Domo Arigato

They finally caved. Microsoft to sell Kinect-less Xbox One for $399 -- the same price as the PS4 By Chris Morris Microsoft is reversing course on the Xbox One -- again. The company has announced it will begin selling a version of its next-generation console -- minus the somewhat controversial Kinect peripheral -- for $399 starting June 9. The move is the latest in a series of surprising decisions Microsoft has made since its initial introduction of the system, as it had previously described Kinect as an essential part of the new Xbox experience. The company is citing user feedback as the basis for the decision. (Translation: Few people like Kinect and virtually everyone feels the Xbox One is too expensive.) The move, Microsoft insists, will not result in a console that has fewer features than its predecessor. "You will also be able to access popular entertainment apps, such as Twitch, YouTube, and Netflix, as well as watch live TV and use OneGuide," said Phil Spencer in a blog post. "You will [also] continue to be able to use many of the unique features of Xbox One including the ability to get game invites while you watch TV, switch between games and entertainment apps, enjoy Twitch broadcasts, and upload your favorite gaming moments." The $499 Xbox One with Kinect will continue to be sold. Microsoft also said it plans to make a standalone Kinect sensor available for sale, should people who buy the less expensive console change their minds down the road. The price change instantly makes the Xbox One more competitive with Sony’s PlayStation 4. Sony's system has sold more than 7 million units since its launch, versus just 5 million Xbox Ones to date. Microsoft’s announcement comes well in advance of June’s massive E3 trade show, perhaps to let the inevitable chatter die down before it reveals its gaming lineup for the remainder of 2014 and 2015. While a cheaper Xbox One is great news for gamers, it's bound to annoy early adopters who were led to believe as recently as February that a Kinect-less Xbox One was simply not in the cards. Turns out it was, and you could have saved $100 had you just waited to buy one. In addition to the new console offering, the company is making some changes to its Xbox Live policies. Effective next month, people will no longer have to have an Xbox Live account to access entertainment options such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go or the NFL app. The company is also removing Internet Explorer, Skype and OneDrive from behind the pay wall. "We’ve heard that you want more choices from Xbox One," said Spencer. "You want a wide variety of options in your games and entertainment experiences and you also want options in your hardware selection."

How purchase price is to be paid is an essential term of the contract. Buyer made a counter offer regarding this term. That would count as a rejection of the original offer. Seller did not accept the counter offer. Seller accepted Gators offer to his original sale. As I see it putting it on hold was a kind gesture but doesn't denote acceptance of his offer. Interesting take. Its just basic contract law. Though I do see above that he may have accepted the counter offer but I am not sure... After the book was put on hold for him so they could finalize the details, quadman simply asked if they could use a third party. It was simply a question. "I was thinking with such a large purchase maybe we can use reputable board member as a middle man? Maybe Filter or GAtor?" The seller said no to a third party (which was his right), so quadman replied back within one minute that he'd just mail a check out to him straight away then (without using a third party).

One of the potential third parties that quadman mentioned using to the seller was GAtor. "I was thinking with such a large purchase maybe we can use reputable board member as a middle man? Maybe Filter or GAtor?" The seller ended up selling the book to GAtor and said, "I decide to send my 10,000 book to an established boardie in the USA who've I've dealt with many times before and I trust. " If he's not comfortable sending the book to GAtor as a third party...then why would he be comforatable sending the book to GAtor as a buyer?

It did not show up in the posted p.m. exchange...but according to quadman...the first p.m. sent was the sign. After that...they were just ironing out the details and quadman simply asked if the seller was willing to used a mutually known third party as a middleman. quadman never said he would not take the book if one wasn't used...he was simply asking if it was ok to use one. I'm just not really seeing much fault with the seller here. We are all supposing a lot about his intentions when taking Rick's unconditional takeit but it's entirely up to the seller to accept or reject extraneous after-the-fact conditions when he states his requirements in the very first post. There were no after-the-fact "conditions" stated. The buyer simply asked a question. "I was thinking with such a large purchase maybe we can use reputable board member as a middle man? Maybe Filter or GAtor?" The seller did not want to use a third party and that was ok with the buyer...as was noted in his next p.m reply to the seller. "I'll send a cheque straight up then "

It did not show up in the posted p.m. exchange...but according to quadman...the first p.m. sent was the sign. After that...they were just ironing out the details and quadman simply asked if the seller was willing to used a mutually known third party as a middleman. quadman never said he would not take the book if one wasn't used...he was simply asking if it was ok to use one.

Book is quadman78's. Only way the seller would have been in the right here is if he had told quadman that he was not willing to use a third party to handle the transaction and then asked quadman if he still wanted to do the transaction without one. quadman78's request to use a mutually known third party as a middleman is not an unusual one on a $10,000 book between a buyer and seller who aren't familiar with each other.

Just a heads up that there is a weekend only Flash Sale on games for $4.99 each in the PlayStation Store. Some of the titles on sale for $4.99 include: Grand Theft Auto IV Red Dead Redemption Max Payne 3 Bioshock Bioshock 2 L.A. Noire Duke Nukem Forever Mortal Kombat Mini Ninjas

I didn't think to look back 3 weeks in the thread.....frigging Yahoo news. But the funny comments From Vincent at Metropolis was what really prompted me to post it.

'X-Men' and Carl's Jr. Make for a Messy Marketing Mutation ...The first one out of the gate featured a new recruit to the mutant mania, Quicksilver (Evan Peters). Using his super-speed, he's able to chow down an entire X-Tra Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit and gulp down a set PA's orange juice all before a rogue (ha!) piece of bacon hits the floor... ...However, the ad campaign does have its fans, such as Vincent Zurzulo of Metropolis Collectibles, Inc. & ComicConnect, Corp. "Half of me thinks they are neat, the other half thinks they are silly and all of me is very hungry," he says. "Super-heroes have always promoted food products. I think these are fun and neat. I think people will dig 'em and I bet sales of the burgers will go up. With great power comes great indigestion?" And Zurzulo urges us to remember the message of the X-Men themselves when it comes to approaching the campaign. "The message of the X-Men is tolerance. Out of my respect for the X-Men I will tolerate this money grab," he says....

WTF? How is this done? The author of the article makes a quip about Xbox Live in his first sentence...but I'm thinking they were probably playing the game on PC.

Call of Duty Loser sends SWAT team to opponent's house By Chris Morris April 24, 2014 1:01 PM Griefing over Xbox Live has taken on new, dangerous proportions. One particularly bitter opponent called the Long Island SWAT team on his opponent after losing a game of Call of Duty. Rafael Castillo, 17, had just finished a round of the popular shooter game and somehow raised the ire of someone else on the server, big time. That still unidentified player called the police near Castillo's home via Skype and told them he shot his mother and brother - and said he might shoot others. That resulted in a two-hour standoff involving over 60 officers, a helicopter and fire trucks. Castillo, who had headphones on, reportedly continued to play games the entire time, unaware of the scene outside. His mother, who is of course alive and well (as is his brother), was quick to notice the police action as she made coffee in the kitchen. Police removed from the house, though it took a while before they realized they had been hoaxed. The agitator, police believe, got the address by backtracking Castillo's IP address. The prank is known as “swatting” and it's a growing fad among especially disgruntled gamers. Police officials say if they determine who was behind the incident, which could cost taxpayers up to $100,000, they plan to make an arrest. “In this … bizarre world of swatting, you get points for the helicopter, for the police cars, for the SWAT team, for the type of entry,” Michael Tangney, Long Beach police commissioner, told the local CBS affiliate. “It’s very sophisticated. Unfortunately, it’s very dangerous.” As for Castillo, he may have played his last online match for a while. While his mother acknowledges her son was not to blame for the frightening incident, she has told him that he's done with games for quite some time.

Unless you like shooters or sports games, it's tough as that's bascially what next-gen will be, due to the outlandish budgets. I really miss the PS2 era, where you literally had every genre imaginable. So much choice, but unfortunately, we will never see its like again. No doubt. The hardware is finally at a point where they can create huge games of any kind with incredible graphics...and what do they decide to do? Create 500 additional shooters and sports games.

Batman: Arkham City wasn't listed on the sale page and I'm not a PS+ member, so I didn't even notice that it was being offered for free to them. Thanks for pointing it out.

Just a heads up that Sony is currently having a "Batman 75th Sale" in the PlayStation Store this week. For those that like to have the games on their PS3 hard drive, some of the sale prices include the following: * Batman: Arkham Asylum for $13.99 * (Strangely Batman: Arkham City is not included in the sale) * Batman: Arkham Origins for $27.99 * Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition for $27.99 * Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe for $13.99 * Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes for $13.99

It should do well. Didn't he show up stating he shills his auctions? Yep...and looking at the number of low feedback bidders that are bidding primarily (or only) on his books...I'd say it's a pretty safe bet he never quit shilling his auctions.

Updated that for you. Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Link 4 And? See bolded wording. And nothing. Just pointing it out.

Updated that for you. Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Link 4

Thanks for the heads up, DL. I went ahead and bought Crysis 1 since it was on sale for $9.99 to give it a try. (thumbs u

CASE CLOSED!

Can anyone tell me if the Crysis games are any good? I'm thinking about purchasing the first one....or possibly 1, 2, and 3 if they are any good. Can anybody offer any feedback on them?

BEST GAME EVER!

On the Sony PlayStation store there is a huge Electronic Arts flash sale going on this weekend only. Discounts up to 75% off. Included are Crysis, Dead Space, and Battlefield titles, as well as several sports games among others.