Xbox Unveiling Tonight on MTV

GamesIndustry.biz has a reminder that the Elijah Woods hosted Xbox 360 unveiling will be happening tonight on MTV. From the article: "Microsoft has already said that it will demonstrate 'the Xbox vision for the next generation,' which 'ensures that the user experience is always connected, always personalised and always in high definition'."

Comments

I think that isn't needed

[KDR_11k]

There were enough XB2pi topics lately, all of which talked about this unveiling. It's really not necessary to remind us of that AGAIN.

Re:I think that isn't needed

[Leroy_Brown242]

In the void of actual news, repeating old new is standard policy. :)

Old news is so exciting!

Re:I think that isn't needed

[KDR_11k]

Except there isn't any lack of actual news today.

Re:I think that isn't needed

[r_jensen11]

Except there isn't any lack of actual news today.

Wow, I wish I lived where you live. My local news stations all report the exact same stories, usually in the same order. About half of the stories are also just lifted off of the national news. And the "international news" consists of national news + stories related to casualties in Iraq/Israel (I guess we forgot about the rest of the world), or whenever someone from the Whitehouse visits someone else.

Re:I think that isn't needed

[KDR_11k]

I meant on Slashdot Games because Zonk probably doesn't okay the stories you see on TV. Of course for a sufficiently loose definition of "actual news".

bsod

[Technetium Web]

i wonder if it'll bsod this time? or is it a gsod now?

Re:bsod

[mbrewthx]

I guess you haven't heard that it's RSOD, Red Screen of Death, like Longhorn

Re:bsod

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder what faults the first batch of foo... I mean early adaptors will find.

Noting more fun then having your Xbox tell you that Halo isn't a standard Xbox disk, which is probably Microsoft's nice way of saying "we think you are a pirate, put in a real game disk and try again loser!"

Re:bsod

[ABaumann]

Actually, that's part of teh AWESOME functionality of the XBOX 360. The new graphics capabilities will allow for a fully rendered screen of death. Sources close to Microsoft claim to have seen the new death screen with a 3-D rendering of the Jolly Roger, but Microsoft claims that those machines have pirated software.

Re:bsod

[Technetium Web]

sounds great! i can just imagine a beautiful 3d rendering with "ERROR OUT OF MEMORY!!!" complete with 1024x1024 texturemapping, of course with bumpmapping and specular highlights and realistic reflections and caustics.

Re:bsod

[Anonymous Coward]

If it BSOD'd last Thursday (when the big launch was actually videotaped), it won't be broadcast tonight.

Re:bsod

[Anonymous Coward]

I've already heard someone refer to it as "The Xbox Reach Around"

Re:bsod

[Hellraisr]

How is this insightful?

Mod parent -5, fucking retarded

Local Newspaper

[superpulpsicle]

There is a massive section in my local newspaper on this today. M$ claim by 2006, xbox will have close to 40% of the market, while PS2 will have 50%.

While I own a PS2, I look at games like Forza Racing on the xbox and it's competition like this that we desperately need. Games like Gran Turismo has been sitting at the top for too long.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Momoru]

Yeah i had my doubts about Forza, but after buying GT4 and Forza I will never play GT4 again. It seems like almost no effort whatsoever was put into it, besides adding more cars and tracks. It plays exactly like GT1, which is extremely boring and tedious. I'm not sure why PS2 is so popular, as it seems like most of the games that come out for it are crap, or out on another system with better graphics. The only PS2 games i've bought since i got my xbox and gabecube were Katamary darmacy and GT4.

Re:Local Newspaper

[PhoenixFlare]

I'm not sure why PS2 is so popular, as it seems like most of the games that come out for it are crap, or out on another system with better graphics.

At the moment, the PS2 has a gigantic selection of RPG's available, compared to the other consoles. That's why I bought one, anyway.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Eric S Raymond]

those numbers don't even take into account Nintendo, which will still be around. Also Nintendo still has the edge in portables, which isn't as big a market in the US.

Wasn't their market penetration for the gameboy like around 90% until the psp came along?

Re:Local Newspaper

[hollismb]

Let's see. 40 percent, plus 50 percent = 90 percent, which leaves 10 percent for Nintendo. Dur.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, the compatibility thing is a great marketing ploy but it's still has asstastic graphics. God damn I resold the used psone I bought in less than a week after I saw how god-awful the graphics looked.

I saw some demo games on the PS2 and still shit. The Dreamcast 0wn3d that piece of shit console. But oh it can play PS1 shit and DVDs. Good for them.

Yeah, the xbox has this stigma about 0 games and it was true for the a good two years. Now, there's far too many. Buddy of mine has pirated over 100 already and that's just the recent stuff. And most of it is pretty decent.

There's like 2 RPG's compared to PS which has maybe 300 or so > but I don't speak Japanese so fuck it. I'll play smashy, smashy or blow some shit up for a while.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Anonymous Coward]

gigantic selection of RPG's available

yup. and Rez, and Katamari Damacy, and Ico...

MS needs the Japanese devs onside before I even give a serious look to the available games there. I think the only non-Japanese game in my ps2 collection is "War of the Monsters" (also not available on xbox afaik).

Re:Local Newspaper

[supabeast!]

Has it occured to you that you can always keep your old consoles around to play the old games on? I'm not saying that backwards compatibility isn't a good thing, but it sure as hell isn't enough to make me pick the PS2 over being able to play fighting games on Xbox live.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Anonymous Coward]

I like the way Microsoft tries to predict their way into the future. It's a tactic that only works on sheeple, but most mainstream newsmedia consumers are sheeple anyway.

If they're wrong, and their product is really so shit that they can't hype its way to success, they pull the "In only four years we've fought off the big bad wolf to make significant inroads in this extremely competitive market, in two years we will own the etire market with Xbox version X+1. Love us, we're the underdog and we're fighting for YOU GUYS!" line. This is what happened with the first Xbox.

If they're right, and the light & mirror show works, it's "As predicted, the other guys never stood a chance. How could they, we put all of our muscle behind this project - we're big bad Microsoft!"

Re:Local Newspaper

[Alzheimers]

Gamecube. PS2. Xbox.

I own them all.

So which category do I fall into?

Re:Local Newspaper

[KDR_11k]

I wouldn't list Rez as a pro for the console. I picked it up for ten Euros and even that was almost too much. A sub-par rail shooter with abstract graphics. People always complain about game makers prioritizing graphics over gameplay yet happily list Rez as a good game.

Re:Local Newspaper

[KDR_11k]

The statistical error.

Actually, this is marketshare, i.e. percentage of all consoles sold in a given timespan. You'd count the same as three different people buying one console each.

Re:Local Newspaper

[alexo]

> Gamecube. PS2. Xbox.
> I own them all.
> So which category do I fall into?

People with way too much free time?

Re:Local Newspaper

[Anonymous Coward]

You must not be a chick then.
That game was made with chicks in mind.

Re:Local Newspaper

[ignorant_coward]

If you use graphics as the only gauge, then the games you like suck.

The PS1 has some really fun games. Even stuff like Loony Tunes Racing is a blast, which boosts the PS2's library of _fun_ games by a large margin.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Anonymous Coward]

I never owned an original PlayStation, but I do own a PS2, and I'd say a third of my games are older PlayStation ones.

When picking through sales bins for the occasional winner, the prices on PS1 games are just impossible to beat.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny, I don't have *any* Japanese games on my PC.

Re:Local Newspaper

[Anonymous Coward]

Rez isn't great, but it's *interesting* (and certainly not a *bad* game). The music integration is simple, but compelling (and I don't like the music).

Have there been *any* really boundry-pushing exclusives on the xbox? (fable perhaps?)

Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[theclam159]

Xbox...Elijah Wood...MTV...
It's the three things I despise the most.

Seriously, what demographic is Microsoft trying to reach? The people who know the least about good gaming? Oh, wait, I think I figured it out...

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[mbrewthx]

If they wanted to do that they would have introduced it on G4.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[VividU]

It's understandable how you can despise a media personality or a broadcast channel but how can you despise hardware?

Your not forced to buy it, to use it, to look at or to even consider it. It's just a collection of plastic and circuitry.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[GTRacer]

Dammit! I was >this close< to spewing Coke all over my workstation. Again.

G4 is rapidly circling the drain

GTRacer
- Leaves Webb-surfing jokes to others

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[mbrewthx]

If I had mod points I'd MOD you up...
1) for drinking Coke
2) For your insights into G4, Well not actually insights just stating the obvious

What type of workstation did I almost get sticky????

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[sadler121]

G4 is rapidly circling the drain

Correction, G4 is NOT circling around the drain, it has already gone down the drain, through the pipes, into the sewers and out into the ocean.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[damsa]

Elijah Wood: You mean you have to use your hands. That's for little kids.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[British]

It is a bit odd that a station for music is showing a debut for a video game console, while a video game station isn't. That's major egg on the face of G4. Oh well, here comes some more reruns of Icons(yay! the sid meier episode AGAIN!)

Perhaps The Weather Channel will be playing the latest music video from $ARTIST.

MSNBC will have a special hour playing the Firefox promo videos.

The Golf channel will be unveiling the latest cadillac vehicle.

It's a crazy mixed-up world.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[Mostly Monkey]

It looks like they are shooting for a "mainstream" introduction. G4TechTV seems more like a nitch channel that is aiming to go mainstream. (and straight down the gutter)

Thanks to DVRs and VCRs people will be able to skip a lot of the crap and goto the sparce 5 mins they will actually talk about the 360.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[ScottyUK]

MTV has turned from a music channel to an "entertainment" channel. Here in the UK, if you want non stop music videos, MTV Hits/Bass/Dance/ will do that. MTV 1 has turned into the likes of Bravo, Sky One etc but still orientated round the different music scenes. A lot of MTV viewers are casual gamers, and probably make up the target market for these consoles - to MS it's not about which audience *knows* about gaming, it's about which audience will like what they see and go buy it. Makes sense to have this on MTV instead of G4...how international is G4, compared to the presence MTV has?

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[Anonymous Coward]

Back To The Future II

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[Anonymous Coward]

In my country, in the civilized part of the world, it would have settled to the bottom of a big vat at the processing center, gotten scooped out, and sent to the landfill for eternity.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[ignorant_coward]

MTV is for music?!? I thought it was the "biggest losers on Earth who try to kill eachother for fun channel".

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[mbrewthx]

Just hit me after watching the X-box 360 show on MTV. TechTV was owned by Vulcan Enterprises, which is owned by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. He sold it to Comcast and they gutted it as we all know. The shows on G4 make gamers look like stupid childish idots. Maybe choosing MTV was for the following reasons.
1) Audience Size
2) Stick one in the eye of G4

Just my 2 cents..

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[HAKdragon]

It is a bit odd that a station for music is showing a debut for a video game console, while a video game station isn't,

MTV has music now?!

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[geekmule]

Complete and utter waste of air time. It was like watching a nightmare showing of 'the real world' with a bunch of strutting idiots. NO real details, just a bunch of models and hollywood types.

Re:Most Repulsive Combination Ever

[GTRacer]

Nothing special, just a Dell Opti 260 tower.

But in geek fashion, I have lots of toys on and around it: Several Matchbox cars racing around on the case, a number of the SW Ep I happy meal toys around the monitor, a monkey and all sorts of cables.

A while back, I was here on a weekend and popped open a Coke from my mini-fridge. I took a sip, walked to the kitchen, came back, took another sip, and *whoosh*. A live spider had climbed in and I almst swallowed him. In my shock, I spewed EVERYWHERE without thinking about safer targets.

Took me over half an hour to get the Coke off everything...

GTRacer
- Moral of story: Don't work weekends.

Not interested

[Hellad]

It is hard to say what I am less interested, the current music scene on mtv or the new X-Box. To me, both are paler imitations of greater things in older generations...

I guess I still don't buy MS as a game company. I was looking at Rare's newest offering for the X-Box and realized it isjust a rehash of Conker's Bad Fur Day. Nothing against conker, but can't Rare at least put him in a new adventure instead of just prettying up an older game? I realize that Capcom did this with Resident Evil on the cube, but Capcom also gave Nintendo RE4...

Re:Not interested

[mconeone]

Did you play the demo? It seemed quite a bit different than the N64 version... Very fun too.

Re:Not interested

[Hellad]

I believe the demo is the multiplayer section, correct? That is new. The single player is the remake of the original. The single player adventure has been censored (who would have thought that nintendo would have the "adult" version of the game...) and made significantly easier. According to the preview on IGN, the game took the player around 20 hours on the original version and only 7 hours on the remake...

Re:Not interested

[mconeone]

Umm, I'm not really sure... I just remember playing a demo that came with a game that was an omaha beach-like level. I never beat conker's on N64, but I don't remember playing that level.

Re:Not interested

[DeadScreenSky]

I was looking at Rare's newest offering for the X-Box and realized it isjust a rehash of Conker's Bad Fur Day. Nothing against conker, but can't Rare at least put him in a new adventure instead of just prettying up an older game?
Wow, you're pretty clever. I never thought of that!

(You realize it was announced as remake, right? The new stuff is the extensive multiplayer mode.)

Re:Not interested

[Anonymous Coward]

REALLY, glad im not the only one, MTV sucks! There really is a lot of pale imitation going on these days!

Re:Not interested

[Hellad]

Yeah, I realize that. But it would seem to me if this is going to be Rare's flagship title and Rare is one of MS's crown jewel developers, they can do better than a remake. Some call this a contender for the top game for e3. To me, a remake of a 5 year old Nintendo game isn't all that much to brag about.

Re:Not interested

[Anonymous Coward]

That was a multiplayer level on the N64. It wasn't online but it was there.

Re:Not interested

[Mirddes]

IICR i was able to beat the orignal in roughly 5 hours several times.

Monopoly

[Anonymous Coward]

Who knows. Maybe this generation they'll actually make a real profit instead of relying on their operating-system and office-productivity monopolies to subsidize their gaming aspirations.

I assume the MTV push is to appeal to young kids, who are so caught up in the fever of tech consumption, that they don't realize they're unwitting participants in Microsoft's quest for a third monopoly.

Signed,
Trolls for Truth

Is it really going to be called 360?

[0kComputer]

I really hope not, that is a hiddeous name.

Re:Is it really going to be called 360?

[Tibor the Hun]

No, it'll be either XboxCircle, or XcubeSphere.

Re:Is it really going to be called 360?

[eddy]

Why not the XSphere? "The Best XSpherience Ever!"

See? Writes itself.

Re:Is it really going to be called 360?

[SimpleC]

Yes, now let's see if Sony decides to name the next generation PlayStation, "PlayStation 3.14" then the circle of console gaming would be complete

Xbox 360

Nintendo Revolution

PlayStation 3.14

always...

[Seraphim_72]

"Microsoft has already said that it will demonstrate 'the Xbox vision for the next generation,' which 'ensures that the user experience is always connected, always personalised and always in high definition'." ... and always empty your wallet.

Seriously how much is this thing going to cost?

Sera

Re:always...

[tratch]

"Earlier today, XGP Gaming received word that the price(s) for the XBOX 360 were 'leaked' around the net. As we expected, there will be two 'versions' of the XBOX 360 available for purchase. Start saving now! The first package consists of the basic console, one controller, cables, etc. and is set to sell for $299.99(US).
The second version contains the 360 controller(s?), remote and the HDD loaded with extra content. There's no word yet on whether or not this package may include the camera. The price for this package is...wait for it...$360(US).

Who knows if it's true, I saw it the other day and thought it sounded about right.

Re:always...

[UWC]

The second package sounds like a significantly better value than the first. I was hoping for $199 and $299, but I guess this is better than it could have been. As you say, though, it's by no means confirmed.

Re:always...

[ignorant_coward]

If $300 ain't selling for a loss, I need to find a new store to buy stuff at.

I want my, I want my....

[AtariAmarok]

To badly quote Sting and Dire Straits: "I want my, I want my, I want my BSOD!"

Seems like they should have unveiled it instead on CNN on "Anderson Cooper 360". It fits with the name better than unveiling it on the "48 Hour Road Rules Marathon" channel.

Too Soon?

[DeadBugs]

Is it too soon for another XboX? The PS2 has been around longer and it's still got maybe a year before the PS3 is out. There are still plenty of great games being released for each system. Is MS jumping the gun a little and pushing too hard just to be first to market with the next console?

Re:Too Soon?

[Eric S Raymond]

well yeah.

I mean MS doesn't have unlimited resources.

One thing about consoles is they should NEVER crash for any reason. If this gets pushed out too early it will be crash friendly like the early x-box I believe?

You ever seen SMB3 crash? Heck no!

Re:Too Soon?

[mconeone]

Have you seen the supposed specs? The thing is more powerful than a majority of PCs on the market now. The games will push toward the ultimate goal of being photorealistic. MS has already lost a ton of money on the xbox, IMO with the goal being market dominance.

1. Lose a buttload on xbox, gaining market recognition.

2. Sell system that blows the pants off anything coming out for the next 6 months to a year, AND before christmas.

3. Profit!

Re:Too Soon?

[Anonymous Coward]

microsoft has promised new games for the x-box up until 6 months after the 360 is released, or something close tothat

Re:Too Soon?

[Anonymous Coward]

Anakin kills the Younglings, chokes Padme, burns in lava. Padme delivers the twins and dies.

dick

Re:Too Soon?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, I know that stuff, but that's crap. I don't know if you can get modded into oblivion for your sig, but he should be.

Re:Too Soon?

[Anonymous Coward]

After all Microsoft doesn't want anyone to think the current xbox is stone cold dead now do they...

Some of the titles they will be releasing to honor that pledge:

"Pong"

Re:Too Soon?

[Porphyro]

Not SMB3 - but I did have Mario Kart 64 crash on me...so it does happen.

Re:Too Soon?

[Erbo]

And I think that applies just to first-party titles. Third parties can keep writing for Xbox as long as they think they can still sell.

Re:Too Soon?

[Alzheimers]

Yes. I've seen EVERY NES title crash.

Towards the end of my NES console's life, getting a game to run for more than an hour was an effort. There was even a procedure: blow in it twice, blow in the console, wipe the contacts with alcohol, allow to dry, PRAY, then turn the console on. If the screen wasn't totally garbage, you could get a few levels into a game like SMB3 before either the picture corrupted or the game just froze. And even worse, there was a chance it would corrupt your save games (remember to hold in the reset button while turning off your console!)

Don't get me started on the phonebooks I had to put on top of the RF Adapter to keep that working. I've stripped and spliced enough of those buggers to figure out this neat little trick: if you get one of those old Atari GAME/ANTENNA RF adapters with the composite port on the bottom (the kind with the tines you screw into the TV, or attach to a Coax converter), you can use a plain jane $.99 composite cable from the back of the NES and it'll work fine. Much easier then shelling out 10-15 bucks for the Nintendo RF adapter!

Re:Too Soon?

[KDR_11k]

There's a difference between a crash due to hardware failure and a crash due to bugs in the game. The coders can't fix your console.

Re:Too Soon?

[Alzheimers]

One thing about consoles is they should NEVER crash for any reason. If this gets pushed out too early it will be crash friendly like the early x-box I believe?

You ever seen SMB3 crash? Heck no!

I'm making the point that, YES, I have seen consoles crash. Specificly, I HAVE seen SMB3 crash, due to the flawed combo of a weak-72 pin connector and a sensitive Lockout chip.

Relevant line from that link: Unfortunately, inadequate testing of this design prior to release resulted in one of the NES's most infamous problems

I believe these kinds of "rush-to-market" flaws are exactly what the GP is complaining about, so an NES game was probably the worst example.

Re:Too Soon?

[ignorant_coward]

I wonder if Microsoft won't have Sony's insight into the PS1/PS2 mix. At least up until recently, I could still buy a PS1. If Microsoft axes the first XBox entirely, instead of driving for lower price points, they will be missing out on an entire market.

Re:Too Soon?

[TheAncientHacker]

More powerful than a majority of PCs on the market now?

The thing does a TeraFLOP! It's hugely more powerful than ANY PCs on the market now.

Re:Too Soon?

[Anonymous Coward]

"The thing does a TeraFLOP"

Oh god, the fanboys are really sucking up the Microsoft hype.

Teraflop? Dream on retard...

Re:Too Soon?

[TheAncientHacker]

Ah, the ACs are out again trying to shout down facts...

Yes. A TeraFLOP. Check the specs then come back when you have the courage to put your name on it.

Re:Too Soon?

[Anonymous Coward]

Fucking sad.

No wonder the console world hates the xbox and its fanboys.

Bye, bye, a blue screen will I die

[AtariAmarok]

"Xbox...Elijah Wood...MTV... It's the three things I despise the most."

"And the three things I despise the most,"
Xbox, Elijah, and MTV's host"
They caught a virus, and now they're toast
Because... the Xbox...fried.

And they were singin'...

Re:Bye, bye, a blue screen will I die

[Anonymous Coward]

sweet.

Those whacky MTV kids

[AtariAmarok]

"I assume the MTV push is to appeal to young kids, who are so caught up in the fever of tech consumption"

Oh? They are actually consuming tech now? I guess those stupid kids think that the "chips" are corn chips.

Re:Those whacky MTV kids

[BinaryOpty]

No wonder obesity's such a problem! Kids aren't just eating food, but eating technology as well!

Backwards Compatible?

[Anonymous Coward]

None of these leaks have mentioned anything about backwards compatibility (and I suspect the TV show won't either). On the one hand, it's using a different processor architecture than the original XBox, so clearly they'd need some kind of emulation layer and/or a dedicated extra processor for the backwards compatibility. On the other hand, if the rumors of three 3.2 Ghz cores and 512 MB of RAM are true, it seems like there'd be plenty of horsepower to run an emulation layer if it had to.

Backwards compatibility is pretty much going to be the deciding factor for me in the short term. It'll be worth full price to me if I can play my current games on it. Otherwise, I'll wait for a few price cuts before I dive in.

Re:Backwards Compatible?

[Anonymous Coward]

On the other hand, if the rumors of three 3.2 Ghz cores and 512 MB of RAM are true, it seems like there'd be plenty of horsepower to run an emulation layer if it had to.

If so, it could only use 1 of those 3 processors because, as I'm sure you know, the XBox 1 was a single proc machine.

Re:Backwards Compatible?

[wift]

The number of processors don't enter into it. It's the language used to run them plus the video hardware that is making backward compatibility difficult.

Finally....... Now maybe they can STFU about it

[Anonymous Coward]

Good, hopefully this will remove the hype factor of Microsoft's marketing machine and all those rumors.

It will be nice to see all the "OMG T3H XBOX2 CONTROLLER'S XYBA BUTTONS111!onetwothree" stories that have been pooping up each time the viral marketing site releases something die off.

I still think that after this, this PR stunt isn't going to do much for Microsoft. Around E3 and afterwards the coverage will shift to covering Sony's and Nintendo's next generation consoles. . I think the only reason that Microsoft is getting so much attention is that they are the only ones actually releasing something, and interest will die off when they actually release the facts.

I actually like how Sony and Nintendo are handling this so far, no hype, no viral marketing, no conflating reports/rumors, and hopefully at E3 they will present their stuff in a more straightforward manner then Microsoft.

And just to clarify and stress that I am not anti-Xbox, I would be sick of it if Sony or Nintendo went the same PR route.

Re:Finally....... Now maybe they can STFU about it

[wift]

We'll see how virual Sony get's when it's their new console is close to release. Nintendo has always marketed w/ class.

Re:Finally....... Now maybe they can STFU about it

[Babbster]

If anyone is overhyping the new console, it's a gaming "press" (I really hate when gaming websites and magazines try to pass themselves off as having anything to do with journalism) that's starved for "news" to throw out there. I mean, that's what they do. They take a press release and spin it into something that [vaguely] resembles news. Microsoft has been making announcements that any manufacturer of a new mass-market product would. I certainly haven't been overburdened by Microsoft themselves putting up banner ads on every website, buying a commercial during every TV program, etc. If you have, I'd be curious to know where this is going on.

Even if Microsoft WAS putting a lot of advertising out there, I'd understand completely. Advertising can work wonders, especially for a company that is trying hard to become #1 in a three-company race where the other two were deeply entrenched.

Oh, and you ARE anti-Xbox or, at least, anti-Microsoft. If you weren't, you'd be able to recognize that Microsoft is doing the right thing when they try hard to make people aware of their upcoming product(s). It's just good business.

Re:Finally....... Now maybe they can STFU about it

[Anonymous Coward]

They take a press release and spin it into something that [vaguely] resembles news
Wait, Microsft has been making press releases? Then who is running the viral marketing ARG campaign at www.ourcolony.net, where it seems to be the only place any "real" "information" is coming from?

Microsoft has been making announcements that any manufacturer of a new mass-market product would
So that is what you call the gibberish/vague images being released form that site, and their not confirming or denying the various rumors going around? And what about that site's slow release of "information" with small "tidbits" appearing whenever the news about things such as the XYAB buttons dies down?

It gets real tiring seeing the top clicked news posts on sites like gametab are all devoted to Microsoft's latest release of pictures of the controller's analog stick. Then again, if they didn't do that and released the stuff in a strait forward manner, hardly anyone would be talking about it much or paying attention. It is as if they need the hype to keep people interested in their product.

What happened to just releasing the information, and not playing games or letting rumors run wild? At least Nintendo and Sony are keeping tight lipped about it and holding off on their official announcements/unveiling. And according to the posts here and elsewhere, the "Unveiling" didn't give any real information at all.

I'm sorry, how does my not liking companies that use these hype building marketing tactics and viral marketing campaigns, while not providing us any real info, say I am anti-Xbox or anti-Microsoft? I am sick of rumors, hype, games, and cock teasing, I would rather hear all the facts at once. If Nintendo and Sony resort to the same stuff, am going to get sick of them just as well. Noting puts me off of buying something then a bunch of hype, which usually ends up making the released/final product under whelming and pathetic.

Let the systems sell on their own merits, not the amount of noise and hype your company can generate.

Oh, and you ARE anti-Xbox or, at least, anti-Microsoft. If you weren't, you'd be able to recognize that Microsoft is doing the right thing when they try hard to make people aware of their upcoming product(s). It's just good business.
Since I have already said why I don't think this is the right thing, let me say this: Gee, if we are making assumptions, maybe I should assume that you are a rabid Xbox fanboy and writing that gave you a hard on? Then again, after re-reading your stuff, you may just be someone in marketing.

Re:November?

[badasscat]

I thought it was going to be released in November?

I think you need to look up the difference between "unveiling" and "releasing".

This is not news, though - even the headline calls it a "reminder". People have known about this unveiling for several weeks (if not months?) now. It has nothing to do with the launch in November - consoles are always unveiled before they're launched (well, except for the Sega Saturn, and we all saw how well that went over).

Not soon enough

[demonic-halo]

I don't think it's too soon. Especially since the PS3 has unknown real performance stats and a extremely powerful (theoretically) processor.

Does Microsoft think they can beat the PS3 in stats in the future? That is a big unknown, but they do know they can definately beat the PS2 hands down by a huge margin now.

By coming out a year earlier, they can attract some game developers to their side. As we know, it'll be the quality of the games that will ultimately decide the outcome.

Oh god.

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope they handle it more tastefully than SpikeTV did the game awards, although I severly doubt it.

Re:x-box name

[Anonymous Coward]

We used to call it the Malcolm X-box, spiritual successor to the IHaveADreamcast.

Re:What are the first two?

[Eric S Raymond]

There was this little court case, awhile ago that showed that indeed, MS is a monopoly. Ah yes I believe I remember now, it was the THE ANTITRUST TRIAL. Also Anakin kills the Younglings, chokes Padme, burns in lava. Padme delivers the twins and dies.

Re:What are the first two?

[AtariAmarok]

The court case did not show this. Visit the definition. The existance of strong and common alternatives, as mentioned earlier, prevents any of these different meanings from applying. Monopoly does not mean "one of many".

Just because a court says it does not mean it is true. It is unfortunately common, for example, for the guilty to be declared innocent by the court, and for the innocent to get declared guilty.

Re:What are the first two?

[Eric S Raymond]

So there's strong alternatives, but are they common?

The new Rare titles aren't so hot? Surprising...

[Anonymous Coward]

...since all of the talent at Rare quit to form New Radicals after MS acquired them following the end of their second-party contract with Nintendo (due primarily to Nintendo's lack of marketing for CBFD).

While Rare's titles have gotten little to no attention over the last few years, Free Radical's Time Splitters franchise has been consistently scoring very high with reviewers and the general public.

They can but they won't

[KDR_11k]

We will see at least one unveiling post-mortem and a collection of articles making trivial or absurd claims about the impact on the console market. Plus a few articles on the games announced and a week later articles about the games shown for it at E3... You see, where there's a will there's a way to write articles about the same subject three times a week.

Slashdot Or MS Xbox Hype Daily

[Anonymous Coward]

Has MS's marketing department taken over Slashdot?

Does anyone give a crap about another xbox? Those few that do can go knock themselves out on teamxbox.com

Enough with the Xbox hype!!!

Re:Slashdot Or MS Xbox Hype Daily

[wift]

I will answer your obvious troll with a Yes to your second question.

Re:Slashdot Or MS Xbox Hype Daily

[Anonymous Coward]

I really don't see how microsoft thinks they can accomplish anything with all this hype.

They were the king of hype with the first xbox and it got them nowhere. I don't see why they are spending all this money and more of the same hype.

Why the hell aren't they using all this hype money to take all the big PS2 exclusives away from Sony? Wasting money buying time on MTV?? Who gives a shit about MTV. Buy GTA microsoft!!!

Re:Slashdot Or MS Xbox Hype Daily

[ignorant_coward]

Marketing department? Haven't you noticed that in nearly every comments section about Microsoft, 99% of the posts are dicing up Microsoft to be fed to a pack of rabid coyotes?

There aren't even that many comments for this article, meaning, largely, people don't care. The people who do care enough to post are ambivilent.

Re:The new Rare titles aren't so hot? Surprising..

[Reignking]

Are they Free or New Radicals? Weren't the New Radicals a band -- a one-hit wonder?

Re:What are the first two?

[Anonymous Coward]

now you are just being obtuse. I would say that macs are pretty common. Also, linux and unix are not exactly rare, you know.

Unveiling?

[AzraelKans]

More likely: "confirmation of all the information we leaked all over the internet ;)" I guess it may be called an unveiling for those who havent checked the web,tv and comics for at least 2 months or so.

Re:Unveiling?

[KDR_11k]

those who havent checked the web,tv and comics for at least 2 months or so.

aka MTV's target audience.

gogol bordello tshirt prediction

[Anonymous Coward]

i predict elijiah wood will be wearing a gogol bordello tshirt

BAD TIMING - Same as Apprentice

[MBraynard]

Damn. I dunno what I'm going to watch. What a lousy time slot to choose!

Re:BAD TIMING - Same as Apprentice

[BigumD]

You sir, are obviously not the target demographic!

Re:BAD TIMING - Same as Apprentice

[MBraynard]

No, see, I am the target. I'm 27, male, and single with a good chunk of discretionary income. I owned an Xbox and 30 games. I ordered the original in advance as part of a bundle that had 2 controllers, 4 games, and the DVD remote. I received it on the morning of release. I'm likely to do the same with the next Xbox if I like what I see.

Sony knew the Apprentice demo overlapped their own and they paid to have their product featured as one of the projects on the show. I wish MS had done this or been as smart about this announcement.

Re:The new Rare titles aren't so hot? Surprising..

[UWC]

I've seen a few recent reviews that note that, with respect to actual gameplay, the Timesplitters games are not much beyond Goldeneye or Perfect Dark (e.g. no jumping, etc.). While they're still fun, other console FPSes are evolving beyond that toward more PC-like levels of interaction. The level designer in the newest one is noted to be unique among console games, at least. And they added online play, too.

It makes perfect sense

[HellPhish]

If that is the final name, you can be sure they picked it because of all the other next-gen console names. PlayStation 3, Nintendo Revolution...

Re:What are the first two?

[damsa]

The guilty are not declared innocent. The guilty are declared not guilty nothing more nothing less. Even if Microsoft did not have a current Monopoly, Sherman act has offenses for attempted Monopolization. I am not a lawyer but I play one on Slashdot.

It ain't the Davinci code...

[WarPresident]

I really hope not, that is a hiddeous name.

Let's see... Elijah Wood (Frodo).
Hmm, Xbox 360... Xbox - fairly obvious.
360 - relating to degrees, a circle, a ring! The Precious?

Wait, would that make Bill Gates Sauron or Gollum?

Re:The new Rare titles aren't so hot? Surprising..

[KDR_11k]

Free Radical. Now they've got a publishing contract with EA so expect them to disappear into some Bond development team soon.

NOT the Xbox 360, according to Xbox rep...

[mrdogi]

I work at a retail store, and the Xbox rep. was in today, making sure that I know about the unveiling on MTV. He let me know that the name was going to be call Xenon, not the 360. I'm assuming that that is the correct spelling.

Anyway, thought you'd like to know, if you didn't already.

Re:NOT the Xbox 360, according to Xbox rep...

[radish]

Xenon is the internal codename for the project. All the released/leaked photos so far show the name as Xbox 360 and the marketing materials heavily feature circles. If it's not called Xbox 360, I'll eat my wavebird controller.

Re:NOT the Xbox 360, according to Xbox rep...

[Anonymous Coward]

And I'd pay to watch you do just that. Especially if you keep it on a see if it still works after being ingested.

Re:NOT the Xbox 360, according to Xbox rep...

[MBraynard]

I guess the MS Rep was... wrong.

Re:NOT the Xbox 360, according to Xbox rep...

[Detritus]

I watched the show, and while they called it the "Xbox 360", I noticed that some of the signs in Microsoft's offices said "xenon". That would be consistent with it being a code name.

Except you misspelled...

[Anonymous Coward]

Buy, buy

Re:The new Rare titles aren't so hot? Surprising..

[Anonymous Coward]

free radicals? As in the chlorine radical. Sounds dangerous to me. :)

Re:The new Rare titles aren't so hot? Surprising..

[Anonymous Coward]

- The Rare expatriates left to form Free Radical. Great guys, but they haven't been doing too much other than Timesplitters games.

- Nintendo ended Rare's contract after Rare offered themselves up for total sale to Nintendo. To make this happen, Nintendo sold off their existing shares. Rare couldn't have done jack shit without Nintendo doing this on their own desire.

- Rare is now pure shit, like an engine running on reputation fumes alone. Not only are they now devoid of their former talent, but they are still unable to create games with any regularity or even any distinction any more.

In summary:

- Nintendo made off like bandits in selling off their parts of Rare and letting (making) them go.

- Former Rare employees are still going strong at Free Radical and other development houses.

- Current Rare folks are riding high on Microsoft money, but are worthless as developers.

- Microsoft spent a lot of money to buy themselves a nice Faberge egg for the mantle, and are now trying to make it _do_ something. Good luck to that end, MS.

Re:x-box name

[gmrc.2]

HAHA ..

Clever clever .....

well.. last chance: "Xbox next"

[AzraelKans]

This is my last chance to predict the name will be "xbox next" not 360.( but by now Im not sure). check the time this was posted.

Why xbox next? Theres a nice puzzle in colony.org revealing that in ascii code, also xbox360.com has been bought by some kid. xboxnext.com belongs to MS and last but not least, gamasutra has the console listed as "xbox next".

We shall see if I was right in about 2 hours.

Some other things to find out:

Backward compability.
Xbox live for free.
Hard drive yes or no.

Hey if you dont watch it on mtv you dont have to, it will be all over the news by tomorrow morning.

Re:well.. last chance: "Xbox next"

[Anonymous Coward]

idiot

MTV in Canada isn't showing it. CTV is at 12:30...

[Anonymous Coward]

... and I am not waiting that late tonight just to watch a little marketing thing by Microsoft. Someone has got to torrent this.

Microsoft has released an Xbox 360 video

[Anonymous Coward]

Here be the link: http://msxb.wmod.llnwd.net/a274/o2/ourcolony/TheCo lony_v1_750k.wmv

Just open, let WMP open the file and stream it (if you try to download the file, it's only 120kB or something, it has to be streamed).

Have fun.

(Spoilers: Confirms name, confirms the 3 core thing, confirms look, confirms controller look, confirms remote control look, shows some cool stuff on the GUI, and is pretty much hype after that)

video and interviews

[Anonymous Coward]

found this site

with lots of interviews game shots etc..
http://www.spacecast.com/xbox360/

This is really lame...

[sammaffei]

Currently watching the special.

Mostly glitz. Very little info. No word on backward compatibilty.

The system is lame looking and still too big. Madden was the only clip that impressed at all.

The funny thing... They are targeting teens and 20 somethings. Samsung is co-promoting HDTVs with XBox 360. How many in that age range can afford both the game system and the HDTV to really enjoy it?

Clue M$, just because you have Frodo and some ganagsta wannabes doesn't make you cool. It just shows how lame and truly out of touch you are.

Re:This is really lame...

[Detritus]

Samsung is heavily promoting, and investing in HDTV. They may be planning to introduce some cheaper HDTV sets when the Xbox 360 is introduced. It would make sense for them and Microsoft.

MTV's Xbox 360 launch event was...

[Anonymous Coward]

was a total waste of time. Out of a 30min program there was maybe 120 seconds of game footage (the footage that was shown was impressive). Most of the time it was commercials, the camera being focused on the person's FACE playing the game, or idiots running their mouths about how "hyped" they are for Xbox 360 etc etc. Plus, throw in the usual "thug" attitude that all the kiddies think is cool and what you have is a large, brown, stinking turd of a program. I guess I expected to much but, my God if you are going to have a "launch special" have some real content and not a bunch of actors talking about something they know NOTHING about. Anyway, I won't fall for the same marketing ploy with the Playstaion 3 "launch event" if there is one.

*rant off*

Re:MTV's Xbox 360 launch event was...

[SScorpio]

I have to agreee with you about the lack of actually showing game footage; however, IMO the footage while it looks good it didn't look any different than games on a PC do now. At least we'll be able to go over 640x480 on our TVs and it will also do anti-aliasing.

Re:MTV's Xbox 360 launch event was...

[GURU Meditation 8000]

....ah! finally we'll have the same abilities in a mass market console that the Dreamcast gave us ;-)

That was terrible

[Tibor the Hun]

history of gaming according to xbox:
pacman, atari, xbox, xbox in hd...

the game footage they showed was terrible.
doom3 has better graphics.
i thought this thing was supposed to be more advanced than today's PCs.
with a product such as this, there's no way they'll be able to keep up with real next gen consoles...

Re:That was terrible

[Trogdor451]

I agree. I found the '360 quite unimpressive actually. And here is a thing that I thought about. The if the one version with the hard drive is backwards compatible, will it have controller ports? Since they are all wireless..... What about my DDR pads? Will those work? The graphics also didn't look too much better than other systems either. Microsoft, you better not pull a Dreamcast on us.....

Re:That was terrible

[Tibor the Hun]

the graphics were my biggest shock. it was a WTF? moment.. I don't think sony and nintendo have to worry. (as long as they include wireless controllers, those are nice)

and my god, did you see all the babes there? if only they knew that I have years of experience playing the games!

Re:That was terrible

[rhuntley12]

The games still have awhile to be developed. Also, I don't think any game at launch has ever looked good or taken advantage of a system fully. Look at PS2 release games, and first year compared to new games.

mtv 360: God awful

[thundar2000]

Wow, that show was god awful.

I think it comes down to, playing games is amazing fun... watching people play games, watching people talk about games, watching people talk about how they are going to play a game, well *that* just really sucks.

That show... actually made gaming in general, look well, incredibly stupid.

Only high point, watching the final transformation of J Allard from dullard windows network geek, to 'far too old to pull off' mtv rad dude. Worth the whole pile of stinking program to see that clown show.

Other high point, realizing that we will be playing the same games, just with fancier graphics, and then feeling really sad.

mtv 360: God awful

[thundar2000]

Wow, that show was god awful.

I think it comes down, playing games is amazing fun.

Watching people play games, talk about games, talk about playing games, well that just sucks.

I think in general, that show actually made gaming look pathetically stupid.

Only high point, seeing the final transformation of J. Allard from dullard windows networking geek to mtv cool rad dude wannabe.

Sad moment: realizing that I will be paying more money to play the same old games with fancier graphics.

That show was an insult.

[Anonymous Coward]

That show was an insult to anyone with an IQ over 75.

It made gamers look like idiots who talk like gangsters and "pimp" stuff.

It does not surprise me in the least to see MTV turn this into a 30 minute spectacle with no substance.

To "reveal" something to the world seems to indicate you will give details about it.. not just have 30 year old white guys make fools of themselves to try and appeal to a 'younger hip' audience.

Microsoft you should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing that dog-shit taco to run on MTV.

Re:That show was an insult.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah...

The show was...

"Flashy Distraction"
=White Box-- wow...
"Concert"
"Flashy Distraction"
"PIMP MY XBOX!"
=White Box-- wow...
"Flashy Distraction"
=White Box-- wow...
Wireless!
"Flashy Distraction"
You can buy game items!
"Flashy Distraction"
=White Box-- wow...
"Flashy Distraction" ... My brain lost cells and I now hate Xbox like Doomsday hates Superman.

My God Was That Pathetic

[Anonymous Coward]

Two words sum up that show.

Desperate and Lame.

I don't who the hell MS thought was their target audience for that disaster.

so...

[Anonymous Coward]

Any sign of a torrent yet? It wont hit my tellybox for 17 hours yet

Matt, UK

Okay....

[sheared]

That show sucked. I can definitely say that I am not their target audience. I did not see anything during the 2 minutes of actual footage that made me think that this was hundreds of dollars better than what currently exists with the XBox.

Re:Okay....

[Hellraisr]

I agree about the show. For those of you that want to see a video about Xbox 360 that is much better, you can download it for free from www.ourcolony.net right off the front page.

I'd say it was at least 100% better than the shit they showed on MTV.

After seeing the Xbox 360 ....

[mbrewthx]

All I have to say is

The Phantom is dead!!!!
Long live the Phantom!!!!!
Xbox 360 kind of looks like a Phantom on Steroids. Infinum Labs could learn alot from Microsoft's unveiling.

I can just hear it...
"Boys I'm buying you a Phantom for Christmas"
"But Grandma if you get us an Xbox 360 we can give you our X-box for you house so we can play games with you when we visit"
"You boys are so good looking out for Grandma, now if we can just get your lazy as father off the couch"

Video Files available on MTV.com

[cgenman]

http://www.mtv.com/games/video_games/xbox/index.jh tml

Note - requires nasty proprietary combinations of Windows, Media Player, Internet Explorer, and DRM. I've seen the future, and it is locked down. They're also, oddly enough, significantly longer than what was shown on MTV.

These videos do show an impressive amount of physics, which is really what is missing from gaming currently. The graphics don't seem to be enough to wow, and I'm not looking forward to how much that much content will cost to develop, but certainly having that much extra processing power will come in handy. Hopefully it will go to making a better gaming experience rather than just a higher-poly, more normal mapped / enviornment mapped one. Condemned didn't give much hope, but the draw distance and physics in the other games was impressive.

Unfortunately, the most impressive things on new systems seem to be the tech demos. I remember the Xbox ping-pong demo was just stunning, probably moreso than the first round of games, as was the detail on the Dolphin for the Dolphin, or the PS2 shell screen. I'm kind of sad that there aren't any really "wow" demos for the Xbox 360, as a good tech demo is always an impressive, if pointless piece of eye candy.

go to this site:

[Anonymous Coward]

fuck you.com
Love, anonymous

XBox 360 or Dell Optiplex?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it just me or does the new xbox look like a dell optiplex system?

I just read ...

[Anonymous Coward]

all of your predictably manic-depressive responses to the introduction of the Xbox 360. Guys and gals: read the specs. This thing is impressive.

Re:I just read ...

[Anonymous Coward]

"This thing is impressive."

Huh?

Look at the weakass demos...

The xbox 360 looks like it has turned out to be a machine for pussies.

Re:I just read ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Read the specs, you dipshit.

Re:I just read ...

[Anonymous Coward]

I think he saw it in actual action as opposed to just reading a list and proclaiming its glory. People did that with the current generation of systems and were disappointed.

Re:I just read ...

[Anonymous Coward]

You can't read dumbshit.

Sony and Nintendo are going to make Microsoft their pathetic little bitch with such a weak system.

It's going to get ugly for MS over the next few months...

Re:I just read ...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Pathetic little bitch?" You are lame. Another mysogenist. I have an idea for you. Education.

OurColony

[AaronBrethorst]

So... Let's just be honest here, the MTV special had far too much Elijah Wood and Pimp My XBox, and way too little J Allard (whose gamertag, as it turns out, is Hiro Protagonist), XBox 360, or the team that built the XBox 360. OurColony concluded an hour before the XBox special aired on MTV, and the final reward was a video featuring the XBox team talking about the 360 (including one guy wearing a Penny Arcade t-shirt).

Re:x-box name

[Anonymous Coward]

He stole the "I Have a Dreamcast" joke from a webforum Photoshop job from 2-3 years ago.

Fuck posting the link, but I still have the pic as wallpaper on my old workstation. It's of MLK Jr. holding a Dreamcast, subtitled with that statement.

Early video

[Anonymous Coward]

Found here http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8733

Here it is

[bjoern_wulf]

http://msxb.wmod.llnwd.net/a274/o2/ourcolony/TheCo lony_v1_750k.wmv

Streaming video of those xbox360 guys showing the new box.

Cryst! the specs are true!!!

[cttforsale]

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/factsheet.htm If this thing comes in at console prices, why even get a PC. It will be hacked. I wonder what the price will be. That is a nice piece of hardware!!!

Xbox 360?

[Stonewolf57]

By 360 I take it they mean they are turning the Xbox around in a full circle (figuratively speaking)...in order to go in exactly the same direction they were going before?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:x-box name

[Anonymous Coward]

(Grandparent AC here, not the great-grandparent)

He stole the "I Have a Dreamcast" joke from a webforum Photoshop job from 2-3 years ago.

No, I didn't. Ever stop to consider the possibility that a gag as corny as that might have occurred to more than one person in the world?

Although I was more than a little confused when I got modded up to +5. I didn't even think it was that funny. Actually, I was half-expecting to be lumped in with the OP's -1 Troll.