"Lay-folk" are not early adopters. "Normal human beings" see this device as a 'Sharper Image' product - "Oh, that looks cool, but I would never pay that much for it." We're the early adopters, the pre-ordering evangelists, and outside of a cadre of a pseudo-hipsters being contrary for the sake of being different, it…

This is *exactly* why I would have avoided this name. Apparently, there is an opening for Voice of Reason in their marketing department.

Not to mention, the symbol for infinity is an 8 turned on it's side, making the tie-ins to Windows 8 stronger, since they will be MS's featured products for the same foreseeable time period.

I'll be calling it the Xbox Done or the XBone.

Or play when their family is finally asleep and they can silently enjoy their few moments of relaxation. Silently.

Publishers ultimately are more happy with large install bases, so if the consumers do not buy the system (which remains to be seen; I have no illusions about how representative disgruntled commentators are in the grand scheme of things), then publishers will go where there are consumers.

Automobiles.

Adjusted for inflation, console game prices now are about the same as they were back in the Atari 2600 days.

Some people have the ability to empathize with others, and, in absence of their internet deficient voices, have spoken out for them. Large swaths of the world simply do not have access to consistent, reliable internet connections. Member of the military, etc.

It's funny, but where you wrote 'vocal minority,' I read 'pre-ordering evangelists.'

I'm pretty sure the definition of rumor isn't 'things high ranking employees related to respectable press outlets.'

Can we all agree to just call it the XBONE from now on?

If only there were a place online to sell used physical copies of games that existed already, or perhaps a free classified service. It's too bad the only option that we're forced to use is Gamestop.

It's not true the developers and publishers see none of the money paid for used games since a significant portion of games are sold expressly to raise capital to buy new games. This is pretty much the way most used markets work. By limiting that trade, you're effectively reducing the number of new games people buy.

Too many horror stories about servers going down for PC games for me to feel comfortable with this. Xbox Live has been down several times. Huge chunks of the world simply don't have broadband access at all. Plus, it's the death knell for the future of retro gaming.

This is very much like parents who must absolutely record every mundane aspect of their children's lives. Look, little Johnny raised his finger! Get the video camera! Oh, Susie just shat in her first diaper, video! Oh, sw33tyballz84 just got his 250th headshot! Captured for posterity! Perhaps they've simply never…

The problem I see is that you begin from the assumption that used games are a "menace," which I believe is simply not true of this market or any other used market. Used sales prime the pump for new sales. Old games are often sold to raise the capital to purchase new releases (which still launch at full price on…

As nice as that sounds, I would wager only the most recent activation would work, and all previous activations would be disabled.

Don't mistake my advocacy for their existence as acceptance of all of their business practices, and I feel like your complaint about the employees is heavily variable. I've dealt with some who knew a great deal and others who did not. But I've experienced that everywhere. The alternative to Gamestop is not a…

Seems fitting.