After coming to the realization of the final price of the Xbox 360, I made a decision of which version that I would purchase. Obviously I decided to go all out and purchase the complete Xbox 360 package, as well as preordering Madden 06 and Quake 4. (For those of you that are asking why I didn't reserve Perfect Dark Zero, it's because I don't trust Rare. They have been known for pushing back release dates time and time again. Look what happened with the original Perfect Dark. In addition, their lineup for the original Xbox was nothing really to write home about).
The next step was finding out just when I would be receiving my Xbox 360. Popular speculation stated that it would have been released on November 15th, the anniversary of the original Xbox's launch, while I thought that Microsoft would release it on Black Friday (a retailer's nickname for the day after Thanksgiving, also the busiest shopping day of the year).
It turned out my prediction was closer, because last week during the Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft announced a November 22nd launch date, which puts it at the Tuesday before Black Friday. Now I can only imagine the horror that retailers will have to face in one week alone.
First they will have to deal with a midnight madness launch (unless they wuss out and decide to launch at 8am like what happened when I picked up the Dreamcast), but they will also have to deal with a bloodthirsty Black Friday mob as well.
That wasn't the only item that shocked me from Microsoft. It seems as if during TGS, they announced that the Japanese launch (slated for December 10th,) will only have the full system available. Why in that case is Microsoft even providing the Core system in the US?
Over the last few weeks I did some research, and found that in all the stores I queried, only one person preordered a Core package. I guess I will have to see when X05 takes place next month whether or not Microsoft will rescind the Core package idea.
As for Nintendo, they unveiled the controller for their upcoming Revolution. I don't know what to make of it. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a remote control. Why would the house that "ol' Bug Eyes" built come up with something like this. I have also seen pictures where an analog thumbstick can be attached to the remote.
It is also mentioned that the controller will be tilt sensitive, as well as motion sensitive via sensors, but still, I don't really get it. Maybe I will need to get some hands-on come E3 (that is, unless Nintendo has it guarded under bulletproof glass and three armed rent-a-cops).
But of all the features based around Tokyo Game Show, nothing intrigued me more than the unveiling of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. First of all, GotP is quite the title for the next MGS release, even if it has a slight Star Wars ring to it. The eight minute trailer teases us with the thought that MGS4 will be a first person shooter, as various phrases start with the letters FPS, and we see an assault rifle from a FPS perspective.
Fortunately, a much older, more battle weary Snake attacks the soldier, and we see the message "Not FPS, MGS!" All that I can tell from this trailer is that it takes place way after Sons of Liberty, but we are uncertain how far (a message simply states "X Years After Big Shell," and the setting is a true war zone. We see hundreds of soldiers as well as walking machinery (new models of Metal Gear perhaps?).
One of the machines sneaks up to Snake, but it is tiny in stature, and looks strangely familiar to Metal Gear Mark II from Kojima's other masterpiece Snatcher, complete with videoconferencing unit. On the conferencing unit we see an older (but surprisingly not as old looking as Snake) Otacon.
Could this be the future of the Codec system that MGS fans have grown to love (or hate, as far as E.E. in MGS2). And what is with the much older Snake? He is strangely looking more and more like Big Boss, right down to his new eye patch. But in this trailer we find it is a new technology called the Solid Eye System, providing Snake with a new radar system based on a first person perspective.
Needless to say the MGS4 trailer looks quite impressive, so impressive that it is easy to call foul and claim it is just a pre-rendering. However, Kojima Productions gave a live demonstration of the lighting capabilities. While the character was not in motion, it was still a sight to see, and I will be quite curious to see how the PlayStation3 will look upon release.
Again, I guess I will have to wait until E3 2006 to check out more.
In the meantime, I will still have to keep an eye out for X05, and then it will be time for me to pick up my 360 and get ready for the true meaning of "next gen."
CURRENTLY PLAYING: Burnout Revenge (Xbox)
WAITING FOR: Xbox 360, Metal Gear Solid 4 (PlayStation3)