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State of the 360
IGN is reporting on The State of the Xbox 360, detailing information on the next-gen console since this past E3. From the article: "Coming into the home stretch here, it's clear Microsoft has had its fair share of problems. The MTV event, though brilliantly conceived, was a hype-without-substance infomercial that impressed nobody, especially the most important people -- gamers. At the actual MTV event, I did an informal poll which revealed that three-fourths of the people attending were there only to see the Killers. E3 was underwhelming to put it mildly, and the summer months proved to be vacant of everything but rumors, leaks, and more rumors and leaks. The Tokyo Game show helped Microsoft's cause a little, and Microsoft finally revealed its Japanese pricing and the worldwide release dates, leaving one major news announcement left open - the day-and-date launch games. Apparently, Microsoft and friends are still working on these last details."
Its not surprising that all of this has happened, maybe the people were right. Maybe microsoft did rush the xbox360 out the doors to try to get a head up on the ps3 and maybe there going to pay for it. Alot of the things microsoft has done to hype up the 360 have failed miserably. The only thing i normally hear people talking about is either live or gears of war. Being somewhat of a sony fanboy i can only hope that they will botch up the 360 release, giving sony an extra edge on there release. They should of given there system more time, and released it a few months before the ps3 release instead of a complete year ahead.
I feel MS is going to rush the product to market and may have a poor launch because the quality of the first titles won't be much better than the games we have now on the latest generation of consoles. The one thing MS does have going for it is the upcoming holiday season, they will be the only new console in town and may get a lot of sales just from that. You would think MS would be doing a lot more to make people want to get the 360, but so far it's all been 'talk' and no actual content to look forward to.
...seeing how the MTV audience usually devours everything that is spoon-fed to them.
People are falling less and less for the hype, and that's a good thing - besides asthetical differences, there's nothing really different with the current-gen console systems and the one that's soon to be unveiled to us. IMHO, Nintendo is the only one coming with something remotely interesting.
Dreamcast 2
Seriously, I give Nitnendo credit for showing something interesting because othewise it's all tech-demos until the product takes advantage of the hardware. And graphics aren't the only thing. I recall Next-Generation overlooking Grand Theft Auto and giving it a mediocre review when of course it brought sandbox-gameplay to the table. The graphics weren't drool-worthy, but the gameplay resulted in the first - and most amusing crowd responsees I'd seen when it appeared at the local Gamestop.
I'm hopeful that the tech-specs of Sony's product will provide the muscle needed to blow my brain cells at some point, but I suspect they won't be blown until a year after the product is on the shelves. Of course, having some major horsepower behind GTA will be nice in of itself.
I thought microsoft might have put itself behind Nintendo once they kept themselves to their off-the-shelf model. I can't see the point in having a next-next-generation system that's only marginally better than my home computer - but then that's just me.
But a race for 3rd place isn't nearly as interesting as what Sony's doing anyway (HDTV centric - next gen HDTV movie playback sooner than the rest - GTA first release - deep developer pile - count me in).
Even the Dreamcast 360 label seems a little silly now. The Dreamcast was another dead before it hit the shelves console, but I don't think Sega could have had more disasters with their Dreamcast pre-launch if they had tried.
I don't think we will ever see a console launch disaster of this magnitude ever again.
Going all the way back to the 2600, I can't think of any console that even is in the same league as the 360's year long release and launch fiasco. Jaguar, CDi, Dreamcast...none of them are close to MS's 360 disaster.
While strolling through the EA Tiburon campus, I overheard a few things about the XBox 360 development units. It seems out of the 10 (or so) Dev Kits that Tiburon recieved, 7 of them had something serious wrong with them. Now granted these are beta kits, and not expected to function perfectly, but 7 out of 10 that could not so much as operate at all is a bad sign for even betas.
I also overheard this quote, "If the release version is even twice as good as these beta dev kits, you will never see me throwing down for one."
I am praying that there was just a bad string of chips, or the parcel was run over by a forklift before being delivered, but if they are correct, then I forsee a very rocky release.
Colonel Cranium this is Rectal Reconnaissance, we are on a collision course sir, Abort Abort!
The main thing that would tempt me to buy one of these is if RE5 is released for it exclusively...or maybe a sequel to Ninja Gaiden. I know that for many people, it would take Halo 3, but (I know it's heresy) I'm not a huge Halo fan personally.
I guess my point is... the new hardware's great and all, but MS had better have the games to back it up if they want me to buy in on their next gen console.
Who cares excuses EA cooks up, ESPECIALLY any excuses EA Tiburon is floating to their management (that you had the good fortune to overhear!).
They have no excuses when push comes to shove. They are making the absolute WORST software for the 360 - in the entire 100 title lineup! Madden looks TERRIBLE, NBA 2K5 makes Live look warmed over and plastic, and FIFA looks like someone melted some GI Joes.
I say what you heard was the whining of an overworked staff that knows they're working for a sub par division of a monstrocity of a company. Make any excuse to management - pass the buck... They're the low man on the totem pole, so what's left to blame? The machines! They will lay the blame for their faults on ANYTHING or anyone except themselves.
"It's the dev units fault. They're broked!"
"We don't have enough time!"
Translation:
"I can't manage time schedules or plan for tech failures!"
"Our artists aren't creative enough!"
It wouldn't surprise me if their shipping dock ruined the units. ALL alpha and beta hardware has its problems. Shit happens, these are fragile prototypes. Plan your work around it - things that rely on these specific prototypes have no effect on art, or missing features in games.
The delay probably cost them a week, if that... Not like they'd do anything with that week.
First, I said, "Let there be PS2," and there was PS2, and PS2 was good.
I hadn't owned a console system since my old NES, and I was blown away by the graphics, sound, and playability of the latest generation of games. I bought Tekken. I bought Madden. I bought Ridge Racer. I bought SSX.
Then, I said, "Let there be Xbox," and there was Xbox, and Xbox was good.
Several of my friends passed up the PS2 in favor of the Xbox, and I ended up buying on purely out of peer pressure. I hosted a few cookouts where they brought their Xboxes, hooked them up to my spare tv's, and we kicked each other's asses on Halo. I bought DOA Volleyball, and said, "Wow, a really unique and original game. (Oh, and by the way, Hitomi is a goddess...)"
Then, I said, "Let there be Gamecube," and my wallet reached up and punched me in the eye, so I had to pass up that system. :-(
I bought a few more games for each of the systems I had, and slowly came to the realization that the impossible had happened—I was bored with them. I bought Generic Fighting Game #362, Generic First Person Shooter #178#, Generic Role Playing Game #204, Generic Racing Game #140, and a bunch of others. (I've got to admit, Generic Stealth Mission Game #78 was not half bad...)
At this point, I am thinking that I will forego the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in favor of the Revolution. Why? Because what I need now aren't better graphics and sound. I've been there and done that, and it's no longer enough. What I need are new and original games, games that leave me saying, "Wow, that's pretty cool, the first of a new generation of Generic Games that will inevitably follow on the other systems. But until now, I haven't been there, and I haven't done that!" All indications I've seen so far from Microsoft and Sony point to just a bunch more Generic Games.
I may be mistaken, but Nintendo seems to be the only company right now thinking outside of the proverbial box. When I first saw the controller, I thought, "Are you kidding me? How can you play a decent game with a remote control?" The more I think about it, though, the more I think that it's probably not a bad idea after all. And more importantly, I respect Nintendo's willingness to say, "We know you haven't seen anything like this before, and that's what we're going to sell you: something different, and really, it won't suck!"
Next time I buy, that's exactly what I'm going to look for. If you're looking for prettier pictures, buy your Xbox 360 or PS3 and have fun. As for me, I'm going to wait until something more interesting comes along before I plop out hundreds of dollars.
Not to troll but I can honestly say that Microsoft has failed to give any really compelling reasons to buy the 360 and has already lost the 'Hype' war with Sony. Let's face it the XBox is being sold on 'Better Graphics' and 'More Features' but the Graphics aren't that much better and the new features seem rather pointless; games like DOA hardly look to be 'Next Generation' games and Gamer Cards are kind of cool but they're far from $400 cool.
When you compare the graphics of the XBox 360 to the 'theoritical graphics' of the PS3 (theoritical because they're tech demos and probably lies) the PS3 has shown things that really look amazing while the XBox 360 has shown some pretty evolutionary graphics. The Revolution has shown a controller that brings the possibility of new gameplay experiances whereas the XBox 360 is providing the exact same experiance as the XBox was.
I'm not going to say that the XBox will fail, I'm certain there are atleast 15-20 Million people who will buy one, but Microsoft has demonstrated no reason why they will become the market leader.
I have read a lot about the 360. I was there with the IBM jokes, I even watched the MTV show pretty much in its entirety (exception: I don't really care for the killers). After all is said and done, I'm probably not getting one.
Why? Microsoft hasn't triggered my herd instinct. There's no buzz or *reason* to want to line up at 12 am or whatever to be one of the first to buy the thing. Project Gotham Racing 3? Yawn...I haven't finished PGR2. I didn't like Perfect Dark on the N64, why should I like it on the 360 (full disclosure: I'm one of the few people, I guess, who didn't like Halo *at* *all* and have decided that for the rest of my life, I will play FPS on a mouse/keyboard rig, not a gamepad).
In short, I'm not going to spend that kind of money for "more of the same".
But wait, there's more!
Here I may be crossing into treasonous territory, but I feel pretty much the same about the PS3 as well. Lots of cool pics, awesome specs, but no game that I really care about has me marking Xs on my calendar till launch date.
The only *interesting* console was the, you guessed it, the Revolution, and the only thing that has piqued my interest is, like everyone else, the controller. Other than that, I think my feelings about the games run about the same...there'll be a Mario game (though hopefully a decent one...the GameCube seemed to have missed that). There'll be a Zelda game probably, and throw in a MarioKart and you have yourself a Nintendo console.
Come to think of it, *none* of the systems have inspired me to want to get the latest-n-greatest. I don't have a HD tv, I don't play sports games. So this puts me in an interesting situation...I can sit back and wait for the inevitible price drops. I can wait to see if certain vaporware ever materializes. I can kick back with my I Love Katamari and Zelda Twilight Princess and PGR2 (yes, have all three consoles) and determine my next move entirely on the *games* available.
Looks like I won't have to think about it for quite awhile.
christ, i mean really. some people really whine. oh well. modded my first xbox and seriously have so much fun with it now. looking forward to hack 360 too.
First let me commend you on a well written, witty & very entertaining read. It is good to see that there are still people on the web that can produce a coherent & well argued thought. However, I find a few flaws with your logic. First is your comment regarding generic games. I will agree that true innovation in games is hard to come by these days. But the lack of new ideas extends to Nintendo just as readily as it does to Sony or Microsoft. The large bulk of GameCube games revolve around the Kingdom of the Magic Mushroom. Mario.... Mario.... Mario! How many Mario incarnations / sequels does the world need? Grant it the Mario games are typically high quality well developed entities but seriously, Mario Cart, Mario Tennis, Mario Baseball, etc.. Can you say Mooooooo! Zelda? Metroid? Resident Evil? All sequels in their second, third or greater iteration! Besides, Zelda & Metroid are real old-school games who's rebirth on the GameCube revolved largely around an upgrade to what? Gee... graphics!? No different than any generic party game, generic dungeon crawl, generic FPS or generic survival/horror offered on PS2 or Xbox. I agree with you that Nintendo seems to be the only system willing to chance thinking outside of the box. However my reasoning differs vastly from yours. I believe that Nintendo has no choice but to take a radically different approach. GameCube sales have been abysmal to the point that Nintendo now sells the system for 100 bucks. Even at that bargain basement price they have moved very few units. So, they have this... umm... interesting controller. Well, what ground breaking games is it going to control? You can swing it like a bat, so... Mario Baseball? Mario Tennis? You can flick your wrist with it. So you can make Mario jump? Zelda run? How about a fishing sim? Remember the PowerGlove? Maybe its me, but I just do not see anything "revolutionary" about this controller. We already have non-traditional input devices such as the dace pad, light guns, steering wheels & foot pedels to name a few. Not to mention the Eye-Toy! Which is what I believe this is, an Eye-Toy rip-off. Lets think about the possible frustration factor. To play a game like Zelda, will you need to learn complex gestures to do the simplest of tasks? Are you going to spend your first hour of a game sitting there with a manual practicing the multitude of movements required? I'm just not sure! I would not be surprised if Nintendo or some third party developer produces a traditional controller for those games that just do not support the new controller or for people that just find it too difficult to use. Besides, the big question here is whether a controller can actually sell a system? I think not! Nintendo's problem, and they have admitted such, is that the Revolution will not be able to compete with the power of the Xbox 360 or the PS3. I do not believe this is by design, but out of necessity. Nintendo simply does not have the cash to invest nor do they have the time. I'm sure that Sony & Microsoft have been working on their next-gen consoles for at least the past 3 years. The Revolution will basically be a GameCube in a new package with updated technology, current run-of-the mill technology. That being said, I think that Nintendo will produce a solid system. But... I believe that it will be their last. Unless they have something more "revolutionary" up they're sleeves I just do not see them attracting additional buyers. There are almost no exclusive developers left & with the limited power of the system I am sure there will be NO cross-platform development for the revolution. They seem to be relying almost exclusively on their library of past games, most of which people have been playing for years. So its more Mario, old Mario, Link & old Link. Where is the innovation in that? The one thing they do have going for them is that expansive library of mostly quality games. I think their best strategy would be to dump the hardware, except for the handheld systems,
i guess i'm in the minority here. i'm looking forward to the 360 and planned on buying one at launch (fortunately i won one through the mountain dew contest). games like call of duty 2 are going to look sweet on the wide screen HD. plus the fact that it's a media extender just makes the microsoft whore inside me all giddy.
"first they ignore you, then they mock you, then they fight you, then you win"
Why has their market penetration grown beyond just the stupid people who will buy whatever's marketed to them?
Micropayments have been tried in a variety of ways to produce an alternative revinue stream in many industries and has yet to succeed and gain market support. With games it could be a terrible failure; this is because:
1)A large segment of gamers don't have credit-cards; talk all you want about how 'Mature' the PS2 and XBox fanbase is, the fact is that over half of their users are under the age of 20. This audience doesn't really have reliable access to credit so micropayments aren't a good model for them.
2)People distrust online purchases; most online sales are generated to people who have purchaced things already (ie. there isn't that much growth in who is buying things online), with the talk of fraud and identity theft few of these people will suddenly feel comfortable to buy content online.
3)People dislike buying a product twice. This generation the average game is going to have less real content than any generation before it because of the costs of development; when developers start selling 6-8 hour games for $50 and then start asking for $5-$10 for an extra 2 hours people are going to be pissed because 'Microsoft is ripping us off and selling a $50 for $100 by selling the game piece by piece'
1.Microsoft has thought of this already I read that you will be able to purchase a kind of a'xbox debit card' that you can use for online purchasing.
2.I dont know about the 'trust' thing.Ebay and Amazon sure dont have a problem with trust.
3.You give consumers too much credit.Hey they are already spending hundreds of dollars for the console and $50 for games I'm sure MS's marketers have thought about all this and have something up their sleeves for getting people to play.
OMFG where are mod points when you need them.
This is the must funny thing I have read in quite a long time... and really on time for the GP troll post!
Cheers parent!
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
"When you connect that Xbox 360 to your HD TV and Dolby 5.1-enabled stereo, you're going to find out just how sophisticated, deep, and fun the box itself is."
Of course if you preorder and buy the Core System SKU, you won't find out how sophisticated, deep, and fun the box is, because you didn't spend the extra hundred dollar Marketing Tax. Thanks IGN, you're so helpful.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I personally don't have enough cash to say, use it as toilet paper or smoke it or something. In fact, I'm broke. Kind of limits my choice to the Nintendo Revolution, which you know will be the most affordable one.
There really will only be one major factor in xbox's demise. The Blu-Ray. If MS had waited to get HD-DVD into thier box they might have had a fighting chance, without it they are going to go spiraling down hill. There are two major aspects to this speed, streaming is very slow on current-gen DVD's, streaming on te Blu-Ray is 4x-5x faster. For games like GTA that steam with is invaluable. The second is size. With current get dual layer you only get 7 gigs (2 gigs for MS use only). 7 gigs is not much for a "next-gen" game. At the studio I work at this is a huge concern, since we are streaming the world we only have available to us 4.5 gigs since swaping isn't possible, because it is too slow. Sharders are not the next-gen thing, with mulitple passes being taken for everything, with huge textures. The first couple of years will not make much of a diffrence. But when the majority of developers get used to using the new power, the xbox will lag behind and be lost. The whole "we will go HD later" is a joke as well. No publisher in thier right mind will rls on HD when they know the majority of xbox users have current gen DVD's. Thank fully Sony will not have this problem. Now if Sony would only decide to charge more and make a harddrive mandatory, ms would really be crying. And ofcource there will be a revolution sitting next to eveyones ps3.