With all the reported quality problems?

I haven't ever met anyone, or even heard of anyone, that owns a zune, so what gives here? is this the usual puff from micro$haft.

Honestly, what the Zune really needs is games, and a decent document viewer (I have some vague idea that the ipod has one of those).

Even my cheap 2GB bootleg mp3 player had tetris and a dinky .txt file viewer. Shame that my Zune doesn't

>The community and mobile gaming pledges came as Microsoft also renewed its commitment to the HD format used in the optional Xbox 360 DVD drive

Uh, not according ot the linked article, it didn't. It said "the demise of the HD format will not harm the XBox 360". It says nothing about the HD-DVD drive add-on.

In other words, a load of Microsoft babble. They can't possible know if the demise of HD-DVD will affect sales at this moment in time. Almost certainly it'll boost PS3 sales with people buying for Blu-Ray now that the format war is done.

As for the Zune - well Sony have been pumping games out for the PSP through the Playstation Network for ages (they are mostly old PS1 games that can also be played on a PSP) so Microsoft are only a year or so behind the times. And as the first AC says, does anyone actually know someone who owns a Zune, aside from Joseph??

... is to actually be released somewhere other than the US.

HD DVD's demise won't affect MS too badly as not many people bought the add on anyway. It was a separate module and therefore easily replaced. As for the rest of the big talk - its MS coming from behind again, this time facing factors such as:

1) Playstation3 is going to outsell the Xbox360

2) Zune is a failure and needs a boost fast

3) Sony are streaking ahead in terms of community interaction while Microsofts general indifference has come up and bit them.

After all the big talk about PS3 being the lesser of the 2 consoles before its launch, it looks like Microsoft are going to be the firm that will have to fight tooth and nail for market share. Even Nintendo got it more right.

Interesting set of arguments. 1 is an opinion at best, an completely unsubstantiated assertion at worst. And I fail to see how anybody could claim 3, given that:

A. Microsoft have pioneered the online console revolution since Xbox Live was launched several years ago and Sony are desperately playing catch-up, and hoping to steal a lead with the gimmicky Second Life clone "Home";

and

B. Microsoft have released and fully support a development environment which allows anybody to create content for the 360 for free, while Sony continue to actively fight homebrew on their platforms.

I don't own an Xbox, so no fanboy, but if I recall rightly, a long time ago, although they favoured the HD format (for whatever reason), they said they would use BluRay if demand was there.

I'd be very suprised if they do not already have a bluray device ready to go, so I don't think sales would be hit, by the removal of the device

From a PC-centric standpoint, that is certainly the truth. Unfortunately, Microsoft is not helping this with its attempt to interface PC and Xbox users on the same server.

Take Universe At War, for example. I was interested in this game, despite the faults it outlines for the single-player version. Unfortunately for Petroglyph and Microsoft, I learned that, in order to play it online, I had to subscribe to the Live service at the tune of $50 a month.

Say what ? Me, a PC user, is supposed to PAY to play a game online ? What on Earth are they smoking in Redmondia ?

Too bad for Petroglyph, I won't buy their game in these conditions.

Free Internet gaming is the founding cornerstone of multiplayer gaming nowadays, there is strictly no reason for me to go pay to play for an average, if interesting, RTS, when I can play Supreme Commander or a host of other good ones online for nothing.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

I understand that Microsoft wants to have its Live service pay for itself, but once again it is simply demonstrating that it understands nothing about the Internet.

Not a thing.

Would a Blu-Ray add-on for the 360 mean they'd have to include a JVM? Ohhh that would be good :)

"Free Internet gaming is the founding cornerstone of multiplayer gaming nowadays, there is strictly no reason for me to go pay to play for an average, if interesting, RTS, when I can play Supreme Commander or a host of other good ones online for nothing.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot."

Presumably like they shot themselves in the foot with Halo 3 and all the money they get from the 100's of thousands who play that on-line every day for a fee

Paris because she knows all about on-line money

I was able to play Halo 3 on XBOX Live over this past winter holiday, with my three sons (over 13, of course) and it was absolute fun! I will be getting an XBOX 360 soon, but likely by a PS3 just to get the Blu-Ray functionality. Most opinions I have read say that online gaming for PS3 is rather lame compared to XBOX Live.

Also, the XBOX live subscription is roughly $60 (US) per year, not $50/month.

(See http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/memberships/12month-premiumgold.htm)

Maybe MS could look at getting the Zune software working before they get too far ahead of themselves.

Stupidly upgraded my Zune software yesterday, because I figured it couldn't get any worse - now it is COMPLETELY, rather than mostly unusable

Well i do have an xbox, 360 in fact. Its a games machine, don't care if it pays blu-ray or hd, it plays gamed in HD. Treat it like that and its really good. I dont tend to think if it in terms of MS, nor do i ever have an diminished experience since i dont have the latest graphics card or whatever (PCs always need something for the latest game..).

..generally...

As for Zune, can you actually get them now? I have nothing specific against them, not having any handheld and not planning on getting one... but really the press coverage of them not actually getting released was everywhere in the IT press, but i didn't hear a thing about the fact it was available.. well done MS Marketing Division that was a job well done! [/sarcasm]