@starwolf474: I'm an architectural photographer and have photographed a crap load of homes over the course of my career, both inside and out. If I had to estimate, I would say I have photographed over 700 homes during my 16 year career. From my experience, the VAST majority of people sit farther than 10 feet away from their HDTV's. It might be different for people living in apartments, since they don't have as much space, but people actually living in decent sized homes, I would estimate that most sit at least 13-15 feet away for their HDTV's and very few had HDTV's larger than 50".

Then you have the whole quality of eyesight issue and a significant percentage of the population have less than perfect eyesight. 20/30 eyesight is a 33% drop in visual acuity, so those people would have to sit 33% closer or roughly 7 feet or closer (with a 50" HDTV). Those with 20/40 would have to sit 5 feet or closer and so on and so on.

The bottom line is very few people overall can tell the difference between 1080p and 720p on their own HDTV's. 1080p is more or a marketing scheme than anything else and there is no denying the HDTV companies have been very successful at getting people to jump on board. If you have every gone and shopped for an HDTV, you will notice the salesman usually bring you within 6 feet of the HDTV when showing you the picture. This is done on purpose as they know that the closer they bring you, the more likely the person will be able to see differences in picture quality.

@CroidX: Well, considering the vast majority of the population cannot tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, either due to the quality of their eyesight or the setup of their home entertainment system, 1080p is really not a big deal. You could substitute a 720p set with most people's 1080p sets and they would never know the difference. People with perfect 20/20 vision need to sit closer than 10 feet with a 50" set to be able to tell a difference. Of course, most people do not have perfect vision and a significant number of people sit farther than 10 feet away. Not to mention a very small percentage of people actually own HDTV's that are larger than 50".

I used to be obsessed with image quality, especially in regards to movies. I was an early adopter of Blu Ray and used to get in daily discussions/debates on misc hi-def forums regarding the quality of the transfers, which codecs were better, etc.. Then about 16 months after the launch of Blu Ray, I began to notice that I was so obsessed over the image quality of the film, that it was actually becoming a distraction. I wasn't enjoying the movies as much as I used to as I was so focused on image quality. At that point, I recognized how ridiculous it all was and from that point forward I stopped paying so much attention to image quality. I actually started buying DVD's again and now buy just as many DVD as I do Blu Ray's. It just doesn't matter to me anymore. I am the same way with gaming now too. I enjoy nice looking games like the next guy, but its no longer a significant factor that effects how much I enjoy a game. If its a fun game, I will enjoy it regardless if its 720p or 1080p.

I played games for 20 years before HD even existed and I enjoyed playing those games as much as I enjoy playing the ones today. Graphics are the least important aspect to a quality game. Story and gameplay are a million time more important than graphics.

Wish I could have gone to an event like that. Would love to get my hands on some of those titles before launch. No surprise in regards to Dead Rising 3. Everyone that has played it has loved it. It just looks vastly superior to the previous titles and is definitely a day one title for me. I am a bit disappointed to hear that Lococycle wasn't so exciting. They are one of my favorite XBox Live Arcade developers and have been looking forward to that one. Forza 5 on the other hand, that looks like the racing game I have been waiting for my entire life and is easily one of the titles I am most looking forward too. Will probably be playing that well into 2015.

I will definitely get a PS4 around this time next year. Year one is all about XBox for me.

@darksongbird: I wouldn't count on that happening, at least anytime soon. MS has dumped a ton of money into the new Kinect and they know that once they start offering SKU's without Kinect, that it immediately drops the Kinect down to peripheral status, which isn't a good thing as peripherals are largely ignored by developers as only a small segment of the gaming population actually buy them. MS knows the only way to really get developers to take full advantage of Kinect is to make it so everyone has a Kinect. It changes the ballgame entirely as the developers know that every Xbox One shipped has a Kinect.

The only way MS is going to allow a Kinect free Xbox One is if sales of Xbox One are really bad. If sales are bad, they will either have to drop the price and eat the cost of the Kinect, or offer a Kinect free Xbox One. In all honesty, given how much MS has put into Kinect 2.0 and how important they deem it will be this generation, I am betting that removing Kinect isn't even an option. If the consoles start selling poorly, I am betting MS will just drop the price and eat the cost themselves. That way nobody can complain as they are basically getting Kinect for free.

Only time will tell. That being said, I wouldn't get your hopes up

I knew I was buying the next iteration of the XBox before it was even announced. I enjoyed the original XBox but the XBox 360 has been, by far, the best gaming console I have ever owned. I was actually one of the naysayers in regards to bringing movies and TV show content to game consoles. I was narrow minded and just wanted my game consoles to play games. Now, I couldn't imagine going back to a game console that does nothing but play games. I love the entertainment options and I hope MS continues to expand the XBox One in this regard.

I am also a HUGE fan of XBox Live Arcade. I have a really weird work schedule as I only work from April to mid-September and have the rest of the year off. During my working months, I normally work 80-90 hour weeks so during that time of year, its really hard to find the time to play full retail games as I just don't have the time to put into them. XBox Live Arcade titles on the other hand are generally smaller and don't require the time investment that most retail games do. They are exactly what I need during my working months. Plus they are generally more casual gaming experiences as well and its nice to play those kinds of games from time to time.

MS has really been the innovator since entering into the console business. Online gaming, achievements, TV & Movies through a game console, digital distribution through an online store, XBox Live Arcade games, etc. The list goes on and on. All of them were seen first on XBox. Given what I have seen and heard in regards to XBox One, it doesn't look like that is going to change this generation. Of course, the fact that the XBox One has, in my opinion, the best launch line up in the history of game consoles doesn't hurt but in all honesty, the games really had nothing to do with my decision to go with XBox One at launch. Again, I knew I was going to buy the next iteration of the Xbox before it was even announced. My decision was based solely on the experience I have had this generation with my 360. Its just been an amazing generation for gaming and short of the RROD problems, which I actually profited from, the XBox 360 has had a brilliant run.

I fully expect that this next generation will be the best generation yet for gaming and that the XBox One will be just as amazing as the XBox 360. 4 weeks and counting!!!

I have been using Gamestop for at least 8-9 years now and its always been one of my go to sites in regards to video games. Unfortunately, I absolutely hate the new redesign, to the point where I will not be using Gamestop anymore. The biggest issue I have is the fact that there are no longer platform specific sections. When I go to game sites like Gamestop, it is usually to look at a specific platforms page. With the old design, you had all of the different platforms listed right at the top of the page (just like IGN's current design). So once you were on the main page, you just clicked XBox 360 or PS3 and it immediately took you to that platform's main page. From there you could see both the news related to that platform, and the new scores related to that platform. Plus you had other options regarding that platform accessible from that main page. Not only was it a simple design, it was also the most logical, at least in my opinion.

Basically Gamestop has moved to a design like Giant Bomb, which I guess isn't surprising given that they are owned by the same parent company. I tired using Giant Bomb earlier this year but ultimately, I just couldn't get past the fact that there weren't specific sections for the different platforms. In all honesty, why do you want a design that is basically identical to Giant Bomb? Why does everything have to be so homogenous? Why cant Gamestop have its own design? Just because they are owned by the same company doesn't mean they have to be identical.

The bottom line is that you have different platforms in the gaming market and those platforms should have their own sections on sites like Gamestop. Sections that are quickly and easily accessed and which give you access to news and games for that platform only. To get rid of those sections and combine it all together....well, it just makes no sense in my book as it ultimately leads to a less user friendly experience. IGN, 1up, GameFaq, GamesRadar, CCC, Joystiq, Desrtuctoid, etc. All have specific sections for each platform. Its the way game sites have always been organized, and for good reason. That should really tell you something.

Anyways, I have already decided to leave Gamestop, but I figured I would at least make a post and let Gamestop know why I was leaving. I can deal with all of the other problems that this website has been having but this one is a deal breaker. I have truly enjoyed my time at Gamestop and I really hope Gamespot eventually goes back to having sections for each specific platform. I would come back no questions asked. Until then, IGN, Gamefaq and 1 Up will just have to do.

In all honesty, the entire site is a mess. The fact that they were ok with this system of combining user reviews....well, it either shows that they really have no clue what they are doing or they just don't care. How anyone could think that combining multi-platform user reviews into a single score would be a good thing is utterly beyond me. It defies all logic and common sense, especially when dealing with multi-platform games as there can be significant differences in multi-platform titles.

I am done with Gamestop. After I post this comment I am heading over to the other gaming sites I visit regularly and staying there. I sent Gamestop a message with the site feedback option, stating that I have zero tolerance when it comes to crappy website design and that this would be my final visit to Gamestop. I told them if they ever decide to go back to the old site, or make significant changes to the new site, to send out emails letting people know. I would definitely come back and give the site a look. Until then, my days of using Gamestop have come to an end.

Adios!