Xbox 360 pricing announced

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Two little Gamespot tidbits:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6140371.html -> Microsoft is losing $125 on every X360 sold. Tho that doesn't take labor into account and probably doesn't take their exclusivity deals which get them a discount, either.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6140373.html ->
"A look at the soon-ending auctions this morning showed premium Xbox 360s generally closing at $600-$700, with core systems going for about $500."
"However, as great as the demand is, the supply of systems on eBay is almost as staggering. There are thousands of listings for the unit on the auction site, many of which are going without bids due to high reserves or starting prices."
So, yeah, there was a lot of speculative buying done.


SI

I think gone are days when such "buy and ebay" are sure sales. They still have good potential to net some profit, though.

[sterlingice]

Two little Gamespot tidbits:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6140371.html -> Microsoft is losing $125 on every X360 sold. Tho that doesn't take labor into account and probably doesn't take their exclusivity deals which get them a discount, either.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6140373.html ->
"A look at the soon-ending auctions this morning showed premium Xbox 360s generally closing at $600-$700, with core systems going for about $500."
"However, as great as the demand is, the supply of systems on eBay is almost as staggering. There are thousands of listings for the unit on the auction site, many of which are going without bids due to high reserves or starting prices."
So, yeah, there was a lot of speculative buying done.


SI

[sterlingice]

More X360 amusement:
hXXp://www.smashmyxbox.com/

And I particularly like the disgust this site had for it:
hXXp://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EEFkyluApkqqsVUkVu.php

SI

[Raiders Army]

The timestamp bug is really bad when you quote someone before they say it. I think that's been said before...

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

I waited at my local Wal-Mart and I am very happy I did. I was second in line because they were only getting 4 premium systems and 10 cores. Haven't played much at all being busy with school and basketball though. I have Madden, and I have played Halo 2 on there. The graphics look better for Halo 2 noticably. I wasn't really expecting that, but I could really tell the difference. I am not a big fan of the right trigger being speed burst and a juking for Madden.. The controls are the toughest thing to get used to. I am thinking of picking up Call of Duty, but I just may wait to get it for my dad for Christmas, that is what he wants to play.

Now I will tell you the crazy stories that people hear about during launches like these. My brother and myself got to the Wal-Mart at 10:30PM and we were second in line, and then a few others come to bring the total to 5 before 11:30. The store wasn't opening until 7 AM which sucked.. Well by 3:30 AM all there were over 14 people, the number of Xbox's they were getting. Then 6 AM rolls by and a group of the 3 guys come up and try to cut in front of the 6th and 7th people... So arguments start, then the cops get called by the night crew inside thankfully. These guys were thugs too, kinda scary. Well they waited until 7 when they let people go inside one by one giving them a ticket on the way in. We get our Xbox and are ready to leave, then a lady tells us to hold onto them tight. We decide to have someone go pick us up at one of the side doors. (great choice). Well on our way through the parking lot we see one of the thugs walking towards the entrance and then there are 3 people huddled around a Xbox walking to their car. As soon as the thug dude walks past the group he turns around and runs after them. He grabbed them and ripped their bag. He didn't really try too hard to get the Xbox, at least not that hard for the crimes he commited/got charged for. Well he was unsucessful, but he had a get away vehicle and they run! I saw the whole thing and called the cops immediately.. It was craziness! They ended up catching the guys 40 minutes later and one of them got charged with 5 felonies. (attempted robber, 3 counts of assult to minors, and reckless driving) That was my story, someone top that!

You don't have carry and consealment?

Good thing you went out the side door, sheesh.

[Terps]

If anyone wants a game of Madden or NBA Live (came with my bundle and I tried taking it back and they wouldn't let me, but I like it surprisingly because I usually buy 2K), add me. YouR FN IDoL is my GamerTag.

[Eaglesfan27]

Just played my first long game of Madden. 12 minute quarters are definitely too long. It took almost 2 hours and I had 120 plays in regulation. Ended up tied 30-30 with Buffalo. They got the OT kick, we stopped them, and then scored thanks to a long pass to Reggie Brown for a TD.

Anyway, some more thoughts. First the negatives:

1. I don't see any way to save in game. Perhaps, it was just because it was a quick game, but I doubt my franchise games are going to be able to be saved mid game either. I don't see any reason that a system this powerful shouldn't be able to do midgame saves. I'd say I'm going to miss that more than any other feature they left out.

2. The screen which shows who subbed in, doesn't always jive with the play. For example, Westbrook was very tired so it showed Gordon subbing in, but when I actually ran the play Westbrook was still back there. However, this could have been a function of me leaving the sub-out percentage at the default 60%. Perhaps, the game was trying to tell me I should have been subbing him out sooner?

3. There definitely is no accelerated clock in the game. Not a terrible loss because I'm still having problems getting some plays off in time, but IF I get tired of watching the various cutscenes, this could be an annoyance.

4. Still not nearly enough penalties on the default settings. I bumped all penalties up to 70 (from the default of 50) and it still wasn't enough. There were a few holding calls and that was it.


Now the positives:

1. Stats look great in played games on default settings. I had too many plays in this last game, but the stats were very interesting. Holcolmbe really worked me underneath and rarely threw long. Thanks to plenty of dump off passes Holcombe completed 66% of his passes with 24 of 36 passing. However, it was only for 120 yards as most of the passes were 4-5 yards. Of course, Buffalo didn't need to pass deep much because McGahee is a beast in the game. He broke off 3 TD's of greater than 50 yards. He is strong, breaks tackles, and has explosive acceleration in the game. However, I was also able to contain him other than those 3 runs for the most part. He finished with 25 carries for 224 yards and 3 TD's.

I just thought it was great that the computer finally played to their strengths and really made smart throws.

2. The animations continue to impress. On McGahee's one long run, he actually was almost tackled but put his hand down, regained his balance, and then took off down the sideline. Large variety of new animations showing up each game I play.

3. The passing feels realistic. No cheap defensive back plays, no cheap linebacker plays. The game plays very good on default all-pro.

4. Outside runs seem more realistic. If you follow your blocks, you can get some big runs. Other times you can get stuffed for a big loss. Runs up the middle are a safer proposition, but don't have the same reward potential. Seems similar to real life. McGahee's 3 long runs were all outside runs, but I stuffed him quite a few times outside too.

5. The Pancake problem is definitely fixed. Despite, running the ball 27 times, my leading guy was Tra Thomas with 2 pancakes. Buffalo ran the ball 27 times as well and their leading guy had 1 pancake. In fact, all of the stats seemed well within believability.

Lots of fun tonight. I need to determine the best quarter length for this version of the game, than I look forward to starting my franchise.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

1. I don't see any way to save in game. Perhaps, it was just because it was a quick game, but I doubt my franchise games are going to be able to be saved mid game either. I don't see any reason that a system this powerful shouldn't be able to do midgame saves. I'd say I'm going to miss that more than any other feature they left out.

Bugger, that'll be annoying. Might be the one thing that makes me regret the upgrade. Probably done because they can't count on a hard drive in the system. 5 minute quarters it is, but it'll suck.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

how does the media thing work with your cpu?

what do you need for it to play music off your cpu to the xbox?

easy to setup?

www.xbox.com/pcsetup

Very easy to set up. Once installed, if your 360 is on, it will find it and you tell it to allow the 360 access to your files (there is also an option to let any device automatically access the files). On the 360, you then go to the "media" option in the Guide, select type of media (music, pictures, or video), and then select your PC. You'll see whatever type of media you chose arranged like it is in media player (for music it is by album, artist, genre, etc), including any of your play lists. Very sweet.

[Ragone]

everyone i've talked to this week has said they don't think there will be a steady stream of 360's till march of next year.. christ, i still don't understand why they didn't just release all premium's first.. then bring out cores after christmas

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Ragone

everyone i've talked to this week has said they don't think there will be a steady stream of 360's till march of next year.. christ, i still don't understand why they didn't just release all premium's first.. then bring out cores after christmas

Because they probably lose less money on the cores, and with such scarcity of total systems they can sell more of them (the cores) than they otherwise might. Then, a bunch of the hardcore gamers that got 'stuck' with just a core will end up buying the hard drive and other accessories seperately, which of course will be extra profit for MS.

[stevew]

I wonder if they first "price drop" will be to totally eliminate the core system, and sell the "premium pack" for $299. Probably will depend on what Sony is doing.

[Philliesfan980]

How are Madden's stats over a franchise looking? Has anyone here simmed through 30 seasons just to see how things look?

Does anyone here want to unload their 360?!?! I'll pay a nice price for it.

[Anthony]

an article in CNN.com also reported another melee outside a store in MD where people were trampling over each other to get to the front of the line.

Article

there's also a separate link to another report about a bug that causes a few 360s to crash.

[jbmagic]

question.


the core system you can upgrade later little at a time to make it premium system?

[stevew]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

question.


the core system you can upgrade later little at a time to make it premium system?

yeah. Its just the "premium pack" cause it comes with all the accessories.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

question.


the core system you can upgrade later little at a time to make it premium system?

Not to digress but are you Dwight from the office?

edit: yeah, you'll have to get the HDD and switch controlers, but there's nothing different about the other hardware.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Not to digress but are you Dwight from the office?

edit: yeah, you'll have to get the HDD and switch controlers, but there's nothing different about the other hardware.

If he were, would you invite him to your party so your roommate would know that he's a real person?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

How are Madden's stats over a franchise looking? Has anyone here simmed through 30 seasons just to see how things look?

Does anyone here want to unload their 360?!?! I'll pay a nice price for it.

I'll do that tomorrow (or possibly tonight after Mrs. Eaglesfan goes to bed.) I'm curious about this issue as well.

I'm also going to see if the drafting is any smarter. Otherwise, I'll probably draft for all the teams when I start my franchise..

edit: Also, I've decided I will bench T.O. for most of the year and release him after my first season (or trade him for a late round pick.)

[jbmagic]

is there coach mode in Madden for xbox 360?

[dervack]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

is there coach mode in Madden for xbox 360?

I'll check later for you.

Edit: Doesn't look like it.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by stevew

I wonder if they first "price drop" will be to totally eliminate the core system, and sell the "premium pack" for $299. Probably will depend on what Sony is doing.

That's pretty much in line with what I expect to see happen. I think the core system is basically just a gimmick at launch to draw in the folks who might otherwise wait. Once the first price drop happens, unless the PS3 kicks in at $299, there won't be a reason really to keep the Core around.

[SackAttack]

Incidentally, the demos continue to stream onto Live. NBA Live 06, NFS Most Wanted, and Kameo are all available at last check. Kameo's worth checking out. The Live 06 demo disappointed me. NFS Most Wanted is downloading to my box right now (at a whopping 960 MB!).

[dervack]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Incidentally, the demos continue to stream onto Live. NBA Live 06, NFS Most Wanted, and Kameo are all available at last check. Kameo's worth checking out. The Live 06 demo disappointed me. NFS Most Wanted is downloading to my box right now (at a whopping 960 MB!).

Personally, this is one of the things that I love about the 360. As long as they continue to pump out demos of the games, I think it will gamers happy that they can check out the games before they buy them.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by dervack

Personally, this is one of the things that I love about the 360. As long as they continue to pump out demos of the games, I think it will gamers happy that they can check out the games before they buy them.

how much is online service a month for the xbox 360?

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

how much is online service a month for the xbox 360?

Much cheaper to just go yearly for $50/year. If you go monthly, you end up paying something like $8/month.

But when you get the 360 Premium, you get Xbox Live Silver for free (which has access to Marketplace and the demos), and a free month of Xbox Live Gold to try out the online play.

It's worth it, IMO, and growing more so by the day.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Much cheaper to just go yearly for $50/year. If you go monthly, you end up paying something like $8/month.

But when you get the 360 Premium, you get Xbox Live Silver for free (which has access to Marketplace and the demos), and a free month of Xbox Live Gold to try out the online play.

It's worth it, IMO, and growing more so by the day.

Well, the Silver comes with the Core also. The other nice thing about the 360, is if you buy the $50 card for Live, I don't believe you have to input any CC info at all. I could be wrong, but I do believe that I read that somewhere.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by dervack

Well, the Silver comes with the Core also. The other nice thing about the 360, is if you buy the $50 card for Live, I don't believe you have to input any CC info at all. I could be wrong, but I do believe that I read that somewhere.

That would be great.

I got screwed out of $50 last time I had Live because they automatically billed me. I'd love not having to worry about that! Anyone who can confirm, I'd really appreciate that.

[dervack]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

That would be great.

I got screwed out of $50 last time I had Live because they automatically billed me. I'd love not having to worry about that! Anyone who can confirm, I'd really appreciate that.

From Xbox.com

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[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

If he were, would you invite him to your party so your roommate would know that he's a real person?

We all know JB is all too real....

[Eaglesfan27]

I converted my account to Gold status. I'm running a test franchise of Madden now in which I hope to go through a good part of 30 seasons and post some stats along the way. Interestingly, it has stopped at week 2 and won't sim past the Dolphins-Jets game for some reason...

I can't seem to figure out why.

[Eaglesfan27]

I finally re-started my franchise test. This would have been very frustrating if it was a "real" career. I'm not sure what was going on as both teams had a LOT of injuries, but they both had at least the minimum number of players required at each position.

In any case, I just simmed the first season of a test franchise in about 3 1/2 minutes. Here are the top leaders from each category:

QB Rating:

1. P. Manning - 111.5, 3,511 yards 25 TD 4 INT. Missed 1 game.
2. M. Bulger - 110.1, 4,002 yards 36 TD 4 INT. Missed 1 game.
3. J. Delhomme - 109.4, 3,355 yard 32 TD 4 INT. Started every game
4. T. Green - 101.8, 3,831 yards 33 TD 7 INT. Missed 1 game.
5. T. Brady 97.5, 4,357 yards, 32 TD 10 INT.

18 QB's had a rating higher than 90. McNabb was 18th with a 90.2 rating. I thought that was definitely too high until I looked at the real stats from last year. 12 QB's had a 90 or higher rating including 4 over 100. Manning led the league with a 121.4 that year.


Top 5 QB's by Yardage

1. Brady 4357 yards - He was only one of 3 QB's to play every game.
2. Bulger 4,002 yards - Missed 1 game.
3. Testeraverde 3,865 yards - missed 1 game.
4. Green 3,831 yards - missed 1 game.
5. Volek 3,553 yards - started 14 games.

The yardage is generally reasonable.

Top 5 by completion percentage:

1. P. Manning - 71% (!)
2. Bulger - 66%
3. Delhomme - 65%
4. Green - 64%
5. M Hasselback - 63%

Average QB stats (only counting main starters):

Rating: 90.2
Yardage: 3,038 yards.
TD's: 18
Int's: 8 (most thrown was 14 - that seems low. Last year's high was 20.)
Completion Percentage: 60% - seems pretty good.



Now onto the other categories.

[Eaglesfan27]

I read on some forums that rushing totals were too high in Madden on the Xbox 360. This first season doesn't show that at all. However, Michael Vick is still showing an amazing stasticial prowess in this version:

Leading Rushers by yardage:

1. M. Vick - 175 carries for 1706 yards and 8 TD's!
2. L. Tomlinson - 215 carries for 1176 yards and 8 TD's.
3. J. Lewis - 216 carries for 1062 yards and 7 TD's.
4. S. Alexander - 190 carries for 1037 yards and 4 TD's.
5. T. Barber - 192 carries for 1029 yards and 6 TD's.


Average Rushing Total: 173 carries for 771 yards, 4.4 avg. 4 TD's.


I'll follow this stat again to see if it changes much in future seasons. From looking at a few teams, it is apparent that 2nd string backs are getting about 20% of the carries and the FB is being utilized for about 20-30% of the carries on a lot of teams.

Interestingly, Denver had Anderson with 103 carries, Tatum Bell with 96 carries, and Ron Dayne with 21 carries.

Receiving Stats are interesting:

Leading receivers by receptions:

1. Torry Holt - 80 catches.
2. Julius Jones - 73 catches.
3. Randy Moss - 59 catches.
4. Dallas Clark - 59 catches.
5. Marcus Robinson - 58 catches.

Leading Receivers by Yardage:

1. Holt - 1367
2. Moss - 1011
3. Horn - 893
4. M. Clayton - 875
5. Coles - 866

Leading Receivers by TD's.

1. Holt - 12
2. Clayton - 12
3. Robinson - 10
4. Moss - 10
5. J Smith - 10

The game settings were on 12 minute quarters which is longer than I'd probably even run. I wonder if the reduced minute load somehow affected the receiving stats and rushing yardage..

[Eaglesfan27]

In the 2005 SuperBowl, the Colts beat the Rams 38-26.


There is a Hall of Fame in the game. Not sure if the Xbox version had that. However, the game allowed 2 players to be immediately inducted after their retirement.

Testaverde and Jerome Bettis were both inducted.


I notice that the Green Bar telling you how much a player likes a contract offer is gone. That is good, and it makes re-signing your players and signing FA's a bit harder.

The new roster breakdown screen with rankings is very slick in aiding in deciding who to sign during free agency.

I'm shocked to see T.O go unsigned during free agency (as I released him after the season.) I remember seeing some thread about whether EA hates T.O. on another board. I'm wondering if they somehow coded into team's evaluation of players their bad morale during previous seasons?

Charles Woodson also went unsigned during the free agency period..

Some random thoughts/observations of the draft:

The draft doesn't have you scout players, but it does give combine ratings on everyone and 5 bullet points on each player if you click on them. For the top QB, it says things such as:

- He reminds me of a young Brett Favre, he makes strong throws. He is slower than molasses, molasses that are slower than usual. Has great awareness on the field, and checks off well.

That QB went #3 to Miami.

GB took a great WR at #5.

The draft is moving slower and the teams seem to be "thinking" more about their moves.

The Bills traded the #8 pick to the Lions for the #17 pick and a mid 3rd round pick.

The Lions then proceeded to take a WR with that pick. Ok, I'm just joking. Actually, they took the 2nd best QB in the draft with it. I like it. They traded up to get a top 10 QB which they desperately needed.

Quite a run on HB's in the 1st round. However, the draft was HB deep. I wonder how this will play out in future seasons.

I'm really surprised at how slow the draft runs even on the max speed setting. It is nothing that would bother me in the course of a normal franchise, but it will definitely slow up getting through too many seasons tonight. However, I view this as a good thing since it seems the algorithms for evaluating team needs and draft selection might actually be more refined than in previous versions.

Overall, I'd say it took about 20-25 minutes (with my selections only taking 15-20 seconds each as I was just doing this as a test league) to run the draft on the max speed settings. The 1st 2 rounds seemed to go the slowest. I *think* the sim button would speed past it, but I think the results are going to be more realistic with it playing out. For example, no kickers were taken in the first 4 rounds. Also, no centers taken in the first 4 rounds and it is a rather shallow center pool this year.

4 FG kickers were taken in the 5th round with the Saints, 49ers, Lions and Dolphins all taking kickers. Much better than previous versions where this happened in the 2nd round.

1 more FG kicker was taken in the 6th round. Only 5 were drafted.

2 Punters were drafted. One in the 5th round (Washington) and one in the 7th (Rams.)

Once I got them into camp, most of my players were rated under 70 (except for my 1st round receiver who was a 71 with 95 speed.)

[Eaglesfan27]

2006 Stats:

Top 5 QB's by Rating:

1. P. Manning - 105.0 rtg, 4,241 yards, 35 TD 12 INT, 68% completed, 363 of 530 passes.

2. D. Bledsoe - 103.6 rtg, 3,720 yards, 28 TD 5 INT, 62% completed, 291 of 463 passes.

3. B. Volek - 99.4, 3,307 yards, 28 TD 6 INT, 62% completed, 283 of 454 passes.

4. McNabb - 98.4, 3,800 yards, 29 TD 7 INT, 63%, 330 of 520.

5. M. Hasselbeck - 98.0, 2,905 yards, 22 TD 7 INT, 63%, 246 of 386.


This season only 11 QB's had a rating higher than 90. 10 Starters had a rating below 82.

Jeff Blake led the league with 19 interceptions vs 14 TD's for KC. Kyle Orton also threw 19 interceptions, but had 24 TD's for Chicago.


Chris Simms led the league in Yardage with 4,353 yards! He had a 94.6 rating, 30 TD 9 INT's, 335 of 565 for 59% complete.


Rushing stats are again low. J. Lewis had the most carries at 204 for 918 yards.

S. Alexander had the most yards with 1068 yards on 180 carries.

McNabb led QB's with 850 yards on the ground.

Vick had 785 yards on 85 carries. However, he missed 6 games with injuries.


Receptions are again low with the leading receiver having 74 catches. Interestingly, it was TE Boo Williams. In fact 3 of the top 5 receivers for receptions were TE's.

Marvin Harrison was the leading receiver that was actually a WR with 68 catches for 1095 yards and 13 TD's.

This year, there were at least 20 receivers with more than 60 catches unlike last year.

Let me mention some defensive stats:

Leading Tacklers:

1. Bradie James - 113 tackles.
2. C.C. Brown - 110 tackles.
3. Takeo Spikes - 110 tackles.
4. Nate Webster - 109 tackles.
5. Jeremiah Trotter - 108 tackles.

Leading Sacks:

1. Anthony Weaver - 18 sacks.
2. James Hall - 14 sacks.
3. Patrick Kearney - 14 sacks.
4. Mike Rucker - 13 sacks.
5. Brandon Noble - 12 sacks.

Interceptions are low:

7 guys lead the league with 4.

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

www.xbox.com/pcsetup

Very easy to set up. Once installed, if your 360 is on, it will find it and you tell it to allow the 360 access to your files (there is also an option to let any device automatically access the files). On the 360, you then go to the "media" option in the Guide, select type of media (music, pictures, or video), and then select your PC. You'll see whatever type of media you chose arranged like it is in media player (for music it is by album, artist, genre, etc), including any of your play lists. Very sweet.

Hasn't been easy for me.. I go to the site get every downloaded then try to get it going through my Xbox, but it wont get past a certain screen... The Xbox site isn't very helpful either... Help?

[Mustang]

Guess my timing was right tonight. They came available on Sears for a bit and I was able to get an order in for the 360. According to them, it will be 3-5 days for shipping.

I've seen them come available on Kmart yesterday and Best Buy on the day of the launch. If anyone is looking for one, I'd suggest just doing some bookmarks and check in occassionally on different sites.

Better than trying to stand in line and wait for black friday on the 'chance' that they ordered some...

[Eaglesfan27]

Tried a franchise season with 15 minute quarters and none of the stats were significantly different although the leading rusher actually had 236 carries and 1300 plus yards.

However, the leading receiver still had only 72 catches.

I think it is a function of fatigue being on, guys getting tired perhaps a bit too quickly at the skilled positions (least this seems to happen in games) and the use of reserves. Of course, I'd prefer to see stats be dead on or at least closer to reality, but I think I prefer this to running backs having 400 plus carries most seasons.

[sooner333]

Originally Posted by Mustang

Guess my timing was right tonight. They came available on Sears for a bit and I was able to get an order in for the 360. According to them, it will be 3-5 days for shipping.

I've seen them come available on Kmart yesterday and Best Buy on the day of the launch. If anyone is looking for one, I'd suggest just doing some bookmarks and check in occassionally on different sites.

Better than trying to stand in line and wait for black friday on the 'chance' that they ordered some...

Are the online sites typically selling bundles or what?

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by sooner333

Are the online sites typically selling bundles or what?

Looks like most have bundles. From the common ones... Sears, Toys R Us, Circuit City, Walmart have bundles while Best Buy & Kmart have individual units.

Then again, alot of sites drop those things no available for order so, they may put up just the core or premium units when available.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

That would be great.

I got screwed out of $50 last time I had Live because they automatically billed me. I'd love not having to worry about that! Anyone who can confirm, I'd really appreciate that.

That happened to me last time I had to renew. They charged me a day early after I had bought a reload card. I called 'em up, they promptly reversed the charge.

[Eaglesfan27]

In the 2006 season, the Eagles beat the Patriot 22-19 in the Super Bowl.

Again, guys went right into the Hall of Fame after retiring. Jeff George was a very odd choice, Marshall Faulk made sense.

The Salary Cap is hitting me harder than in previous versions. I can't afford to re-sign Josh Perry who has become a very good FB. I also have to let several quality backups go into free agency because I will barely have enough to sign my draft picks.

As far as T.O, he went to Dallas last year after training camp on a relatively cheap deal. Dallas then apparently re-signed him to a higher priced 2 year deal after he had a very good season.

During this 2nd offseason, again a high profile very talented player went unsigned as no one was willing to meet Jeremy Shockey's requests. Many of the teams in the league are at or near the cap.

The draft took about 18 minutes this time with fewer trades in the 1st 2 rounds.

2 kickers took in the 5th round, 1 in the 6th, and 1 in the 7th. The rest went undrafted. One punter was took in the 7th round. The rest went undrafted.

I couldn't afford to sign all of my draft picks due to being over the cap. Definitely, more challenging to manage than in previous versions if a team has a high talent level..

[Eaglesfan27]

In the 2007 season, only 1 QB broke 100 rating:

Donovan McNabb, 100.9; 3157 yards, 28 TD 6 INT, 276 of 435 passing, 63%.

I noticed that the backups came in during several blowouts.

Bulger lead the league in passing with 3829 yards.

Peyton missed the whole year due to an injury suffered in the 1st game.

Despite only having 12 minute quarters, Shaun Alexander led the NFL with 253 carries for 1338 yards. Bick had 1228 yards on 140 carries. L.T. had 1222 yards on 210 carries.

On just about every team, backup running backs and moreso FB's are getting too many carries.

The first 100 reception season happened this year.

Ben Watson of NE led the league the league with 102 catches for 1074 yards.

Torry Holt was 2nd with 84 catches for 1024 yards.

Randy Moss had 1154 yards on just 62 catches.

Takeo Spikes led the league with 120 tackles.

Bobby Hamilton led the league with 16 sacks.

Sheldon Brown led the league with 6 interceptions.

I'm going to hopefully sim a few more seasons tomorrow (while doing some work around the house.) However, I probably won't post any more stats until I have some career stats to look at down the road.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The game settings were on 12 minute quarters which is longer than I'd probably even run. I wonder if the reduced minute load somehow affected the receiving stats and rushing yardage..

sims stats is based on 15 mins quarters. it has no affect what minute you set.

look at time of possession on a sim game and you will see.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

sims stats is based on 15 mins quarters. it has no affect what minute you set.

look at time of possession on a sim game and you will see.

Yeah, I've already determined that the length of my games has no effect on the simmed stats. From reading several other boards, the sim engine is always going to produce too few carries for running backs and low reception numbers for receivers. At least the pancake blocks are fixed and my played games are getting realistic stats. I'm starting my "real" franchise tomorrow and enjoying the fun gameplay

[TroyF]

Some early thoughts on some of the games and the system:

1) Love the controller. Feels comfortable. Better than the S-controller for me.
2) Love the ability to turn the system on and off without always getting up. Sounds stupid, sounds lazy, but it's just nicer.
3) Xbox Live is handled very well. I'm having some network problems now, when they get fixed I'm looking forward to hooking up with some FOFCers for a game of Madden or a race of PGR3.

As for the games:

Madden - I echo much of waht Eagles has said. It's a great game. I like the new play calling screens a lot. The options are incredibly limited though. No practice mode anywhere. No franchise fantasy draft. No extra uniforms. I knew much of it would be left out, but it's amazing to me how much they took out. This is just the game folks. You either like it or you don't. Personally, I love it. The game plays like the consoles with some nice twists and the graphics are jaw dropping. More animations and prettier stadiums. It works for me.

NBA2K6 - Load it up, start a game, get a damaged or dirty disk error. I can go into practice mode just fine. Not happy.

PGR3 - Lets see, one word. . . WOW. What a great game. This one really shows the power of the system. The graphics are jawdropping. The speed is great, there are tons of goodies, online play is fantastic. Really, this is a home run game right here. I've been playing it more than Madden if that tells you anything.

[Ragone]

Sigh.. well, i've called around over the past few days.. and every place says its going to be Feb-April of next year before units will be readily availible..

great

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Ragone

Sigh.. well, i've called around over the past few days.. and every place says its going to be Feb-April of next year before units will be readily availible..

great

better start looking on ebay

[Ragone]

Originally Posted by George W Bush

better start looking on ebay

Fuck that, i'm not paying 1100 for a 400 bundle.. its not life or death or anything.. but honestly people profiteering off shit like this makes me want to kill

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Ragone

Fuck that, i'm not paying 1100 for a 400 bundle.. its not life or death or anything.. but honestly people profiteering off shit like this makes me want to kill

ditto