"'Xbox 360 is a must-have item,' said Mark Talowski, the general manager of Circuit City in Merrillville. 'PlayStation 2 and Xbox were big sellers, but with high definition being brought into the picture, that's what people have been waiting for.'

Darrell Hacker remembers saving his money and asking permission to buy a Sega Genesis video game system. It was the early 1990s, and he was in grade school. The system cost $190.

Now, Hacker is 22, working two jobs and still saving his money for the latest gaming console. Only this time, the quality -- and the price -- are higher.
Microsoft's new Xbox 360, which hits stores last month, retails for $299 to $399, depending on accessories. Microsoft expects to sell 3 million systems in three months.

This iteration, a considerable upgrade from the original Xbox released in 2001, promises better graphics, a faster processor, wireless controllers and a hard drive for storing games and competing on the Internet.
It's one of several hot items on shoppers' lists this holiday season. Retailers also expect Harry Potter merchandise, digital cameras and Bratz Pack dolls to clog checkout lines.

"Xbox 360 is a must-have item," said Mark Talowski, the general manager of Circuit City in Merrillville. "PlayStation 2 and Xbox were big sellers, but with high definition being brought into the picture, that's what people have been waiting for."

Unlike its predecessors -- Sony's PlayStation series, Nintendo GameCube and the original Xbox -- Xbox 360 is compatible with high-definition televisions. These TVs produce a picture with resolution three times clearer than a standard analog tube. The other gaming systems can hook up to an HDTV, but they can't produce an HD image. Xbox 360 can. Sony and Nintendo are expected to follow with similar capable systems this spring." [more]