Sony exec pours cold water on PS3 price-cut hopes Despite Microsoft's Xbox 360 price cuts and an analyst warning that the PlayStation 3 is too expensive, Sony is sticking to its guns by refusing to reduce PS3 prices. Kazuo Hirai, President and Group Chief Executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, told the Financial Times last week that gamers shouldn’t hold out any hope for a …
I like how every seems to compare the price of the 80GB PS3 for £300 to the entry level 360, with no HDD, no Blu-ray, no Wifi, you can't play many games online on it, including Burnout Paradise, you certainly can't play any of the downloadable content, and lastly you can't even use the forcoming "NXE" New Xbox Experience, without having to buy an addition Microsoft branded memory card.. LOL...
You should be really only comparing the 360 Elite to the 80GB PS3, and then the £220 for the 360, looks a bit crap, as for a mere £75 more, you get so much more... Including Wifi, Blu-ray, free online play. If you intend on owning a 360 and play online, then the online fees alone for the 360 outweigh that cost saving as online gaming is free on PS3...
...i won't buy one. So there!
I'm not sure this will upset Sony too much though. I'm guessing that they've looked at the effect dropping the price will have and decided against it. I've not seen the latest sales figures but they must feel they'll make more money selling less units for more money than more units for less money.
I agree that right now, the PS3 is good value for money. But some people are just looking for something that plays games, and with the PS3 losing more and more exclusives, more people are probably going to buy a 360 (60GB Premium version probably does the job for most people).
Sony should sort it out. Games-wise I see no reason to get a PS3. Although i'm tempted to get one for the sake of having a cheap Blu-Ray player.
Actually, try comparing the 60gb 360 with the ps3... over a hundred quid less, do I need wifi? Nope... do I want BR... not yet, I'll buy a seperate player when I decide I want one.
To play games on? The 360 is better value, don't include things in the equation which don't need to be there. Just because Sony chose to include extras like Wifi in the ps3, doesn't mean that everyone would use it, or indeed WANT it...
And yes, you CAN play online with the base arcade model. SOME games, no, but most? Yes. And no, you don't need to buy a memory card, YOU GET ONE WITH IT...
Look, PS3 fanboys... feel free to slag off the competition, but at least make a FAIR comparison, and GET YER BLOODY FACTS RIGHT...!
2 years down the line, owning a 360 and a Wii, I am still waiting for a compelling argument for me to shell out nearly 300 quid on a ps3... I will, when either A: I find the above compellign argument or B: they drop below 200 notes. A: might happen soon, b: certianly won't...
its a shame Kazuo Hirai takes this view, i wanted a PS3 for its potential for more expandability and longer term usability, but the kids wanted something useable this year, their mates are telling them to get them, and the 360 Arcade came out at just about the right price right now when people want to buy for cristmas etc,true its not as usable for non gaming use such as network streaming and playback compared to PS3 being able to load 3rd party OS's and apps, but i intend installing my own harddrive in the arcade at some point later if its possible? and so value for money is a relative thing.
Kazuo Hirai and co might regret not matching the arcade price far sooner after this cristmas, plain and simple, its to late now for may people buying right now.
£300 ($512/€378) for a PS3 is just way to much in this time of tightning bents compared to £130 and BR HD is just going to have to wait until im ready and in need to buy.
if as i suspect 360 does well because of this price point being good for familys looking to plug something into their new HD tvs this year, then it seems someone will bring out a crack chip for peole to start using their 360 property as a far more expandable LAN device that plays games too if MS can t be bothered to open it up officially like the PS3 does today.
if the PS3 was cheaper i would have spent my cash on that instead, but as with everything in the free markets, nothing werth more than your willing to pay and £130/£150 as around the right price for most Uk buyers this year....
so what do i need to put an HD in this 360 arcade and what chip do i get to be able to use it as i please for loading a PPC based linux and some good and far better HD mpeg4 video streaming clients and servers on it for when the kids are not playing games?
someone did a linux port as i understand it, but that was for an older firmware revision, is there currently any way to load that on the currently selling firmware on the UK arcade machines?, and why dont they sell far larger ramcards for the thing so we dont have to think about messing with installing a 3rd party HD for some time yet.
"I've not seen the latest sales figures but they must feel they'll make more money selling less units for more money than more units for less money.
"
as far as i undertand it, both companys make their profits on the games sales anyway so if the above is true all sony are doing is giveing the games companys less incentive to write the games for PS3 first, and so only more ports are available to make up the cash flow..
A bit fanboi, but your sentiment is sound.
As I own all 3 consoles and have done for 12 months or so, my experience is;
The Xbox360 is the best *games* console, with it's hardware anti-aliasing trumping the graphics on the PS3 by a mile. However, there is a flip side. The Xbox360 seems to have a limitation when it comes to playing common or garden HD-DVD's as all the processing is done in software, and it shows. Tearing and flicker are commonplace compared to a standalone HD-DVD player. It's a raw games machine out and out. Also, the fact you can put a game in and it runs really quickly and barring RROD it just works.
Negatives - the poor HD-DVD playback, the locked-in Hard Disk drive and no ability to backup. Plus the clunky menus which will hopefully be solved with the new dashboard.
The PS3 is a great multi-media player however, and the fact that the blu-ray decoding runs on hardware, along with the fact that it is actually the most advanced blu-ray player on the market gives it a massive edge. Add on the fact that you can surf the net on it, you can upgrade the hard disk (I bought a maxtor portable 160Gb SATA disk for £30, broke the casing open, pulled the little tab off the bottom of the PS3 and upgraded the internal hard disk in about 10 minutes), allows you to backup the content of the hard disk to an external hard drive, download full games (Microsoft still only let you download either demo's or XBL games) and even record Freeview on it, it suddenly becomes the centre of your multimedia house. Along with the excellent bluetooth remote control it makes for a great multimedia powerhouse.
So for me, I use my 360 only for games (and it is the best *games* console by miles) , and my PS3 for movies and multimedia, for which it excels.
@AC:
I wish to start by saying I own a PS3 and a 360 Elite - I payed full retail price at launch for both and was happy to do so.
"lastly you can't even use the forcoming "NXE" New Xbox Experience, without having to buy an addition Microsoft branded memory card.. LOL..."
You are ill informed. The Arcade (ie cheapest model) comes with a memory card.
"You should be really only comparing the 360 Elite to the 80GB PS3"
I agree completely - compare apples to apples please reg.
"and then the £220 for the 360, looks a bit crap, as for a mere £75 more, you get so much more... Including Wifi, Blu-ray, free online play"
Define 'much more' when you already mention wifi, blu-ray and free online play? What else do you get? Oh I know...what about less storage space (unless you fork out for your own hdd and do the upgrade)? What about far less downloadable content and extras? What about the fact that Blu-ray's are overpriced compared to dvd's - which both consoles will play and upscale equally as well? Lets not forget that most Blu-rays are currently upscaled old standard def content anyway...so where is the benefit? What about the fact that the PSN is absolute shite for online gaming compared to Live? Have you used both? I have and do regularly.
"If you intend on owning a 360 and play online, then the online fees alone for the 360 outweigh that cost saving as online gaming is free on PS3..."
It's £35 per year for Live. So that's 2x years worth of online gaming plus a fiver for your price difference. Considering the quality increase and higher level of support on Live vs PSN, I'll take that thanks.
If I didn't already own both, I would go for a 360 and 2x years on live, then pick up a PS3 later when Sony relent and drop the price (because let's face it, they will).
For reference, I'm not bashing the PS3 - I love it for some of it's excellent single player titles - Drake's Fortune was great fun - and BD support is a nice extra, but it is just that. An Extra. Hardly a deal breaker.
OFC, if you are shopping for a BD player not a games console then I reckon it's the PS3 all the way.
I would suggest Mr AC, that you really should do more research before making ill informed fanboy comments though.
I personally don't give a damn as I don't play games (used to but no time since I got a life). However, seeing Sony's financial results, I can't help but feel the only reason they aren't reducing the price of the PS3 is because they can't afford to.
I'm actually suprised they don't produce a series of adverts promoting it more as a Blu-Ray player. It always amazes me that the vast majority of people still don't know about this aspect of it. If you want to upgrade to HiDef film playback then the PS3 looks like brilliant value for money.
If you don't care about Hi-Def just yet (and who can blame you, the software costs a fortune and there have been few films of late worth the cost) then it looks like a very expensive toy at a time when many people are cutting back.
"I've not seen the latest sales figures"
PS3 is selling like hotcakes. Xbox360 launched 18months before it, and built up a 4m console lead in Europe. That has now disappears, and PS3 has sold more units than Xbox360 in mainland Europe. In the UK, it's about neck and neck.
Still very decent considering that 18month later launch of the PS3.
I can see why Sony arn't dropping the price, why should they, it's selling really well, and it's already excellent value for money. Whilst it's not the cheapest, it's certainly the best.
I wouldn't want to shove a 360 under my teenagers nose on Xmas morning, after he has been harking on about a PS3 for the last 2 months, just because it's £60 cheaper. (plus I don't get then get the Blu-ray goodness.....).
The fact the online service is free for the PS3 is one of its downfalls for me.
As an owner of both, I prefer the online experience provided by the 360, what with the points system being in each and every game, leader-boards. Near permanent uptime, to name but a few things.
Whereas the Xbox Arcade(no HDMI see) and the Wii are fine for bedrooms, you'd have to be mental not to hook the PS3 up to anything other than a huge home cinema system.
If you've got one of those, you should have the money to show it off.
Not to mention the wallet-obliterating avalanche of games that demand buyings over the next month.
Expensive business this hobby.
Let's see how this affects the market; times are not good. Parents (not El Reg parents) may well get a XBOX 360 instead of a PS3 because it's cheaper and a lot of the popular titles are available on both consoles. Unless they are HD enthusiasts, they may not be interested in Blu Ray.
I'll hold out until March - the market should be really dire by then (I don't think the UK Chancellor or US Government can avoid a serious recession with their measures). A couple of Wii games over the XMAS period should suffice. Perhaps the price of Blu Ray titles may have eased off a bit by then as well... who knows, Sony may be refining the electronics to include more integration and economy so the box is a bit smaller and energy efficient as well...
...as I hate to agree with an anonymous coward, he has a point.
If you have a console for 5 years and play online with it, even the cheapest Xbox 360 will cost you more than the PS3 by the time you add 5 years of online charges to it. It works out at £330 for the £130 360 and 5 years at £40 a pop, compared to £300 for the PS3 - and that's excluding differences such as Blu Ray, wifi and HDD size (or lack of).
But it's also true that it's the "shelf price" that people look at it when buying a console so Sony not cutting prices could well hurt them...
I'd like a PS3 for Wipeout HD, but the rest of the few exclusives lined up on the system don't excite me much, so I'm not shelling out £300+ for one. If it was £220 like the Elite I might consider it.
The 360 looks like it's going to have another great Christmas with Gears of War 2, Fable II, Fallout 3, Saint's Row 2, Dead Space, Banjo & Kazooie, Prince of Persia and Mirror's Edge. Sure only 3 of those are exclusives, but I wouldn't buy a PS3 for them when I already have a 360 (and the 360 version is usually superior anyway). But if I were a PS3 owner, I'd definitely consider getting a 360 considering how cheap you can pick up a base model and the large number of killer apps it now has.
"I got myself a homeplug kit and connected up my xbox using that and its a lot faster than wifi. As for Bluray, I have an upscaling dvdv player for my 46" and that cost me £40."
Well, clearly you care. So you bought an xbox, and chose to make up for it's shortfalls for shelling out £80 (we'll charitably assume, though I suspect more) for a homeplug kit, and £40 for an upscaling DVD player (that isn't a blu-ray player, no matter how much you squint). Sounds like you've ended up paying what a PS3 retails at. And you've desecrated a 46" screen like this??
I agree with the AC's first post - the PS3 really is good value - it's fairly easy to find retailer-led promotions that bundle a game or two with the console for £300 or a little over that, plus you get free online play and (arguably) one of the best blu-ray players on the market into the bargain.
Thing is, the Xbox 360 Premium (not so much the Arcade or Elite) is an absolute steal at £170 if you're someone who's only looking to get into HD gaming and doesn't mind paying extra for online and isn't fussed about blu-ray.
Sony stated months ago that their main focus was turning a profit on the PS3 business; not grabbing market share at all costs. Various execs have also been very clear that they wouldn't be cutting the cost after the 80GB model was introduced. It's nice to see them (so far) sticking to their word on that, and not being pressured by the press reports and analysts into making early cuts.
Over the past year in the UK (Chart Track figures), the PS3 install base rose by 1m, and the 360 install base rose by... 1m. I'm sure Sony are quite happy to maintain sales parity with the 360 at a higher price point until the PS3 becomes significantly cheaper to manufacture.
The problem for Microsoft is, it's late 2008 and the cheapest 360 is already closer to the PS2 than the Wii in price, and it's having to do that just to maintain sales parity with the PS3. There isn't much further to cut the price, and this generation still has an estimated 3 or more years to run.
It seems that the 360 is flattering to deceive a little in the UK, looking quite good over the short term but with very little ammunition remaining for the rest of this generation.
On one side, as a game console the PS3 is grossly overpriced. Here in Belgium the 80 GB PS3 cost 400€ and the 60 GB Xbox 360 cost 200€. Both have an HDD and both play HD games. Both can play online (although you have to pay in the case of the Xbox) and for a pure game machine 60 GB is enough space.
On the other side the PS3 has Blu Ray (which seems to be going nowhere because of overpriced disks and incompatible players, but anyway), free online play and an easily upgradeable HDD. This may be enough of an incentive to some, but not for me (mainly because BR discs are way overpriced for something I can only watch in the living room instead of ripping it to my laptop, my iPod etc...).
As for the DRM, it seems that Sony is as draconian with your movie download purchases as Microsoft is with your game purchases on the Xbox, so I consider them equal on that level.
All the current generation have HDMI sockets, its only the older ones (like mine) that dont, however hooking them up via composite looks just as good to me.
I own both a PS3 and a (well actually two) XBox 360's, I play my Bluray's with my PS3 and play games and DVDs on the 360.
If I have a choice which platform to buy a game on, I always buy the 360 version as I find the experience better with things like achievements.
I never said the Arcade does not come with a memory card (it does 256MB), but for NXE, you need 256MB free on a memory card.
So if you have a Core, (64MB) you can't run it unless you buy a new card. If you have a Arcade (256Mb memory), you can use it as long as you don't want to save any game progress...
That is FACT, check the Microsoft NXE press release. it's also confirmed on Xb360 fanboy.
Please less of your FUD and misinformation..
Firstly I owned a Arcade 360.. (Bought it for 99 quid two years ago second hand), it was under powered and when the PS3 came out I sold it on ebay for 80 quid and bought a 60gb Premium model. Since then its been a key part of the families media experience. We only have two boxes in the living room.. Its elegant..
We watch DVD, Blu-ray. video, TV playback photos and music through it..
Favorite games are Buzz and Singstar.
I upgraded to a 320gb drive for 60 quid.
The PS3 is a media beast.. its playback on my 1080p HDTV is the best I've ever seen.. The 360 is a Arcade machine for hard core gamers.
Horses for courses...(Although the PS3 is a pain to dust!! ;)
I'm not a fanboy, but since getting my PS3, the Xbox360 is more or less gathering dust, the graphics on the PS3 exclusives are vastly better than anything I have experienced on my 360. Anyone that says otherwise is in short, lying.
I can understand why people bought a 360 last year, but now? The PS3 is by far a much better purchase, sure it's a few quid more, but the online fees of Xbox counteract that straight away (as already pointed out).
A couple of previously Xbox hardcore gamer friends of mine were swung round last week, after playing WipeoutHD for a couple of hours. One of them took their 360 down Gamestation the following day and traded it in for a shiney new PS3, his comment after a couple of days gaming "I can't believe I didn't do it sooner", he is now playing catchup on all the games he has missed out on for the past year.
but it doesn't look like it will. The PS3 is a brilliant games console/home entertainment centre. Despite some comments above the graphics are at least as good as the XBox, although it's true that there have been a couple of poor ports.
Some nice exclusives and good reliability along with good sales means Sony can afford to hold on for now.
I feel my money has been well spent. I wouldn't look at an Xbox, although the Wii is tempting for younger kids...
PS. Yes the PS3 does output full HD uncompressed sound, if you want it.
I'm not a fanboy or anything and I have owned both of the consoles. However, I can without doubt say that <insert console name> is bar far and away the best piece of technology ever created and was probably crafted by angles to a spec drawn up by god.
The graphics are so real my nipples seep blood at the sight of the thing and anyone who says the other console is just as good is blind, stupid and definitely shags donkeys.
The other console actually burnt my house down, emailed my boss calling him a fag causing me to lose my job and now my family won't speak to me other than to play on the <insert console name>.
As I say, I'm no fanboy and have owned by for decades by the <insert console name> is so much better than that other piece of crap I decided to trade it in for a penny.
The only reason to buy a games console is to play games... As much asthey try to convince you it's a multimedia machine... It's not. Some people are happy to have an item that does lots of things averagely. Personally, I choose to have an item that was designed to do something spectacularly... So If I want a blu-ray player, I will buy a blue ray player. If I want an MP3 player I don't buy a phone or an ipod... I buy a decent MP3 player. I don't want to have inferior products that do things poorly when I am quite happy to pay for a quality one instead.
As for the games console... in terms of the sheer value for money and number of games that are accessible to the widest spectrum of potential players... It can only be a Wii, and sales figures show that is the case. So harp on about the PS3 Vs Xbox 360 as much as you like... they're only fighting over who is going to be 2nd.
"the graphics on the PS3 exclusives are vastly better than anything I have experienced on my 360. Anyone that says otherwise is in short, lying."
If you're playing it on a standard def TV then you are probably right. They won't look any different. Unfortunately the jagged edges of the non-anti-aliased PS3 graphics look bloody awful. I think you're confusing 'sharpness' with 'quality'.
For pure realism in both textures, shading and anti-aliasing, see the Xbox360 on how to do it.
However, I think the menu in GT5 with the car parked in the forest does look bloody lovely on the PS3. I just think with fast moving games (WipeoutHD included) they've not got the edges right.
Note - I am using both on a 720p TV, with the Xbox360 over a VGA cable vs a HDMI on the PS3 so it may be that the PS3 on a 1080p TV looks a whole lot better, but not by alot.
The first AC poster did make a fair comparison.
Just because you don't need/want Blu-ray or WIFI doesn't mean others don't. It is also still an extra expense that have put into the PS3, so for that you should pay extra for it.
So YOU need to get YOUR facts right.
The comparison was fair, you're just reading it in a way that suits you.
A Ferrari may be good value for money, but it's still too expensive for the majority of people.
However, Sony's biggest mistake was bundling Blu-Ray. Yes they did that to ensure they won the so called "war", but it's seriously damaged their reputation as a console manufacturer.
Blu-Ray raised the cost and introduce long delays that put them and game developers way behind. If they had concentrated on a quality gaming platform at a sensible price without the distraction of Blu-Ray movies, then it would likely have been the ultimate replacement for the PS2 that it should have been, and would be up there competing with the Wii (though not beating it as Nintendo realised what Sony and Microsoft didn't, in that there is money to be made in gaming beyond nerdy male teen to 30-somethings and most people don't give a rats about HD, just fun games).
Having "won" their pointless little HD optical format war (which is going to get replaced by downloads some day anyway, long before DVD dies), they would be better off now introducing a cut-down PS3 without the Blu-Ray stuff and smaller hard disc, aimed at the core cash-strapped teen audience. Though if they really want a killer, they need daft kiddy games and something as radical as the Wiimote, that will appeal even to your granny ;) (though I admit they are fun!).
@ 'I'm not a fanboy, but since getting my PS3, the Xbox360 is more or less gathering dust...'
Er, can I have it? please ;-)
PC-centric here, but if I had to choose a console, I'd probably go for the PS3 after reading all these comments, but not for £300, maybe £225 (maybe next Christmas).
Loved the fantard comment tho'.
"You're all wrong
Anonymous Coward • Monday 13th October 2008 15:44 GMT
The only reason to buy a games console is to play games... As much asthey try to convince you it's a multimedia machine... It's not. Some people are happy to have an item that does lots of things averagely. Personally, I choose to have an item that was designed to do something spectacularly... So If I want a blu-ray player, I will buy a blue ray player. If I want an MP3 player I don't buy a phone or an ipod... I buy a decent MP3 player. I don't want to have inferior products that do things poorly when I am quite happy to pay for a quality one instead.
As for the games console... in terms of the sheer value for money and number of games that are accessible to the widest spectrum of potential players... It can only be a Wii, and sales figures show that is the case. So harp on about the PS3 Vs Xbox 360 as much as you like... they're only fighting over who is going to be 2nd.
"
you can read it as you want, but your just proving the point that MOST average people buy the cheapest device at the time and so the Wii wins the race.
the AC that got the arcade based on price and cristmas buying habits proves again that its price that matters to most people, the wii is a game box, the other two are just fancy PPC CPU based PCs in a box, MS locks it down so you cant do much with it, but they allow you to stream selected/restricted video content, sony allow you to put an OS on their PS3 in a limited way and sell it as a multimedia machine so your wrong they are both multimedia machines.
as multimedia machines the 360 arcade at this far lower price will outsell the PS3 this year in the Uk at least, and people are goingt o buy the odd game and so add to MS finantial returns in the 1st quarter and beyond, thats all they care about the coming quarters profits, and they are doing it by increasing market share.
any global company that takes their eye of that market share ball is looking to loose ongoing monthly profits big time as the credit crunch bites and average people only have money to by the games and not the hardware devices later.
GROW UP CHILDREN
How can you all possibly be forming any sort of arguments when all of you are arguing petty points within a forum and not actually playing any games?
If people were honest instead i'm sure the discussion would be far interesting. Most of you are focussing on theoretical ideas, what if someone who hasnt got said console wants to buy it? You think they should buy your console of choice, well done we get it.
Instead, what has made you enjoy your console? What the hell do you do with it in honesty? Do you use a PS3 for all of its features? Did you use hddvd on the 360?
SOMEONE CHANGE THE RECORD!!! EVERY TIME ITS THE SAME THING
The comparison was UNFAIR, as many, including me, don't want or need the extras, so why should I pay for them? If you went to buy a car, and you could only buy one, top spec, would you think that was fine that it came with air con, sat nav, traction control, sunroof, 84 airbags, self drive, leather interior, a set of shiny tea cup holders a caravan and a spare motor mechanic who lived in the boot when you don't actually want them? Of course not! So why should you pay for them!!!
And on the subject of paying for xbox live.. .again... not everyone takes their console online... as proved by MS's own figures... over 17 million consoles sold, with well under half of those paying to access the gold service? So bundling the cost of that into the equation isn't a fair comparison either...
As for the cost, I've had live for the three years I've owned my 360, and it's cost me a total of about 71 quid. That's 46p a week, for what is by most standards, a better online experience than the ps3.
It did hurt a little knowing I was missing out on Gears2, but by not selling it I was missing out on so many more PS3 exclusives.
Best decision I made, having used a PS3 for 3 weeks, I have seen the light, so to speak, almost everything on PS3 is better than what I was lead to believe as being the best on XBox. it's clear to me all these negative comments on forums are either childish XBox owners blowing smoke and hoping to sway inpartials, or paid Microsoft shills.
My advice, don't take what you read here (or any Internet forum/blog) as trustworthy, try the consoles out, make your own judgement, I think most people certainly if they are spending 360 money, would spend the little extra and get the PS3. I would also advise that you judge the platforms with exclusive titles, and not multi-platforms which are full of compromises for both systems.
The NXE uses 128MB of memory, not 256MB, so Arcade owners are fine as long as they don't have 128MB+ of saves and Arcade games.
Furthermore, the NXE is optional, that's why it uses a memory card or the hard drive rather than being flashed to the Xbox's firmware (and obviously it's too big to fit into the firmware anyway). You don't have to install it or use it so if you don't have the storage space or you don't want it.
...who pays £35 per year for Xbox Live?
I've never paid more than £12 for a legitimate 12 month card... sure it's not as straightforward as DD, but blimey!
As for HD Audio on the PS3, yet it can decode and Bitstream all of the HD Audio - had a rocky start with DTS-MA mind.... it's not the best BR player anymore though, you can get a couple of excellent machines for far less if you want BR, then use the money saved to buy an Xbox 360 Premium :)
Try £162.50 for a Samsung BD-P1500 BR player, great if you haven't got an HD amp as it converts any HD audio to Full Bitrate DTS so sounds excellent.... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0016J72SM/202-3314281-8268652?ie=UTF8&tag=spoavetstu-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=1634&creativeASIN=B0016J72SM
PS3 is a good allround unit, but for me it's compromised in every aspect for my needs... it may suit others but not me. TBH my biggest gripe is the god-awful controllers, they are so uncomfortable to hold for me....
Unfortunately, it seems as though the NXE is a required update.
In the US Microsoft has started a program to offer owners of certain consoles cheap refurbed 20gb HDD's or free 512mb mem cards (I believe).
With any luck this will make it's way to other regions in due course.
Do check the latest press release, Anonymous Cowtards.
The Arcade comes with a memory card big enough to install the NXE, unless you've already filled it with saves. If it's just Arcade games filling it, you can delete them and re-download without additional cost at any time.
If you're a Core owner with a mere 64Mb card, Microsoft will offer to give you the bigger card for free, or you can have a discount on a hard drive instead if that's what you'd prefer.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/hardware/memoryupdate/default.htm
I can install NXE, IF I delete all my gamesaves...
Sounds like a real hardcore gamers console, where you can't save your progress. Even my PS1 allowed me to do that without buying additional add-ons. Everything about the Xbox is nickel and diming you these days for required extras.
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