Price points, smack talk, mac talk, and rip, mod and burn today in a specially-compressed E3 2005 random edition of Narc's Rants. I'm not at E3, so the rose-colored glasses are off.

Mnemesis has posted an update in the HBO forum from the floor of E3: he says Bungie is showing off the next five multiplayer maps, Stubbs the Zombie by Wideload is "gritty, dark, hilarious, and really fun to play" and Major Nelson is a together guy who knows good pizza. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO for the linkage. Wu is on his way to E3 as we speak.

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Microsoft says Xbox games will need to be recompiled to work with Xbox 360. This would seem to indicate-- although it is not yet clear-- that even your old games will have to be repurchased in order to run-- unless the console can recompile it by itself, which seems extremely unlikely. Not good news for those banking on this feature. Thanks 3Suns, who linked to this in the HBO forum.

UPDATE: I'm retagging this as a rumor. Major Nelson has already busted it. Move along, nothing to see here.

So, Microsoft lets the bomb drop this week that the Xbox 360 will be backwards compatible-- sort of. That "sort of" should include Halo and Halo 2, according to Newsday via HBO. But as they look backwards to look forwards, is Microsoft reaching far enough back for owners of the original console? This is the latest of Narc's Retorts.

• GameSpot has a head-to-head comparison of the announced specificiations for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
• eToyChest points out Xbox 360 preorders available at EBGames. The $59.99 price probably bears no relation to the (as yet unannounced) actual price of the console.
• Kelstek points out an impressive (and supposedly in-game) screenshot of a title called Ninety-Nine Nights for the Xbox 360 that may hold appeal for longtime fans of Bungie's Myth series of RTT (Real Time Tactics) games. And no, now is not the best time for a "Strategy vs Tactics" debate.
• BDGamer points out a promotion by Microsoft and Pepsi that will give away Xbox 360 consoles.
• Kikizo Games has a nice page covering the Xbox 360 announcement, in words and pictures.

As the world bathes in the offwhite glow of the Xbox 360, take a moment to ponder one of the hidden sources of the Xbox's rise from unknown quantity to major player, as a sometimes-partner, sometimes-rival of Microsoft's gives an unintended boost to the company's fledgling game console.

Robert X. Cringely's latest I, Cringely column looks at three major changes, or "inflection points", as he refers to them with all due credit to Intel's Andy Grove, happening in the computer-audio-video-entertainment convergence we've all been waiting for now for nearly a decade. Those changes involve Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google. He's predicting an Airport-Express like device for audio and video that will turn the Mac Mini into a PVR, coupled with an iTMS-like store for HD movies, designed to pre-empt what Microsoft is trying to do with the Xbox 360, which is basically the same thing except with gaming as the test case.

News is trickling out of E3 like treacle after an explosion in a molasses factory. So far:

• DOA 4 will be an Xbox 360 exclusive, and Major Nelson likes it. Major Nelson promises a post-show blogcast soon.
• IGN kicks off its E3 Xbox 360 coverage with a glowing review of the initial press conference and a summary of information so far, including Square Enix's announcement of FFXI for the Xbox 360, backwards compatibility with some Xbox games, and a quick run-down of expected titles. Thanks Boxer.
• Voodoo Extreme posts developers and titles committed for Xbox 360.
• News.com summarized the Microsoft show, and specifically cited Halo as a game targeted for the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility.
• eToyChest has a list of seventeen Xbox 360 games, including short descriptions and publishers.

Voodoo Extreme is reporting from the Microsoft press conference at E3 that the Xbox 360 console will be able to play the some Xbox titles via emulation. On his blog, Major Nelson also repeats the claim issued by Robbie Bach at E3: that the Xbox 360 will play "the most popular" Xbox titles. There are also other interesting bullet points, and surely more details will come out as the conference continues; MS is expecting between 25-40 titles for the new console in 2005, and something called "Xbox Live Marketplace" will allow gamers to create and sell for cash custom game content. (One assumes that "most popular" would include at least Halo and Halo 2--Ed.)

Alexander "The Man" Seropian has added screenshots to his 1Up.com blog; it features images from the Stubbs level editor and a screenshot from an unfinished level, where friendly robots are trying to kick his ass.

According to Forbes, Final Fantasy XI is indeed coming to the Xbox. The article does not go into any detail on the specifics, so it is unclear whether the original Xbox or Xbox 360 is the intended platform. The Final Fantasy series of RPGs has been a stalwart for Japanese console makers, Sony in specific over the past iterations of the PlayStation.

UPDATE: Reports from those viewing the live stream indicate that FFXI will be coming to the Xbox 360 and will support network play between PC and Xbox platforms.

Quake 4 has been officially announced for the Xbox 360 at E3, confirming its inclusion on the list of games for the new console released by Microsoft following the MTV launch event for the console.