zRandomBlog

The newly “confirmed” black 360 this isn’t an April Fool’s hoax. So, without further delay, the specs:

• Uh, it’s black
• HDMI port and HDMI cable
• 120GB hard drive
• A $479 price tag
• No HD-DVD integration, the “format’s not proven”
• The 120GB hard drive will be available for under $200
• It’s coming in “late April”

Engadget adds:

• Dubbed the Xbox 360 Elite
• Limited-edition; probably a couple hundred thousand units
• Case, controller, and headset will be black; new packaging
• Confirmed: 3rd SKU; sold alongside Premium and Core bundles
• Elite runs cooler than other models
• Eventually Elite hardware (in white) will replace Premium; estimated to be in late summer or fall

At the same time theres gonna be a release of a 120gb HDD and 512mb memory card

BREAKING NEWS: PS3 euro launch - GamingCrazy.net

Sony’s PlayStation 3 finally has a release date for Europe and PAL territories. Originally meant to have a worldwide launch in November 2006, the PS3 saw its European launch delayed because of production issues with blue-laser diodes. Now, according to Sony, the PS3 will debut in Europe and Australasia on March 23.
The other PS3 detail up in the air was the console’s final price in some of the regions. Sony is forgoing the dual-SKU approach it took in the US and Japan and only releasing the 60GB model–initially. As previously revealed at E3 2006, the console will retail for 599 euros (approximately $777) in Europe, but it will fetch GBP425 ($836) in the UK, AUD999.95 ($781) in Australia, and NZ1199.95 ($840) in New Zealand. To compare, the same model of the console retails for $599 in the US.
The 20GB model will be available later according to Sony, but hasn’t yet been priced. “Responding to retail and consumer demand, SCEE confirmed that initially only the 60GB model would be available, with the 20GB model to follow later in the year dependent on demand.”
There will be 28 retail games available for the console’s “launch period,” as well as eight games for download on the PlayStation Network. Among the games are familiar titles from other regional launches (Resistance: Fall of Man, Ridge Racer 7, Call of Duty 3) as well as anticipated games yet to be released in the US (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Virtua Fighter 5, Def Jam: Icon). This doesn’t necessarily mean that all games will be available on March 23–Sony does not define how long its “launch period” lasts. A full list of the launch lineup is below.
This announcement comes after uncertainty and speculation that the March date would be pushed back again, fueled by Sony CEO Howard Stringer himself, who told CNET that the “European launch in April…is very important to us.” Both Sony Europe and America later issued statements reaffirming that the March date was still on, and that Stringer had simply made a mistake when he mentioned the April date. However, towards the end of January, there were still no firm date or pricing details.
The PlayStation 3 launched last year in Japan on November 11 and in the US on November 17. High demand and low supply left many who had camped out for the systems empty-handed in the US. As a result, the US launch was plagued by a series of crimes, including muggings, robberies, and shootings.
However, that may not be the case in Europe in Australasia, as Sony promises 1 million units will be available for the launches in those regions. Sony only recently announced it had shipped 1 million units to both North America and Japan.

So i come home from work, sit my ass down, load up gears of war and b00m! cant even play single player!!!

Apparently all GAMES XBL functions are down, yet xbox live is still usable e.g. messaging, voice chat.

To put it straight, the xbox live service is temporarily following the same quality of online service as the PS3 Networking Platform blah blah