Can't say I blame them, milking an established brand.
Will be weird seeing it on things that aren't box shaped, also the whole 'X' thing is a bit late 90s X filesy for me. Was hoping the next console maybe called something totally new, but fuck it.

Importantly, the name Zune is now up for grabs. It is the perfect name for a cuddly toy space dog brand.

Fuck that's actually pretty good.

... it's a disease.

I never had any issues with DVD play back on the 360. Then again, I've never owned a PS3 so I didn't have anything to compare it to.

Thing is, the video stuff on the 360 is so popular, I can't see Microsoft ever going back to making just consoles. Heck, the idea of something that big that I plug into my TV just to play games seems archaic now.

Am I getting this right, that iPlayer is available on 360 now? If I was still in the UK I'd be all over that. iPlayer on the Wii was a god-send, on the 360 with a better picture would be a great way of winding down after a marathon gaming session.

All this makes Nintendo's decision to not at least offer DVD playback as a downloadable function for the Wii all the more confusing. You need to give consumers as many reasons as possible to turn your device on, otherwise they're going to bugger off elsewhere. All the Wiis that are about to become landfill would make great little DVD players to stick in the spare room or mancave.

Blue Swirl wrote:

Am I getting this right, that iPlayer is available on 360 now? If I was still in the UK I'd be all over that.

Yeah, in Oz there's iview, which is the ABC equiv of BBC iplayer, and also SBS on demand. As adkm says, the menu and stuff is excellent, and basically the same across apps. Only problem with iview is that it seems to have the odd crash/drop out. Hopefully an update will sort that. Surprised NZ doesn't have an equivelant. And/or that ABC isn't on NZ system as well.

Where's my Xbox tablet then? And my Xbox bath towel?

This is them preparing us for an epically terrible E3.

I like the idea of the unified brand, and I fucking love the media stuff that you can get now but...xbox. It's really a very shit name and reminds me of Pepsi Max, which nothing should ever do. At least we might not get anything as dumbfuck as '360' bolted on this time though...

adkm1979 wrote:

Blue Swirl wrote:

Am I getting this right, that iPlayer is available on 360 now?

You are getting it right, yes.  And since it has to be an app, rather than a web portal, it is user-friendly and remote control friendly.

Mmm, tasty. Makes me want to move back to the UK. NZ TV sucks balls.

Raiziel wrote:

I'm still not convinced they're not announcing their next not a console.

I think they've specifically come out and said they won't.

I_R wrote:

I'm still not convinced they're not announcing their next not a console.

I think they've specifically come out and said they won't.

I think when they saw what the WiiU was doing they realised they didn't need to.

If there was actual hardware to be shown we'd have seen it by now. But I wouldn't rule out a name, a box render, a sizzle reel and a launch date.

Yup.

I just don't see what the choices are. There's no way they can keep a lid on it all for another 12 months (other trade shows exist I guess).

WiiU is shaping up to be on or just above par with PS3/360, but it's risky giving them a full year of sales without teasing the existence of something bigger and more powerful Coming Soon.

Seems fairly certain that Sony aren't in a position to come out earlier than Xmas 2013, not unless they really do pull a Megaton and exit the chips and drives console market and go down the Gaikai route.

It's all gone a bit Poker player.

As an aside, I think the core Nintendo/Wii audience and the PS3/360 audience have diverged to such a point now they might not care what Nintendo do, the thinking being they'll never claw back the hardcore. I'd lean on that viewpoint.

I_R wrote:

Mod74 wrote:

WiiU is shaping up to be on or just above par with PS3/360, but it's risky giving them a full year of sales without teasing the existence of something bigger and more powerful Coming Soon.

The sort of people who'd buy a new MS console in the first few months know that something is over the horizon, the people buying a 360 now are much more likely to be oblivious. Making announcements a year in advance can only harm the 360 without doing anything for the new machine.

Yup. Dangerous game all right.

And in all likelihood that's what their E3 will mostly consist of. Concentrate on the media/service offerings that don't rely on new hardware.

One suspects a "just one more thing" reveal isn't going to be tagged on the end, they'd host a dedicated event just like the last two. But my gut says it might be.

Potential to be the worst Xbox E3 ever. Especially if WiiU and Sony grab the headlines (assuming that streaming service pans out)