I don't have Forza (racing sims aren't my thing), but at least these bundles are much better than the ones Gamestop and other retailers offered where they bundled in a couple shitty games that nobody wants.

Not too sure about Ultimate Alliance, but Forza seems to be a pretty solid game. I'm not too into racing sims myself though.

It's nice to see that they're making these two game bundles though. Paying hundreds of dollars for a console is a lot easier when you know you'll already have something to play once you take it home.

they should redesign the x360 to solve the technical problems it has. Then they can sell it without games if they want and the 360 would sell more that way...

@sinny: They ARE working on the redesign, but hardware technicalities are an entirely different matter compared to bundles. Chances are, by the time the later bundles hit, the falcons will be in.

@Stormrider900: HEY! I actually kind of like my packed-in copy of Table Tennis.

@Moonshadow101:
"by the time_______, the falcons will be in"
I must have heard this at least a million times!

@Moonshadow101: i will be waitnig :P

@Moonshadow101: You know the rumor mole says these bundles are supposed to be in on October 9th for the premium, and I think the 27th for the elite. Can they have it fixed by then?

@chilicoke: Doesn't change the fact that bundles are an entirely different thing.

And it's not as if MS has been foretelling the Falcons falsely. The Media just looooves to speculate.

A 65nm process does not guarantee a fix to Microsoft's poor cooling solution for the 360 nor the problems such as with the disc tray malfunctioning.

Man...it's great how every Xbox topic gets derailed before it even starts these days.

As for the bundle, sounds cool. If I didn't already own one I would get it since I did want Forza. Hopefully a price cut on the separate games will come afterwards.

I'm still waiting for the falcon chips! Ever since I've read about the RRoD scare, I've been holding back. I would SO buy a 360 THIS SECOND if M$ sold a falcon 360 with Forza and some crappy game. I'd probably even buy the racing wheel. But NO, they're still not out. Therefore my money goes elsewhere.

Why does everyone have the impression that all MS needs to do is use these magical new chips and all the problems would go away?

They likely won't unless MS makes other changes as well. They may or may not.

After having mine break after 5 months but before MS decided to take responsibility for RROD, I'm not in a hurry to get a new one.

That said, if there are enough games you want to play on the 360, don't let rumors about new chip improvements stop you from getting one.

@SolidFro: Well, not entirely yes. They have made many changes to the hardware since April of this year. Namely, they have added a new heat sink , a better X clamp (all to prevent the popping off of the chips caused by the overheating GPU and the subsequent motherboard warping), and they have improved DVD drives (dropped Samsung's completely, thank God) which are significantly quieter and of higher quality. I can attest to all these changes because I have an Elite manufactured in June and I leave it on for sometimes 20 hours straight without any problems. I previously had a launch day Premium which I have since given to my brother (luckily it hasn't crapped out yet).

Yes, it's true MS should have thought of all of this beforehand, blah blah blah. We all know they messed up with this cutting costs and getting the system out on time. But, you have to admit they have done a lot and made significant changes in the hardware; and as long as you buy a recently manufactured console, it looks like you'll be fine. The key is that you buy a recently manufactured system and not a system made in 06 that's been sitting in some warehouse. I can't attest to MS's intentions (probably less of "doing what's right" then doing what's necessary to not get sued...not that any company in their position would do it any differently...games are big business and anyone thinking one company is "better" than another is out of their mind pretty much (well, besides Nintendo that is! They really do rock).

All that being said, I have really enjoyed my experience with the 360. It's definitely one of the best consoles to come out in a long while (being bested, for now, probably only by PS2 and DC (yes, it was awesome during the limited amount of time it was around) in terms of awesome games). I do wish they had did things differently from the get-go, but it's really hard to not like the 360 as a system considering how awesome some of the games have been so far.

On to topic, this holiday season will hopefully be awesome for games, and I know a few friends who would jump on the new core bundle (people who wouldn't of bought an XBOX in the past...so it's not just previous XBOX owners buying the 360).

Just to clarify some of my statements: the likelihood that the new 65nm chips would by themselves prevent overheating the system is very small. You have to understand it's not really the chips that the problem, it's how the heat is being dispersed out of the system that is the main problem (and cause of chips popping off due to the warping of the motherboard in extreme heat).

Up until about April of this past year, the 360's solution on removing the heat over the GPU was very poorly done. However, since then they have made many changes that have gone a long way, in my opinion, to preventing the overheating problems. Of course, this is just my opinion, so if you want to wait; you can. I mean, if you've waited this long despite all the games that have come out, what's a little longer.

I'm not saying the new chips won't help because they will (after all they will run a little cooler); however you should understand that it's not the chips that was the problem with the older consoles. Rather, it was how the heat from the chips was being removed from the console that was the problem (that is, to say, it wasn't being removed well enough). And so, without the better cooling solution that has been added into the new consoles, the new chips by themselves would really do little to prevent overheating because although they do run cooler, it's not a significant enough of a difference to prevent overheating. I do think at this point, though, the overheating problems in the new consoles has been rectified (key words, NEW consoles).

However, all that being said, fixing the old systems that were made before April of this year is the real problem that MS will have to deal with...and I really do feel for my fellow gamers that have gone through all the trouble that the system problems have caused them...does suck a large amount of ass.

meant to say: "it's not really the chips that were the problem"...I wish I could edit my entries (makes embarrassed face)

Elite for $450? Damn, I just got mine.

NM, I'm on crack today.

They've been selling the Forza/UA bundle up here for a while. Not at an increased/decreased price though.

@HockeyMac18: Bravo, sir. I think you have put together one of the most concise, best-written explanations of the whole 360 situation that I have seen in quite some time. My hat goes off to you for increasing the level of discourse on the subject.

@Jazhuis: Yeah, I would also rather have Table Tennis than Forza and Marvel

I've been waiting to get a 360, due to RRoD issues, my lack of money, and a lack of games that I really want. Now that Orange Box is coming and H3 is here, and I'm working like 3 jobs this semester, I'm ready.

I'd rather have almost any other 2 games bundled in, but I guess my gf might play Ultimate Alliance with me while Forza collects dust (I'm a PGR guy at heart).

I was going to pick up my 360 sometime in October, and if this bundle doesn't show up til November... I'll still probably pick up the system in Oct.

If the Premium bundle is 350...the console itself better drop below 349...

I already have FM2, it gets boring after a while btw.

Marvel looks cool though.