I’ve always thought that the Bourne movies, The Bourne Identity
Looks like Vivendi Universal Games thinks so, too. They just bought the right to develop video games based on the literary works of the late thriller novelist Robert Ludlum.
Microsoft has announced the pricing for their next-generation console Xbox 360 and it’s gonna be mighty expensive.
In order to offer a more attractive price point, they’ll be releasing two versions of the console, the Xbox 360 and the Xbox 360 Core, at $399 and $299, respectively.
The Xbox 360 will include the Console, a 20-gig hard drive, a wireless controller, an Xbox 360 faceplate, a headset (no word on whether or not it’s wireless), a component HD AV cable and ethernet cable, an Xbox Live Silver membership and a Media remote control. Also note that there is only one controller.
The Xbox 360 Core will include the console, a wired controller, a faceplate, an Xbox Live Silver membership and a standard AV cable.
GameSpot quotes a securities analyst who calls the $299 price point a publicity stunt: "They’re doing it to say they are launching at $299. The hardcore guys will absolutely not buy the $299 model…only a complete idiot would buy the $299 model."
Can’t say I disagree, especially when you consider that you’ll need a hard drive if you want to play your existing Xbox games on the console.
Game Informer just wants to know how much the whole thing will realistically cost.
So do I. So when I saw the price points and looked what each console came with, it was clear I’d have to buy the $399 model. Okay, so that’s $400 bucks for the console, I’ll need another controller, so throw in another $40 for that, I don’t have to, but I’ll want to go wireless, so that’s another $100 for networking adapter. That’s $540, so far.
And I still don’t have any 360 games. Sure, with my $400 model, I’ll be able to play my old skool Xbox but, damn, when you got a new tricked out toy, you really gotta go full out and see what it can do. There are two games that I would want to play out of the 360 (X)box, if you will: Madden 06 and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. At sixty bucks a 360 game, that’s another $120. We’re up to $660, ad some tax, and we’re looking at nearly $700.
Looks like Christmas will only come for me this year.
Maybe it’s because I’ve only just noticed it, but it seems to me that now more than ever I am noticing athlete’s agent’s names in print whenever a story has something to do with negotiations. Again, maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like a new phenomenon. And it seems deliberate.
I know, for example, that Daunte Culpepper’s agent is Mason Ashe, Fred Smoot’s agent is James "Bus" Cook, Bryant McKinnie’s agent is Ben Dogra, Troy Williamson is represented by David Canter and Ethan Lock has Erasmus James as a client. I know these agents names simply because I read stories about the players’ contract negotiations.
I don’t recall ever knowing players’ agents before this year. I suspect that’s because the agents figured out that it was a good PR move to get their names in print.
It’s free advertising for the agents. With their names print alongside those of their clients, each rising generation of football players knows who represents whom and therefore, who might represent themselves. The rising celebrity of agents can also benefit the players themselves.
Just ask any Green Bay Packers fan who they are more angry at: hold-outs Javon Walker and Grady Jackson, or their superstar agent Drew Rosenhaus. Most fans will blame Rosenhaus for the player’s behavior, sparing the player the wrath of the fans and helping ease their transition when the hold-out ends.
Citing Rosenhaus, of course, is a double-edged sword. Rosenhaus is perhaps the perfect example of an agent who deliberately attracts the spotlight. He’s been the subject of an hour-long ESPN segment and his controversial tactics invite media attention to himself.
But as of today, is tactics appear to have backfired for his most high-profile client, Terrell Owens, who returned to practice with the Eagles today amid renewed media speculation that the team will not conceed to his demands.
Despite the Owens/Rosenhaus situation, the growing celebrity of agents is an interesting, and logical, phenomenon.
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