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Out Of The XBox
theodp writes 'Bill G.'s snagged the cover of this week's Time, which asks the question: Is Microsoft about to do in the living room with the Xbox 360 what it did in the office with Windows? Turn to page 13 in your Book of Xenon, please: 'As the world's software leader, Microsoft is among the best suited to enable and capitalize this transformation. This is our opportunity to lose.' If PlayStation 3 folks are scared, they're not showing it. 'We look at delivering a quantum leap in technology, not just Xbox version 1.5,' quips a Sony spokeswoman.' The story also reveals that the previously discussed rumor about Halo 3 parrying the PS3 launch is accurate.
PS3 folks should be very scared. Just as Sony proved last time, the system with the best graphics doesn't always win... With 8 times the RAM and a triple core PPC processor, I don't see how anyone could call it the Xbox 1.5 though. Unfortunately, once you get past the new graphical capabilities of the next gen...you're still sadly left with the same gameplay we've been seeing since the 32 bit days....maybe Nintendo's eledged "Revolution" is the one to really be afraid of if they can carry out that promise.
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
"X-Box 1.5"?
... and people will buy the Sony anyway. Not because it will be better, but because of their exclusive contracts with the Rockstar for the Grand Theft Auto series. For many people, there simply is no reason to own a game console apart from playing GTA.
I'm not really all that fired up about the XBox 360... Until I see what games come out for it, I feel no real need to get one, but simply putting one of these things side-by-side with the current XBox or PS/2 makes it obvious that this is definately a huge leap forward, as far as the technology is concerned.
Let's set aside the massively faster CPU, and the collosally better graphics card. One would expect that.
This thing needs two wires: Power, and output. All the controllers connect wirelessly, and it uses 802.11 wireless for the network connection. I'm sorry, Sony, but I consider this a feature to be a very big deal, and one which you and Microsoft should have made the standard in the previous generation of consoles.
Full high-def support is also a biggie. DOAX on the old XBox in 480p looks far better than anything on the Playstation, but once you put it on the big-screen HDTV, the flaws become much more obvious.
I seem to recall Sony talking down the original X-Box back in the day... only to come out with a PS/2 console which in many ways is technically inferior. I've got a feeling history is repeating. Around November, Sony will ramp up yet another "just you wait" campaign, and eventually give us a PS/3 which is almost as good as the X-Box.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
If Microsoft can convince enough Japanese developers to make games for the system (By this I mean Capcom, Konami, Square, Namco, etc. NOT, games made by ex-employees of these companies that they've hired for their second-party developers) they'll be competitive with Sony. If it's a repeat of this last generation of consoles, they'll wind up with about 15 - 20% of the console market. Halo and a bunch of games that are available on Sony and Nintendo's machines won't be enough to take the console crown.
How many Microsoft astroturfers are working full time to get this amount of "Xbox 360 will rule the gaming industry!" crap onto Slashdot?
I really don't give a crap about how great Xbox 360 is supposed to be. There was only one game on Xbox I wanted to play that wasn't on one of the other consoles; that is the real problem with Xbox, not the hardware. Same goes for GameCube, really.
I'm quite happy with the graphical sophistication my GameCube already pumps out in Metroid Prime; what I want is good games.
The only place where I see the hardware as important is PS3, because frankly the PS2 is showing its limits, games like GT4 notwithstanding.
And remember: Microsoft has succeeded in turning a profit and becoming #1 in exactly two markets: office applications, and desktop operating systems. They've failed in every single other arena. Their success in gaming consoles would be remarkable, given their long history of failures and the strong competition. Xbox 360's dominance is far from assured, and the pro-Microsoft FUD being spread on Slashdot doesn't change that.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
First is the "media center" idea of the XBox 360. Good luck. You'll need it. I have a DVD player. Everyone does. In fact, I have many (computer, PS2, etc.). But the feature is nearly free, so I don't blame them for including it. Sony will do better in that regard because their machine will play Blu-Ray discs. But as for the rest of it, they are going to have a hard time getting me to use it for anything but games. Play music? Why should I rerip all my CDs? And even if they were in MP3 (they are in AAC), I bet I couldn't just copy them over to the X-Box 360, I'd have to re-rip them. I'm not going to do that. Unless I can stream them to the machine, I won't use that part. I won't play DVDs on it (already covered that). Now playing video would be nice if I could stream if off my computer (a Mac). But my guess is that you can only do that from a Windows Media Center eddition computer, which doesn't help me. They can put all the media features they want, it doesn't matter to me, I'll only be buying it for the games. I don't care about videoconfrencing, VOIP chat, or editing home movies (or anything else they come up with). It is a console, and while it is nice they will pack on all those features, I don't think it will make any real difference in sales.
The thing that WILL make a difference (in my mind) is the micropayments thing they are talking about. I don't know about the rest of you, but the idea of paying $1 so my character can wear a shirt that they sell at Old Navy sounds like one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. I will not be buying virtual shirts. I will not be paying money to unlock content on the disc. I refuse to pay to buy pointless items. I don't care if everyone who plays the game online gets a bright pink shirt with the word "Luzer" on it unless they buy another one, I'm not doing it. Go milk someone else for money, that idea will fail. And based on other industries (I'm looking at you cell phone companies), I wouldn't be buying that virtual shirt, I would be RENTING it for $1 per month. I WON'T PAY MONEY TO RENT VIRTUAL CLOTHING. I don't see myself buying extra soundtracks, cars to race with, new tracks, new levels, new playable characters, etc.
As for the X-Box 1.5 remark, it has some truth. The X-Box 360 is big because it has 3 cores. That is the most important part in my mind because it means that you have an additional 2 cores above what the current generation has for things like dynamically generated models (LOD on terain and such), and most importantly enemy AI. That single handedly more than trippled the ammount of CPU available to AI, so AI should get much more interesting in upcomming games.
As for the PS3, it is revolutionary in it's Cell architecture, providing 8 cores. Now because they are so specialized, they may be harder to program. But if it works out (I should probably say "when" because with Sony, they'll find a way to get benefit out of it even if it takes a while), it will make the X-Box 360 look like an X-Box 1.5 in how far they are from the programming model of the last generation of consoles.
Nintendo is the wildcard in all this. I saw what is suposedly their logo for the Revolution (which I doubt is real because Nintendo always changes from the codenames of their systems). But if what they are promising works out, it sounds quite interesting. Now the question is (after writing all the above) will the Revolution have multiple cores? If not, they could be at a real disadvantage once games start taking advantage of 'em.
The next year or so should be interesting to watch. I like the idea of MS releasing Halo 3 when the PS3 comes out because of the shear bravado of it. But if Halo 3 isn't as good as people hope (or the PS3 has some amazingly popular break out launch title) then the move could backfire. The other thing to watch on MS's part is backwards compatibility. That is the ONLY feature that I care about from them that would change my mind on purchase. Right now
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I just don't get all the hate and vitriol that console fanboys spew on boards like this.
Is being anti-ms or pro-ms so important to people? Is this like a large core of your existence?
It seems pretty simple to me...
1. If you like a console, and the games available for it, buy it.
2. If you don't like a console, or its games, don't buy it.
3. If you like all the consoles, buy them all.
So much is subjective... from gameplay styles to graphics. Some people prefer the more cartoony (imo) Nintendo stuff, some like the range of Sony games, some like the Xbox for its superior graphics or whatever. Great! That means that whatever you like, there will be something for you. Does it really hurt you as a person when someone else buys something you wouldn't have?
"M$ is evil blah blah blah"
Um, so? Blind hate is as misguided as blind adulation. You do realize that the developers working inside that huge company are just as committed to creating great things as the developers at ANY large company. They wouldn't be in the business if they didn't love it.
Hate Gates for being a tool if you want, and Balmer for being a twit, but the devs are like devs anywhere (though they seem to fall more on the brilliant/antisocial end of the scale, perhaps because of hiring practices.)
For the record, I own all 3 consoles, but I haven't plugged in the GC in months, and the PS2 only really gets use for Katamari Damaci. I'm addicted to PGR2 on the Xbox, though.
Of course, maybe if I owned a PC I would understand the hatred better... (I like my G5 too much.)
m-
You catch enchiladas by picking them up behind the head and holding them underwater until they don't kick anymore -VeGas