J Allard answers tough Xbox 360 questions

At the end of the day, there is going to be a child who opens his Christmas presents this year and will be overjoyed to see a brand new shiny XBOX 360.

He's going to be smiling ear-to-ear. Which, in turn, will infect his parents with a profound sense of achievement in seeing their child so happy, and they too will crack open a wide smile.

However, the scene is spoilt. It is the "Core" XBOX 360 package. Sold to the parents as an economical option by an unwitting retail assistant, who did not realise the implications of regurgitating the marketing material they rote learned.

Back under the tree, the knowledgable child's face falls as they open the box, and he looks up quizzically at his parents. Their faces echo his concern, but they do not understand until their child has to awkwardly explain that his brand new present is missing parts. The father offers to go to the nearest corner shop and buy some double-A's. The child murmurs, "Not like batteries Dad, no."

Under another tree, Mr.Allard's casual gamer child cracks open the package with avid enthuisiasm. His parents busily help him set up the XBOX under the television with a couple of comical mistakes along the way that raise a titter. The father felt particularly proud of his efforts after plugging the new machine in to the family's internet connection, having found the right cable in the cupboard.

After Christmas lunch, the child has moved on from playing his first title. He prods his parents awake, clutching the user manual in his sweaty little hand. The worried expression he wears alarms them.

He wanted to watch his new Madagascar DVD but couldn't find the remote control in the box. He wanted to play the demo of the Madagascar game on Live, but it told him he needed a hard-drive. And when he texted Tom about all this, Tom said that his XBOX had cool metal bits on it.

On boxing day, the perturbed father rushes back to the shop with a notebook of scribbled down questions. The smiling assistant addresses each point in the list with the joyous news that the XBOX 360 is "modular", and that it was okay, as each of the premium package additions could be bought seperately. Although the assistant's ignorant smile never falters throughout, the father's face falls as he realises that his Christmas budget has just been shattered, and that his goal to start the new year in the black was now out of reach.

Did you think about that Mr.Allard, when you were in your brainstorming sessions? It didn't occur to you when the idea of a "Core" console, for entry level gamers, was initially broached did it? At the stage of its genus, the purity of the idea and its potential to bring your vision to more people hid the truth. But, after the idea was grown and began to develop, you saw the children didn't you? You saw the reality of the decision that was about to be made. You saw the fallen faces and the desperate parents, but you kept quiet. The rest of the overpaid, self-important people in the room had bitten; hook, line and sinker. They were raving about expanding the user base, offering a route in to the Microsoft franchise for a seam of untapped revenue.

You've held on to the idealism for long enough that you've almost started to believe it. Dig a little deeper. Remember the sinking feeling when you first imagined that sad child's face, and think of the disappointment, sadness and distrust this will cause.

I think I'm going to go somewhere and cry.

I reckon those are the figures but J Allard is a MS's gamer statue, he in a world should know that every 7 and 17year old bought Xbox for Halo whether they got it in new or used.If you live with your grandma chances are even she played it while you were out.Hmm, changing topic...

if PS3 gets a 400$ treatement, Core price should drop significantly maybe to the point of being the cheapest next-gen system and then many more unsuspecting casuals will bite,not bad for MS eh?