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XBox Netplay Already
ElectusUnum writes "Well, it's been a little while since the XBox was released and people are already playing online! The folks at xboxgw.com have written a program to create an ethernet bridge between xbox's over the net, fooling the xbox's into thinking they're on a LAN. 1v1 seems to create no major lag and reports have come in like this one that claim up to four xbox's work fine. It seems a DSL connection is preferred for hosting the server." I want an X-Box so bad, or as I would call it, a DOA3-Box.
I'm dying to give Halo a try, but after my short relationship with the PS2, I need to wait for CostCo to carry the Xbox, as they will take it back 6 months later when I'm bored with it.
-Toli
There goes the revenue I'm sure they were hoping to get off online gamers. How much do you want to bet future games won't work like this? Or even have any LAN support at all.
While it's true that developers can do whatever they want, I doubt Microsoft would let them use the system however they want (after all, do you think Sony would be very happy if someone released a 'game' that let people pirate PS2 games easily?)
This hack is pretty sweet, though. It would be really cool to play online games with people across the country (or world) without going through some stupid intermediary.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
I mean, this is cool and all if you want to play with someone you know across the country or something, but it's not really that useful until there are actual servers up with gamespy type software. I mean, you can only fight the same people so many times, you know?
Username taken, please choose another one.
I'm getting more and more tempted into getting one of these things now. Anandtech reported the DVD playback was better than the PS2s which boosts its cred. All that is needed are some great games (i'd like to see midtown madness and maybe championship manager for it) and a crack to play multi-region DVDs, then I should be begging for one.
After this they just need to buy up bleem and release it so I can play my old PS games on the machine. If they can get EA, Namco and Capcom to support them they should make a killing.
The problem is that in America there is no price differential between the PS2 and XBox (both $299 me thinks). In the UK the Xbox should be coming out at £299, with the PS2 already at £199. There seems to be no incentive in the US for people to favour the PS2. But even over here I'm wanting a Xbox now. Oh well - only have to wait till next spring!
Free Mac Mini
I like how the download is an RPM. That'll make Bill G happy. Besides, without him we couldn't have things like RPMs anyway.
"If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
if taco wants an xbox then wtf doesn't he buy one? It's not like he's poor.
:P
Have you seen VA's stock price lately?
Actualy, yeh that surprized me to. You can get them on ebay these days for like $350
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
After this they just need to buy up bleem and release it so I can play my old PS games on the machine.
What would be the legality of this? Any NALs want to comment? I know Bleem was found legal, but would it be different because of the direct competition between consoles? It certainly would be cool to play PSX games on Xbox. A PS(Linu)X-Box would be neat.
"If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
It's nice to see so many people interested in this. I have been on the development team and would just like to let you all know where this project is headed. We are currently working on a matching server to hook people up to each other. The software is highly stable and fast. I just finished a 3xbox game less than a half hour ago. Pings were about 150ms, and there was NO lag. We are also working to implement chat. Expect another release in the next couple of days.
You don't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer. - Winston Churchill
Your crazy... I was big into street racing games for the PC and I thought Midtown madness was OK. I have an XBox and Project Gotham Racing is unreal. If it wasn't for the cartoony colorings of the buildings in the background, you almost can't tell the cars are computer generated. Watching the replay's it like watching a race on a digital television. They even went as far as adding the detail to the brake calipurs behind the rims! I love it!
Several days ago I posted a note about a friend of mine who got in trouble with Sony after posting home programming tools to the Internet. To revise my previous post, I believe it was a tool that allowed someone to write a PlayStation boot sector on a CD. My friend used it for writing his own programs to run on a PlayStation but perhaps Sony was understandably concerned it might lead to the copying of their games.
I just want to say how fascinating I find this culture of console hacking and programming. Here is Japan in the home of the console, I wish we had a more active community, but it does not seem to be so. I am not sure why not, especially since consoles are nearly uniform in popularity among all age groups and such.
My only fear is for these programmers. Microsoft is well know for its business practices, and I worry that they will disaprove of this Xbox net-play project. I do not see how this will hurt them but I still think they will not like it. Too bad since it will only make their console more popular.
R. Suzuka
Now the trick would be to get it so that when some of these games are ported to Windows, to have them able to play against eachother across the internet. That would be the real gem in the Xbox and online gaming. I wonder if this would be even possible due to the obviously differences in the controls and the games themselves, but it would still be worth a try to get it to work.
Gizmo
So if you can't wait or would rather tweak and hack (and we are /.'ers right?) then the Xbox Gateway project is utterly fantastic..
Remember, the Xbox was only released 9 days ago... just wait another month, there will be so many mods and services added (think Gamespy-like) that once again, M$ will be behind the 8-ball just like they were with that 'internet' thing.
Why the fuck does commander taco want an xbox again????? One game? I thought if anyone realized that Microsoft and most anything made by them fucking sucks. The first time I read slashdot I was actually cheered by the little picture of Bill Gates as a Borg. Perhaps CT has been assimilated??
Anyhow, my opinio is the X-Box, besides being MS's way to make money in spite of flat PC sales, and also being their way to rip off an entire new segment of the industry, is MS's way to close the loop - to start manufacturing the hardware their OSes run on as well as all of the software. Basically, it's a bold step for Microsoft disguised as a game system, and I doubt if that is lost on the likes of Gateway, Compaq, and others who concentrate on the home PC business.
Juln
Whatever MS has coming down the pipe when they launch their XBox Online component will, I'm sure, be alot sweeter and better integrated with the games that come out around that time. What the fine folks at XBoxgw.com have done is simply allow XBoxes to connect to each other via the "System Link" and bridge that link thru the internet. Kudos to them.
:)
Yep, the metaserver they're hinting at will add more to the mix, but you're still dealing with a setup that not many Xbox users will be able to grok.
In other words, I'm hoping MS can see that this stuff is not threatening to them (after all, you still need to buy an XBox and Halo to play) and that they'll make Xboxonline even more robust. And I'm hoping the xboxgw guys realize that they should change the name of their software to something WITHOUT 'xbox' in the name to keep the lawyers away
- Miguel / Freewill / bs.bungie.org
this is the first tim'e i've noticed this:
the description of oddworld on the xbox.com website is as follows:
Save Oddworld from greedy corporate bigwigs and evil animal-testing researchers. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll meet Fuzzles about to fry. Simply neurotic...
i added the bold. am i the only one who finds this funny?
-- john
So what you're saying is that I have to use two boxes to play online games with an XBox? I think I'll wait until the Sony PS2 Networking kit (or better yet that much rumored Linux kit) is available...
Do the math. XBox + linux PC for online play is not a deal. $300 + time to set up your xboxgw software alone, assuming you already have yourself setup on a Linux box... wait, better yet, I'll get 2 XBoxes, install Linux on 1 of them and set it up as the gateway for the other... then M$ will lose twice the money!
g=
From the xboxgw.com website.
>> XBOXGW currently only runs on Linux.
I'm having a great laugh!!!
using the standard TAP/TUN driver for linux, I was able to set up an ethernet TAP tunnel between my friends house and mine. (128K ISDN links).
Just pop the ethernet cards into promisc mode, set up a kernel IP filter to filter out any unnecessary traffic, and bridge the TAP to the ethernet card! works great! no noticible lag!
> I want an X-Box so bad, or as I would call it, a DOA3-Box.
.. imagine that.
...
My Athlon I ordered came "net ready too"
The XBox is the whore of gaming consoles. It's a celeron processor with an nvidia video card. Whow, some great amazing technology that Microsoft gets to put their name on. I don't get it.
Gaming consoles are ment to be DIFFERENT then when I play games on my PC. The XBox is making you play games that you could play on your PC except with not as high resolutions (unless you plug into a HDTV that costs over $3,000.)
Play Metal Gear Solid 2 before you decide to jump on the xBox bandwagon.
There goes the revenue I'm sure they were hoping to get off online gamers. How much do you want to bet future games won't work like this? Or even have any LAN support at all.
IMHO the opposite might as well be true. There is nothing to earn from LAN playing, there never has been a price aside that of the equipment you need (think of the GameBoy link cable, or ethernet adapters for PCs), and people wouldn't accept one.
Microsoft hasn't planned an XBOX online service (AFAIK), and even if they have, they would be planning to earn from MMO games like World Of Warcraft & Co. With this tool we see the first Hacker development, and many others will follow. This will make the XBox immensly popular among hackers (which is a small crowd) and, even better, among all the wannabes and normal gamers and parents looking for the coolest machine(which is a huge crowd).
Merry XMas, Mr. Gates
I have no idea if this has been talked about, doesn't anyone here feel that xbox games could be easily had on a computer with comparable features? GF3, DVD-ROM, x-box games. Don't they already use directx to develop their software? I don't know, seems to me that Microsoft could easily put out something. Be it hardware/software, like what Sega did for the Saturn.
How many game studios are being told that, if they want the SDK's early, or even at all, that they must sign exclusivity contracts with M$ ? My prediction for sure, is this. No game released for Xbox will ever be released for linux. My 80% sure prediction is this... no game released for Xbox will be released for ANYTHING else.
Sega is gone. It's possible Nintendo is hurting. How far can they be pushed, before they have to give up too? Even Sony might have to pull out, if M$ behaves as I've suggested. Bingo. Video Game Industry Monopoly.
But... it gets worse. The powers that be have always HATED people building their own computers, upgrading them. Here is a viable PC platform, that is almost completely sealed. Even a bigger hard drive might be impossible for a user to install, if M$ wants to really cheat. If they release this as a home pc, or even business... and Office XP2 is released for it, what then? "People buy the Xbox, it's the end to all those hardware conflicts, software too!". Compaq(HP?), Dell, Gateway... their days are numbered.
Bingo. PC Industry Monopoly.
Won't affect you, you say? "I'll always buy my own, and build as I chooose!". Noble thoughts. But the fact is, the prices you pay for hardware are in part subsidized by the fact that everyone else is doing the same. People like you and I might be left paying prices similar to those that corporate enterprise purchasers are paying, since they will be the only other market that won't be able to use a sealed system like Xbox. The future looks grim, my friend.
Hmmm, a virtual LAN...this sounds familiar. I believe that a software package called Kali (www.kali.net) has been doing this for years and years. I remember using this for doom or quake or something like that.
IIRC it's a decent package. Check it out.
take your sig and shove it
This can be taken two ways: 1) Linux screws over M$'s plans for the future, or 2) The Linux community is going to help capitalize on M$'s plans to move into the game community. This post may seem a little redundant, but I'll make some points here that I haven't seen scrolling through previous comments:
:-D
* The gateway may not be the best thing to see for those that would rather see the X-Box go away. This only strengthens its position for anyone with broadband; immediately jumping into the online world where Sega and possibly Sony have already entered, and Nintendo is lagging behind... I haven't heard about its broadband, but Nintendo best have something.
* This little Linux program should allow for more than JUST X-Box -- especially if other services out there can too be taken away and allow for more of a P2P gaming experience. No middle man for Phantasy Star Online, for example. I feel if it gets more fanfare it'll spark more projects to be done for other consoles, which is totally a Good Thing(TM).
* Misc. points: It would as been said before spark a Game Spy-ish service, but I would not be suprised of Game Spy themselves took intrest in tapping into this market for consoles if we got more of a P2P way of finding games. I know I would have some intrest along with my brother and our PS2's to be able to find opponents in say, Tekken Tag that we have sitting there collecting dust because we've beat all our friends in it.
Oh well, in the end Billy G. may get shafted out of another subcription service
Karma whorin' since 1999
mod me down as trolling if you like, but i'd like to voice my opinion:
consoles were never meant for online gaming. It just doesn't make sense. If they were, then why the fuck do they bother to give you 2-4 controllers. If i want online gaming, I'll do it with a pc game. Consoles are for games that you either play by youself, or when you bring friends to your room. I'm getting a PS2 for christmas and I can't think of a single game I want for it that would make any sense at all to use as a multiplayer game.
Repeat after me: PC = online net gaming, Console = 2-4 player splitscreen/sports/whatever.
Got Freedom?
Thinking?
I was wondering what OS the xbox is based off of the games use directx 8 and such so should it be a fairly easy thing to get the game to run on a win32 box?
This must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Dont you mean "xboxes" and not xbox's
whatever...
Are there still plans for HALO to become an MMOFPS as originally intended by Bungie? Or is it just going to become another 32 player DM thing?
I can't believe you got a bite out of that one. The I'm a consultant for Fortune 500... Linux troll was pretty good, but this was way too obvious (though I liked the throwaway comment about Perl - if you'd left it at that, it'd have been a great troll)
I was going to suggest you tried something a bit more subtle, but Dave21212 seems to have proven me wrong.
Tip of the hat, sir.
what is the state of broadband kits for the PS2 or GameCube? things become infinitely more fun when an actual person is involved, rather than just the cheesy, predictable game AI.
burn the computers. go back to the abacus.
You'd better be careful on those index page posts, before you know it Microsoft will say that they have been endorsed by Slashdot!
> I want an X-Box so bad, or as I would call it, a DOA3-Box.
First thing... the Xbox is not going to replace the pc market. It is going to play games... and there will always be a market for PCs. There are businesses out there that have to buy PCs. Programmers that have to bu PCs. Server people that have to buy servers.... hooked up to PCs.
If the computer revolution has taught us anything, it is that computers got more complex, interchangeable, and personlized. In the beginning you had Texas Instruments and Commodore. Now how many technology manufacturers are there? You theory is that the marketplace will become less diverse. People will all line up to get the same system... under someone else's idea of what services they want. That is insane. People have been bucking M$ for years. And their product does pracitcally anything the user friendlies want on their computer.
This topic alone is counter to your argument.
There you show your Xbox, the universal computer replacement, and IN DAYS people are already customizing it. Making it more diverse. Making it to their liking. Cracking it. They aren't lining up to do all the same things, they're breaking out.
So the ideas that everyone will be planting the Xbox4 in the bowels of their home next to the washing machine is preposterous. The world will never dance to the tune of one drummer forever.
It just loads into ram..
Read the anad article, the chip is not a Celeron, but a P3 with reduced cache.
Also, MGS2 is coming out for the XBOX and chances are it would feature all the goodies that will be added to the JAP version.
Sony's saving grace this season are the games.
The tech in the XBOX and gamecube is already ahead though.
Your post was so clear and well written, the message just JUMPED out of a page, I thought I'd say thanks..... *sarcasm* if you're too stupid to figure that out yourself...
Hey buddy, why don't you get a life k? I mean REALLY, how much time did u spend thinking about and posting that message, why do you even waste a minimal amount of energy. Now you will no doubt flame me, but...surprise surprise you'll forget to mention the idea behind my post...I feel sorry for you.
Yeah, that's hilarious. I knew someone would bite at that one STILL!
Taco, you're such a tool. Seriously.
I like the troll about being a "Visual Basic Kernel developer" the best. When is someone gonna post that one again?
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Clever idea, good story, I especially liked the inventive use of the apostrophe.
"up to four xbox's"
Let bob the angry flower tell it:
http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
This program is a godsend. I have a feeling MS wont have a netplay service set up for some time, and now i can play with my friends full screen w/o having to drag TVs and such over to one persons house. The XBOX may have 4 controller ports, but playing 4 to a screen really doesnt compare to haveing a screen to yourself. Console NET gaming will take off. SEGA made huge headway in to this arena, and it will only get more popular. XBox is going to be hacked left and right, and i cant wait =)
And to gaming bigots - I am an avid collector of consoles, and have a PC and MAC for gaming as well, and what ticks me off more then anything is people who have some blind attachment to one way of gaming, usually because its what they blew 300 bucks on. Heres the point, for all those who still dont get it:
ITS ABOUT THE GAMES STUPID
Finally, about seeing Xbox games directly playable on PC... its going to be a while if ever. Fist reason is MS wont want to cannibalize their own market(although a lot of games will be ports, the strength will be original titles, and XBox first titles, to drive sales). The second is a technical hurdle: XBox on the surface may look just like a PC with a gForce3, but, it has one very important advantage: the programmers have ONE target spec to reach the whole audiance. This has always been a console advantage from a game making standpoint. So while on paper its looks like less then a high end pc, in then end you have better looking games because programmers write games to take full advantage of what resources are available, the target output is a TV (relativly low resolution and a constant), and no huge OS overhead.
"Stuff... In my home!? NEVER!" - Zim on Invader Zim
"I want the toilet seat!" - Little Dog on Two Stupid Dogs
like it.
I mean, that's like saying the RIAA likes napster because it increases album sales. It may increase album sales, but that doesn't mean they're happy about it. These companies care a lot more about control then they do about money. Control means you know how much money you're going go get. control means you can squeeze people for as much money as they have. Stockholders want instant profits, rather then long-term effectiveness.
If Microsoft can control the method of connection, that means they can charge whatever they want, if they need a bit more money this quarter, they can jack them up like 2 cents or whatever. They don't get that if people connect them themselves, even if they do sell more boxes.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
how this is any different than, say, setting up an ethernet bridge?
How is this specific to the xbox?
Could someone that understands what jkerman is doing explain how this might be done using Mac OS X? If the software needed is not included with OS X, could you suggest what might be used/found at sourceforge?
As long-time Mac user, but new to a Unix like environment, could the above be explained with as much simplicity as warrented?
Thanks!
I was just reading Business Wire, and apparently Nintendo will sell out it's initial 700,000 unit shipment this weekend, has added an additional 200,000 units to the next shipment, and MSFT still has backlog after shipping only 300,000 units (originally scheduled for 600,000).
If you're hoping to get these as hack machines (a pretty good deal, actually), you better hurry, cause it's likely the xBox will be dead by springtime. The game industry only rewards the #1 and #2 spots, and xBox is radipdly becoming in danger from holding on to #3.
[caveat - I own both MSFT and NTDOY stock]
-
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
Actually, industry stats on business wires show that PS2 is doing pretty well, and that Nintendo is not able to keep up with the demand (had to add an additional 200,000 units to an already increased allotment for next ship batch for US). xBox, even with reduced shipments, is developing a backlog due to low demand.
Me, I just preordered my Mandrake 8.1 with The Sims bundle anyway - should scream on my dual CPU boxen.
-
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
MS is all about evil.
They will use the xbox to try to take over the
hardware market.
There are more important things than scratching
your gamer itch.
Support Nintendo, Sega, and Sony.
no new revenue for MS.
s
...yet no one mentions Squaresoft. Why do I have a PS2? Squaresoft. They make some *real* kick-ass games, especially RPG. These guys always get the attention of the hard-core gamers because of how they use the platform they design for, their story plots, and how much fun their console RPGs really are! Seems to me the critical company is Squaresoft, and Sony's got them. Not M$, not Nintendo, and certainly not Sega. Nintendo had their chance to keep them for the N64, but since Nintendo wanted to dictate to them their releases, Squaresoft jumped ship and went to Sony's camp. Let that be a lesson to Sony so they don't lose out on a critial player in their age market, because M$ will be more than happy to take them in and take a seige at the market.
Personally, if M$ can't get Squaresoft, they can't dominate. This isn't the OS industry, M$ -- you can't do it all in-house; you need a huge backing.
Karma whorin' since 1999
Now, the GameCube on the otherhand is almost entirely EXCLUSIVE Nintendo games. Games that will NEVER be played on the PC. Games that will NEVER be surpassed in gameplay anywhere else. You wont ever see Metroid, Kid Ikarus, Zelda, or Mario on ANY OTHER SYSTEM. Not to mention, the graphics just blow away the Xboxs easily. It doesnt matter who pushes more polys if they dont look good.
there are linux users that own xboxes? who'da thunk it...
Are you pondering what I'm pondering?
I want an X-Box so bad, or as I would call it, a DOA3-Box.
who are you and what the hell have you done with rob malda?
"I hope I don't make a mistake and manage to remain a virgin." - Britney Spears
Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Mandrake Gaming edition
Somewhere in the heavens... they are waiting.
That you've been able to play Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 on PlayStation 2 over the net for quite sometime now. Get yourself a USB Ethernet Adapter and away you go.
Booo Hisss... XBox
You know what, your right. the accompleshments of Microsoft have impressed me for a long time, and I left my career as a health store manager to become an MCSE. Linux is so stupid. You can't even see into the Network Neighborhood. The registry editor doesn't work very well either and I can't even get Outlook to install. Linux is a worthless piece of shit. Until it has support for all microsoft poffice formats I won't even touch it ever again and Suse can't install on my perfectly fine IMAC and also,
hmm a dick is stuck up my nose
Is it just me or is the Xbox not really all bad? I mean, it's a great console system for one, and it's the first US based console system since the Atari Jaguar. Sony, Nintendo, Sega are all based in Japan, and quite frankly it's refreshing to see the US put up some competition. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks keeping money in the country is a good idea, though.
not just linux users...
anybody who can recognize suckiness is sure to stay far, far away...
also, people who aren't easily manipulated might be wondering 'why the hell would I buy a console from those guys again, with all the obviously bad things about their corporate lifestyle'?
Microsoft as a company must have some VERY BAD company KARMA. if there is such a thing as karma, theirs stinks. I hope they get what is coming to them soon.
Microsoft must really have it in for you, Taco. I overheard the butterball behind the counter at the local EB telling somebody on the phone about Microsoft's new policy:
Retailers are not supposed to sell XBox by itself. You are supposed to buy the box and 3 games as a package for a mere $500. Retailers who do not adhere to this policy will have their XBox shipments cut off. That's why EB has XBoxes out the wazoo and nobody else has any.
Or maybe it's just a plot by EB to sell more games, and they still have XBoxes because nobody wants to spend the $500.
Its a good idea, except it comes with only one game (sims). They should've added quake 3 (at least the demo) and some otehr decent games. Xbox will perform lot better tho, i have tried quake in both linux and windows and windows won it perfromace-wise (on opengl)
good fucking question.
A lot of people have been saying
"Don't ditch the PS/2 go play MGS2"
Well incase a lot of people didn't know
Metal Gear Solid 2 will be coming out to xbox
So really, if that's the only reason to hold onto a ps/2.....
XBox-The Cheating Gamer's Dream Machine. Now the Virus Community has a *NEW* platform to infect.
Wow, that was a quick turnaround. I've been arguing for the benefits of an XBox in the living room for awhile (one of my posts during the release day Slashdot article generated over 20 replies), but I never expected Taco to become a convert.
Makes you wonder, though, if he has some kind of syndrome? :) Swings from one technology canvas to another. There should be something in the DSVIV for CmdrTacoism.
How is building an ethernet bridge something new? I mean, great that they packaged it up like this...
but this is nothing new.
Some mention KALI.. kali was based on bridging IPX I believe....
Of course, MS could always just make the damn game support tcp/ip in the first place...
I want an X-Box so bad, or as I would call it, a DOA3-Box.
;)
Only for the pixel shaded bump-mapping and rich plot development, no doubt.
"Leave the strategizing to those of us with planet-sized brains." -Tycho
Will someone explain it to me so I can get a better grasp on what is going on? Do they acutally put linux on the Xbox or do they just connect the Xbox to a linux box with these special settings?
MSFT still has backlog after shipping only 300,000 units
Just came home from CompUSA. They have a pile of Xbox's in inventory +50 or so. The demo machine is dead, due to overheating according to the sales guy. Xbox might be sold-out from MS but plenty in the channel.
Help fight continental drift.
THe whole thing loads into ram, as mentioned earlier u dont even need a hard drive.
Passion is best left to notions of love
... and not responding to obvious troll ;)
(and yes, still offtopic after 6 replies)
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
Bottom line for me - I'm not willing to give up the awesome networking ability of PC gaming so until consoles can match the ability of PC's in that respect, I will continue to play games on the PC. But I would have no reservations at all about dropping PC gaming in favor of consoles when that day comes.
:)
Moderate this comment up. I couldn't have said it better myself. I too love to play games on a high speed LAN connection. It's way better than playing over the Internet. I've invested all kinds of time, energy, and money into making my system more portable but the fact is PC's aren't designed to be portable and Laptops aren't designed to be gaming machines. Give me a console system with "awesome networking ability" and I would definately be a happy camper. No pun intended.
Read the review at IGN.com. While some of the features are better (zoom from 1x to 10x!), one thing it lacks is - DVD progressive scan output!! That's right, while the games will output in progressive scan movies will not.
Also, they do not seem to have more than 2x FF. When will these idiot console makers wake up and give me a 2x - 100x FF?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I can safely say that these launch titles were not supposed to be on the Internet in the first place. Now, I have a cable modem, which is second tier to the DSL's I was running agianst. I realize this. But, the game was created with LAN play in mind, with 1ms ping times. However, when I was getting a 350ms ping time (awful, I know), it wasn't compensating at all.
For instance, you can look around when you lag, but can't move or shoot in Halo. Since there's no error detection built into these games, you wind up in strange places when you resync with the server, and then get blown to bits. Many times.
The server doesn't lag, obviously. But the clients do.
Now, the game isn't bad multiplayer, but it was made with a LAN in mind. So, before everybody goes out and buys XBox's because of this, have that in mind. The programmers didn't think they would have to deal with Internet Latency in Halo, so there is nothing to help you if you have a high ping.
One thing I meant to add there before my hand brushed "return" by accident, is that I'm not at all sure the PS2 yet offers progressive scan output for DVD play - so the XBox may still have better quality than the PS2, but not as good as you would hope.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Can it be otherwise?
The Xbox is good for console gaming like Cancer is good for old people.
Taco, im holding you personally responsible for being such a tool.
What market? What could, say, "Dead Or Alive 3" on PC compete with? There is no PC equivilant. This goes with many console games. Also, there are so little PC gamers that it would hardly make a dent on either side.
.sig: Open Source, Open Mind
It's called game preference. People who like Metal Gear Solid 2, Gran Turismo 3, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 more than Halo, Project Gotham Racing, and Tony Hawk 2x are more likely to buy a PS2 than an X-Box, no?
Also, by your logic, everyone would be buying a GameCube since it has the power of the X-Box (PPC 495MHz vs Intel 733MHz, ~Radeon 8500 vs ~GeForce 3, 24MB 1T-SRAM + 16MB DDR or SDRAM? vs 64MB DDRSDRAM) yet it's $100 cheaper.
.sig: Open Source, Open Mind
However, with Microsoft betting the bank on online gaming, it's scary to think that they might 'force' you into online gaming by making games that actually require a connection, or games where you can hardly do anything without a connection to the internet.
I would feel cheated if I had paid $60 on a game and then had to be part of an online plan to be able to enjoy the game. I would also feel cheated if I bought a console expecting 5 years of great games, yet being limited to half the games on the shelf simply because I don't enjoy online gaming. I'm also afraid that Microsoft might feel so strongly about online gaming in consoles that this might even make developers stop producing single player games after a while in a similar way that ever since 3D was available it's been extremely difficult finding any 2D games.
Developers might program online games simply because they can, not because it would provide the most enjoyment... they programmed Contra in 3D, and even though it didn't work the first time, they tried it again the second. Now I feel they have dropped the entire Contra series without having considered going back to its 2D roots where it enjoyed the most success, simply because they might think 2D is obsolete. They might also think not being online is obsolete.
.sig: Open Source, Open Mind
If anyone is interested, the Atari Jaguar was declared to be an open system (anyone can write games for it without paying royalites. and the encyption has been released to the public) a few years ago.
It's spelled, definitely, dammit. No 'a' in it.
Ah, ye of little mind. Where does the money go, do tell?
Sega people have said Shenmue 2 will be an Xbox title. I'm not sure about the rest of the series (since before Shenmue 1 they've said it will be like a five game or more series) though. An interview about it can be found at http://dreamcast.ign.com/news/39017.html.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is coming to the Xbox (in an enhanced package, no doubt).
, 2630903,00.html
Source: http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870
Games like GTA3 are also comin' on over.
Even if MS sold only 300K units, they will be selling an aweful lot next year. You know why? Because the average game targeted at the XBox is much greater than the average nintendo game. At least for people older than 12 years. (which is also the target audience for the PS2). Nintendo lives because of the pokemon hype. So buying a gamecube will limit your choice in games. I think a lot of people will understand that soon :)
Never underestimate the relief of true separation of Religion and State.
Until a gamespy-like GUI is released for any of these ethernet bridging solutions, #xbox-online of EFnet is the place to be to gather net games together. Enjoy!
-Sarkoon
Why would any self respecting Slashdot reader buy ANYTHING from Micro$oft? This is pathetic. On one hand you people complain about their monopolistic practices, on the other you salivate over their inferior products and actually support the expansion of their monopoly into other areas. What this world needs is a 100% cold-turkey Micro$oft boycott.
All X-Box buyers should be bitch-slapped.
if you must have one (xbox) then buy a stolen one or whatever but don't give any money to MS. don't buy games made for xbox and don't buy accessories made for xbox.
They know what they're doing.