Slashdot Mirror
MS Reveals Big-Name Xbox Games
LukeG writes "At this year's huge X02 event in Seville, Microsoft pulled out all the stops to convince the vast contingent of mainstream journalists present that the Xbox did indeed have the credentials to take on Sony and Nintendo. As well as the huge acquisition of Rare, Microsoft also reveled in the number of other potential AAA titles confirmed at the show. The best of these are examined in this preview."
dotted... already..
That has got to be some kind of new record.
I wonder if Halo 2 was on display? *click* ...the /. effect strikes again, of course...oh well.
Wow, there's some new AAA Xbox title that slashdots sites to death?
Coooool.
Macintosh humor! MacComedy.com
You can play games on the XBox?
From reading this site, I assumed it was just another Linux platform.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
"Microsoft pulled-out all the stops to convince the vast contingency of mainstream journalists present that the Xbox did indeed have the credentials to take on Sony and Nintendo" Thay may have the credentials, but they don't have a server capably of withsanding the /. effect
The most hotly expected title, IIS5, is another sequel to one of Microsoft's popular games. Players will try to avoid massive publicity that could disrupt their home base, while simultaneously doing patches in real time. Weapons at the player's disposal include new firewalls and cluster services (aka "cluster bombs"). While some multiplayer features are still present from the original version, the much-anticipated massively multiplayer mode is still not available, as verified by a recent posting on Slashdot.
What's your damage, Heather?
Everyone on here is so anti-Microsoft, but with this server being slashdotted so quickly you have to wonder about that...
C:\>
It sounds like you haven't even played an X-Box...don't let that ruin your pointless troll though.
I don't think there's much evidence that MS has "ruined" Ensemble or Bungie. But don't let the facts get in the way of your rant.
Posted anonymously to protect the innocent! No karma-whoring here!
X02 and the future of the Xbox
X02 is the cunningly named sequel event to last year's Cannes X01 launch. It essentially gives Microsoft a competition free platform to make important announcements, introduce upcoming games and to spend prodigious amounts of money on industry journalists. This years event took place in Seville, and gave a fascinating glimpse into the direction Microsoft is heading.
Boarding the plane at Gatwick, I soon found myself engaging in some interesting speculation about what the event would reveal, and precisely what the show needed to achieve from Microsoft's point of view. Things have not gone entirely to plan for the Xbox in Europe, and while there has been no Japan-style disaster, Microsoft has only just edged out Nintendo in a region that has become increasingly important to the industry as a whole. In Europe, the battle for second place is still wide open. The consensus opinion amongst the journalists on the flight was that Microsoft needed to impress at X02 - particularly in the short term. Sony have an almost certain record-selling title in GTA: Vice City, and analysts have always held the view that this Christmas period - the first in which all the consoles have been available in all regions - is far more important than the last one. Worryingly for Microsoft, a number of their key titles have slipped alarmingly, and despite having a reputation for patience on this front (confirmed by many of the developers I have spoken to) I think the situation is now becoming a concern. Games like Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Knights of the Old Republic would have been extremely welcome, but it seems we won't see either until next year.
The event began, therefore, with an air of expectation amongst the assembled delegates. Knowing nothing of the venue, it was something of a shock when the numerous coaches pulled up outside an enormous theme park on the edge of the city. Festooned in green and black, and with a spectacular laser and water show, it was clear that Microsoft wanted something of a party atmosphere. This was primarily achieved through the free alcohol that was available, however, and it makes me tremendously proud to report that your British media representatives were foremost amongst the European nations in creating the necessary mood through alcohol consumption. It brought a tear to my eye, to see such dedication.
Clearly wanting to take a grip on the situation before everyone became too drunk to care, Microsoft quickly convened the nights press conference. Acting as master of ceremonies was Sandy Duncan, VP of Xbox Europe. Also speaking from Microsoft were Jay Allard, general manager of Xbox, Ed Fries, VP of content for Xbox and Michael Cassius, the European Xbox director. Several developers and publishers also made speeches, including Jay Wilbur from Epic, Peter Molyneux from Lionhead, and Yves Guillemot from Ubisoft. The proceedings were laced with flashy music and special effects as you might expect, but most of the interest was of course generated by the announcements made.
Some of these were pretty much expected, but overall there was a slight shift in tone from the company that may well prove to be significant. The initial announcements concerned various games planned for the platform, and included Project Gotham Racing 2, as well as other unheard of titles like Climax's Sudeki (which ultimately was considered one of the most promising games of the show - more later).
The worst kept secret in gaming - MS's purchase of Rare - was also revealed, with a cool price tag of around $375 million. The Stamper brothers were present, but did not speak - probably too stunned by the fact that they're now stinking rich. One interesting point was the movie played after the announcement. There has been intense speculation over which franchises would be retained by Rare, and which would revert to Nintendo. This movie seemed to suggest Rare would retain Perfect Dark, the Conker franchise and Banjo-Kazooie, as it featured all these characters as well as the first game to be released for the Xbox - Kameo. Kameo is a fairy with the ability to morph into a variety of other creatures, and the game seemed to be some kind of action puzzler, with a similar play-style to other Rare games. Release date is as yet unknown, but we're not likely to see it for at least a year.
The biggest announcements, however, and certainly those that MS was keen to promote the most, were those concerning the impending launch of Xbox Live. A lot of information was given here, and it will be covered in more detail in another article, but the pertinent points are the lauch date - March 14th in Europe - and the price, at around 59 Euros. This should translate to about £39.
The promotion of Xbox Live was definitely the prevailing theme of the show, and indeed MS representatives constantly badgered people to go and try it out. My overall impression was that MS are very happy with the system they have designed, but are slightly worried about how to sell and promote it. To elaborate on this point, let me just explain that this type of show is not only attended by specialist gaming press. In fact we were probably in the minority, with many more journalists from more neutral publications like the BBC or mens magazines, as well as general press. This meant that not all the journalists present came from a gaming background, and MS representatives made specific requests several times during the event for people to try out the Xbox Live demonstrations. They were extremely keen to get the message across, and were perhaps worried that certain press elements in attendance were missing out on the experience.
As said previously, there was a general consensus amongst the press that MS needed X02 to be a success to win over some critics. In this regard, the show was a success - but probably not an unqualified one. There are definite chinks in the armour, and perhaps the most significant is the real lack of stand out titles available in Europe in time for Christmas, and in particular titles with mainstream broad-based appeal.
Of all the possible AAA titles demonstrated at the show, only one will definitely be released in time for the holiday season. Ubi Soft's Splinter Cell looks fantastic -essentially it's the Tom Clancy take on the stealth genre. It plays a little like Metal Gear Solid, but aims to be more realistic and less arcade-like. There is also less of an emphasis on interruptive story, and the gameplay is extremely compelling. It's scheduled for release in November, and there'll be more info on it and other titles in the X02 games round up.
In the long term, however, things look decidedly rosy for Xbox. There are an enormous number of titles in development for the console as we speak - three hundred at the last count - and an amazing number of those look like they have real potential. Several games stood out as potential classics. I'll save the details for the games round up, but these included Sudeki, Kameo, Steel Battalion, MGS 2: Substance, Brute Force and Molyneux and co.'s offerings Fable (formerly Project Ego) and B.C. There are also titles designed with Xbox Live in mind, and having played both Unreal Champoinship and Mech Assault I can confirm that both are incredibly fun, with UC particularly being a grade A title.
X02 was also significant for the tone of the rhetoric we heard from many of Microsoft's top people. Ed Fries admitted in one particular speech that "we learned the hard way about the mistakes we made", referring at the time to two things - the eventual realization that Xbox prices were far too high when it came to the market, and also to the decision to release the controller S in Europe on November 1st. This conciliatory tone was evident throughout the event - Xbox is clearly trying to avoid the kind of bad reputation that MS as a company has with certain audiences. There was also quite a bit of honesty from the Xbox team in that they often admitted that they did not have all the answers. During the developer unplugged session, Jay Allard was asked about potential difficulties of using a voice communicator with certain game genre's. He simply said that MS had no idea how people would act in-game with the communicator, and that some risk was involved in the effort to bring voice to gaming, but that he and his team were convinced that it was worth a try.
The members of the Xbox staff present at the show were all as candid as Allard - it did give me the impression that the company is trying head off any accusations of being insensitive to consumers and the general public. As such, the event did go a long way towards convincing me of the viability of Xbox Live and of the continued success of Xbox in general. The particular thing to remember here is that Xbox will continue improve with age - it has only been in Europe for a matter of months. Encouragingly, there are a number of titles due that are almost guaranteed to be a success by any measure - games like Knights of the Old Republic, Halo 2, Fable and B.C., and Microsoft is clearly looking at long term prospects by buying companies of Rare's calibre. It seems that Microsoft's goal is now simply to grow its user base and make a success of Xbox Live. Playstation 2 has an unassailable lead in terms of numbers, so MS seems to be shedding it's myopia and looking to the future, and I'd contend that this is no bad thing. 2003 looks to be the definitive year in the history of the Xbox...
Because if they did, by now one of them would have contacted the owner(s) of one of these sites and offer to sue slashdot for malicious actions.
[o]_O
At least someone here is right. I just started playing Legend of Zelda again today, should be finished with first quest in just a few hours now...
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Well it seems we've already taken the article out...does anyone here find it funny that the generally anti-microsoft readership of slashdot overloaded a piece of microsoft news coverage?
------- "From bored to fanboy in 3.8 asian girls" ----------
MS Flight sim is a good program to practice IFR flight procedures... Its also the only MS program I'll ever buy again (I've got friends that switch between working on MSFS and military systems every few years). Why hasn't MS ported their longest selling "game" to the Xbox?
Of course I would buy any real console based flight sim if it did the IFR type of things properly and had a realistic navaid database.
"I don't think there's much evidence that MS has "ruined" Ensemble or Bungie. But don't let the facts get in the way of your rant."
One word: Halo
MS took what was a great concept (a large massive multiplayer world) and turned it into just another shooter game (with pretty graphics and a different story).
Burn Hollywood Burn
HTTP 403.9 - Access Forbidden: Too many users are connected
::dreamy smile::
Ahhh.
heh
"PC Load Letter? What the $@#% does that mean?!"
Error 403.9: Access Forbidden
sounds like a shooter
page1:
Although Microsoft's main purpose during X02 was publicising the launch of Xbox Live, they also took the opportunity to impress upon the onlooking media the quality and quantity of upcoming Xbox titles. There are at the moment over three hundered seperate titles in development for the system, and Microsoft have garnered considerable third party support. This is mostly thanks to an impressive effort in courting developers from around the globe, and is helped along by some outstanding purchases in the form of developers Rare and Bungie, amongst others.
One of the most impressive aspects of the software line up is the number of titles we see emerging that have the potential to be classics - games such as Halo 2, Fable, B.C. and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic are as close as guaranteed hits as you can get in this industry. They are, if you like, the gaming equivalents of summer blockbusters. There were also a number of games on show at Seville that showed similiar levels of potential, despite not having perhaps quite the same profile.
Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is Ubi Soft's take on the stealth genre. For those of you who loved Metal Gear Solid, but perhaps felt it was a little too arcade-like or else felt the story was an annoyance - take note, because Splinter Cell looks like it could have the answers.
The game uses the next generation Unreal engine, Unreal Warfare, and is played from a third-person perspective. You take control of an American covert operative, working for some shadowy government agency, with a mandate to sneak about and generally skulk in dark corners.
The demo on show at Seville began with your character standing outside an unassuming building. Sneaking around the side, a back entrance is quickly discovered, and the player makes his way inside. Facing you is a long corridor, with long light fittings breaking up the passage way into light and dark strips. Splinter cell is filled with great lighting, and this is one aspect that seperates this game from the MGS series. MGS, if you recall, never used lighting effectively or in a realistic manner. Splinter Cell, however, allows you to hide in the shadows, as well as manipulate local light levels through switches and shooting out lights. Your character has two special vision modes to give him the edge in the dark - a night vision mode, and thermal imaging mode. Both look pretty darn cool, and seem to form an integral gameplay component rather than a gimick.
Also available to the player are a number of cool gadgets, in the best 007 tradition. Two particular favourites of mine were the optical wire cam, and the sticky cam. The optic wire cam is simply a camera which views the world from the end of an optic cable. You can pass this cable under doors to give you a view of what lies behind before you enter a room - it's really a great touch, and works a little like those camera orbs from Thief II. The sticky cam is simply a camera you can throw and stick to surfaces, which can then be used to give a better perspective on your surroundings.
The graphics in Splinter Cell are superb, and extremely atmospheric. As said previously, lighting plays an integral part of the game, and it has a much more realistic look than MGS, which could look a little too stylized. In the demo the main character wore all black combat clothing, with numerous tool belts and pockets. The main character is also capable of performing a number of excellent maneuvers to complement his gadgets and weapons. He has the ability to suspend himself high up between the walls of a narrow corridor, to let enemies pass unsuspecting beneath, or else drop down on them to break their necks. Hostages can be taken and used as human shields, and of course a whole range of stealth weaponry is available.
Ubi Soft are promising nine massive missions set across twenty-six levels and four countries, and the levels will also include fully interactive elements such as retinal and fingerprint scanners. This is one of the real gems in the European Christmas release schedule, and should be released in the UK come November.
Yes, you could have done a much better job by yourself. Thanks for your insight and wit.
300 titles? maybe one of them will be a game where you, the lone programmer on a daring mission into the depths of hell (i.e. the basement of Microsoft headquarters) try to develop a web server that won't crash.
Please, can we refrain from this whole 'anti Microsoft' rubbish?
Nintendo are still around, because they are probably the best developers in the world, and also have the most recogniseable franchise of characters around.
Sony are still around because they have managed to market the PSX and the PS2 so succesfuly. Plus, they have the 'Sony' brand to help them out.
MS are a 'smaller player' because they havent been in the business so long. Not to mention the fact that they havent got the 'name tag' appeal that Sony and Nintendo have. Most people see Microsoft as something they use at work, not something that they put under their TV.
And what companies have MS bought, and as a result ruined their games? MS bought Bungie, who then put out Halo, which is a fantastic game. They have also now bought Rare, a company who have yet to release a game since the sale. MS may now buy Capcom, but seeing as how Capcom have posted some big losses, it is a far better proposition than if they went bust.
I put my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Demonoid, ISOHunt and Pirate Bay. Search for 'Michael Cargill'
ads. Come on, guys. I _own_ an X-Box, and that was a bit fanboyish. It had its tongue stuck further up MS's ass than even their magazine, which is saying something.
News for nerds? Where...
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
But the webpage is hosted on www.ferrago.co.uk, not Microsoft.
Unless of course you meant an article that supported a Microsoft product, then Yippe or...yeah.
-X02 Splinter Cell Sudeki Steel Battalion Fable B.C. and get this quote "Unfortunately we'll only see Splinter Cell and possibly Steel Battalion sometime soon - the rest are at least a year away. It's encouraging, however, to see such quality in development - I suspect that this time next year the Xbox will have a considerable lead over its competitors in terms of the numbers of top quality titles." Hahaha
What comes next?
Uhhh....
I KNOW!!!
4. Profit!!!
Know why you have to switch discs to play separate xbox games? Stop putting up with this. Stop supporting copyrights. If they took these measures (cd check and such) out, I'd gladly pay for it, heck I'd pay more.
I mean, you don't see /. mentioning Sony or Nintendo's big line up, do you?
They're running it off of a PS2...
Karma: Non-Heinous
"One of the most impressive aspects of the software line up is the number of titles we see emerging that have the potential to be classics - games such as Halo 2, Fable, B.C. and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic are as close as guaranteed hits as you can get in this industry."
Um...yeah...let's see. Fable is at this point vaporware from a company that has produced no console hits AFAIK. I don't even know what B.C. is, and Star Wars games are a dime a dozen. Every system out there already has a few Star Wars games, few of which are "classics."
Let's see...Nintendo has Metroid, Zelda, some Donkey Kong Game, Mario Kart, Resident Evil...and XBox has BC, Fable and Star Wars...lol.
The "we have 300 games coming out" is the oldest trick in the book. Even 3DO supposedly had 300+ games "in developement."
The page cannot be displayed
There are too many people accessing the Web site at this time.
They must be runnin' their webserver on an XBOX....
-- You can't idiot-proof anything, because they're always coming out with better idiots.
Microsoft is still beating a dead horse.
I agree. Nintendo is still around because it continues to produce great games that focus on gameplay. They are able to make nice looking games without trying to turn themselves into Hollywood. Even though Nintendo uses its same characters and series (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc.) over and over they still manage to produce awesome games every time.
I'm happier with my GameCube than my PS2 because of Nintendo's games.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
http://www.xbox.com/uk/x02/games.htm
Does the entire slashdot community choose to neglect the fact that Sony used many of the same tactics that Microsoft now employs? When the Playstation came out I remember quite the uproar over Square making games for this new system made by some evil corporation. Oh well.
I hate people like you. Point out a flaw with something, and the best your sort can come up with is "Well you couldn't do any better!". That's NOT THE POINT.
Did the poster wave his arms and say "Halo came out way worse than anything I could write!"? No, he said "Halo started off a good concept, and was then modified into something reminiscent of crud". The end product, instead of being polished gold, is a polished turd, and this is a real and valid complaint.
"Oh, but you can't do better, so your opinion is meaningless". Fuckwit.
Halo is coming to PCs this summer. As for the whole keyboard and mouse thing...is it really that hard to learn a new way of controlling a game? Methinks maybe you just suck at the game? Seriously i'm sure with a little practice you might actually see that it works just fine.
Can this seriously be doubted. The answer is no, it cannot seriously be doubted.
Hmmm, I didn't see the article before /. effect... but I believe these are some of the titles:
The AntiTrust Shuffle (TM)
You play either Bill Gates or Steve Balmer and using a dance pad you whip out the moves to avoid the slings and arrows of outrageous justice. As you improve your skills you can advance to being the Master of the DRM Market, as you manipulate (again, via the dance pad) the masses and the RIAA/MPAA against each other towards more control for yourself. You can even do doubles with two game pads.
Inter game bonus rounds let you earn extra points based on effectiveness of various celebration dances and 'who's the man' gesturees.
Embrace and Extend (TM)
Kind of like a tetris game where those rectangular pieces that fall from above and can fit in a lot of other game slots below, but in this you must catch the pieces in mid-fall and re-shape them to VisualSquarish#.net shapes where they only seem to fit in the Microsoft game slot... If you don't have time to to 'extend' the pieces you still earn points by getting them all to go into the Microsoft Game slot anyway, if you don't get into MS you loose points and are told you are a loser. (also available for WinCE handhelds)
'Innovation' Avenger (TM)
Fight the evil GPL who wish to suck Innovation out of the Microsoft Universe. Armed with the best legal offenses and wads of cash you pick off the relentless multitudes of drones (liiks like sinistar, but the drones are building some sort of Penguin...)
The game employs advanced AI technologies where the AI drones get smarter faster than you do... But you can also can get political and corporate power-ups to throw more roadblocks into their assault.
EULA (TM)
Word game - still under development.
Have you guys heard of any others being planned?
"Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
I wonder if Halo 2 was on display?
Yes.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Luckily I got a look at the page... Uploaded to my web site.
page1 page2 page3 page4
page5 page6 page7 page8
http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/projects_halo.html
So yeah halo is coming to PC
1.) Rare has a veeeeery bad habit of taking their time with games. Rare releases a game when THEY feel it is worthy. A good motto that nintendo didnt mind since that is what they strive for too.
But cause of that they release maybe 2 games a year!
Microsoft cant have that. They didnt pay 350 million for 2 games a year.
So one of two things will happen.
Microsoft willlet them do their thing in which case they over payed again, 350 million for 2-3 games a year..
or they force Rare to go faster in which case the quality of their games drops. If that happens then they arent Rare anymore and is Rare by name only.
2) all they make is platforming HUNTING games anyway...gather 100 coins, barrels, whatever.
same formula they have used for 10 years or so.
and as for perfect dark..the Goldeneye team, the people that made it LEFT rare long ago.
Just because Microsoft says they are winner titles doesn't make them so. How long has xbox been out? A year or more and there still is only 1 game worth buying for it. And Halo 2 will be the 2nd game. Microsoft save up. Ditch Xbox and move on to Xbox 2, maybe that one will be a winner. If not I'm sure they are already preparing XBox 3 and 4...or XBox 2k2, Xbox XP...
Are any of you intelligent enough to understand that copyrights aren't logical? I think what I'
And you played them all, right?
The quote "This is no ordinary PC-to-console port though, think bigger guns, better characters, more maps and the obligatory mass-carnage, and you're nearly there - this is one to watch! Couple all this with the ability to play online on Xbox Live and you are talking about one seriously frag-happy affair. Prepare yourself, this one is going to be massive." Is hilarious!! My linux box can ALREADY play UT2003 (I don't have to wait for it to "be released"). I also can play online and download and save so many sustom maps that it is silly... I wonder how many custom maps I could store on an "x"box? Actually, I don't wonder.. and don't care.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= - The Celtic - =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I hate to suggest this but after reading the first page(the only page I could get to load) it feels like astroturfing. I mean come on...statements like those quoted above are just weird. It is as if they were told to write something...ANYTHING.
;-)
Who knows? Maybe they are smart enough to understand something that isn't released on the XBox is better than stuff not released on the GC or PS2.
Really? Then how come when the argument is "Linux is utter shit" the response is almost unanimously "You have the source, fix it yourself"? Seems like a double standard to me.
"essentially it's the Tom Clancy take on the stealth genre. It plays a little like Metal Gear Solid, but aims to be more realistic and less arcade-like. There is also less of an emphasis on interruptive story, and the gameplay is extremely compelling."
So its not really anything like MGS is it? They are just invoking MGS's name because it sold boat loads and they're hoping to borrow some hype.
Don't moderate flamebait as Troll. Know the difference or you will be Meta-moderated.
yeah XBOX games rock so much people are sellign them for $5 per game on craigslist.org..
Don't Tread on OpenSource
Microsoft has done a tremendous job in bringing a brand new game console into existence with leading edge graphics. Boostrapping any company or product is no easy thing --- just try it yourself. I commend Microsoft for staying the course and not giving up too early. I hope for bigger and better things from them in this area, including new games and a follow-on game console as well as Internet gaming. Microsoft is one of the few companies that can pull this off and thus give us more options as consumers and more exhilirating game play as gamers.
Then you don't understand the concept of a double standard.
Do you have the source to Halo, allowing you to improve the game to meet your own requirements? No. So whatever makes you think the two should be compared? If he HAD the source to Halo, he would've been told the exact same thing.
I believe they could make a fortune if they released a 3d "Pie Gates" game with network play.
No, a geek would've expressed that number as a binomial formula.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
Microsoft is finding itself in a real pickle with the X-Box. With GTA Vice City coming out very soon its looking to be the next killer app and things weren't helped by Rockstar signing an exclusive deal with Sony. Microsoft needs a strong christmas sales and right now, it doesn't look good.
It doesn't matter how many games it has in development. If XBOX sales slug on by, the marketplace will view it as a turkey. And without any exclusive blockbuster titles, why bother dropping two hundred dollars on it when you can have the same thing with Sony
All that I see on the horizon is Halo 2 which is cool and all. But lets be honest - its just another FPS. It doesn't nearly excite the imagination as GTA. My view - MS is fucked. Playstation 2 just keeps getting stronger. So in the end, when you have an un-used Xbox, why not use it as webserver? What else are you going to do with it?
I have serious doubts about any UK developer being able to beat Square in the pivotal Japanese market. Ridiculous...
kernel.org is DoSed and you people are discussing the fucking XBOX? WHERE ARE YOUR PRIORITIES?!
Its laughable to read what the slashdot drones have to say about the xbox, especially since most of them spouting their mouth have never played one.
I don't like MS much I am an apple addict. Having said that its actually a great systme. The good titles are still few but there are many good titles coming out for x-mas. For those that might want an unbiased view I would say it is worth a look. Plus for those who first person shooters Halo just flat out rocks.
The fact that Nintendo makes interesting games is also surely a factor in their success, but the same could be said about Sega, and they lost the console war. At least they're still producing games.
Sony got lucky. They won the most recent generation of the console war because they beat Nintendo to market and scored Square. They made it easy for developers to make games for the Playstation by providing good C libraries and later on, lower-level access to the machine to let developers squeeze the last bits of goodness out of the machine. The PS2 has a rocky start because developers found it difficult to program for it, but the fact that the PS2 plays PS1 games, and because the PS1 was so successful, they managed to carry forward a lot of the developer support that they had with PS1. The end result is that even though the PS2 is a less powerful machine than the other two major consoles, it's got a much better library. If I had to pick one console to buy, it would be the PS2, if for no other reason than the fact that it's got so many solid titles.
Love or hate Microsoft, they're doing the smart thing to buy developers to secure exclusive titles for XBox. I'm not sure how you can say that MS buys companies and then ruins them -- Halo's a pretty fun game, and I'd have a hard time believing that Rare won't produce some pretty high quality titles in the future. MS is just giving consumers a reason to buy their console, and there's nothing wrong with that. Rare developed games exclusively for Nintendo's machines, and now they're going to turn around and do it for Microsoft. Hardly a big change for them.
The real reason why MS is a "smaller player" is simply the fact that there are a lot of console bigots out there. Generally speaking, console users have strong loyalties. Nintendo's been around for ages. Sony proved themselves with Playstation. Now Microsoft has to prove that the XBox is a viable platform.
The final opinion that I'd like to voice is the fact that title exclusivity is a *good* thing. For console manufacturers, exclusivity gives consumers a clear reason to buy their machine over all the others that are available. The fact that the Playstation got Final Fantasy VII was a non-trivial factor in its early success. If you're a Mario fan, there's one console that you need to buy: Gamecube. If you were a sports game fan in the 16-bit days, Genesis was the way to go. When you haven't got exclusivity, you have chaos. It vexes me when I buy a game (Soccer Slam for Gamecube is an example) that I play and enjoy, and then a few months later, another version of the game, with more bells and whistles, is released for a different console (in this example, the XBox). The differences between the two versions aren't significant enough to warrant buying the game for both consoles, but nevertheless, I would still enjoy those extra goodies, small though they may be.
If you buy an xbox, you feed the Beast.
Dont'feed the beast.
Don't buy an xbox
Any X-Box discussion always includes the obligatory Halo fanboyism so let's just get it out of the way now:
HALO IS GREAT! HALO IS GOD! HALO CHANGES EVERYTHING! IF YOU DON'T LIKE HALO THEN YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED IT AND YOU SUCK!
With that out of the way let me just say that FPS games were never meant for stupid thumb controllers. Halo doesn't do anything new. Vehicles? Yawn. I could boot around on a snowmobile or boat in Tomb Raider II. Gets old quick. Multiplayer? HAHAHAH nothing like a FPS reduced to postage-stamp size, divided into quadrants on an already low-res TV screen. Yep, real "evolved" game there, Bungie. But don't let that stop the fanboys from raving about it. Super-duper graphics? Um, yah...I'm pretty sure my Voodoo1 can do a great job at low-res NTSC resolution. XBOX? Not impressed in the slightest.
But hey, Microsoft will just continue buying out game developers to make games for their crappy VCR-sized PC-in-a-box. First Bungie, now Rare and what's this? The rumours on the net say CAPCOM is next. That's right Microsoft, just keep buying EVERYTHING up. If you can't win on merit, just buy it all.
Can't wait for the next 1984-esque console market crash. History repeats and I'm gonna have front row seats when it happens again. Where's Jack Trameil & Nolan Bushnell when you need them?
...Microsoft also reveled in the number of other potential AAA titles confirmed at the show:
help fill in hidden movie endings @ End of the Credits
whiel i just ebayed my gamecube after ebaying all my retarded gamecube games and decided to keep.... AN XBOX..
you are retards, your view of quality is not the same as everyone else's.
MS may now buy Capcom
The rumors of Capcom's death are just that, Rumors. They have not said anything about selling, only that they made some poor investments and are -- well -- hurting. But this doesn't many anything.
Also keep in mind that Capcom and Microsoft have no real prior working relationship, whil Capcom and Nintendo have a VERY SOLID working relationship.
Capcom has been doing much of their recent work on the Gamecube. Capcom even created the most recent two Zelda titles for the Gameboy (Ages and Seasons).
If Nintendo were trying to appeal more to an adult market, the aquisition of Capcom would be wise. The only reason one might doubt Nintendo's intentions of doing this would be that Nintendo has made a recent shift away from 2nd party developers and seems to be working towards developing stronger 3rd party ties, as well as focusing on in-house developement.
It's also important to point out that the RARE sale comes after some of the best talent have decided to leave (supposedly). Nintendo may have sold a company past it's prime. Microsoft either doesn't know this, or they simply want the name and don't care about the company's talent.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
In the real world, moving to another development platform (and making wise business decisions) does not make you a "traitor," you bitter, little man you.
Sony did not buy out Square. Square decided to make games exclusively for the Playstation because they preferred the console's CD-based format over Nintendo's cartridges and because Sega was hardly a player with the Saturn being so far behind in the console war.
Honestly, Microsoft fanboys are the ones most excited about the idea of the makers of their favourite console buying out other companies. Other game console fanboys typically aren't as interested in Nintendo or Sony completely taking over interesting game companies while on XBox forums fanboys drool at speculation that MS might buy out Capcom.
Don't get me wrong. Every console has its share of fanboys (I saw on a PS2 forum some moron saying that Sony should require PS2 developers to not develop games for any other console -- ie, engage in the exact same anti-trust behaviour that got Nintendo into lots of trouble many years ago), but Microsoft's are the most die-hard in their interest in their console becoming an outright monopoly.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
Our chief feature is Surprise! Surprise and fear ... fear and surprise ... Our _two_ features are surprise and fear. And ruthless aquisition of real game companies. Our *three* products are Surprise, Fear and Ruthless Aquisition. ... and an almost usable Linux platform...
[...]
NOOOOObody expects the Microsoft XBox. Amongst our products are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, rutheless aquisition of real game companies, an almost useable Linux platform, and a new controller that fits normal hands...
You're forgetting that Microsoft isn't in the console market to have the most popular console: they're in the market to strangle Sony to death.
Microsoft wants to kill Sony's PlayStation before it becomes an internet platform. If people can start to access the internet, write documents online, this affects Microsoft's core business: its sales of Office, Windows, et cetera.
this is bull. if you remember correctly, MS was targetting Sony to destroy, building up hype that it was the next big thing. since they can't do it, they decided to target nintendo instead, and the results is they are ahead marginally in the US and lost everywhere else. And they still consider to be OK? hello M$?! Wake up, you are losing the console wars. M$ obviously is using this show to hype up titles like "ours is the best", "gazillion titles by next year" when in fact they're having a hard time supporting themselves. Heres my advise: Ignore M$ and their hype, look at console-war from an unbiased perspective and you'll see, overall, M$ is losing. this is the reason why i'm not buying an Xbox (ever) because it is M$ and anything M$ is bad for the industry.
Title exclusivity is good for the console manufacturer, not the console buyer. I don't think anyone would argue with the first part of that: obviously, that is why MS and others buy up the companies or otherwise restrict them. But it would appear that you are saying console exlusivity is good for the consumer, which seems like utter bollocks to me. You get much greater free market pressure which tend to lower consumer costs if the things in the market are able to compete in all aspects. If only one manufacturer makes a particular console, then for that narrowly defined market, you have no competition, no free market, etc.
As far as the different versions go, what if this soccer game was only made for your console, then they never came out with a better version for the X-Box. How would that be any different for you? None, in the final summation.
XML causes global warming.
Now who gets to change the rules? The owner of course.
It's a well known fact Bill Gates is a Game player.
Ever wonder what game he was playing that he got off of
the anti-trust suit, with only a slap on the hand and told
not to do it again?
Do you really want to buy games from a cheater?
t sounds like you haven't even played an X-Box...don't let that ruin your pointless troll though.
>
>
Who cares? When the CrapBox gets something that can remotely compare to "Devil May Cry" I&II get back to us.
I somewhat agree. I, personally, like the gamecube better. It has some great games (though too few as of yet). The one thing I don't like about this N generation is what they've done to Zelda. Is what they did to it back on the n64 not bad enough? Now, it's just all lost.
I can see N's point-of-view though. It's trying to market for the younger kids. But, remember, the original Zelda players are now starting to turn 20-30 (appearing on the NES in 1987 (which I still have!)). I believe that their biggest market for a new Zelda would be for the people who are looking for some nostalgia in a new Zelda. This cel-shaded Zelda just doesn't look all that good. As an orignal Zelda player, I'm rather appalled.
Another big boost in N's gamecube, is it's graphics. While I'm more than willing to sacrafice graphics for gameplay, you don't really have to for the gamecube. Resident Evil has some great graphics (the lighting astounds me in places (like in the tilted hallway with the swinging light in the next room), and doesn't take away from gameplay. Luigi's Mansion, while I've only played a little way through, looked really good.
I was rather dissappointed in the XBox. It's very finicky about games that you put in it. It'll play just fine for a while, then just stop saying that the disc isn't a game disc. Other than that, there isn't much else wrong with it. But, the gamecube does have it's quirks. I accidentally left it on over night and stopped working. It'd play for about 5 minutes and then ask you to insert a game disc.
Are you telling me that you don't see the connection between government and laughing at people? - Interviewer
You wouldn't get hundreds of "M$ sucks" messages in response to either of those, so god knows how would that qualify as a worthy /. story... ;)
yeah. remember when SNES had the all-exclusive Street Fighter 2 (which single-handedly sold a million SNES's)? Then 6 months later, it was out on Genesis! (Good thing it sucked on the Genesis though...)
Get Eternal Darkness. It's awesome. The game fucks with your head.
Jaysyn
There is a war going on for your mind.
Unfortunately, like many other products, its presence on the market hinders the availability and viability of other unique and competitive products like Flight Unlimited.
OK... So why don't you use Flight Unlimited instead of Flight Simulator?
Microsoft does want Rare... They have their own developers, who are more familiar with their platform. They also have their own politics and big-wigs.
Microsoft wants Donkey Kong (TM), Golden Eye (TM), and RC Pro-Am (TM). If MS bought Sega, do you think it would be for their mad skillz on the Dreamcast platform or for Sonic (TM)?
I liked Devil May Cry better the first time I played it..... When it was called Medievil on PSX!
And I'm sure that's not even the original incarnation of that game. The gameplay depth in DMC is at about the same level as Pac-Man. See monster, run around and mash the button till it's dead.. Wow. Graphics are the only thing that game has going for it. It's unfortunate that most people just associate flash-in-the-pan with "good gameplay".
I want a game that let's me control the movie of Steve Ballmer going crazy and yelling at his crowd in some convention. I wanna make him do 80's breakdancing and the robot.
The reason Nintendo's still around is because they had a lot of momentum from the Super Nintendo. If it weren't for the Game Boy and Pokemon, they may not have survived past the N64.
Yes, you're right on that one, but you forget one thing. The Gameboy and Pokemon weren't just "good sellers." They WERE ENORMOUS SELLERS. There is a distinction. Certain titles will always keep 'Tendo on the float, and they'll keep floating until the next Pokemon comes along. Also, keep in mind that the portables market is theirs, and its huuuuge. Totally wrapped up. Forget trying to even get into it. They own it. That is an 800 pound Gorilla.
Admittedly, I like the idea of an X-Box. I am not a snob, I see the titles that are coming out. But at the end of the day my wife loves MARIO. So we got a gamecube. I have not even put more than three games in it yet. Mario rocks too hard to not love it, and it has hardly left the machine. Simply put, my wife, not unlike most parents with their children, TRUST NINTENDO to send them many fun games without the blood splatter... it is a DUAL PURCHASE. I was buying for more than just me. In that situation, Nintendo usually wins over the others.
Since I work in radio, I instantly thought Triple A (Album Adult Alternative) radio format -- suddenly I pictured a first person shooter, with Kenny G as the protagonist...
It could be the game that breaks things wide open for the X-Box. Really.
mstyne: real name, no gimmicks
You've gotta be kidding, right? The Genesis version was way better! The only thing that really sucked on the Genesis version was the sound.. God it was horrible. But the game just played better..
Since my X-box can play PS and PS2 games (thanks to hacking) better then my PS2 can
The X box can emulate all four processors in a PS2. Yeah, right, no GT3 for you - lamer.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
The page cannot be displayed
-=Lothsahn=-
do you read the news? Squaresoft is releasing FF based games for *both* the gamecube AND GB advance. FFXI is going to have a PC version; FFVII, which was the first square "hit" game for playstation, was also released for PC; FFVIII was as well -- and then they spent all the money (and lost it all) on the movie and 9 / 10 was never ported. hey, seems like a bit better than what Bungie is doing, eh?
My life in the land of the rising sun.
They can't have Donkey Kong. And they can trade all the talking paperclips all day for it.
It is owned by 'Tendo.
Although Clipit Adventures (TM) for the X-Box I hear is going to be very exciting.
This is a distillation of what I have heard all through the postings:
...personally after all of the money my relatives have spent buying me crappy MS games for Christmas and not knowing any better, I wish them nothing but the worst shopping season EVER for them.
"Whatever you do, don't get labelled as a turkey. If you do, you're dead in the water, and no amount of good games will get you out of that funk. Having no class A titles will get you labelled as a turkey. After that point, no amount of great games coming out later will get you out of that pit."
Methinks that MS is on a rampage to buy its way out of turkeydom. Sony and Nintendo all have games that make you want to go to a friends house and play them. So they are safe. MS really doesn't as of yet except for a FPS named Halo... but then again I own a LOAD of FPS games.
You can see the video here: ftp://209.164.21.30/pub/misc/rare_sequence.mov
-Lucas
That's nice. However, that isn't the article linked in the story.
Mod it. Really. Buy all the games you want, but copy them to the hard drive. Your backups dont get scratched, no finicky disks, and Halo loads like 3-4 times faster. Homebrew is a pain in the ass, but costs less than 5 bucks, well worth the time and effort.
In the beginning, I was telling everybody I know NOT to buy this video game console because it is made by the most evil people on Earth. Then, someone told me that those very same evil people LOSE money on each video game console sold, in the hopes of making it up several times over in sales of video games for the aforementioned machine. Now, suddenly, I think it is a decidedly wonderful idea to buy this product, on one condition--that one does not purchase any video games to go along with it. As a matter of fact, I am now suggesting to everybody that I know that instead of spending two grand on a shiny new computer, they can spend the same amount of money and obtain, oh, six or seven of this machine, onto which they can install and run alternative software, while also doing a good deed by helping to erode the market of the evildoers who manufacture the device to begin with. It is now my firm belief that if an enormous number of good people bought one of these devices every, say, two or three months, then the evildoers can be forced to stop making it altogether, since they cannot possibly force anybody NOT to buy their product, right? Furthermore, any devices built with the intent of protecting the unit from modification can be worked around. So this is a good deal for the whole world.
Again, no one was saying it was easy. But for over $50 for a single product, I sure as hell want to hear if it's actually crap or not. Just because it's 'not easy' to make a game is no reason to go easy on people who are trying to rip you off with a crap one. Pointing out that something is crap is not hypocrisy.
Linux is provided to you for free, with the source code. It is not custom-tailored for each and every person who wants to use it. Pointing out that something was free and as such is not custom tailored to your own preferences is not hypocrisy either.
So you don't understand hypocrisy OR double standards?
It's boring to hear the MS shills come online time after time trying to put a shine on a corpse. Move on....
Nice FUD. MS had nothing to do with the design direction of Halo, only that it would come out on XBox first. See http://www.planetxbox.com/features/diary/halo/0514 01/
'he' is paid to come on here and spin the conversation, and you bought it.
[formkey] ms_shill_detect [/formkey]
It was supposed to be a MMOFPS that is a lot like what PLANETSIDE is looking to be. MicroSoft bought them out, made them cancel the original concept, cancel the PC developement, and make a crappy CONSOLE FPS .. yay..
The article talks about the following games:
1) Halo 2 (mentions only)
2) B.C.
3) Fable (was Project Ego)
4) Knights of the Old Republic (mentions only)
5) Splinter Cell
6) Sudeki
7) Steel Battalion
8) Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (mentions only)
Personally I'm unimpressed. KotOR and Slinter Cell will be out for PC, so they won't help Xbox sales much. Of the others, well Steel Battalion is way expensive ($250?), and MGS2 is ancient history. Sudeki looks interesting but is a year off (e.g. no one's buying an Xbox for that).
Fable is a rather stupid name, and there already was a terrible game a few years ago also named Fable. It should be a good game but again, no reason to buy an Xbox now. B.C. looks slightly interesting but no system seller.
So after all the blathering is done, we're left with Fable, Sudeki and Halo 2 as the only attractions that are both unique and mainstream, and they're all a fair ways off from release anyway. (Halo 2 is gonna basically be like Halo 1 also). I'd rather be in Nintendo's shoes about now. Metroid and Zelda and 300+ million of Microsoft's dollars from Rare, and a cheaper console to boot. Halo remains the only system seller for Xbox, and it's coming for PC next summer.
When they could just buy a real micro PC for even cheaper..
...so... your interests lie in vapor ware and marketing hype. You must be a ms shill. Look! A rock....climb under, quick...hide shill, hide.
wish I could mod you up :-(
Oh.. they're not on the XBox? Well that sucks .. Why would I want to buy one when they don't even have a single Final Fantasy game? Silly MicroSoft, Consoles are for kids!
Now, returning to the actual facts: By my reckoning, after MS bought Bungie the first product released was the most critically acclaimed title on any platform last year. You'll forgive me if I don't really see that as evidence for MS 'ruining' the company.
One of the biggest reasons Sony had so many more games coming out for PSX than Nintendo did for the N64 was that it was easier, and much cheaper, to obtain a PSX dev kit and license, than a dev kit and license from Nintendo.
So... Sony enticed devlopers to make PSX games by making it cheaper and easier and having the functionality the developers wanted... And Microsoft got developers by buying out the companies...
Please explain to me how these are the same tactics.
Shoot Pixels, Not People!
What's wrong with that?
Very different dynamics.
Microsoft has done a crappy job. It's true, and I put it down to management. The folks at the top at MS are not in touch with the market the way Sony and Nintendo are. This is unsurprising given each company's history. Microsoft is in a position where
a) Their console's graphics aren't good enough. Sure they're good, but they're in the same ballpark with PS2 and Gamecube so being a bit better on just a couple games ain't helping.
b) Their console costs a bunch more than PS2 or Gamecube to produce.
c) They are spending money on internet gaming for Xbox that is not going to take off anytime soon. It didn't work for Sega either. Mass-scale broadband is not a reality yet.
d) They have only one system selling game (Halo). They should have bought Rockstar and gotten GTA3 from the beginning, buying Rare now is too little, too late and Rare makes the wrong style of game for the Xbox target market!
Microsoft is totally floundering. I think it's sad actually.
Maybe "officially", but did you ever bother to look at the front of the PS2? Yup, those are USB ports. IIRC, Quake 3 on PS2 supports USB keyboard and mouse. I won't even get into the whole holy war war of "kb+mouse" vs. "gamepad".
Which isn't much of an RPG. Which also won't be out for another couple of months. All of which ignores the fact that you're making this up. The Final Fantasy series is always popular... oh wait, you address this later:
First of all, I think you meant Squaresoft. Square EA is a strategic alliance for distribution. Now, to address your other "point", FFX was hardly a failure. Furthermore, any rumor of Square cancelling FFXII is just a rumor, and probably spread by anti-Square fanboys. Any rumor of Square cancelling FFXI is pure nonsense spread by anti-Square fanboys.
Racing games? Gran Turismo 3 is the defining game of the genre. I don't get into it myself, but it's the gold standard.
Now I know you're huffing paint. PSX emulation on X-Box could in theory be roughly as good as on PC given the hardware platform. Assuming you've modded it to boot non-standard CDs, natch. But PS2 games? Riiiiiiight. Because it's trivial to emulate a complex multiprocessor system on a P3 700.
The Playstation sucks so bad, it's "underpowered" and STILL outselling GCN and X-Box...
1. The controller and console are heavy in a truly aerobic fashion.
2. Games are priced right where kids can afford them if you don't miss a kidney.
3. If you promise to buy 3 1st party games inside your first year, Bill Gates will send you to college.
4. Large, boring game environments encourage outside play.
5. Underdeveloped countries have already discovered the X-Box's invaluable use as a cheap space heater for entire villages.
6. Trying to remember the point of Munch's Odyssey or Halo helps improve long-term memory skills.
7. Ballmer the Hedgehog.
8. Worthless guts can be taken out of the X-Box to convert it into a two-story playhouse complete with green skylight.
9. Billchanger on front works even on old wrinkled fives.
10. Nobody goes blind from SLEEPING in front of the TV too long.
Windows XP SP2 told me to install third-party software that prevents viruses and protects stability... I chose Ubuntu
yeah, summer as in almost a year from now.....2 years after its initial release...so what? by then nobody will really care anyway, its just not going to be the same, especially since its probably going to be just a port, and not the pc game that was originally intended by bungie (massively multiplayer)
im still so bitter about that whole thing. i was so psyched about halo since i saw it in pc gamer magazine as one of their "5 games that revolutionize pc games". i kept up on bungie, frequently checking their site until that dreadful day i found out that microsoft had aquired them. damn! it was supposed to be such a cool game!
Gentlemen...BEHOLD!
-Dr. Weird
So the graphics are a bit cleaner when there is more junk on the screen, big deal. I'll take a PS 2 or a Gameboy Advance instead.
We all know that Sony will be #1 this Christmas. It should be clear that XBox will be #3. Why? Because the one possible AAA title mentioned above is not going to come close to the demand for The Legend of Zelda or Metroid Prime. Two of the most anticipated games ever in the history of games. That means there is no way in hell XBox can beat Gamecube this Christmas.
I have all 3 so I don't care which one wins. I just want to play the best games. This Christmas it's clear they will not be on XBox. Maybe next year.
In the past, one of the main things MS fans would spout off about was how MS had more software than any other computer platform. Now, when the shoe is on the other foot, and Sony has all the [game] software, they seem to ignore that diatribe and wish us to look to the horizon....just wait, they say. Why are things so different, now, or are they simply human after all?
I'd like all the supposed MS supporters to think about this next time they defend bill and the xbox.
Dear MS Shill:
Please pass the koolaid.
The Xbox's best game is going to be Midtown Madness 3. I really hope they port this to the PC!
You're wrong man, the SNES version was inferior to the Genesis version, i still remember as it was the game i bought with my SNES. I spend 69 on that damn cartridge. The Genesis looked more solid and played faster.
Pretty good troll. Enough misinformation to fool less experienced readers. And of course, mocking any console, especially the most popular one on the market, is sure to get some lamers all riled up.
had ms not bought bungie the game would have been out on every other system too.
so in a sense, ms did ruin bungie and it's games and had no merit in making the game, just merit in limiting the game.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
'Street Fighter II' came out on the SNES.
A year and a half later, 'Steet Fighter II: Special Championship Editon' was released on the Mega Drive/Genesis. At the same time, 'Street Fighter II Turbo' was released on the SNES.
The two games were virtually identical, except for the fact the SNES version looked better (SNES can have more colours on-screen at a time), and sounded better (SNES has a better DSP chip).
Now, move along. The Super Nintendo was always the console to own for Street Fighter II.
All this blind hatred toward a freakin software maker for what? NEWSFLASH: The majority of successful corparations didn't get to where they were by being nice and honest. It's business, the point is to be successful. I know it sucks, but it's true. Now, about these asinine posts about how the xbox doesn't have any games worth playing. I get the feeling that most of these posters haven't even played an xbox game more than ten minutes, if at all. And it looks as though most of the actual Xbox owners (like myself) have givin up trying to defend it in such a blatantly biased community, and passed it up. I own an Xbox, and there a many games that are great for it besides Halo. Halo isn't even my favorite. I do agree that FPS's on a console tend to suck, but they've done an incredible job of making it very playable. That big ugly controller everyone keeps referring to happens to be the best suited to play FPS games (and yes, I play CS religously, and it still doesn't compare to the control, but it's a huge leap foward from any other FPS on a console period.) Another great game that deserves an honorable mention is Rallisport Challenge, THE best racing game ever produced (and I hate racing games). Awesome graphics and the best control of any one I've played. I emplore (?) you to check this game out, you won't be dissappointed. More great games: SSX Tricky (a port, but it doesn't mean it's not fun) DOA3 (a nice time killer) Dead to Rights (Almost got it beat) Hunter: The Reckoning (Tons better when you're playing with 3 friends) HALO (oldie but goodie Outlaw Golf (All around fun game) Robotech (released on all systems, but at least it looks better :)
and those are just the ones I know about, I haven't played them all.
There are a lot of good looking games coming out for it as well, beside the ones mentioned in this article. Duality, Crimson Skies, Whacked, Kung Fu...er.something or other, Mechwarrior, Blinx, and so on. (and just to clarify, Steel Battalion is not $250, it's the option controller that costs so much. A fully functional replica of the cockpit of a mech isn't a cheap thing to make. It can be played with a regular controller, it's most available for the die hard mech fans.
I'm not going to say that every game on the Xbox is golden, it does have it's share of crap titles, but it goes with the console territory. I believe it's doing a great job considering it's MS's first console, and it's not even a year old. Someone name some PS2 titles that were not franchises that came out on it within a year. Notwithstanding that they already have experience in making consoles.
I know this post isn't going to change everyone's mind about the Xbox, just try to tone the childish, mindless bashing of something just because it's made by an evil corporation (as opposed to a good corporation). It's a game console, not a murderer. Enjoy the games coming out on it, enjoy the competition it's creating. Every thing has it's good points and bad,
I mean, last time I checked, you played the games, not the console.
(p.s. people stopped laughing at the BSOD on the Xbox bit about a year before it was out. Talk about beating a dead horse.)
Thanks for reading, and try to be a bit more open minded about these things and enjoy them for once.
Not noticing the drop down menu when you submit your fist post to slashdot :)
Here's a more readable format if anyone actually wants to read it:
All this blind hatred toward a freakin software maker for what? NEWSFLASH: The majority of successful corparations didn't get to where they were by being nice and honest. It's business, the point is to be successful. I know it sucks, but it's true.
Now, about these asinine posts about how the xbox doesn't have any games worth playing. I get the feeling that most of these posters haven't even played an xbox game more than ten minutes, if at all. And it looks as though most of the actual Xbox owners (like myself) have givin up trying to defend it in such a blatantly biased community, and passed it up.
I own an Xbox, and there a many games that are great for it besides Halo. Halo isn't even my favorite. I do agree that FPS's on a console tend to suck, but they've done an incredible job of making it very playable. That big ugly controller everyone keeps referring to happens to be the best suited to play FPS games (and yes, I play CS religously, and it still doesn't compare to the control, but it's a huge leap foward from any other FPS on a console period.)
Another great game that deserves an honorable mention is Rallisport Challenge, THE best racing game ever produced (and I hate racing games). Awesome graphics and the best control of any one I've played. I emplore (?) you to check this game out, you won't be dissappointed.
More great games:
SSX Tricky (a port, but it doesn't mean it's not fun)
DOA3 (a nice time killer)
Dead to Rights (Almost got it beat)
Hunter: The Reckoning (Tons better when you're playing with 3 friends)
HALO (oldie but goodie
Outlaw Golf (All around fun game)
Robotech (released on all systems, but at least it looks better :)
and those are just the ones I know about, I haven't played them all.
There are a lot of good looking games coming out for it as well, beside the ones mentioned in this article. Duality, Crimson Skies, Whacked, Kung Fu...er.something or other, Mechwarrior, Blinx, and so on. (and just to clarify, Steel Battalion is not $250, it's the option controller that costs so much. A fully functional replica of the cockpit of a mech isn't a cheap thing to make. It can be played with a regular controller, it's most available for the die hard mech fans.
I'm not going to say that every game on the Xbox is golden, it does have it's share of crap titles, but it goes with the console territory. I believe it's doing a great job considering it's MS's first console, and it's not even a year old. Someone name some PS2 titles that were not franchises that came out on it within a year. Notwithstanding that they already have experience in making consoles.
I know this post isn't going to change everyone's mind about the Xbox, just try to tone the childish, mindless bashing of something just because it's made by an evil corporation (as opposed to a good corporation). It's a game console, not a murderer. Enjoy the games coming out on it, enjoy the competition it's creating. Every thing has it's good points and bad,
I mean, last time I checked, you played the games, not the console.
(p.s. people stopped laughing at the BSOD on the Xbox bit about a year before it was out. Talk about beating a dead horse.)
Thanks for reading, and try to be a bit more open minded about these things and enjoy them for once.
Oh man, I know my games, but posting isn't my forte'
Third time's a charm:
All this blind hatred toward a freakin software maker for what? NEWSFLASH: The majority of successful corparations didn't get to where they were by being nice and honest. It's business, the point is to be successful. I know it sucks, but it's true.
Now, about these asinine posts about how the xbox doesn't have any games worth playing. I get the feeling that most of these posters haven't even played an xbox game more than ten minutes, if at all. And it looks as though most of the actual Xbox owners (like myself) have givin up trying to defend it in such a blatantly biased community, and passed it up.
I own an Xbox, and there a many games that are great for it besides Halo. Halo isn't even my favorite. I do agree that FPS's on a console tend to suck, but they've done an incredible job of making it very playable. That big ugly controller everyone keeps referring to happens to be the best suited to play FPS games (and yes, I play CS religously, and it still doesn't compare to the control, but it's a huge leap foward from any other FPS on a console period.)
Another great game that deserves an honorable mention is Rallisport Challenge, THE best racing game ever produced (and I hate racing games). Awesome graphics and the best control of any one I've played. I emplore (?) you to check this game out, you won't be dissappointed.
More great games:
SSX Tricky (a port, but it doesn't mean it's not fun)
DOA3 (a nice time killer)
Dead to Rights (Almost got it beat)
Hunter: The Reckoning (Tons better when you're playing with 3 friends)
HALO (oldie but goodie
Outlaw Golf (All around fun game)
Robotech (released on all systems, but at least it looks better
and those are just the ones I know about, I haven't played them all.
There are a lot of good looking games coming out for it as well, beside the ones mentioned in this article. Duality, Crimson Skies, Whacked, Kung Fu...er.something or other, Mechwarrior, Blinx, and so on. (and just to clarify, Steel Battalion is not $250, it's the option controller that costs so much. A fully functional replica of the cockpit of a mech isn't a cheap thing to make. It can be played with a regular controller, it's most available for the die hard mech fans.
I'm not going to say that every game on the Xbox is golden, it does have it's share of crap titles, but it goes with the console territory. I believe it's doing a great job considering it's MS's first console, and it's not even a year old. Someone name some PS2 titles that were not franchises that came out on it within a year. Notwithstanding that they already have experience in making consoles.
I know this post isn't going to change everyone's mind about the Xbox, just try to tone the childish, mindless bashing of something just because it's made by an evil corporation (as opposed to a good corporation). It's a game console, not a murderer. Enjoy the games coming out on it, enjoy the competition it's creating. Every thing has it's good points and bad,
I mean, last time I checked, you played the games, not the console.
(p.s. people stopped laughing at the BSOD on the Xbox bit about a year before it was out. Talk about beating a dead horse.)
Thanks for reading, and try to be a bit more open minded about these things and enjoy them for once.
The reasion that the XBOX is dieing are the sole fault of M$ and do not have anything to do with people developing for it,
Firstly, The thing is really badly designed, from the oversized controller (surpassed only by the dreamcasts in its crapness) to the brilliant idea of using off the shelf parts negating any possible improvements in production technology
Secondly, The total failure to do anything "innovative", People are not going to buy some thing which is exactly the same as the competition, for example imagine where nintendo would be today if they hadn't started doing kiddie games in response to the PSX. You don't attack your enemy on their home turf it's common sense
Thirdly, a total ignorace of the market, right now M$ are spending millions on XBOX live an online inituative to create a virtual disney land, WHY? any twelve year old can tell you that multiplayer on a console means having your friends around for a round of tekken tag, not being owned by some bot weilding script kiddie on the other side of the planet, at best your looking at someone porting evercrack for people desperate enough to pay $30 a month and sony are already well ahead in that department.
Microsoft can buy all the software companies they what, Bungie, Rare, Capcom etc, to secure all the exclusives they what, it ain't going to make a lick of difference unless they solve these problems first, fix the controller, create some new innovative game along the lines of the Sims or what GT1 was, and not treat their marketplace the same way they treat people who buy computers (lame oversized 2 joystick, 3 pedal setups only work with flight sim nuts and they are going to stay on PC's)
The XBOX hasn't got a problem with being labled a turkey it was a turkey when it was released almost a year ago, and the only way to cure a turkey is to shoot it.
Pianist : Some jerk whos taught themselves how to type in rhythm
1) You have the option of getting a smaller controller, but I prefer the original one.
2) As an XBox Live beta tester, I can say that it's the greatest thing to happen to consoles since Mario.
The real problem with the post is LACK of evidence to support that M$ HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DESIGN OF THE GAME!
Yeah and the market for selling add on to consoles is so hugh, thats like saying if ford can't make a decent steering wheel, then it is up to the owner to fix it instead of buying a volvo, face it consoles are defined by their controller, it is the one thing that you have to get right when designing a console, and the fact M$ screwed up demonstrates how out of touch with the market they are.
2) As an XBox Live beta tester, I can say that it's the greatest thing to happen to consoles since Mario.
Still have to sell it to the masses and it ain't going to work, consoles aint computers, most people will lose you after then you log on and wait around for someone to play, besides this types of things where tryed on the PC like mplayer years ago and where are they today? hell where the hell is M$ gaming Zone?, everyone just uses gamespy.
Pianist : Some jerk whos taught themselves how to type in rhythm
I have a friend who bought an Xbox and it stopped working after 5 months. He was told it would be at least $200 to fix it and apparently this is quite common.
Either find a reseller who's willing to warranty it for a year themselves or don't bother buying one, you've been warned.
...your gaming fees when MS sells you time on your own console, once a month, like putting dollar bills into an arcade machine.
Enjoy your wait, while MS turns like a tugboat into the wind and you face the horizon, looking on wonder at the hint of the next big thing. Stop saying "there are alot of (somethings) coming out soon..." - This is now, and what else can you say, but, 'it has good graphics'. What happened to the mantra about how a MS OS box is best, because it has more software than any other platform. When the xb lacks the same attribute, and you don't seem to mind...? Goes w/the console territory? Why settle for crap? I don't understand your desire to bend over for MS, sorry.
Enjoy the feel of an oversized controller.
Enjoy the doubt that creeps in when everyone else is using a PS2 and you're left cheering an also ran. You accuse blindness, but fail to see the truth.
I own PlayStations...one is a fully chipped PS1 and the other is a J version PS2. Slim, trim and so much software I've got titles I haven't even had time to unwrap. But then where I live, they are kept under the counter and they sell for $4.50. I can play many of them on my Mac, G4, as well. What a world. And MS isn't part of it.
X-Box might be a nice console, frankly I don't know. I do not own any of them. I have played on a PS ONE once, it was kinda fun. I only know that I have spend more than $2000,- on my PC. So why bother to buy a game console for playing games? It would cost me MORE money, since I can also play games on my PC i'll stick to that. Plus: I read that some people prefer a keyboard to play with. I have a Logitech Wingman for my games but I never use it. I play Ghost Recon, Delta Force Land Warrior and games like it. You can not play with anything else BUT with a keyboard when playing those games... (but that is just my opinion). I once read an interview with the best Quake (1 a that time) in the Netherlands. He used you hands on a keyboard and didn't use a mouse. His left hand was for server side commands and his right for client side... let's see that on a console :)
If Micro$oft really wants to secure the X-Box's place as a dominant contender in the consol wars, and they're willing to throw around obscene ammounts of money to do so, which they obviously are, then I think the one purchase that would do that, all by itself, would be Square. I promise you, if M$ bought Square, that would convince 50% of all PS2 owners that they NEED an X-Box.
Property is theft.
"Now, if Nintendo announced they are going to shift away from younger gamers and target the 18+ crowd, I'm sure that would get posted here as well."
Just because I'm over the age of 18, doesn't mean I suddenly stop enjoying the games I used to enjoy. Fun is fun, regardless of age. Have you even tried Animal Crossing yet? Super Monkey Ball?
Plus, I'm more than tickled about the Resident Evil remixes for the Gamecube (more than enough to keep my hair on end for a looong time), as well as the fantastic Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requim. But maybe you skipped those because you were too busy getting NFL $YEAR or NBA $YEAR for the Xbox.
They (Nintendo) are targetting people who want to have fun, not just the usual beer-swilling football/hockey/soccer/$sports over 18 game players. As Martha might say, that's a Good Thing (TM).
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Wow, a person that recieved a modding for actual intelligence and not some assnine XBox joke... I had to have been scrolling down this page for what, five minutes before I came saw it. But seriously, you're both right-- Nintendo is running on inertia, but it's the inertia of one of those Armaggedon sized asteroids. I do part company on Pokemon, however. I can see sometime in the near future it running it's course and passing like the fad it is. Of course it was a fad akin to strapping an ICBM to ones back, but hey... Mario will keep em alive until the next big franchise, even if 'N' is losing ground on it's home turf. Nintendo will stick around... If only because it's always popular somewhere.
So your argument is that Microsoft didin't "ruin" the game by causing it to be changed from a MMORPG to a FPS?
From the article you linked to at http://www.planetxbox.com/features/diary/halo/0514 01/:
Microsoft offered to acquire us and make us one of its internal development studios for the XBox. [....] The decision to move to Microsoft and work on the Xbox lead to one more decision, to focus more on the solo-player campaign than we had previously planned.
So Microsoft buys out the company, and then the company has to release their new game to the XBox. The XBox doesn't support MMORPGs so they have to switch it to FPS. In other words, if you admit that Microsoft stipulated "only that it would come out on XBox first", the implication is that Microsoft made Halo *not* be a MMORPG.
"We already know that the PS2 and GameCube have awesome games."
Noooooo... Nintendo has a handful of awesome games on the Cube. In fact, I'd say the only thing that gives them the edge at this point is their name and older than dirt game franchises like Mario and Zelda. In the battle for second, it's seems more about name brand recognition to me than anything else. I think if you were to give the XBox the same amount of visibility from years experience, you'd about have a tie or better, given the hardware.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
It seems that this has usually been their strategy with new products. Simply plug away at them as they get progressively better, combined with some nice market leverage. I wonder if in 3 years Nintendo and Sony will still be smiling. This is almost exactly how the Office story played out.
First, I own an Xbox. Burn me at the stake. That said, I think it's a tad to late to stop Sony's rampage short of fielding 100% par excellent titles at an alarming rate. Sony has excellent name brand recognition and have used their experience to build some excellent franchises. The sheer number of games they've had flowing into the system nearly guarantees a crop of good titles sprinkled here and their. It got off to a slow start, but it's seriously cooking now. Give the XBox franchise another generation (the X2?) and i think you'll see a force to be reckoned with, but as it stands now, building a solid foundation with this system is probably the primary goal for now. Sony is entrenched and it's good. The XBox will provide MS with much needed battle experience, even if it doesn't "win" this round of the console wars.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
>The Stamper brothers were present, but did not
>speak - probably too stunned by the fact that
>they're now stinking rich
Shouldn't that be "probably stunned by being even more stinky rich than the stinkingly rich level of stinky richness they achieved 20 years ago".
Said Chris "Jeez! I didn't think we could actually make anymore money than we already had!".
Tim said "WOW! We only write 1 game a year".
On a final note Chris was heard to say "WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"None of this shit works" -W.Shatner
I only had to get 10 words into your comment to realize you didn't really have anything useful or to say, as denoted by the "M$". Nothing like screeming "I'm a biased retarded fan-boy!! M$ sux!" in the very first sentence.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
That is, the two games within the world of the movie "A.I." that were supposed to be out at the Xbox launch, but disappeared? They were going to be made by the Dreamworks game affiliate, but now I just get fading links on Google when I search for them.
Someone tell me what happened to them? Was A.I. the movie considered such a flop that they were killed? I would buy an Xbox the the day of their release, but I promised myself when I bought my PlayStation 2 a year ago to wait until then...
Get off my launchpad!
As a both an XBox and PS2 game developer I have found the XBox far easier and better to develop for. The off the shelf parts mean you can develop far more easily, generally using windows as a development platform instead of a dev kit (which Sony charge $12,000 for vs $400 for a XBox dev kit) Debugging is also breeze using visual studio and the shell extensions to teh hard disk. The Direct X interface makes writing code faster and simple as you dont need to consider the slightly over the top DMA streaming architecture and 4 processors just to get a triangle on screen.
If developers have anything to do with it the Xbox will go far.
Microsoft Promotional site has been slashdotted.
Now she might be able to rewrite that song "Isn't it ironic"...
I've played on one; only for Halo really. It's not too bad; it crashed only once in the time I played, and the controller isn't too awful. I'd never actually buy one though. It'd be nice to see some of it's games run on an un-crippled piece of hardware though. Halo and some of these new titles would look really sweet on a real machine.
It ran faster because it had a smaller color pallete. Wasn't the Genesis 8bit color and the SNES 16bit?
Oh come on. You really can't be saying that the gamepad is as good for FPS as keyb/mouse? I don't wanna start a big argument, but the guy has a point. You don't get anywhere near the same level of freedom with a gamepad.
I'm not sure that Microsoft has realized yet that its X-Box campaign is starting to offend loyal customers.
A prime example is MS's "Midtown Madness" series. Quite a few people enjoyed this (PC) game, and I'm sure the majority of them went and purchased the sequal as soon as it came out.
Then, for some reason, MS decided to release MM 3 for the X-Box only, thus taking away support for the set of PC users who had made the original games successful through their purchases. That, to me, is not an especially wise business decision.
And if you still believe that you are hurting M$ by buying an eggsbox for running Linux, have a look at this On Thursday, Microsoft once again beat the analysts' estimates
He saw some dirty arabs and fired. Too bad it was just some friendly kurds, BBC reporters and his fellow cowboys.
With estimates of total PS2 sales at between 30-40 million units ( depending on source) , over 200 new games for Christmas ( most from great game makers), progressive scan DVD, Digital Recorder capabilities, not to mention on line game play now, one has to yawn when they hear theses claims by Microsoft fanatics on how the Xbox is taking the world by storm.
>>>please remove "nospam" from email address
I have seen the graphics sported by all the major systems. Personally, I acknowledge an improvement in the graphics of the Xbox...anybody who has played computer games for 20 years knows that M$ and Nvidia (poor bastards are hurtin after dealing with the 800lb gorilla--surprise!) did a good job with the visuals. But for the life of me I cannot see the merit in what they are doing. As a consumer, I appreciate the spirit, the drive, and the excellence of what Sony and Nintendo have accomplished over the years. They have given development houses the tools to make money, and competetive licensing which has a much different character than simply buying a company. I'm probably so wrong it hurts, but I don't percieve Nintento and Sony in the market to own companies, they are more interested in the technology and licensing. These are the things that drive the industry--not being Daddy Warbucks and just buying development companies. I applauded when I read how dismal the X-box sales in Japan were. If the Japaese hardware and software developers felt threatened and this trickled through the gamer culture there then they understand the complete lack of merit, the "just because you can doesn't mean you have to" effort that M$ is pushing their gaming system through the market with. There are probably more sophisticated opinions, for and against what I'm trying to broach here. Perhaps in a few years, when the XBoxen won't work until it calls home to verify it's firmware and software against a checksum list and charge your account for your license renewal, or download that new license for the game you just bought I'll be laughing (just like I do at people who upgrade their hardware and have to call their corporate masters for a new set of keys to the OS), and unlike people who percive themselves as intelligent bleeding-edge gamers, I will be happy with the hundreds of games that will probably take more than my remaining lifetime to just get through. Thanks to Sony, Nintendo, and an army of game-developers, I don't see any shortage of games I'll be able to pick up used and cheap in the years to come. Maybe what we need to really do is counsel the early adopters (a euphemism that would have made P.T.Barnum laugh so hard he's pass a golf-ball sized kidney stone without realizing it) about how the spirit and the intention of even the best, proprietary, corporate razors can leave you burnt.
Screw it.. I know this post is ass, but I'm at the end of a 24hr day. Have lotsa fun!
Every new form of media has it's own Requirimento
You betcha. We have a PS2, and the games on the Xbox are pretty much along the same lines as what you can get for the PS2, which gives no reason to want a Xbox, at least for us. But a Gamecube offers types of games not available on the other ones, and more games that are kid-friendly (myself? I'm a real perverted SOB but the console is for everyone in our family).
It's a pain in the butt to find new games that my 8 year old daughter likes for our PS2 - a Gamecube just has more of what she likes. Like El Camino SS said, it is a DUAL PURCHASE. So if I could add a machine, it would be a Gamecube. And if I didn't have any machine at all, I would probably buy a Gamecube, since it also has enough of the types of games that the PS2 and Xbox have.
-asb
They list loads of games that are coming out, yet I'm willing to offload £200 on an Xbox *SOLELY* for Toejam & Earl 3. For me, it is the killer game.
But hey, I own a Gamecube and a Playstation 2 already so...... (I honestly think you can't just buy one platform anymore - you have to have all of them. Damned exclusives)
Does nobody miss the days of the C64, Spectrum and Amstrad, where games were frequently available on every platform, despite being originally written in assembler! Where if you can find a game for one, you could find it for another? Exclusives are very irritating.
...
I miss my colecovision.
It's been a long time.
You know, as much as I hate the Xbox, I sure as hell wish that I could use the Xbox controller. Or really, any damn controller other than the dual shock. It's too small--any game that requires a lot of L or R button pushing gives my hands RSI in half an hour. And with the Xbox little kids like yourself can just buy the smaller Microsoft controller. On PS2, normal sized hand folk like myself are obliged to buy poorly made 3rd quality controlers. What I wouldn't give for a quality larger (or at least better designed--the gamecube controller doesn't give me problems) PS2 controller. How I miss luxuriously perfect (except for the dumb video memory unit) dreamcast controller.
I've played my X-Box for months and nothing has EVER crashed. You are almost as bad as the guy who absolutely insisted that Visual Basic crashed all the time. I've worked with it for 4 years and never once had a crash with the IDE or debugger.
From the article: It's encouraging, however, to see such quality in development - I suspect that this time next year the Xbox will have a considerable lead over its competitors in terms of the numbers of top quality titles.
What drugs is this guy on? Does this person seriously believe that Sony and Nintendo are sitting on their hands, and aren't going to be bringing anything out through next year? This is probably the most idiotic statement I've heard from the Xbox fanboys. I'm sure they're very happy that development for their console is starting to get rolling, but none of this convinces me in the least that they're going to get anywhere near the volume of the PS2's lineup, nor do any of these games look like they'll do anything to drive people away from Nintendo's licensing juggernaut.
Microsoft signs exclusive deals with OEMs (Dell, HP, Gateway) and they are convicted of abusing their monopoly power to shut others out of the market. Sony signs exclusive deals with game producers to shut others out of the market and they are competing fairly? Microsoft was already in a deal to get GTA III for the XBOX before Sony shut the door on that by paying Rockstar millions so Microsoft wouldn't get the title. Funny thing is this is EXACTLY how MS wound up in their legal quandry. They signed exclusive deals and wound up a monopoly. They did not become a monopoly first THEN sign exclusive deals.
/. community is fine with this as long as it hurts Microsoft. Hypocrites. You cry that MS should play fair and compete on the technical merits. They did just this with the XBOX and now that Sony is abusing their dominant position in the console market and the slashbots cheer.
I smell a rat and once again the
Call me stupid, but the main reason why I actually bought the XBox is because of its big controllers. Besides, the small controllers are made by MS to. Those big controllers are confortable and fit in my hand. The Sony ones are way too small for my taste.
Well it just doesn't work that way with the consoles. Neither Sony nor MS will take the risk of letting the console owners host the games. Most console owners don't have a T1 connection and stuff like that anyway.
Um, no!!
When was the last time that you saw a bungie game on "every other console"???
> Now, returning to the actual facts: By my reckoning, after MS bought Bungie the first product released was the most critically acclaimed title on any platform last year.
Grand Theft Auto 3, Gran Turismo 3, Metal Gear Solid 2, Rez...
Actually there are lots of ways to cure a turkey.. and they are all tasty!
hmmmm.. turkey jurkey...
I am the lord of the pun. Dance Knave!
None of the games will talk to the games on the PS/2 or GameCube .. So you get to play with basically no one.. EA pulled out of making online games for XBox because of this. Looks like PS/2 and GameCube owners will be happy playing with each other online.
MicroSoft is trying too hard to dominate everything, and not realising they're just killing themselves off AND the console industry. They can buy all those companies, but where will they be when MicroSoft gives up? They'll be all gone.. No more Rare.. No more Bungie.. Not like they made anything decent anyways. Well, the original coders did, but they all jumped ship when MicroSoft bought em.
The game guy in the most recent issue of Maximum PC has stated what everyone else in the industry was afraid to say: PC games are a dying breed. Why? Because consoles are much more advanced and more capable than they were even 5 years ago. The Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube all cost less than a damn video card!
If you're a game developer, would you rather create a game that sells 150,000 on the PC, or create a game that sells 2,000,000 on a console? Hmmm...lets get the calculator out. The number of quality console games keeps getting larger, and quality PC games dwindle. Why else do you think every console has an impressive list of games coming soon?
You want to maybe qualify that a bit more by giving us some examples of WHY it's so great? :) Or are you under an NDA of some kind?
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
Are you talking about Oni? The game was completed and published while Bungie was still in Chicago, and relatively independant. It even lost a bit of the Bungie touch when they removed persistant gore and bloodstains from Oni. If you mean Halo, then you've been hearing more acclaims than I have. The engaging storyline is still there, but the game suffers from the fact that it was meant to be played with a full keyboard.
Bungie is no longer the company it once was. It let wonderful properties like Myth go to smaller developers, and its current developments are, well, rare. All I ever saw was vague mention of a game with pirates and 70's style pimps roaming the Caribbean. Not exactly in the same vein as Marathon or Myth, is it?
To be honest, though, I think Bungie was sliding before Microsoft took over, and the previous owners grabbed the golden parachute as soon as they saw it. Now Microsoft gets slammed for "ruining Bungie" by virtue of timing.
Damn straight. I've got larger than average hands, and the xbox controller is my favorite of the bunch. The old, non-dual shock psx controllers stunk, but the dual shock is ok.
;) Who needs to use their wireless lan while they're playing 'tendo! ;)
I must say though, that nintendo's wavebird also kicks some serious butt. I played Sunshine last night for about 3 hours. The only caveat is they should have used 900Mhz instead of 2.4Ghz, ah well.
Under NDA. But I tell you, that voice chat works great and makes a big difference in MP games. Before you ask, yes I already tried Roger Wilco and even the Sidewinder game voice.
Man you hit the nail on the head with Nintendo.
I believe that Microsoft made a HUGE mistake for not targeting the whole family, much like Nintendo. When they where pushing the Xbox, they kept saying that it was for the teenage boys and up. So a ton of people that had a teenager AND other small children in the house would buy Nintendo as their "new" system, so the whole family could use it.
I own a PS2 and have looked at both the Xbox and GC, but find the games are not that much better on either platform. I believe that this is why a BUNCH of people have not purchased an Xbox either. They currently own a PS2 and are happy with it AND they don't want to have two game systems in the house.
Maby I look at it a little different than most, but the way I see it is this.
1. The world is in a horrible economic state now. People's spending is WAY down. They will still purchase new games, but the thought of buying a new or second game system will not enter their mind. This assumes that they own a PS2, GC or Xbox now.
2. A lot of PS1 families will buy PS2 systems.
3. Families with smaller children will buy GC.
4. I believe Sony has over 90 million PS2's sold.
5. I believe that Microsoft has 5 million Xboxes sold.
6. I believe that Nintendo has 5 million GC sold.
It appears to me that the war is kinda over. If the economy was good or great then this may be a different story, but can Microsoft really expect 70+ million Xboxes to be sold this Christmass?? In a bad economy? If they don't then what number would be a success? 50 Million? 25 Million? 10 Million? If they sold 25 million then Sony still has the lions share of the market.
The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
No its even easier. Microsoft simply forgot their own roots. Lets have a look on how Microsoft became big and on how the Playstation overdid Nintendo. It all came down to easy copying until the market was saturated and then closing the doors. Microsoft basically became big this way, everybody and I mean literally everybody warezed their stuff at home and thats how they got into companies which had to pay anyway. Same goes for the Playstation, modding them was very easy from the start, whereas copying the N64 modules was a hazzle. Sony then tightened the screws but at that time the critical point was hit and the system was a self runner with a big userbase not really having the knowlede to bypass the newer mod blockers. If M$ was smart they should have closed the modding door in a year or two when the system has reached its heytime, but they werent. They simply forgot their own roots.
Yeah, MS Flight Sim is difficult, but a great product. Heck even the navy now OFFICIALLY uses MS Flight sim 2002 for the first 60 HOURS of training on any new pilot.
Don't forget about Flight Gear Flight simulator, if your workingo n such an advance project, why not use something with a nice dynamics system, 100% available source code and a great support community to boot.
http://flightgear.totalpilot.com for a fast mirror or ftp://ftp.totalpilot.com/pub/fgfs
Microsoft doesn't "OWN" the simulation industry, programs such as Fly! do great over seas and there are much more basic flight packages being used for advanced IFR traning where scenery and fluff isn't required since your plowing through low visibility IMC conditions anyhow.
i can't wait to see if CFS3 or MSFS 2004 makes it to the xbox. A yoke/rudder setup and xbox would be a beautifull way to play the game. Most pilots prefer stick and rudder and having the xboxlive network to be ale to fly and interact in a huge atc controlled environment would be a dream come true!
"Now, if Nintendo announced they are going to shift away from younger gamers and target the 18+ crowd, I'm sure that would get posted here as well."
As an adult, it makes me laugh when 16 year-olds say they want "mature" games.
Ironically, it strikes me that GTA are actually the least mature games because the gameplay is shallow, but it plays to 12 year-old sensibilities.
Although frankly, there's no such thing as a "mature" game. "Mature" is a word that you never use once you hit 21. Seriously.
Until you can go down to the store and buy it.
ITS VAPOR.
Get it? Don't be such a lapper that you take whatever crap MS is shovelling over the fence.
I have an X-BOX, but the games have been dull so far. Nothing worth buying. In some ways, I regret buying it, because I pissed awa about $400 for 1 game, console, and a couple of accessories. I could've spent those on a few more PS2 and Gamecube games and had a lot more fun.
Most underrated console game ever.
It is a blast.
The first B-K, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye, and Jet Force Gemini are all great games.
The rest are kind of dull (although I haven't played the new Star Fox yet).
PS2 has peaked.
Its certainly a cut above what we got with the PS1 (which was the most overrated console of the last decade). But MS has plenty of steam left with the X-Box.
So far, they haven't produced a single game that's a must-buy. But I think they're new to the industry and are willing to burn a few billion to get traction.
I dont' see them leaving, and frankly, they're not doing *that* bad a job.
gimmie a break...do you even game? or are you just an anti-MS zealot?
...and the list goes on.
/. sometimes is just too much.
sure GTA:VC is going to be great, but it isn't going to end the Xbox.
have you looked at the fall line-up for the Xbox, including the lineup for XBL? have you played XBL? i am beta testing it and lemme tell you, compared to the launch and online play of SOCOM, it kicks the living shit out of the PS2's online plans.
so let's examine what i am excited about for this fall:
1) Unreal Championship (on XBL...woot!)
2) Blinx (using a HDD in a way the PS2 can't even imagine)
3) Ghost Recon (was great on the PC, will be great on XBL)
4) Tony Hawk 4 (the franchise continues)
5) Sega NFK2K3 and NFL Fever 2003 (on XBL these ALREADY kick ass....)
6) Splinter Cell (MGS killer. 'nuff said)
7) Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (just in case Splinter Cell doesn't apply the double head-tap isn't!)
7) BMX XXX (pr0n for adult gamers.)
8) DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball (bounciness!)
9) Fable (Peter Molyneux - 'nuff said...again.)
10) Shenmue II (continuing the DC legacy...with DVD movies included in the game pack to get people up on the story line)
i am not trying to be a fanboy, but the level of shit on
this is going to be the BEST Xmas for gaming b/c of the level of competition with 3 consoles. we owe MS thanks for making both Sony and Nintendo work harder to get gamers, b/c nothing is guaranteed anymore.
/* Half alive and half dead too, work is for suckers and the sucker is you. - "Half-life" by Local H*/
I didn't say anything about the Ps2. It's another store entirely. And those awesome games is really debatable. I'll agree to Mario and Zelda if simply because they're classics. Maybe Monkeyball. That's three. But the rest? I'll even toss in Metroid for kicks and grins, be it not even out yet. For a name of Nintendo's magnitude, that's kinda weak. If the Box had a bunch of classics it could pull out of cryogenic storage, the situation would be much different. In fact, it's damn near the only thing that's saving the Cube right now. Yep, the Box is light on quality titles, but give it time. Name branding is the only thing keeping Nintendo in second.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
I'd agree. Even though people made fun of the x-box controller when it first came out, even most rabid anti-ms zealots would admit that one thing that MS does well, is creates controllers (mostly mice). Now that I've used the xbox controller for a while, the PS2 controller seems like a little toy, too light, too small.
I will admit however that I favor the smaller (s version) xbox controller.
Computers don't make mistakes. What they do, they do on purpose.
I was under the impression that Nintendo bought Rare completely or had a majority stake in it. Is M$'s plan to buy every competitor's top developer and have them stop making games for the original partners. What about Donkey Kong Racing and Perfect Dark 2 for the Gamecube. Next they'll buy Namco or EA and kill the PS2.
Euphemism, what is that a euphemism for something.
Umm... because the games don't install on a console. The xbox will cache data onto the hard drive as you play; however, it won't install a game so that you can run it without a disk. You can mod an xbox to run games directly off the hard drive if you really wanted to. Personnally not having to install games is nice. Just pop a disk or cartitage into a console and start playing. I do agree with your view relating to PC games. I like to do a full install and then just download a no-cd crack so I can just run the game off a shortcut rather than messing with CDs.
I am devestated by the news that RARE nee Ultimate Play the Game nee Ashby Computer Graphics has been bought by the evil or all evils. This is terrible, have been a fan of theirs ever since JetPac on the ZX Spectrum (that was a Timex Sinclair 2000 or somethingorother in the USofA). Terrible, terrible, I'd just bought a Cube eagerly awaiting DK or Mario or Banjo and Kazooie or something like that to come out. Let's see if they do, but now I can't buy them as I'm swarn against the purchase of Microshaft products.
The games you mention were all great games, but I think Halo received at least as much critical acclaim.
My point still stands: if you think MS 'ruined' Bungie, and you're using Halo as your evidence, then you really need to lay off the crack-pipe.
Yup, cause of mario I went and picked up a GC for my wife. :) She loves that game. I think that and Animal Crossing are two of the best games on the market right now, and not just for kids.
Hopefully when you're no longer under NDA you'll be able to post a review of some kind! :)
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
Some harsh Non-Disclosure Agreements must have been needed to keep that lot under wraps.
Something like "Whatever they ask, just say 'I honestly cannot remember.'"
Ali
Ph33r m3!!!
I guess that's where the PC is at. You have to install, and need the cd. I'd use the no-cd crack, but I just feel at that point I'm going out of my way and risking exposure to something bad. Frankly my time is more important than my money, and I'll give them neither.
What a load of crap. You can delude your self that these games are good, some may be but none of them are great. As an x box owner I've got to say that I've been very disappointed and the enjoyment I've had playing the 'next generation' game consoles has been on my Gamecube. These game may be technically amazing and most x box games are but they are not fun!
Coming to your Gameboy Advance very soon. Slated for Christmas release in Japan, at least.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
If you throw a New Year's Party, the worst thing that you can do would be ... ...
to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call you to
say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw another party
next year.
What you should do is throw the kind of party where your guest wake
up several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they've been
indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to avoid a
recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning parties of their
own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from having another one
If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door,
unless your party is very successful in which case they will lob tear gas
through your living room window. As host, your job is to make sure that
they don't arrest anybody. Or if they're dead set on arresting someone,
your job is to make sure it isn't you
-- Dave Barry
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