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Offline AzumiChan

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Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« on: August 22, 2005, 06:39:54 AM »
"The issue of whether the Xbox 360 will be able to play original Xbox games has dragged on for so long now that, quite frankly, it’s getting a little boring.

Microsoft has confirmed a certain level of backwards compatibility, though details have been thin on the ground to say the least. Throwing some light on the question today are our women hating soon-for-jail-loner friends over at UKR who found this little gem buried amongst paperwork in their in-tray.

It’s a marketing brochure from Microsoft, reproduced in full to the right of this story and, as you can see, a hard drive will be required to play Xbox games on your 360. Exactly why this is the case is not clear, though we’re guessing that each game will require some sort of custom download from Live."
« Last Edit: August 22, 2005, 06:08:56 PM by Wurzelmaniac »
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Offline Wurzelmaniac

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Re: Hard Drive required for 360 backwards compatibility
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2005, 09:14:54 AM »
Presumably they need a 'translator' patch. Have to say this makes the cheap one look like an even worse deal.
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Re: Hard Drive required for 360 backwards compatibility
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2005, 11:13:20 AM »
Not surprised, I was always planning to get the Deluxe version.  As long as I can play KotOR in my bedroom, I'll be happy :)
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Offline AzumiChan

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Re: Hard Drive required for 360 backwards compatibility
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2005, 12:30:25 PM »
Presumably they need a 'translator' patch. Have to say this makes the cheap one look like an even worse deal.

Yeah, there's no point what so ever to buy the standard version the way I see it
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J Allard answers tough Xbox 360 question
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2005, 12:44:04 PM »
"Broken limbed Xbox frontman J Allard took the brave step of answering gamers’ questions in a webchat late last week, tackling subjects such as 360 load-times, Xbox 360 pricing, the controversial hard drive issue and more.

A full transcript is reproduced bellow for your perusing pleasure. Please note that time taken tidying up this webchat probably took longer than the event lasted in the first place. Keyboards eh? Cant live with ‘em…"

QUESTION: Can Microsoft guarantee that the HDD will be fully utilised when present or are we going to see long load times with a slow DVD unit as standard from most developers.

J ALLARD: Just like last generation utilization of things like Xbox live and the hard drive will be up to the game designers and just like last time we expect game developers to be excited by this. We have been in clear communication for more than a year that some scenarios will include a disconnected hard drive and it has not slowed them down

QUESTION: Will Xbox 360 games use the hard drive for game saves and caching like the original Xbox did?

J ALLARD: Absolutely. We think game designers have all kinds of innovative ideas that the hard drive will be used for. Use of the hard drive is not limited to game scenarios. Like Xbox 1 you will be able to do things like rip and store music and don't forget about live scenarios and all the downloadable content

QUESTION: Why is the hard drive so highly priced? A 20GB hard drive currently sells for about $20 to $30... Why $100 for the 360? I believe this will deter a lot of sales.

J ALLARD: The 20 GB hard drive is a 2.5 inch user-serviceable drive and is more expense than a pc "crack the box" drive. it's one of the reasons we pushed to create a compelling premium bundle. One of the reasons that we designed a user removable hard drive is in direct response to the hard core gaming audience to make it easier to take game saves, game maps, soundtracks, etc easily to their friend’s house or LAN party. They also wanted the ability to upgrade to larger capacity drives. And if the drive is not present because someone in the house took it on the road, you still want to be able to use the console for movies, music or games.

QUESTION: Will losing the hard disc mean that all games will be made without the unit in mind, therefore effecting users of the premium pack?

J ALLARD: Absolutely not. Consider this last generation where somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20% of game consoles had hard drives attached. This did not deter game developers from utilizing the hard drive both for exclusive games and cross platform games on Xbox. This generation, our first party team and our exclusive content developers are just as committed to using the hard drive and like we they demonstrated with this generation our third party cross platform developers are committed as well. Games like Splinter Cell, Madden, and Tony Hawk’s all demonstrated unique capabilities in hard drive configured systems.

QUESTION: Can we stream videos from our PCs?

J ALLARD: Yes. If you have Windows Media Centre on those PCs, you will be able to stream standard and high definition video.

QUESTION: Why even offer the core package as it seems quite useless?

J ALLARD: Great question! The thing to remember is that while we designed a no-compromises game system, a huge percentage of our customers are not like the folks in this chat room. Recognize that more than 75% of the folks on Xbox have not played Halo. By introducing the core system we are sending a signal to the market that we are committed to this part of the market just like with the Xbox 360 premium bundle that we are committing to you. The significance of this message can not be understated. Many of the publishing and retail partners want our commitment to grow the market. And as you have heard from us in our press conferences and such we are very committed to growing the market.

QUESTION: Can you use your Xbox live Gamertags for Xbox live gold on the 360?

J ALLARD: Absolutely. We want to make sure you can preserve your identity, friends, and investment in Xbox live moving forward with Xbox 360 and of course you can keep gaming with your identity on Xbox 1.

QUESTION: Why not package the Xbox 360 with only the hard drive and a wireless controller for $349.99, so that you can have one SKU?

J ALLARD: Good question and one of the many combinations we looked at. With our research with hardcore gamers, retailers, and the broader market, we felt like these two configurations were the right starting point. The great news is that the way we have designed the system in a modular way we can easily adjust these configurations over time.

QUESTION: Will the cables in the $400 (£279) package work with my TV that uses A/V cables?

J ALLARD: The AV pack bundled with the premium pack will work with component and composite cables. This means it will pretty much work with all HD and SD sets out there. The other cool thing is that you can take that cable between high def and standard def TVs.

QUESTION: What is your opinion on HD-DVD?

J ALLARD: It's going to be interesting to see how and if a high def format for movies plays out. When we designed the initial Xbox, many people asked if SACD or DVD audio would be the successor to the CD format for music. As everyone knows the real successor was MP3 and digital distribution with things like Napster, iPod and MSN Music. While there is a lot of talk about this in the industry it will be interesting to see what the exact future of this is for movies. Of course I think there will be a need for higher capacity optical media for storage applications. We prefer HD-DVD to Blu-Ray in terms of the flexibility it offers to different applications as well as the infrastructure costs to the market.

QUESTION: Will consumers be able to purchase and download songs or other media directly through the Live Marketplace?

J ALLARD: Not at launch. It is something we would love to get your feedback on. Please give us your thoughts.

QUESTION: Will developers utilize the hard drive when one is detected, or will most games be made without using it at all? Will the HD speed up load times?

J ALLARD: Speeding up load times is one of the many things a hard drive can be used for but really it is up to the imagination of the developer. We have been talking with game developers for a while now to make sure that games will load efficiently without a hard drive present. In terms of load times, as a gamer i am super sensitive to how frustrating load times can be, which is one of the reasons we put in a dual layer 12x DVD in the system to make sure gamers get great performance with or without a hard drive. One of the challenges with new optical formats when they first come out is the performance of the media which was a consideration when we decided what the optical format for Xbox 360 would be.

QUESTION: Can USB Memory be used by the Xbox 360 as the 360 has USB ports?

J ALLARD: At present our design for Xbox 360 uses the USB ports in a read-only capacity for playing music and viewing photos. If there are other applications that you guys think are interesting then please give us your feedback.

QUESTION: Why doesn't Wi-Fi work out of the box?

J ALLARD: We worked with game designers and talked to hard core gamers and asked them what their top priorities were and the bulk of our investment went into the silicon to the CPU and the GPU so we would have kick **** games. We had a fixed budget and could not do it all. In the end we had a budget and had to offer Wi-Fi as an option, but we did decide to add "a" as a standard in addition to b and g. we are also compatible with existing devices already on the market.

QUESTION: Will the core system come with a memory card? if not, how can u save games?

J ALLARD: No it does not come with a memory unit. Gamers will need an MU or a hard drive to save games with, which is consistent with the games industry for the last decade. I think it is really important to emphasize especially for the folks in this chat room that we did not design the core system around you guys. Similar to the shuffle, the Boxter, the 4:3 TV, we designed the core system as a way to get folks to come into the family at a cheaper price and decide if and how they scale the system. The great thing about our approach - unlike these examples - is that the core owner can upgrade the system and match the capabilities of the premium system when the time is right for them.

QUESTION: Will a completely black 360 be available?

J ALLARD: Not currently in plan for launch but, as you know, we will have removable faceplates and I expect down the line we will get feedback that people want other colours and we will provide it

QUESTION: $399 price point for Xbox 360 seems steep.

J ALLARD: I think that the capabilities we are offering with Xbox 360 are unmatched in the history of videogaming. It's a great value, and the system that most of the folks in this chat room are going to prefer. I saw a posting earlier today where someone looked up the historical prices and capabilities of games systems. It was worth noting that the PS2 launched at $368 (in Japan) with no hard drive, no online service, no wireless, no voice, no network adapter, no remote, and only support for 2 controllers. That’s not the reason we priced the system this way but it does provide a comparative frame of reference for what you are getting. When you consider you are getting the most powerful games system, best CD player, digital media player, movie player, etc. it's a great value.

QUESTION: Why do they have the core package? Why doesn't Microsoft just release the package with the hard drive so developers will be able to fully utilize it?

J ALLARD: Independent of the configurations we have at launch, it was imperative that we work with developers now to abstract the storage system because (1) the drive is removable and we want people to play even if the drive is not present, (2) another possibility is that 5 years from now you want more storage on the box or on the network and will be able to take advantage of that. By abstracting storage in the system we are making sure that all Xbox 360 games will work on all configurations moving forward and early customers will be able to take advantage of future scenarios like bigger drives and network storage.

QUESTION: What about backward compatibility in the core system?

J ALLARD: Because we didn't abstract storage in the first generation Xbox, back compact will require a hard drive. The good news is that the core system owners can upgrade if they desire to update at a later date.

QUESTION: When can we expect an official release date to be announced?

J ALLARD: This is our last question we are able to take for the chat and then i have one thing i want you guys to know after. Answer in short is: stay tuned. Just like all of you talking about the system around the clock we are working around the clock to finish the system and the games. We will have more announcements soon.

J: I just want to thank the community for the enthusiasm and passion for Xbox since the beginning. Conversations like this are super valuable and we would love to do this again.

In summary we tried to optimize launch around three critical audiences:

One - The game developer - by offering them a no compromises platform with great hardware, tools and the leading online service with live.

Two - The hard core gamer - by putting together a configuration with everything you would want at a compelling price.

Three - The entry level gamer - that wanted to get into next generation gaming and was excited by the media capabilities and wanted an entry level option

I know the multiple configuration strategy has introduced some confusion and concern with the hard core gamers in particular. Hopefully this has helped explain some of the thinking that went into it. If you - like me - want gaming to get bigger and want to see more creative games out there we need to grow the market.

Like the consumer electronics industry or the automotive industry, having a family of products (we believe) will be good for the market.

At the end of the day, you guys make Xbox a success and we designed Xbox for you and dialogs like this are what have gone into the Xbox program to date and will continue to give life to Xbox for years to come. Check out our Live Updates at Club Skill, on the webchat with J Allard, who will be answering questions on Xbox 360.
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Offline Aronious

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Re: J Allard answers tough Xbox 360 question
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2005, 01:17:07 PM »
I'd like to know how they're planning to combat other backwards compatable consoles like the Revolution. Because, quite frankly, I'd get the Revolution over the 360 is I could play my old Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 cartridge on it.

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Offline AzumiChan

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Re: J Allard answers tough Xbox 360 question
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2005, 01:32:12 PM »
Quote
I could play my old Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 cartridge on it.

No you won't be able to do that. Rev will be back compatible though download (roms) and will not have cartridge ports
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Offline Seer Fox

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Re: J Allard answers tough Xbox 360 question
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2005, 01:55:00 PM »
Quote
I could play my old Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 cartridge on it.

No you won't be able to do that. Rev will be back compatible though download (roms) and will not have cartridge ports

Tis' true, tis' true, though you will be able to play your old Gamecube games on them.

I wonder if they will add anything to the old games you can download...oh, but nevermind about that, this is a 360 thread.

I don't feel very strongly about the 360 either way; so as long as it keeps its nose clean and steals more of Sony's sales than Nintendo's, I don't really care. In fact, I don't care anyway.

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Offline AzumiChan

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Re: J Allard answers tough Xbox 360 question
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2005, 02:01:30 PM »
Quote
I don't feel very strongly about the 360 either way; so as long as it keeps its nose clean and steals more of Sony's sales than Nintendo's, I don't really care. In fact, I don't care anyway.

Spoken like a true nintendophile ;)

And on the subject of xbox360; here's some pics and a video from amped3
http://www.xboxyde.com/news_1880_se.html
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Offline Wurzelmaniac

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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2005, 06:10:11 PM »
I just merged a couple of Xbox360 threads and stickied them seeing as we'll have a rash of them as we run up to launch. Have fun.
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Offline AzumiChan

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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #10 on: August 22, 2005, 06:15:22 PM »
I just merged a couple of Xbox360 threads and stickied them seeing as we'll have a rash of them as we run up to launch. Have fun.

Nice going ^.^

And here's some pictures from Ghost Recon: Advanced warfighter
http://www.xboxyde.com/news_1873_eng.html
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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #11 on: August 22, 2005, 07:51:42 PM »
I'm just glad that now people can't make fun of xbox's huge size, since it will be the smallest console on the market.  I really think 360 will do better then revolution, but PS3 will still dominate eventually.  Why can't people see playstation has crappy games and crappy graphics?  Xbox and Nintendo have better graphics and better overall games.


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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #12 on: August 22, 2005, 08:53:32 PM »
Quote
I'm just glad that now people can't make fun of xbox's huge size, since it will be the smallest console on the market.

Incorrect, the Revolution will be the smallest of the three; being the size of three DVD cases stacked on top of one another. Still, nice to know the 360 is small, and that it doesn't look like a breadbox (Sony...)

Quote
Why can't people see playstation has crappy games and crappy graphics?  Xbox and Nintendo have better graphics and better overall games.

Can't fault you here though.

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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #13 on: August 22, 2005, 09:05:35 PM »
Quote
Tis' true, tis' true, though you will be able to play your old Gamecube games on them.

I never bought a Game Cube, and I do realize that the comment you made was not directed towards me entirely.

Quote
I'm just glad that now people can't make fun of xbox's huge size, since it will be the smallest console on the market.

I see large consoles like the original XBOX a good design. Mainly because they never break if you drop them going to a LAN party. I mean, how many times has an XBOX broken, that Microsoft didn't cause?

Quote
http://www.xboxyde.com/news_1873_eng.html

Reminds me of Counter-Strike.

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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #14 on: August 22, 2005, 09:26:47 PM »
From reading that chat, it seems that people are forgetting things. Next gen stuff is expensive. The original playstation I think was $300. N64 was $200. For something this advanced, $400 isn't bad. It's exactly what I'd expect to pay.

And as for the "Ghost Recon reminds me of Counter-Strike".....shame on you. Ghost Recon is WAY better  >:(

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Xbox 360 games
« Reply #15 on: August 23, 2005, 10:58:12 PM »
Does anyone know what games will be released with the 360 when it comes out?

I know there was a thread with this information in it, but I can't seem to find it.

Perhaps I am just overlooking it, and if so a link to that thread will do,and sorry for not noticing it.

Thanks.

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Re: Xbox 360 games
« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2005, 12:17:50 AM »
They were destroyed in the forum glitch recently. This question however goes in the Xbox360 sticky. Moving.
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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2005, 08:02:59 AM »
If you have a local game stop, ask there.  They had a listing of release (ones for sure and possible ones) when I put my money down to reserve my 360, however I don't remember the games off hand.

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Re: Xbox 360 games
« Reply #18 on: August 24, 2005, 10:18:18 AM »
Does anyone know what games will be released with the 360 when it comes out?

I know there was a thread with this information in it, but I can't seem to find it.

Perhaps I am just overlooking it, and if so a link to that thread will do,and sorry for not noticing it.

Thanks.

The full list, posted here alphabetically, includes:

    * Amped 3 (2K Games)
    * Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
    * Condemned (Sega)
    * Dead Or Alive 4 (Tecmo)
    * Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
    * Final Fantasy XI (Microsoft)
    * Full Auto (Sega)
    * Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
    * Gun (Activision)
    * Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft)
    * Madden NFL 06 (EA)
    * NBA 2K6 (2K Games)
    * NHL 2K6 (2K Games)
    * The Outfit (THQ)
    * Perfect Dark LE (Microsoft)
    * Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft)
    * Quake 4 (Activision)
    * Ridge Racer 6 (Namco)
    * Saints Row (THQ)
    * Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision)
    * Top Spin 2 (2K Games)

There were noticeable mistakes, however. The Godfather, for instance, was still listed as a launch title, even though EA officially announced its delay until Q1 2006. Too Human Part 1 was included, and Microsoft officially told IGN that was incorrect (duh). It also listed Burnout Revenge as a launch title, even though EA confirmed with IGN that a version of Burnout Revenge wouldn't appear until 2006.

Xbox 360 second wave launch titles, which EB has scheduled for November 16, include the majority of Electronic Arts' games:

    * Burnout Revenge
    * FIFA Soccer 06
    * Peter Jackson's King Kong
    * NBA Live 06
    * Need For Speed Most Wanted
    * Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06

Namco's Frame City Killer is listed as releasing November 19, 2005.

EB's own data includes a $59.99 price for every Xbox 360 game, except one, Kameo, which listed at $49.99. The retailer told IGN that software prices weren't fixed yet, as Microsoft, third-party publishers, and presumably North American retailers hash out final prices.

EB even has Halo 3 listed as shipping July 1, 2006, presumably the same day as Sony's PlayStation 3

EDIT: some more info (got malposted first, sorry wurzel) ^^

Electronic Arts based in Vancouver has released these rather impressive grabs, lifted from the Xbox 360 development kit currently housing Need for Speed: Most Wanted - the game SPOnG doesn’t talk about.

Following suit with the other snippets we’ve seen of the game, these latest screens look rather spectacular and, more importantly, very next-gen. EA promises the biggest free-roaming city to date for the series that has seriously evolved in the past two years.

As you’ll probably be aware, NFS was a dead franchise, languishing in EA’s bulging IP cupboard. Add some graffiti letting, a yoof-culture soundtrack and a marketing budget almost as big as SPOnG’s collective bar tabs and hey-presto! You have one of the best-selling, Christmas number one grabbing game series' on the market!

And included for your pleasure is a picture of developers and webmasters from a recent US open day. Can you tell what they’re thinking?

http://news.spong.com/detail/assetView.asp?mode=console&viewid=174649&type=11&prid=9074
http://news.spong.com/detail/assetView.asp?mode=console&viewid=174650&type=11&prid=9074
http://news.spong.com/detail/assetView.asp?mode=console&viewid=174651&type=11&prid=9074
http://news.spong.com/detail/assetView.asp?mode=console&viewid=174652&type=11&prid=9074
http://news.spong.com/detail/assetView.asp?mode=console&viewid=174653&type=11&prid=9074

MORE EDIT:

EB Announces Xbox 360 Bundles
Gamers still reeling from last week's Xbox 360 sticker shock should sit down for this one: Electronics Boutique has announced their Xbox 360 bundle packs for both the premium and the "core" SKUs. Price tag? $700 and $600, respectively.

Now, before you go flying off the handle in a fit of consumer outrage, know that these expensive packages include premiums such as four launch games, a second wireless controller, the universal media remote, and more.

Here's the full inventory:

The Xbox 360 Ultimate Bundle:

    * Xbox 360 Premium System
          o Xbox 360 Game Console
          o Wireless Controller
          o Combination High-Definition Component and Standard A/V Cable
          o 20GB Hard Drive
          o Ethernet Cable
          o Headset
          o Universal Media Remote
          o Xbox Live Silver
          o Xbox Live Gold 30-Day Trial
    * Perfect Dark Zero Limited Edition
    * Dead or Alive 4
    * Kameo: Elements of Power
    * Project Gotham Racing 3
    * Extra Wireless Controller
    * Play & Charge Kit (for extra controller)
    * Rechargeable Battery Pack (for included controller)

The Xbox 360 Core Bundle:

    * Xbox 360 Core System
          o Xbox 360 Game Console
          o Wired Controller
          o Composite A/V Cable
          o Xbox Live Silver
          o Xbox Live Gold 30-Day Trial
    * Perfect Dark Zero: Limited Edition
    * Dead or Alive 4
    * Kameo: Elements of Power
    * Project Gotham Racing 3
    * Extra Wired Controller
    * Memory Unit (required to save games without hard-drive)

They note that "this bundle does not include the hard drive needed to play games created for the original Xbox."

Hmmm, $700 bucks. For those of us old enough to remember the launch of Trip Hawkin's ill-fated 3D0 system, the $700 price tag certainly rings a familiar bell for early adopters wanting to jump onto the next-gen bandwagon.

We only need all that the once Azumi ;)

-Fal
« Last Edit: August 24, 2005, 05:08:47 PM by Falhandir »
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Offline Seer Fox

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Re: Xbox 360 rumours/discussion
« Reply #19 on: August 24, 2005, 12:19:32 PM »
Did ya really need to post up the prices and bundle packs again there Azumi?

Still. $700.

Bwahahahahaha!!!

Ciat,
Seer Fox
Well I'm not going to quote anything, so...I'll have to hunt down my old sig again.

How bothersome.

 


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