well, would you look at that!

so back in july i believe when it was officially announced that bk was on the 360 only, Dr. Thinker told me about a site that is run by microsoft and gives away free prizes. you play games and earn tickets and then cash the tickets in for prizes like 360 games, zunes, vista, etc. the top prize was a 360 pro bundle(currently out of stock they say). 35000 tickets it cost, the most you could get from one game was 25. so i played and played and even at one point ran out of almost all the games to play, i only had the smaller ones that gave you 3 or 4 tickets at a time left. so i kept playing and mom even played some cause she likes word games. so i finally got my 35000 tickets back in october. i cashed in my tickets and honestly didn't expect to get the 360. they actually didn't send me everything i was supposed to get, but hey, it's totally free so i'm not gonna complain.

so, i got a 360...now to get BK.

:D

Absolutely psychodelically sweet!!

That's really neat. I'm glad that worked out.

You'll have to start sending prizes to the people who play a lot on our arcade :D

hahah, yeah. though there is a limit to how many of each you can get.

i'm so happy for you, it's awesome. i got a game from there too. :D

WOW! good job!
how many hours of work do you think it was?
im so happy for you vixie!!! gonna rush out to get some bk?

it took about 3-4 months to get all the tickets. i'd say i played just about everyday. I couldn't even come close to an estimate of time. Probably an hour a day when by myself at first and then at least 3+ hours between me and mom a day when she played. It really varied.

I'm probably gonna go get BK tomorrow.

i still can't believe you're going to wait a whole day, i thought when you got it you'd run to the store right away.

im so jealous :(
vix its like destiny that you were meant to play the game cos you are our leader :D

hahah, yeah. i am fighting not to go to the store but it's late and the game store is by a school and they're just getting out now so i'm gonna have to wait till tomorrow. i'll spend tonite trying to find someplace to put it.

sorry stu. i refused to actually buy one so i toughed it out for a free one

yea seriously! i thought you would have already unlocked schloss kosmos and rolled a million km katamari and giggled like i did! :)

you are a dedicated one v! i couldnt do that. i would have just said screw it and just bought the thing.
were the games fun? did they advertise for them or what is the deal?
how is microsoft getting thing from this? there were ads on the game page maybe?

edit: wasnt that one guy going to give you one anyway!!! :P

so were you playing the games with the intention of winning a 360 or just winning something?

yeah, i was playing these word games on their site and was gunning for the 360 which shortly went out of stock after i placed my order. unfortunately, stu, the site is only open to residents of the US. :(

http://club.live.com

the games are word games and there's hints and stuff. for every hint you use, the game generates a search in msn's search tool. so i believe they made money for every search you did while playing the games.

you could always carry on playing and win another one for me ;)

you can only get one of each prize. other wise people would just keep going. i might go for another controller next and the video camera they have.

For all Vix does for us katamari fanatics she definitely deserves to play all the katamari games.

nah, there are bigger fans out there than me. i just run the place. :D

Thats awsome, hope ta see ya on the EBK boards soon Vix! :thumbsup

Wow great job! I'm so happy you'll get to play BK now! :D

me too. i figured by the time i actually got it, the game would be on the ps3. :lol

so i'm playing the Bk demo and do the sticks actually suck this much in the full game?

Hey Vix, not sure if it's an issue or not, but I'm pretty sure you can't get on the ranking boards without an Xbox Live Gold membership. I just wanted to throw that out there.

As for the difference between the demo and the actual game, I don't remember much about the controls, but I think it works fine once you get used to the different feel of the Xbox controller as opposed to the Dual Shock.

the leaderboards don't phase me really. i refuse to pay to play online so unless the rest of what i'm supposed to get comes(free 12 months gold), i won't be playing online.

though it doesn't take much for me to hate something and after messing around with the 360, i already unhooked it and put it back in the box. i'm not sure sure i'm gonna get bk now. i'm gonna wait and see if the rest of the stuff i was supposed to get comes.

i just love to flip flop, don't i? though i wouldn't be surprised if i end up getting the game tomorrow. see, more flip flopping. i just hated the controller with a passion.

use the controller vix. play some bk please.
it is one of teh best controllers ever. just use it.
it is not like we are asking you to use the freaking wiimote! :P

edit. i was laughing yesterday. when i got home there were some yellow leaves on my door steps. i wanted to take a picture of them and say "Look what was on MY doorstep!"
i cracked my self up... :lol :doh

it's not one of the best controllers ever... sorry to disappoint.

also, all i can remember about the demo was that it wasn't as good, i deleted it last night before you asked about it. sorry.

oh it is. maybe not for you. but all the ratings that were done list the 2 xboxs and the dual shock as the best controllers ever. they are very good!

exactly. i'm not saying that everything's the same for everyone, but i know i don't really like it either, i mean i wasn't quite as upset about the whole thing as vix, but even after using it nearly 100 hrs, i still don't find it innovative. to each his own.

got ya. for innovative the wii is way ahead.
but for comfort, options, usability, durability, and a long list of other things the xbox S, the 360 wireless, and the dual shocks have been rated the highest since they were each introduced.

i personally love both the dualshock and the xbox controllers. they fit me sooo well.

hey vix i dont think you need to be a live gold member to be on the leaderboards do you? just a free silver to be there i thought.

the 360 controller is more comfortable but less functional than dual shock for me

i agree with the dual shock controller, i'll probably get one when they come out for the ps3. as far as comfort, the xbox controller must have been built for men because it's big and heavy (though i do like some weight). the most annoying thing to me is the stupid little grips on the sticks... i know i have said this before, but they are just irritating to me. i wonder if you can replace them... that would make me happy.

Yay, it came! That's 2 of us now that've received big buck items from that site. I got my zune, a wireles 360 controller, a leather case for the zune, and 20 song downloads now, with a couple more items on order and more tickets remaining to figure out how to spend.
What is it about the controller you don't like? The shape or the offset sticks?
*Edited post because of incorrect information*
Regarding the control issues in the demo/game, I chalk it up to different developers. I've had the 360 since launch and am very used to the controller and I still find the game to control worse than the previous installments. Turning is a bit slower and it seems like they used the items sticking out from your katamari a bit TOO much in calculating the physics of rolling (if that makes any sense). I also find the camera to be quite a bit more lacking in giving you a clear view of your katamari when something gets in the way of the camera. Still, it's katamari, and I like it despite its flaws.

if you clicked on the description of the 360 console that was a prize it said it came with: link

Xbox 360 Pro Console (one wireless controller, headset, hard drive, Ethernet connectivity cable, component HD AV cable)
Viva Pinata Special Edition
Kameo
Project Gotham Racing 3
Xbox Live Gold 12 Month Subscription
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged

so yeah, xbl gold and 4 games were supposed to come with it.

Wow, that's a lot of extras!
My mistake, disregard what I previously posted about what was supposed to be included.

yea the controls are just slow and wonky. nothing to do with the controller. but if she aint comfy with it it wont matter.

as for the 360 controller being made for men. it would make sense as male are the ones using 95% of the 360s in the world.
but it wasnt though. there was an hour special on some channel about making the 360 and they showed all the controller designs they had. they used people to hold them and try them from many ages and nationalities and both male and female.

i think it has more mid bulk because many people found the centering of the ps2 sticks to cramp ones hands in strange ways (like people learning to text on a cell phone).

ok, but i still like the playstation controller design better and the analog sticks feel better on my thumbs. i'm just going to leave it at that. this is obviously just a matter of personal opinion.

I have gotton used to the 360 controler...but I have to admit, the dual sticks on the 360 being diffrent heights then each other does feel less comfortable then the PS having them equal to each other.

lol, so many posts.

i can honestly say i hate the controller. comfort? bah. to each their own, sure, and i hate it. i think i would be here forever trying to go through why i hate it so much cause i hate it that much. :lol

i mean, i even put it back in the box. plus, i literally don't have anywhere to keep it, i don't have an outlet for it on a constant basis, and i'd have to keep it on the floor which is a bad idea(unless I'm playing) but not as a constant.

Dr. Thinker, what did you think came with it? I'm working for the video camera now(and maybe another controller if I can convince myself to take the 360 out of the box again, :lol)

I still haven't fully convinced myself to go get BK. Sure, the demo looked pretty and what not but there was more than one time where I almost threw the controller across the room.

When you press right, the cursor shouldn't more four spaces to the left. :frusty

Though like I said, I'll probably end up getting it anyways, Just not sure when.

i didnt like the demo much. too short for me to really enjoy myself.
well i hope you can get used to the controller just to play some good 360 games maybe. at least bk! heck you could rent it.

i dont recall ever hating a controller other than the intellivision. that dial thing sucked so bad for me! i was used to the atari 2600 jostick and really could not get comfortable with the dial controller.

pic of the controller for the intellivision.

maybe it was the demo but i hate the sticks, i hate the controller as a whole. i still haven't convinced myself to get bk yet. :( i want to play it but not with that controller. i dunno. i was so hyped and now i kinda don't care. go figure. :rolleyes i honestly don't know what to do.

send it on over here and i'll play it for you vix ;)
i'll keep a photo diary so you dont miss out on the fun :D

:lol

Wow, that's pretty disappointing! :( I didn't like the demo either, but the game is amazing. The demo really didn't play very well if I recall correctly.

Oh well, maybe you should just rent it first then. :(