Hot on the heels of Sony dropping prices on its PlayStation 3 console (and introducing the PlayStation 3 Slim), Microsoft has indicated it’s willing to engage in a price war with Sony: today the company dropped $100 off the price of its Xbox 360 Elite game console, dropping it to $299.99. The price cut represents a 25 percent discount, and goes into effect August 28.
“With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s already time to start looking for entertainment and gifts that everyone will enjoy,” said Microsoft’s corporate VP Shane Kim, in a statement. “If you’re looking for deep experiences that don’t require deep pockets, now is the time to purchase an Xbox 360.”
After Sony’s price cut on the PS3, the Xbox 360 Elite held the dubious distinction of being the most expensive console game on the market. The new pricing bring it in line with the PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 line is the number two console in the United States in terms of sales (lagging behind the Nintendo Wii); however, in recent months the Xbox 360 is the only console to show a growth in sales, where the Wii’s sales momentum—which at one point seemed almost unstoppable—seems to be petering out.
Microsoft is keeping pricing on its entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade model at $199.99; Microsoft is expected to phase out its $249.99 Xbox 360 Pro, leaving the Xbox 360 line with just two entries.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.