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From a developer and publisher perspective, it makes no difference to us today in how we build our games for Xbox360 because Microsoft has instructed us in advance to assume no hard drive from a technical requirements standpoint.

Longterm, it could limit some of the consoles technical potential if you have a fairly fractured audience from launch. However, that is always adjustable by the right absolute must-have game coming out that requires the hard disk. For the retailers, its initial consumer appeal to the casual gaming audience is more limited than last time because the Xbox360 does not offer any new mass market product innovation like the previous console did in supporting DVD movie playback.

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I have personally always been a big fan of being able to upgrade stuff I own. Its like adding a 2GB memory stick to your PSP, when some people are happy with the poopy 32MB card that comes with it, I amm not. Its like buying a car with an optional GPS built in or not. I hate not having the choice. Choice is your friend. I have been pushing for it for years on the consoles. I even had a friend that once built a prototype console, into which you could add as many processors as you could afford.

The PC model is the example, giving gamers the experience they are happy to pay for. Xbox 360 actually beats the PC as there is a common high-quality 3D baseline, so you can only go upwards. I hope Microsoft enjoys the experience from this strategy and truly opens up the model for Xbox 720. Meaning if I choose to add extra features or enhance features, I can do that. (Faster hard drives, more texture memory, physics chips etc.) Fingers crossed.

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I think it is a very good strategy given the potential competitive landscape. They get a lower priced version for people who are more cost-conscious and an everything-you-need-for-online-gaming version for those who want the full experience. Developers were always told not to expect a hard drive on every machine so nobody has developed with the assumption it will be there.

Developers already got our big Xbox 360 gift - we got 512MB of RAM. That was a huge win for developers and customers alike and there was no way we were going to get that and a hard drive on every machine. The RAM is more important and will make a bigger difference than the hard drive would have. There will be lots of great reasons why you would want to buy the hard drive and it will be available as an upgrade so nobody is selling themselves short if they can nott afford the all-options version because they can buy those options a-la-carte (for more money mind you) if needed.

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The idea of selling a $299 basic (read crippled) version of the new Xbox may make for minor bragging rights and a little press, but it is akin to buying a Ferrari F430 only to find that while the car is beautiful and has a powerful engine, the model you bought lacks a transmission capable of getting out of first gear. You may be able to rev the deep-throated engine and impress the neighbors, but in truth, you will barely be able to get out of the garage.

This is one of those silly market concepts dreamed up by a middle-aged, non-gamer who once worked at Proctor and Gamble. To him or her I say, Stick to Tide and Pringles.

With the original Xbox, I admired Microsoft for having the imagination to incorporate an Ethernet connector. Even though they got the initial timing wrong, it was a leap of faith by a major player who showed the industry they were willing to back a vision. The current play of $299 for a box that is inadequate in order to have bragging rights over Sony is as bad an idea as the RJ45 connector was a good one.

So, listen up Microsoft - never disrespect your audience. We will understand if you tell us that you cannot match PS3 in price because of the different approach you have taken in order to achieve a better end result. But do NOT confuse the retail chain with a near worthless SKU and try to pull one over on your public for the right to play shell games with price when the PS3 is released next year.

That is a recipe for more bad word of mouth than any under $300 price will ever achieve in the hearts and minds of your customers. It takes fourteen positive impressions to register awareness with a consumer. It takes but one negative impression to wipe it out. I figure with your initial leap of faith added to this latest stupid pet trick, you are just about even

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