Products in the name of progress...

By now all of you have heard about Microsoft's newest jaunt into pseudo-cross marketing, the Halo 3 Special Edition 360. This piece of hardware is designed for one singular, diabolical purpose... to separate me from my hard earned capital. Okay, they aren't specifically targeting me, but it feels as though Microsoft is taking advantage of that group of customers who are so fanatical in their lust for merchandise branded with the visage of their favorite super hero, genetically enhanced cyborg, or ridiculously cute papier-mâché animals, that they're willing to fork over incredibly large sums of money to feed their addiction.

This isn't the first time Microsoft has done this. Nor is it the first time they've done this with the Halo brand. It all started with the Halo Edition of the original Xbox, same old Xbox just with a fancy clear/green case and a controller with a clear/green shell. With Halo 2 they decided to turn to 3rd party manufacturer Plantronics to make the exclusive Halo 2 headset, again all gussied up in a clear/green shell. Now we find a brand new entry into the mix, a Halo 3 branded Xbox 360. Complete with Spartan color scheme on the console, controller, and wired headset! Lest we forget the Halo 3 wireless headset sporting a brand new Spartan color scheme as well. And it's not like these new products are offering us, the consumer, anything we can't already buy. In fact, the Halo 3 branded Xbox 360 actually takes a step back. With the inclusion of a 20 GB HDD rather than the soon to be standard 120 GB HDD, Microsoft has basically told their customers, "You want a 120 GB HDD? TOUGH! You'll get a 20 GB HDD and you'll like it!"

I know it sounds like I'm getting all pissy over nothing. I know I can just go out and buy a 120 GB HDD for additional $179.99. But if I did that the metal accents on the HDD wouldn't match the gold colored metal accents on the Halo 3 branded Xbox 360. It sounds petty, and it is, but I'm one of those guys that has to have things match. This is one of the main reasons I've never purchased a faceplate for my 360. Once you put the faceplate on, the rest of the console doesn't match the new color scheme...and that's totally unacceptable.

So, in conclusion, all I can say is why can't Microsoft step up to the plate and really deliver an Xbox 360 truly worthy of being branded with the name Halo. I mean, it's only Microsoft's flagship title. Is it too much to ask that they offer the most advanced version of their hardware when they release a special Halo edition of the Xbox 360? Sure, it has an HDMI port, but that's going to be standard when the Elite takes the place of the Premium bundle, then again, so is the 120 GB HDD since it's currently the standard for the Elite. I

f you're going to make a Halo 3 branded 360, why not go all out? Drop some money into developing a limited edition 360 GB HDD and bundle it exclusively with the Halo 3 branded Xbox 360. Instead of painting your standard wired headset to match the Spartan color scheme, why not include the Halo 3 wireless headset? Hell, why not include the Halo 1, Halo 2, and both map-packs in a specially designed Spartan schemed package? You worried about the price tag? Don't. You're already losing money the Xbox 360. Show your competition that you're willing to lose that much more to secure your customer base. Besides, there's no way you can go wrong if you manage to bring the whole bundle to shelves at less than $500.

I know, all of this is a pipe dream and a whine fest. But it doesn't hurt to get the idea out there. Does it?

Xbox360 Warranty Extended...good or bad?

So by now you've all probably heard that Microsoft (henceforth known as MS) has graciously decided to extend the Xbox 360's warranty for another 3 years, on top of the one year they already added to the warranty a year ago. This new extension is specifically targeted at that most vile of problems, the Red Ring of Dead (henceforth referred to as RRoD).

It would seem that this move by Microsoft would seemingly ease the fears of many a 360 owner. However, I'm not quite convinced that MS has taken the right path and that the woods ahead hold many a dire and diabolical beast. Extending the 360 warranty for a further 3 years, while at the surface seems like a wonderful idea, to me just screams of potential problems with the 360s that MS has yet to devise a fix for. So far the new addition of an extra heat-sink has, in the short term, solved some of MS's woes concerning overheating, but can this little fix really be a long term solution?

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a staunch supporter of the 360. I also think that MS has done a bang up job when it comes to customer support concerning problems that have arisen with the 360, relatively speaking. Because really, unless they come to my house and personally hand deliver a brand new 360 the customer support will always only be "Okay." Hell, I can't even say that my 360 hasn't had its ups and downs. I've had that dreaded RRoD pop up twice now, although only because the outlet it was plugged into lost power.

My fears may be totally unfounded and who knows, hopefully they will be.