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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."
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 Gamecube, on the other hand, is a whole other story. If you're not planning on purchasing an Xbox 360 or a PS3, I highly recommend you purchase a Gamecube to keep you busy until the Revolution comes out. I easily purchased twice as many games for the Gamecube as I did for the Xbox and PS2 combined. There are some stinkers for the Gamecube (mostly the ones that come out for all three consoles), but I found the experience to be better on average. Throw the Wavebird controller into the mix, and you can't beat it.
I'm not a Nintendo fanboy - I just appreciate good games. There are some unbelievable games for that little console. I have passed more time playing games like Windwaker, Eternal Darkness, Metroid, and Pikmin than I have with the games for the other two consoles. That's saying a lot considering how much time I've put into Morrowind on the Xbox. :)
Why has their market penetration grown beyond just the stupid people who will buy whatever's marketed to them?
My family owns a console gaming center, and, by and large, I've heard little to no buzz in the store for either the 360 or the PS3.... I get the same thing from my old co-workers in the Electronics department at Wal-Mart. It seems like there was an excitement with the last generation of consoles that just isn't there right now, something palpable that's missing. I was working for Wal-Mart when the DS and PSP were releasing, and we had people coming into the store on a regular basis, for three to four months in advance, asking about new information, looking for anything that they might not have heard elsewhere, and that just doesn't seem to be present. We're not even certain that we're going to need any 360s when they come out for the center.