs are usually created to last 8 to 10 years, 'next-gen' not a misnomer in this particular case.

Quoting bob9000:

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Quoting Ascended_Saiyan:

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'next-gen' not a misnomer in this particular case.

dude, every word that dribbles out of your mouth is a misnomer. 

I just love your informative posts.

Quoting Calidain:

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Saying that the PS3 is designed to last 8-10 years does not make it the truth.  SONY might try to convince the consumers that their new console will last that long, but that is meant to alleviate the fear of buying into a technology that might go absolete in 2-3 years!!!

I'm going by PS history.  What are you basing your statement on?

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If tomorrow some company steps forward and introduces a technological breakthrough that will allow total immersion virtual reality gaming, then that will be next gen and I guarantee you that SONY and Microsoft will be grappling and shoving each other to get their own versions out before the other guy does.

You are basing this on...?

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The best analogy to this can be seen with the 2 major video graphics card manufacturers.  Every year they seem to advance the architecture more and more and yet the typical high end computer geek plops down $300-400 dollars for the current next gen graphics card knowing full well that something better will come along very soon.

That is not a console.  That is a part replacement.  Consoles are sold for a loss in hopes of making it up on software.  Graphics cards are not.  This is a very bad analogy.

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Future proof (and/or future proofing) and Next Gen are misnomers!!!  All they are simply catch phrases, marketing terms, meant to lull the consumer into a state of comfort that they are making a smart safe buy!!!

It seems to be more than just marketing if my pockets are heavier with cash because I don't have to pay extra money sooner than I would if I went with a similar product (and buying extra accessories to try to equal it).  That sounds like cost savings through future-proofing to me.  You call it want you want.

Quoting graymadder:

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I think all he is saying is no matter how much you try to "future proof" your product there is no guarantee. Even if it has all the latest technology it still doesn't gurantee it. I.E. 3do and Neo-Geo, Sega Saturn, Any Sega console for that matter. Sega was way ahead of the competition when they released their consoles. Is it me,or does the DreamCast and the game cube seem like the same console...i see a conspiracy 

You are right.  There is no guarantee with anything in the future, of course.  But, through proper research, it's not that hard to see something coming.  How much thinking does it take to see that HDMI 1.1 was used in the past, HDMI 1.2 is being used now, and I (the company) have seen white papers on HDMI 1.3 coming soon...why don't I include this in my system that's suppose to last for a considerable amount of time in the future (if obtainable)?  It's just seeing what's coming next (as far as industry standards)...not 2 or more steps ahead or inventing your own thing (like the consoles you mentioned).  HDMI was already in HDTVs before the Xbox was released.  This was basically an industry standard.  Digital video and audio down one cable?  That was a no brainer.

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Just because a console has HDMI, doesn't mean anything. In 5 years HDtv's have gone from using component to DVI to HDMI(multiple revisions). So there is no guarantee that HDMI will be the only interface in two years let alone 8 - 10 years. At least I hope not.

It's not about whether HDMI will be the ONLY interface in how many years.  It's about knowing what coming "next" and providing that for your customers...hence "next-gen".  Then, if that isn't the best, be flexible enough to be able to provide that interface as an add-on (not make you buy an entire new product so close after it comes out).  That's thinking ahead and taking your consumers into account.  It is because of that type of thinking that I have a next-gen console that's ready for delivering the very best the near future has to offer picture and sound wise.  HDMI 1.3 is just beginning to show up in new HDTVs enabling them to display colors in the BILLIONS and not millions and many more shades of grey (for more vibrant, 3D looking images).  Then, that same HDMI 1.3 allows me to be ready for A/V receivers that aren't even out yet, by being able to pass DEEP COLOR and advanced audio codec to be processed in my receiver (where the best audio decoding takes place) and ready to pass DEEP COLOR to a future HDTV I will buy.

Just that one thing, HDMI 1.3, being included in this device allows for all those future abilities companies are just beginning to produce on a large scale.  They could have just put HDMI 1.2 in their product, but that would have just been ready for the present...not the future.  Hell, even the PS2 had component cables you could buy for it.  It seems this new PS console is about tipping the scale between give and take (giving value and taking money) in favor of the consumer.  It's a over the top gaming console, fully functional and very powerful computer, and Blu-ray/DVD/CD/SACD player for the price of a decent subwoofer.  Like I said before, I do have a 360 as well.  But, I can't remember feeling this good about a purchase in a good while.  I know it will get a lot more hours of use than my 360.

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I think the PS3 needs some more time to go by before any definitive conclusion can be drawn. This xmas will show a lot between the 3 consoles. My prediction is that they all will succeed. Each console is aimed at certain type of audience. Different strokes for different folks. By the way anytime you can use that saying there is a rule that says that it is mandatory.

I agree.  No definitive conclusions can be drawn until more gaming come out like Halo 3, Lair, Heavenly Sword, Unreal Tournament 3, Burnout 5, DMC4, etc.  I don't even think some people will be ready to conclude anything even then.

I know all the console platforms will make a profit in the future.  The Wii is already making a profit, because they aren't selling their console for a loss in the first place.  MS just has to make up the $1.26 billion they were down last year.  They should be in the green for the first time sometime next year.  That will be good for MS.  Right now, the only profit they are generating are from Windows and Office.  It will take a good while for Sony to show a profit on the PS3, but the PS2 hardware and software sales helps them absorb the blows.

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The Wii is proving itself more so than the 360 or the PS3 given the amount of time they've been out. I think from what i read the Wii has sold some 6.5 million units, 10.4 for the 360 and the PS3 2.8.

The number of units sold (not shipped) are Xbox360 - 9.68 million, Wii - 6.58 million, and PS3 - 3.15 million worldwide (from VGCHARTZ).  They list their sources.

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Isn't "future proofing" a bad business model? They make money by releasing newer and better products. Otherwise why would anyone ever upgrade their current products. To use the video card analogy, that is the only reason why they release multiple cards a year. What game can utilize the Geforce 8800gtx full potential? 768mb of DDR3 memory, a core clock of 575mhz, I can't think of one game that will push the card or even come close to it. But it's the best and people like buying the best, the latest and greatest products, otherwise they wouldn't be selling them

Future proofing is a bad business model for certain things, but generally not consoles (since they are usually sold for a loss anyway).  The longer you can keep something the same, the cheaper it becomes to produce it.  Then, if you take into account  a long console life, it becomes quite profitable.  If a console has a short life span, then obviously it would be very bad for business.