I don't know how this is going to last, so here you go. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/06/10/live-microsofts-xbox-one-presentation-at-e3/?mod=yahoo_hs

Thanks for the heads-up! Now I have to head downtown and get my badge for tomorrow.

The price/date announcement ($499, November) is disappointing. I think Sony will be able to match $499 launch with their box, despite what have to be higher production costs (larger SOC, GDDR5). For Microsoft to launch at that price they really needed to have played up that "the cloud" really is a big part of what consumers get with *every* Xbox One unit. They did a decent job showing real, practical, and cool ways that the cloud resources can be used (The cloud-based learning-agent AI drivers in Forza 5, massive zombie hordes in Dead Rising 3) but they didn't drive home that this is literally part of what you're buying when you choose Xbox over Playstation this coming generation.

Particularly for anyone who's skeptical of the cloud features, or maybe who doesn't have the best connectivity, if Sony does end up coming in at $499 also then they're going to think that the PS4 delivers more hardware for their dollar (rightly so). Assuming a >= $499 PS4 (which I don't think Sony can undercut), if Microsoft would have set the launch price at $399, or even $429 they would have won over a lot of pocketbooks. Its possible Sony will come in higher than $499, but I doubt anything as high as $599. I half-suspect that the higher-than-expected Xbox One launch price is afforded by the very high consumer interest / preorder inquiries that are being reported (despite all the nerd-rage directed at Microsoft).

The standard 360 (not the marginally useful Core version) was $400 USD in 2005, which would be $476.25 today, according to the government, anyway.

Still, I'm kind of surprised they aren't planning in releasing a Kinect-less "Core" version for 400 bucks to cover the low end, and releasing a Super Kinect 2 Fun Pack 4 U for $120 so people can upgrade later.

As a bonus, the free games for XBL Gold Members is pretty sweet, I might have to replay Halo 3's campaign again.

Still, I'm kind of surprised they aren't planning in releasing a Kinect-less "Core" version for 400 bucks to cover the low end, and releasing a Super Kinect 2 Fun Pack 4 U for $120 so people can upgrade later.

Don't you know? The kinect is "an integral part of the experience"!

I don't think they've priced themselves out of the market, I think they're blowing a chance to make many people's next-generation console choice a no-brainer. By all appearances, they're going to launch day (and probably, now, dollar) against the PS4. We know that Sony's got more silicon in their box, and if they're not going to undercut Sony's box on price, they need to do a better job messaging that "the cloud" is something that comes with every Xbox One, that it makes it more powerful, that it makes different kinds of experiences possible, and that its something that Playstation just doesn't have.

Also, in 2005 we had an economy that was firing on all cylinders, and the consoles themselves were such an obvious and huge leap over the previous generation. Now, people are pretty conscious of their spending habits, many who form the core gamer demographic go unemployed, and neither Xbox One or PS4 are showing the kind of obvious graphics and gameplay gains that the last generation portended to. I think they'll sell well even at $500, but it won't be the clear-cut choice over the PS4 for the more mainstream buyer that it could have been.

Still, I'm kind of surprised they aren't planning in releasing a Kinect-less "Core" version for 400 bucks to cover the low end, and releasing a Super Kinect 2 Fun Pack 4 U for $120 so people can upgrade later.

The problem is if you take kinect out it just becomes like it was this generation; only games dedicated to kinect will ever use it. By packaging it it gives developers an expectation of the hardware they have access to, and developers can actually afford to experiment with it as a supporting peripheral rather than the sole peripheral. I think packaging it was the right choice.

That said, I think if they could have come in at $400 they would have definitely put the heat on.

Another lackluster announcement.

So far nothing says "Must Buy" to me.

What has been announced?

* Yet Another Halo, now with Always Online

* Project Spark FPS, with Always Online

* Yet Another Dead Rising, with Always Online

* Crimson Dragon airplane shooter

* Madden 2014, FIFA 2014, and NBA 2014 which should surprise nobody.

Also I can watch TV with it.

Still, I'm kind of surprised they aren't planning in releasing a Kinect-less "Core" version for 400 bucks to cover the low end, and releasing a Super Kinect 2 Fun Pack 4 U for $120 so people can upgrade later.

The problem is if you take kinect out it just becomes like it was this generation; only games dedicated to kinect will ever use it. By packaging it it gives developers an expectation of the hardware they have access to, and developers can actually afford to experiment with it as a supporting peripheral rather than the sole peripheral. I think packaging it was the right choice.

That said, I think if they could have come in at $400 they would have definitely put the heat on.

Well the original 360 Core didn't even come with a HD, so no Live or saving games out of the box (or HD capable AV cables), which I would consider pretty basic features. The original Core was basically to trick you into paying less now and more later (since you would inevitably buy the accessories needed to do anything), and I'm vaguely surprised they didn't try to replicate that idea with the Kinect 2- by making it de facto essential but releasing a version without it to capture lower ends of the market, at least initially.

Well the original 360 Core didn't even come with a HD, so no Live or saving games out of the box (or HD capable AV cables), which I would consider pretty basic features. The original Core was basically to trick you into paying less now and more later (since you would inevitably buy the accessories needed to do anything), and I'm vaguely surprised they didn't try to replicate that idea with the Kinect 2- by making it de facto essential but releasing a version without it to capture lower ends of the market, at least initially.

If you release any version without it, developers lose the ability to assume users have one. That is a HUGE cost. It's not about capturing the market, it's about having an awesome peripheral no developers use because there's no guarantee anyone has one.

edit: that was also the problem with not including the HD on the 360 core models.