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The Successes and Failures of the XBox
thegamebiz writes "Amped IGO continues its 'XBox Retrospective Week' with a great two-page feature breaking down exactly where Microsoft went right and wrong with the XBox. From the article: 'Both lists have included hardware and the acquisitions of developers, but both have ended by reverting to the big issue: games...No matter how many impressive technical specs are shoved down our throats we must remember one simple fact: in the end, it's all about the games.'"
"It's all about the games." I didn't buy an Xbox for the games, I bought it for the Xbox Media Center. Of course I had to void the warranty, but I've never used a warranty for anything I've bought anyway.
Fuck Slashdot
They had two games that were supposed to be part of the launchday lineup, that were offshoots of the movie A.I. From what little I heard, they were cool, and expanded that universe. But they apparently dumped them because the movie was considered unsuccessful in the U.S.
I told myself when I heard about the games coming out that I'd be sure to buy the system as soon as they did. Still haven't bought an XBox. Bought a PS/2 instead, after the first price drop.
SUCCESSES:
5. VIRAL MARKETING: Check
4. THE HARD DRIVE: Not the standard in all machines, which is major key to the original xbox. This might lead to a failure of the system.
3. XBOX LIVE: Check, all your box are belong to us! More invasive than before, even.
2. NORTH AMERICAN MARKET PENETRATION: Check, maybe, if the supply chain holds up.
1. THE ACQUISITION OF BUNGIE: Check, sorta, they are still there but without any radical or life changing games in the pipeline. Time to ressurect Marathon?
FAILURES:
5. THE "DUKE" CONTROLLER: The new controller is a lot different. Until I actually use it...
4. THE ACQUISITION OF RARE: This is going into the success column, I think, cause the new games they are working on.
3. THE CANCELLATION OF TRUE FANTASY LIVE ONLINE: Check, still not there. I'm sure they'll be working on MMO's for xbox 360 though. Hard drive required.
2. NO ASIAN MARKET PENETRATION: Without a massive games lineup change, I don't see this happening.
1. LACK OF GENRE VARIETY: On launch, the differences between xbox 360 games and previous gen games is so small, I think this is a major failure.
We'll see how the launch goes. Not much time left though...
Gonzo Granzeau
"Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
To this day, I still dont understand the obsession with these games and how they manage to sell consoles. The most lauded console FPS in the last decade has to be Halo, which I personally couldnt bring myself to finish. I played a handful of other FPS's on my PS2, and always came to the same conclussion, its always the same story/characters across different settings with random and mind numbingly boring combat throw into the mix.
Im sorry, maybe its my age coming into play here ( im 30 ), but the dialogue and especially violence in theses games seem to be written to target a 12 year old. Plots from the games I played were well... um.... I suppose unique is a nice way to say it... non-sensical is probrably a more accurate way to put it. Then again, maybe its because I was raised playing mostly PC based FPSs so I have developed a different mindset and expectations then most console RPG gamers. Then again... I found Duke Nukem fun... but hey wait... I was what, 12 at the time? Makes sense.
So, as I said, I avoid the XBox exactly because I prefer games outside the FPS mode. Yet, I know im the minority here.
I trust you see my point.
This is an on-line article. What do you mean there are two pages? Oh... There's really one one page of information split up to accomodate twice the number of ads. I get it.
I have to say this is one of the reasons I'm glad that the Xbox and PS2 had somewhat different markets where they excelled: there are different kinds of gamers with different tastes. It's great that there's a console that had what you wanted. As for me, since I dig those Japanese games, the PS2 is what I have and I've never touched the XBox. All my American RPGs are on the PC.
Though I will let you know, I've always thought that people who played J-RPGs for the story or characters are nuts. I agree with you, so much of the time they're all the same. There are exceptions (SMT from Atlus, arguably Xenogears, some NIS games), but even those are debatable. To me, the whole point of playing these games is all about the battle system and the progression systems. FFVII had a confused and meandering plot that eventually just drops itself and finishes, but what made it fun was the materia system. What keeps me playing Final Fantasy games are the different systems in place like materia, sphere grids, or a job system. The battle system was pretty simple, but the character progression was fun.
On the other hand, Shin Megami Tensei and Digital Devil Saga from Atlus both had very fast-paced battles, yet even still most average battles required some thought, care, and strategy. Games like that are nice, the only older RPG I can think of where you could get your butt kicked no matter how powerful you thought you were was Chrono Trigger.
So just so you know, even people who love J-RPGs have the same complaints as you. Heck, that's what makes the list of role-playing cliches funny. But in spite of their shortcomings, they can be a lot of fun.
If there is any lesson to be learned from the Xbox, it is that people like to play against other people, not computers. Is Halo 2 the best FPS ever? No. There are better shooters on the PC, many of them play better on the PC, and they certainly usually look much better with the appropriate expensive hardware. On the other hand, Xbox Live allows for easy network play at all times of the day against opponents from all over the world.
Did I mention that it's easy?
Does M$ need a great MMORPG? Sure. Does it need to have other genres better represented? Of course. However, having online play on so many games means that you're never stuck trying to get past a certain level. You don't even have to play the single player games. Live is fun.
Besides, M$ never released Myth on the Xbox. What a bummer.
Make love, not reality television.
Are all overshadowed by the amount of money MicroSoft lost. Look, the Xbox 360 would need to be the most profitable console ever for MS to break even on this venture. No other company could sustain this level of loss. In fact, this sort of business model is precisely the sort of thing that our anti-trust laws should prevent. Microsoft must be paying some politicians a lot of money to overlook the Xbox subsidy in every Windows or Office license the government buys. It is a fucking joke to call this preversion of our economic system a success.
"It instead competed by traditional means, and made the Xbox a success through its smart business practices, games, and focus on offering a central unified online gaming service."
Having effectively unlimited funds doesn't hurt either. Unlike other companies, Microsoft had no exit strategy if the XBox tanked -- other than pouring more money into it.
I once told a friend that with Microsoft's cash reserves, they could pretty much afford to give away 10-12 million XBox bundles and still have a ton of play money left over. Even if each giveaway cost the company $500-$1000, it wouldn't deplete their cash reserves. What other companies could afford to do that??