The switch was flipped this AM now allowing television and movies downloads via the Xbox 360. I admit this is extremely appealing to me for feature-length HD films, as I don’t use a cable box (as in no VOD) and I haven’t yet invested in a next gen high-def DVD player. Kevin, over at jkOnTheRun, counted 48 movies — mostly SD, many older selections. Hmmm… (And where’s the hard drive upgrade?)

Engadget writes: The biggest mystery at this point was price, which turns out to be $2 for SD TV shows, $3 for HD, while movie rentals will run you $3 for SD and $6 for HD. This is all converted from the various, confusing MS Points involved in each purchase (80 Points = $1).

Just when I thought the new console launch antics couldn’t get any more ridiculous, Alexi and I noticed women of ebay posing provocatively — presumably to boost sales. How did this come about? In an effort to limit fraudulent listings, ebay is requiring PS3 and Wii sellers to snap photos of receipts, user names, and consoles… and a few budding entrepreneurs must have recalled their Advertising 101 ‘sex sells‘ lesson. Apparently trading in your self respect doesn’t net much: According to my unscientific analysis, nudity and/or cleavage doesn’t have any discernible impact on bidding.

Consoles, games and cool stuff from House of Cool.

My buddy Alexi was camped out at the Walmart for 36 hours after which he scored a Playstation 3 bundle. At the end of the ordeal, he listed his item on ebay with a starting bid of 99 cents and a “Buy It Now” option of $2800. I bet him a week of lunches he wouldn’t sell it for more than $1230. Well, I might have been wrong… His auction closed last night at $1375 and he posted his menu. By my calculations he might have made ~$10/hour over those 36 hours for sleeping in a folding chair and weathering a day of rain and thunderstorms: $1375 - $750 PS3 & Accessories, $125 to move ahead in line, estimated eBay & PayPal & shipping fees = ~$350.

Was it worth it? Well, we’ll never know… His winning bidder backed out, saying he won the auction by accident. I feel bad for my buddy, but I’m not surprised how this played out on ebay — I’ve experienced this several times myself and list most things via Buy It Now to save myself the hassle. True, a winning bid is a contract but who’s going to enforce it and at what cost?

Alexi is debating his options at this point. The ebay market has been flooded with thousands of listings and prices are dropping, so he’s considering either working a local deal through Craigslist or actually playing (!) the PS3 for a few weeks until it gets closer to the holiday and then giving ebay another shot.

For all you doubters out there, Alexi and I have had probably half a dozen lunch or gadget bets like this over the last few months and he’s lost every single one. Why would this be any different? Time to get started on my menu!

My work buddy managed to pull it off and got his $500 PS3 (and $230 of accessories) after 36 hours of lingering outside Walmart. Actually, it’s only his PS3 for another 16 hours since it was listed on ebay with a starting price of 99 cents. We bet “lunch for a week” that he wouldn’t sell the bundle for more than $1230.

Interesting trivia: Remember, person #2 sold his spot in line for $700 and #1 sold his spot for $500… As the night wore on, #3 also sold his spot for $500. Turns out those guys got the last laugh — a couple had already prepaid them to hold their places!

Interesting trivia 2: Sounds like Walmart had their act together. At 10PM they issued Playstation wristbands corresponding to model (20GB or 60GB) to those waiting in line. The store closed at midnight, and once all the customers left they let the wristbanded folks in. They got in line in original order at a register which had the units and a cart of games/accessories they could add to their order.

I swung by the shopping plaza across from work this AM to shoot a video of the silly folks camping out for Playstation 3 gaming consoles, which go on sale tomorrow (retail $599 & $699) — so most are half way through their ordeal. Though the worst is yet to come… Heavy rains and wind gusts up to 60mph are expected today. My man on the inside (if you look close you can see him waving from under the awning at Walmart) has filed a report:

The number two spot in line sold for $700 last night! Wooooowwaaweeewa.

I’m amazed at how many hecklers there are at odd hours of the night. There were at least 5 drive-bys throughout the night, all of which involved either horn honking or blasting loud metal music.

A real spirit of camaraderie has developed among the group. People have offered me food/drink, additional shelter in the event that my awning doesn’t adequately protect me from the threatening rainstorms, and plenty of leniency in regards to bathroom breaks.

Honestly, I think they’re all nuts and deserve pneumonia. Despite that, I limited my heckling and did offer to pick up Starbucks for my buddy.

WalMart Update: After a couple hours of pouring rain, a flood warning, and a tornado watch #1 in line couldn’t take any more and cashed out for $500. Bet he wished he took that $1k he was offered last night! My buddy moved up to #6 in line at a cost of $250 and sold his spot for $125.

Update 2: Shortly after midnight, my buddy secured the $500 20GB PS3. Whatever profit he makes on ebay can be applied towards getting the professional help he needs.

I ran over to the Best Buy during lunch and look what I stumbled upon: A couple dozen fanboys (plus ten tents and a football) milling about until 8AM on FRIDAY when they can purchase Sony’s PlayStation 3. I also learned a few guys from work have parked themselves across the street at WalMart hoping for units. I asked one if he really cared that much about the PS3 and it turns out he doesn’t… He wants to sell the $600 console on ebay for $1500. I seriously doubt he’ll reach that figure, but since I’m going to bring him a folding chair (he didn’t plan so well) I expect a cut of the profits!

This just in… Nintendo has confirmed Wii DVD movie playback will be available “the latter half of 2007!” In related news, Blu-ray support is slated for 2013.

In all seriousness, the Wii looks quite entertaining (as a gaming console) and I may have to pick one up.