Canada confirms X360+PGR3+3 months XBL+1250 points package - 8/9/2006

[Draft]

And lo, the great Microsoft offensive of 2006 begins.

Futureshop Link (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10077602&catid=23363&logon=&langid=EN&test%5Fcookie=1)

If you're thinking of grabbing an X360, wait 7 days.

[Kelegacy]

And lo, the great Microsoft offensive of 2006 begins.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10077602&catid=23363&logon=&langid=EN&test%5Fcookie=1

If you're thinking of grabbing an X360, wait 7 days.
Is that even a good deal? PGR3 is like 20-30 bucks now isn't it? And the 1250 points equal roughly 15 bucks. The 3 month live is 15 or less. Not a super deal, not for 500 bucks.

EDIT: Oh, you said Canada? Maybe for them that's a good deal. Holy hell, the $80 12 month subscription to Live is a ripoff!

[Serapth]

Is that even a good deal? PGR3 is like 20-30 bucks now isn't it? And the 1250 points equal roughly 15 bucks. The 3 month live is 15 or less. Not a super deal, not for 500 bucks.

No, Kel, its a good deal. In Canada we are getting fucked hard by conversion. The 399$ system in Canada is 499$, which is complete bullshit as the american dollar is worth like 1.08 Canadian. They screwed the brits and most europeans on exchange rate too.

So basically, its about 80$ worth of shit for free.

[Draft]

Is that even a good deal? PGR3 is like 20-30 bucks now isn't it? And the 1250 points equal roughly 15 bucks. The 3 month live is 15 or less. Not a super deal, not for 500 bucks.

EDIT: Oh, you said Canada? Maybe for them that's a good deal. The 80 dollar year subscription to Live is a ripoff!$499 CND is the price of the normal X360 premium package.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10066139&catid=

[Kelegacy]

Yikes. Sorry, guys. Norse from Norway tells me DS games go for even more than 360 games go here. That really sucks. I know I wouldn't be a big gamer if my hobby was THAT pricey. I'd be smoking crack and fucking pricey hookers in the ass.

EDIT: Canadian games/systems are NTSC, right? Couldn't you import from America and save cash? And if not, you could get an American friend to help you out, I'm sure. I don't know the laws and stuff, though.

[Serapth]

Yikes. Sorry, guys. Norse from Norway tells me DS games go for even more than 360 games go here. That really sucks. I know I wouldn't be a big gamer if my hobby was THAT pricey. I'd be smoking crack and fucking pricey hookers in the ass.

EDIT: Canadian games/systems are NTSC, right? Couldn't you import from America and save cash? And if not, you could get an American friend to help you out, I'm sure. I don't know the laws and stuff, though.


Games arent as bad, a 49$ game is 55-60$ Canadian, so we would only save maybe 2 or 3 dollars. Its only really on the system we get screwed. Ironically, it makes sony not look so bad, the 599 system has been announced as 650 CDN. But yeah, same games, except we often get a cheesy insert instruction book that also includes french... which can come in handy after I lose the english copy.

As to crack and hookers... we import them from the States too, so they are just as expensive. Especially the ones that will take it in the ass.

[Savok]

Yeah if you want games fucking you, you go PAL. $90US for a 360 game here.

[EternalGamer]

Yeah, it's not a great deal, but it's better than nothing. PGR 3 is far from the most universal game they could pack in, but I guess is sort of the point. It's enough just to get a "free game" with the sysem for the average consumer to see it as a bargain. If it is something they would never buy anyway, that's a bonus to MS since they are still going to buy whatever game they actually do want. It comes to around abou ta $60 value. I'm a little disappointed, really. I thought after the recent talk, MS might have something serious going on this Fall.

[jacob.armitage]

Actually, this has already started here (Regina). At least at the EBGames locations.

[Kelegacy]

Yeah if you want games fucking you, you go PAL. $90US for a 360 game here.
Man, gaming wouldn't even be an option for me. I'd say screw that and spend my days reading instead, or indulging in another hobby. Unless I could pick up some really cheap used games, I'd say fuck all to gaming. Fun does have monetary limits, I'm afraid.

[Deadend]

Man, gaming wouldn't even be an option for me. I'd say screw that and spend my days reading instead, or indulging in another hobby. Unless I could pick up some really cheap used games, I'd say fuck all to gaming. Fun does have monetary limits, I'm afraid.

I'd have a social life, and spend much more time drunk.

[EternalGamer]

I'd have a social life, and spend much more time drunk.


Yeah but when it comes down to it, that is way more expensive than gaming (even at those prices). I am reminded of that everytime I go back to St. Louis to visit with friends. I spend a ridiculious amount of money on nothing in a very short amount of time. Bars and Restaurants get expensive really really quick. Even at nearly $100 a pop, gaming would still be way cheaper. It's very, very easy to blow $50 during a night out (dinner and bar afterwards). And a typical game will easily give you a few dozen nights of entertainment.

[TrackZero]

Careful, this may just be a futureshop package, not something officially endorsed by MS.

[Kelegacy]

And a typical game will easily give you a few dozen nights of entertainment.
TYPICAL game. These days you will be lucky if a game will last you an afternoon or two. Stubbs anyone? The days of Baldur's Gate II epics are over unfortunately. Bioware has said as much. They'd rather focus on 15 hour games that run for 60 bucks. Sorry, but Jade Empire wasn't epic. Too much work, they say. Fuckers.

And I think some family members already think I have a drinking problem, so abandoning games for booze wouldn't be kosher. I was drunk at a wedding on Friday and I think my uncle said something about me drinking too often. I can't remember, I was drunk.

(I only drink socially. People just happen to always see me at social functions, thus they always see me drinking)

[Johan]

(I only drink socially. People just happen to always see me at social functions, thus they always see me drinking)

You sound like an extremely sociable person ;) *tipsy--woosy--falls over* ;)

I'm disappointed that MS isn't being a little bit more aggressive; perhaps they still will be more aggressive in the fall...one never knows.

[Manzy]

Yeah but when it comes down to it, that is way more expensive than gaming (even at those prices). I am reminded of that everytime I go back to St. Louis to visit with friends. I spend a ridiculious amount of money on nothing in a very short amount of time. Bars and Restaurants get expensive really really quick. Even at nearly $100 a pop, gaming would still be way cheaper. It's very, very easy to blow $50 during a night out (dinner and bar afterwards). And a typical game will easily give you a few dozen nights of entertainment.
That's why you drink before the bar. Pick up the chicks at the bar. Take them back to your apartment. Drink the rest of your booze (with a roofy slipped in the chick's drinks of course) and carry their flaccid corpes to your bed with your unflaccid penis.

[Rafer]

No, Kel, its a good deal. In Canada we are getting fucked hard by conversion. The 399$ system in Canada is 499$, which is complete bullshit as the american dollar is worth like 1.08 Canadian. They screwed the brits and most europeans on exchange rate too.

And the 20 gig PS3 is going for $550 (60 gig, $659), so Sony is selling it for close to the actual Canadian exchange rate. I remember 5 years ago the PS2 and Xbox were selling for close to the same price so I don't know why Microsoft is overcharging in Canada this time around.

[Banacek]

I could never trust a man that doesn't drink.

[Manzy]

I could never trust a man that doesn't drink.
I've learned in my walks of life to never trust men that don't drink (where's all the stress go??) or one's that do cocaine.

[EternalGamer]

TYPICAL game. These days you will be lucky if a game will last you an afternoon or two. Stubbs anyone? The days of Baldur's Gate II epics are over unfortunately. Bioware has said as much. They'd rather focus on 15 hour games that run for 60 bucks. Sorry, but Jade Empire wasn't epic. Too much work, they say. Fuckers.

And I think some family members already think I have a drinking problem, so abandoning games for booze wouldn't be kosher. I was drunk at a wedding on Friday and I think my uncle said something about me drinking too often. I can't remember, I was drunk.

(I only drink socially. People just happen to always see me at social functions, thus they always see me drinking)


Well, let's be fair, though. An average game is still at least 20 hours of play. If it's a decent enough game, it might even give you extra incentive to go for the special items (add another five or so). That's around $2.50 an hour. Good luck finding other forms of entertainment (outside of TV) that is cheaper than that. Movies, bars, eating out, hell, even bowling is more expensive than that. Also, I probably pay full price for less than 1/5th of the games I buy. I'm at the 52 hour mark in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (just about to wrap it up--I want to hunt down a few more artifacts) and I got it for $10 at Circuit City. I'm also nearing the end of Prime 2 (picked up where I left off months ago just yesterday and just beat the spiderball boss tonight) and I've logged around 25 hours into it and only paid $10 for it as well.

As much as we like to complain about the increase in prices (and they do suck), all in all gaming is a pretty decent entertainment value. Of course nothing beats the "bang for the buck" of a good book (especially if you have access to a decent library and can get anything you wish to read for FREE), but usually a few hours of reading a day are all I want (unless I'm really engrossed in something), so that still leaves at least a couple of hours of freetime to kill. I'd much rather play a game than watch TV, as there are only a handful of TV shows I even find worth watching.

[Manzy]

As much as we like to complain about the increase in prices (and they do suck), all in all gaming is a pretty decent entertainment value. Of course nothing beats the "bang for the buck" of a good book (especially if you have access to a decent library and can get anything you wish to read for FREE)


Books already take up too much of my time and money. 2-3 hours a night before I go to sleep. Its my only cure for insomnia, I'm not akin to sleeping pills, cuz I've seen my friends do stupid stuff on ambien. The library close to me never seems to have any good science fiction, if anything it has all the stuff I've read already, so I always have to go out and buy it. I always get raped. This summer alone I've spent about 150 bucks on books.

[EternalGamer]

Well, I have alumni priveliges from both my undergraduate and graduate universities, and both have pretty much anything I'd ever care to read. However, while I was working on my thesis, I racked up some HUGE late fees. I had around 60 books checked out and my defense was only a couple of weeks away when they came due (and I had already renewed them once). There was no way I could turn loose of all them when I was still finalizing my thesis and might need them for reference checks etc. I ended up paying $150 in late fees. I just paid it today, actually. That hurt a lot, especially since i don't have a replacement job yet, but I imagine they wouldn't have let me have the diploma unless I paid, so I just bit the bullet and got it over with.

Speaking of alchohol, I haven't had anything to drink at all in probably over a month and I think my stomach thanks me for it. Though Kelegacy's "Green Bud Road" was meandered down a few times in the last week. But that doesn't really have any physiological after effects on me. I always feel slightly dumb and spacy the day after but it sure beats the hell out of a hangover, and its the perfect state to do what is otherwise mind numbingly boring repetitive tasks (I reorganized my files and cleaned out my closet).

[anakin876]

I've learned in my walks of life to never trust men that don't drink (where's all the stress go??) or one's that do cocaine.

It's called Repression and it is a BITCH when it all pops out. You haven't laughed until you have seen me swear like a drunken sailor who is out of cash for hookers at BILLY MOTHER F_ING hatcher. I hate that game. The first time my roommate heard me say F*ck was playing that game and he heard it A LOT.

So yeah, alcohol isn't looking that bad.

Of course - my roommate doesn't need anything to deal with stress - he just laughs at me swearing at him whilst playing Billy Hatcher

[UnderHero5]

I've learned in my walks of life to never trust men that don't drink (where's all the stress go??) or one's that do cocaine.
And I've learned, in my walks of life, that drinking causes far more problems than it solves.
I don't drink. I don't care if others do. Plenty (read: all) of my friends do, but it's not something that's for me. I have my reasons for not drinking, as I'm sure they have their reasons for drinking.

There are other ways to relieve stress. *points to gigantic forarm*

What? Arm wrestling is a great form of stress relief!

Seriously though. Gaming is my stress relief (and WAY too much masturbation).

Who am I kidding, there's no such thing as too much.

[anakin876]

Seriously though. Gaming is my stress relief (and WAY too much masturbation).

Who am I kidding, there's no such thing as too much.

umm - if you get a rash or start to bleed - it's too much. And don't say that's not possible, because it is.

[laggerific]

And lo, the great Microsoft offensive of 2006 begins.

Futureshop Link (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10077602&catid=23363&logon=&langid=EN&test%5Fcookie=1)

If you're thinking of grabbing an X360, wait 7 days.


Seems a like a weak offensive, if you ask me...the genesis had the free controller and a free game, you got to pick which one from a pretty decent catalog minus a few of their killer apps (phantasy star II! :mad: )...and it was a great system. Give us something we can work with here.

[laggerific]

umm - if you get a rash or start to bleed - it's too much. And don't say that's not possible, because it is.

Good call...I recommend the venus...sister to the sybian.

[laggerific]

And I've learned, in my walks of life, that drinking causes far more problems than it solves.

don't forget, drinking is also the answer to all of lifes problems...

[StoneGut]

Well looks like there's more to this story than a bundled system for sale....

http://www.hydeawaydesigns.net/fs_mistake.jpg

[Savok]

Probably a screw up, but "buy a Xbox 360 AND Nintendo Wii for under the price of a PS3" would still be the greatest piece of marketing ever.

[anakin876]

Good call...I recommend the venus...sister to the sybian.

sounds interesting - do you have a link? The videos might be quite entertaining.

[Demo_Boy]

Well no price drop is typical, and a bit weak.
PGR3 is decent, but cheap used, but still, this is a freebie, so medium.
The Points is actually a great perk, considering all the Marketplace stuff now.
Three months free has been a packin for a while.

So overall, this deal is "nice".
It's not MS shoving a Zweihander down the throat of PS3, but it is a nice perk.

The above with a 50 dolla mail in rebate would be the Zwiehander. Or a mail in "choose from an extra free game".

[gzsfrk]

Seems a like a weak offensive, if you ask me...the genesis had the free controller and a free game, you got to pick which one from a pretty decent catalog minus a few of their killer apps (phantasy star II! :mad: )...and it was a great system. Give us something we can work with here.

Umm... hence the 1250 Marketplace points. That's 1 to 3 games for XBLA that you can pick out (assuming you have a broadband connection), which is at least as good, imo, as Sega letting you pick your pack-in game with the Genesis.

And I'd say the choice of PGR3 was a very good one--it's a quality game, but it's likely past its peak selling frenzy (or at least, moreso than the other MS-published titles), thus minimizing the revenue-opportunity-loss to MS for giving it away for free. If I had to guess, I'd say Kameo, for example, has a higher sell-through rate that PGR3, so it made more sense to pack in the MS-published game that had the lowest sell-through (again, I'm not sure, but I suspect it was PGR3).

Plus, if you want to sell people on how good the GRAPHICS on the 360 can look, PGR3 is a pretty good showcase of the console's horsepower (npi).

[Royal Fool]

For the skeptics, here's a link to Xbox.com's Mexican site.

http://www.xbox.com/es-MX/promociones/bundlepgr32006.htm

It's very much an official bundle. I hope this comes over here... I want it.

[laggerific]

gzsfrk...good call on the marketplace points...I still think the perfect bundle would include an extra controller instead of PGR3...if they wanted to show off their graphics there are a ton of gorgeous demos people can enjoy.