Slashdot Mirror
Xbox 360 Launches In U.S.
Well, it's here. Braving long lines and launch parties, and even jail time, those that were willing to pony up the time and money have their hands on the first player in the next-gen war. 360 impressions are available all across the web, with [H]ardOCP and Gamespot offering exhaustive experiences for the interested gamer. The BBC, as always, offers a bigger perspective on the launch, and Gamasutra confirms that Microsoft is in for the long haul in the games industry. From the BBC: "Sony and Nintendo are planning to unleash their next gen consoles during 2006, giving Microsoft an edge over its rivals. The software giant is virtually tied with Nintendo for second place, way behind Sony, in a games market worth $25 billion globally. Microsoft has ambitious plans for its new machine. It said it expects to ship up to three million 360s worldwide within 90 days. But the company has admitted that the worldwide launch of the console could mean shortages in the run-up to Christmas. The console is due to hit Europe on 2 December and Japan on 10 December and some retailers are also warning about limited supplies."
Microsoft is in for the long haul
This is where it all falls apart. Killer this, great that, awesome the other thing. Really, the only hype that matters is this:
Microsoft touts this as a brilliant center of home media and that's probably true for anyone who doesn't already have a home entertainment center of some sort. But what the distillate is you're not going to buy it to watch DVDs on, you're going to play games with it. You're not going to surf the internet, you're going to play games with it. It won't transform you into some actuallized renaissance man (or woman) through shear wonderfulness of the Total Microsoft Experience, you will play games with it.Microsoft is under some crazy dellusion that this is some hook into the household which will bring more fish in. Really, it'll just bring gamers who are only loyal until the next gotta-have game pops up on the next revolutionary console.
If you've guessed by now that I'm not getting one, you would be right. My Athlon64 PC with top of the line video and sound cards plays this game just fine. I see no reason to switch.
"worldwide launch of the console could mean shortages in the run-up to Christmas. The console is due to hit Europe on 2 December and Japan on 10 December and some retailers are also warning about limited supplies."
Argh, the hype! Must resist... must resist!
Oh. That wasn't so difficult.
I wonder how many of these will actually go straight from the store to eBay because money is more attractive than having one.
It must suck to live in a rural area and have to get your fix this way.
new for xbox 360: uncle steve's chair toss and monkey dance combo! limit numbers, buy today!
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Will this bring peace to earth? It's just a gaming console, nothing constructive there.
Just like the Dreamcast had, eh?
In short, people will wait for the next-gen offerings from Nintendo and Sony.
....... When will we see a LINUX distro for it?
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
Your hype of limited supply and such has prompted each release location to be complete with flashing sirens and people in police uni... wait, real cops arresting some of your customers while giving lectures to others.
My Dad works at the Fry's Electronics in Downers Grove, IL, and there was a line around the building when we got there at 7am this morning. I thought there was some kind of early Black Friday thing going on until I remembered the XBox launch date.
All SOLD OUT at Circuit City, Best Buy, Comp USA, Toys R Us, Game Stop... Some retailers claim single-digit shipments of consoles to their stores, but I honestly believe that the shipments were much larger, but these electronics store clerks get a fringe benefit of being able to purchase the newest electronics stuff before regular consumers get a chance to. Or maybe they are buying a whole bunch from the stock, then selling on ebay at high prices. So I figure that cuts the actual available stock in half, just due to this inside scoop.
Anyway, I'm going to fire up Call of Duty on my Mac G5 so that hopefully that will quell my itch to play a video game.
"Some gamers have gone to even greater extremes - like the man who robbed an Electronics Boutique store in Stafford, Virginia in the early hours of this morning. According to US website GameSpot, he held the store manager up at gunpoint and ordered him to hand over two Xbox 360s. Presumably ones with hard drives."
;)
Gee, Microsoft are really taking viral marketing to new heights here. Move over iLoveBees...
...I would like to see a TCO report between this, the PS3 and the revolution. I'm seriously thinking of investing in a game console.
I saw Israelis and Palestinians settling their differences and playing a nice game of Perfect Dark Zero together.
This is truly a groundbreaking new system!
/Got Gamertag?
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
Don't ya think Microsoft has more than enough money to make enough units to go around for the inital launch? Or is it some kind of stunt to make people want it more?
The difference is, Dreamcasts are still fairly interesting. Seems Sega gave up on it too soon.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Anyone have preliminary stats or educated guesses as to how many they sold? I think on averaqge each best buy got about 50 consoles. Dunno walmarts.
So is games.slashdot.com going to shut down, now?
Without Xbox2 news, the page will be barren until the Xbox3 hype begins... in a few weeks.
Nevermind.
Apparently some people are willing to pay over a thousand bucks for one.
5 1&tid=211
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For those that haven't gone blind yet (article minus the blinding blue theme): http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/22/17462
so. what happens to the xbox now? discontinued? discount bin at odd lots? are they expecting developers to code for the PS2, x-box and 360?
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
It launched already??? Why haven't I heard anything about this yet?!?! The slashdot editors need to get off their asses and help hype this thing a little bit...
Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
Wow those guys really must be going without food
you will see that this machine really is well done and offers lots of useful features. It is very well thought out and if you opt for the harddrive you get even more options.
I was actually impressed with its ability to work with other devices to include an iPOD and PsP. The nice thing about this machine is that it really is expandable as wireless gives them many options. You will probably see an addon keyboard/mouse combo one day.
There are many of us out here who don't need our PCs to program on, we have them for games, other entertainment, e-mail, and surfing. Give me an insta-on box with those features and I may just consider it. The XBOX360 is actually the first console I am seriously considering because of the potential.
Playing DvDs is a bonus, if it means one less component I have to hook up or keep up with all the better. People harped on the PS2 for the same reason yet I know many who have one for that very reason.
Just because its Microsoft doesn't make it wrong which seems to be your whole beef against it. (who made it)
(allow me to run some IBM style emulator/vpn over the net with a wireless keyboard and I really really need a PC even less)
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
There doesn't seem to be much new or interesting about the Xbox360 or then other next gen machines (apart from the nintendo revolution). It just seems to have more RAM, faster processor, etc. Thinking about it, what will the next generation consoles do that the current ones (gamecube, Xbox, etc) couldn't? Maybe games will have better graphics, but it seems to me like graphics have gotten as good as they really need to be.
A friend waited in the hype cue at a Wallmart for 8 hours and picked one up last night. Apparently they had 32 to sell and and a line of 50 people. At 10mins before midnight a guy shows up walking the line waving 300 bucks for someones spot in line. Needless to say someone thought having his xbox mostly paid for a little later, rather then tonight, was worth giving up his spot.
But thankfuly not my pixel junkie mate and I got to play it. Overall it seems really solid but out of the 4 games he got, nothing grabbed me. His long wait for a native title that can push this new system to its limit has begun.
Is it just me, or when they always say how much the games market does it always grow by about 5 billion each time? First it was 12-15 billion market, then 20 billtion 2 weeks later, now its suposedly 25 billion... I still think its around 12-15 billion due to exageration error...
I love to slaughter the english language.
My work this morning had an xbox 360 set up to demo the ppc in side. Being the only one that can play games i took a shot at madden 2006 for it. My only real complaint about the game, and i can't believe i'm about to say this, was MADDAN WASN'T IN IT?!?! I didnt hear any of his annoying sayings, which one would think was a good thing, but alas i'm used to it so i felt naked!
MS came out with a new game system? How come there wasn't any media coverage of this? I'd expect there to be at least some story about on Slashdot even if the mainstream media dropped the ball.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
I heard on the radio this morning about how the retailers are already selling out of 360s. Of course all that is by design as we saw previously: http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/03/ 0026241&tid=211. Never mind that it's all social engineering...go buy yours now before they are all gone!!!
Microsoft touts this as a brilliant center of home media and that's probably true for anyone who doesn't already have a home entertainment center of some sort.
Yup. Its perfect for college students and the like who have to pick up and move every few semesters and share stuff with other people. Why stock up on a lot of equiptment when a XBOX will function as your multimedia center?
-everphilski-
Lord a'mighty, have you seen how much these fuckers are going for on ebay? Check out the listings... one even sold for over 5,000 dollars (yes, five thousand).... Wow.
Joseph?
I'm still unclear about why the fact that 360 is out first is a definitive advantage. I guess they get a chance to take a first crack at the market, but...there seems to be some extremely dark clouds on the horizon due to this early arrival.
1. No HD-DVD or Blu-Ray- whatever happens with this media format debacle, the people with the new 360 out now wont have it.
2. Future Version Product Confusion/Backlash- Because of the above, when they begin to release future updated hardware versions of the 360, the market will be confused as to what they should purchase. Its not a new system, but it has new features this time around. Will there be expensive add-ons to accommodate current owners? Because those who have the old and not the new are gonna be pissed that they didn't get the finished system. This isn't the slim-downed PS2 I'm talking about here. That was a cosmetic change or downgrade option(imho), this will be a complete technical upgrade.
3. Debut game lineup-What lineup? If I don't like sports or shooting Nazi's... not much left, maybe Kameo. Much of the "meat and potatoes" was delayed past X-mas, creating a weird kinda of late winter "secondary launch".
4.All they are competing with is heresay and conjecture-The hard and fast realities of the PS3 and Revolution are still out in the open. So a decision by the consumer is hard to make, because no real comparison can be made. This will inevitably create a bubble of "undecided". Although with how rabid gamers can be, there will always be those too impatient to wait.
I'm no fanboy, I own all three of the current generation and agree all have things about them I like. It just seems to me that we've got a situation here where the 4th grader has rushed to finish his test first and hand it in to the teacher so he can look back at the class and say "I'm done first". Even though he did a sloppy job, didn't fully answer each question and in the end didn't get a great grade.
I am and always will be a stereotype, because who in their right mind prefers mono?
Phase 1) Hype up next-gen console, convincing all those gamers that it really is worth having.
Phase 2) Release next-gen console, intentionally undersupplying the retailers to ride that "sold out" hype wave.
Phase 3) Profit.
Phase 4) Release all the games on PC anyways.
Phase 5) More profit.
Phase 6) Suckers realize they wasted $400 on a console whose games are coming out on PC anyways.
Phase 7) "Leak" (a.k.a. plant) information about the NEXT next-gen console onto the web.
Phase 8) Return to Phase 1.
"You will pay for your lack of vision..." - Emperor Palpatine to Ray Charles
Disappointed lot of gamers. Release was very poorly managed with just 20 pieces for every store. Whether Microsoft made money or not, eBay and speculators are making money. The latest Winning bid: US $2,225.00
partly to offer some kind of counter offense against Microsoft's Xbox 360 blitz, partly to rehabilitate itself from the DRM rootkit mess.
Sun and Fun
Is that you? Such insight...
My original XBox with mods is working perfectly so I think until they stop making the games for it I will be hanging on to it. The HD game play is slightly attractive but not enough to re-invest a boat load of cash and time into.
If the hype is to be believed, getting an Xbox 360 this XMas may be a long shot. So what are Ma and Pop who don't really know a lot about gaming, going to do? Why they'll just pick up a regular Xbox of course for a lot less money. There undoubtedly will be some coat tails sales of the first Xbox, even more if they cut prices. But don't expect any marketing of this from Microsoft. PS 2 sales may benefit too, but since the kids will be all, Xbox this and Xbox that, the old Xbox stands a better shot of getting some more sales this way.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
if you play a sony audio cd in it.. does it install it's rootkit?
what a tough decision..
we hate MS because their evil..
we now hate sony because their evil..
nintendo games suck because they're not evil..
what's a geek to do.
Is that the answer, then? don't buy a PS3 if you want to send a clear signal to Sony that their recent actions will not be tolerated.
or do you not really care when faced with the prospect of not having your precious game console?
My sincere hope in that the console makers are moving to PowerPC arch is that this will increase the pace of Linux dev for 64bit PPC architectures. There has been a lot of good work done, but the pace has been a little slow. I'm not much of a gamer, but this is one of the many benefits that gaming brings to other markets.
...still holds true for the Xbox360. I am not a graphics whore, so Microsoft isn't offerring anything of interest to me. I own a DVD player, I already have a computer, and I don't plan on getting HDTV to have prettier games. At least Nintendo is attempting to innovate. And if their innovation doesn't pan out, they have a fallback plan - in that there will be an "accessory" for the Revolution that will allow you to use the new controller in some sort of an "old fashioned" controller shell. As for the PS3, it is going to be awfully powerful - and that is really all I know for sure about it. The problem here is not me, as a gamer, saying "Make me a prettier game!". It has come down to me saying "Make me a game that will take longer than a weekend to beat. And don't do it by requiring me to power up characters for no other purpose than to burn time or placing impassible FMV sequences in the fifteen minute or more range (are you listening Square Enix?)."
You are in a maze of little twisting passages, all different.
They continue to exist because they form an extremely hurdle-free platform to develop games for. Since they are proprietary (i.e. to keep weasels like me from buying them to put Linux on as a cheep piece of hardware) they lock in a % of game sales, which is where the real money comes from. What Microsoft wants is for you to buy into their world in some way, like every household in the world will have one of their boxes which suddenly lets them dictate standards for media delivery.
All Sony and Nintendo want is to make money. Microsoft wants to control your options, like perhaps a benevolent dictator. Benevolent until you decide you can do without them.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
One got smashed right after the launch just like promised: smashmyxbox.com... Few low-res images available now, some video footage promised 23rd and longer videoclip 26th this month..
Technological superiority may or may not be included in this product. It's real advantage is that it comes with artificial shortages built into the distribution process in order to create more consumer anxiety and higher levels of desire to acquire one.
This is M$ ; marketing is their forte, everything else is just a product feature that can be marketed. What I'm waiting for is the first virus, trojan or rootkit for this platform.
I did my best to knock over old and feable people at Costco almost an hour ago to no avail! Damnit, no 360's today there. But what I did see, in little old Medford, Oregon is a strong demand and I am sure this is the case all over the country. I hear people complaining because Microsoft built it, but what I have heard from most people that have actually played it, it is great. Even Dvorak said it was quite nice. I know I want one and will get one after the New Year. I also have to admit that if I did get one today, it would be really challenging NOT to put it on eBay, I am shameless :(
While the intended effect is to create a buzz that encourages a christmas buying frenzy, it could backfire just as well. The original Xbox launch had an enormous supply. I wasn't really looking to buy an xbox at the time, but I happened to be in Best Buy 2 days after the launch, so I decided to give it a shot.
Today, Xbox 360's are selling for nearly $2,000 on ebay. Not even a package, just the system. The "shortage buzz" will certainly keep casual purchasers away and I'm sure quite a few people might decide to wait a few months for the ps3.
Where are all these people that have $500C for a game system with no games? Do they have no other forms of entertainment that they must buy a bleeding edge Microsoft game console? Might I remind them politely that they can get a computer for the same price, and it can do games and everything else the XBox 360 can do, and not be locked into Microsoft only Xbox 360 games and software?
Why not buy an XBox original and get oodles of games for it if you don't already have a system. You get way more entertainment bang for your buck. I guess keeping up with the Joneses is more important these days than it's ever been in the past?
The media coverage this thing is geting makes me nearly sick. It's on the radio, the TV, and in print. I've only heard one reviewer say they wouldn't buy their kids the system because it's going to be at least $150 less in 6 months. Don't these parents realize that their heating bills are going to be about 50% more this year?
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
1. "Microsoft sooo does not belong in the game console market. They make Office software, for Christ's sake."
Lest you forget, they also make an Operating System. They also make media apps. Why are you upset about greater competition in the console market? That should benefit all of us.
2. "The first X-Box was just a PC in a box."
Ata fraction of the cost. Tons of people won't spend $1k to buy a new computer, but $300 for a console is fine.
3. "The name is stupid and personifies what I hate about this machine and its community"
What does this have to do with anything? Is the Dreamcast, or the Revolution, any better? Who cares what it's called.
4. "The game library will mostly just be PC ports and Playstation ports"
See above comment re: PC-in-a-box. Also, as a social activity, gaming on a PC with a few friends just sucks. Much easier to sit on the couch.
5. "At least with the Playstation 3, it has the appeal of being the absolute top hardware"
Hah. It's not so different from the 360. By the time the PS3 launches, it won't be near the top, compared to first-class gaming rigs.
6. "Instead of letting the product sell itself based on its own value, as other companies do (a cliched example, but see Apple and its iPod...all Steve Jobs had to do was hold up an iPod nano to the camera, and everyone was SOLD on it)"
You really crack me up. Apple spent millions and millions to market the iPod brand.
"this thing is just a shareholder-driven profit grab"
Now, a profit grab would imply that MS is making a profit on these. They are building a long-term business with the 360, not grabbing profits.
"not a genuinely fantastic product from a company that actually makes games and game consoles and belongs in that market
I won't claim to know if the 360 is fantastic or not, but like it or not: MS makes game consoles and they also make games. By your rationale, shouldn't Sony stick with audio equipment, and get the hell out of the game console market?
It's obvious you hate MS. That's fine. By why are you upset that they released a product YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUY? Or are you just upset that it gets press?
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
1) Well that's your opinion but it sounds like you're just an Apple fanboy.
2) Why were they duped? The fact that it used many parts exchangeable with PCs actually increased its popularity since it was easier to mod.
3) It may seem stupid to you and me but the advertisers know what they're doing and they're probably right as far as the bottom line is concerned.
4) Valid enough argument against any console, but then there was Halo.
5) Perhaps, though it's too early to compare to the other consoles.
6) Well companies do exist to make money. FWIW as a person who isn't much into gaming I haven't noticed any advertising on this and totally forgot it was coming out. Yet the droves of fanboys were lining up around stores across the country to get one. Seems like it has sold itself so far. I doubt things will be different with the other consoles.
3.) The name is stupid and personifies what I hate about this machine and its community. Microsoft's marketing drones, in trying to decide how they'd market to drooling middle school gamers, thought "Well, gee, they'll see the '3' after Playstation 3 and think it's better than the '2' after X-Box 2. But we can't call it X-Box 3." Then they turn to their young, "dynamic" new guy they hired from an MTV marketing firm. "What would sound hardcore and hip to the kiddies?" "I've got it! It's better than 3, because it's 360!!!" And thus, a stupid market-drone name, X-Box 360, was born.
I agree. "Super Nintento Entertainment System" was far more imaginative and descriptive.
x = x + ++x;
Enlighten me here. Why should I buy a 360? Is there a single "Must Have" game for the console? Someone explain to me why I shouldn't just wait 6 months for a bigger selection of games and a lower price.
May the Maths Be with you!
It's November 22. They have to move several MILLION of these in the next 30 days before sales fall off. Retailers who can't sell it out won't carry it. So of course it's hyped to the max. It's the best console ever, it's the greatest gadget in the world, it will make you taller, it will get you laid, it comes in 3 flavors, etc....
I got my 360 on saturday (every10minutes.com) and they've done some pretty slick things here... just like mod points and karma on Slashdot, Xbox live (the online play portion of the Xbox System) has a gamer score and you can compare your "achievements" with others. Yes, it's not productive in a "contributing to society" sense but how has your modding and posting on Slashdot changed the world? The thing that works great is this: Standardization. Everybody playing on the same system with the same specs and the same playing field from the start. If you are the better player, its because you are better. It's not that you downloaded some "hack". It will take a bigger role in the living room than most people will think. I have been able to download game demos (Has any game console allowed this to date?), trailers, and music to the Xbox. They may beat Sony by being first to launch but we all know it's about the experience and if people don't have a good time with it, they won't stick with it. May the best system win...
I'm not clever enough for a sig...
Since the NES. Nothing worth getting for the price and aggrivation. Revolution FTW!
Ubuntu- Linux for human beings.
You haven't caught on that it was intentional?
1) Remember when Sony released the PS1? You could say the same thing about Sony. 2) So we got duped because it had PC parts in it? I don't think anyone got really upset by that. The price has always been reasonable. I didn't know consoles had to contain proprietary parts to be worthy. "Sega duped us with the Genesis because it had a 68k CPU!!!" 3) Yes, the 360 name is stupid. 4) I am against PC ports to the XBOX after the sequel to Deus Ex totally sucked because it was limited to XBOX hardware. But why are games Playstation ports? If a developer started the project with multiple platforms in mind, it's not really a port now is it? 5) Don't go by anything G4 says. When the PS2 came out it had worse graphics than Dreamcast. Wait until the developer have time to use the hardware. The games we are seeing now contains lots of new code. 6) Crap gets advertised all the time. Its called Business.
>>Don't these parents realize that their heating bills are going to be about 50% more this year?>>>
Parents have to buy their kids' love somehow! A few minutes of a joyful even grateful face instead of a pimply, pasty sneer. After the tens of thousands spent raising the kid, do you think the cost of a console adds up to much?
If you are buying something for potential future features rather than buying it for what it is, you are a complete moron. If/when the addons that do what you want are released, then buy it.
Buying something because it offers the most opportunity to spend money in the future is the most moronic thing I've heard all month.
In a Future Shop flyer (like Best Buy, owned by Best Buy) that came yesterday, a huge number of the HD TV , personal computer and home theatre ads from different manufacturers had the X-Box logo next to them and the caption "X-Box Connectable".
This gives the regular home user the impression that the X-Box is THE game system and an integral part of any future home entertainment system purchase.
These are the great unwashed masses (although some geek gamers are likewise unwashed) who will buy these systems in the greatest quantity. They aren't concerned about the minutae of pixel shaders, they just want a good system for themselves or the kids that's going to work with everything else they have. You haven't seen Sony or Nintendo tie their game consoles to the generic home entertainement system in such a big way. For them the console was the only thing and any old TV would do.
With this rollout Microsoft gains a huge mindshare which wil work tremendously in their favour no matter what the number and quality of games immediately available.
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
To me it just seems ridiculous to launch a product where there will be mass shortages. Why not just wait until December when you can ship more? It's sad that a consumer can't purchase a unit because half of the people in line are buying them to sell on ebay.
1.) You don't have to like it, but it is the way of the future. I really cannot see a family gathered around a video iPod to watch movies on a 2" screen... Right now it IS looking good for Microsoft as the Xbox 360 does a lot more than previous gen consoles do, and it looks good.
2.) The first Xbox was, the 2nd one isn't. Not even close to a PC. The point is, Microsoft didn't dube anyone into buying the Xbox, they brought plenty of content as well, and as the sales of Halo2 proved.
3.) It's a NAME, hell RedHat and SUSE have done the same thing...
4.) The Library may be ports, but most of them will be on the Xbox 360 first and then ported elsewhere. The point is its a HELL of a lot easier to develop for a console, especially the Xbox and Xbox 360 than it is for any other console let alone a PC.
5.) All consoles are just more of the same. The Xbox 360 does bring a new suite of features over and above the PS2, Xbox and Nintendo Game Cube. Right now the Xbox 360 IS the absolute top hardware in the console market and will continue to be so for 6 to 8 months. Even then, the PS3 keeps getting stuff chopped out of it to make the delopment cycle and to keep costs down (even though its looking like the PS3 may be $500+).
6.) Again, so what? Isnt' that what Sony is doing? Nintendo? RedHat? SUSE? Sun? Steve Jobs also spent nearly A BILLION dollars marketing the iPod and iTunes, don't even think of kidding yourself otherwise.
2.) The first X-Box was just a PC in a box. Literally, opening it up revealed standard PC parts. That they duped an entire market into buying it astonishes and frustrates me.
Duped the market?
They produced a gaming console. It works. You put a game in and it plays. It was in every way visible to the user a standard gaming console. Who cares if the parts inside are Intel and IDE and so forth? They produced a good console with some good games, so people sold it. They didn't dupe anyone.
I admit it--I hate this console because it's from Nintendo. It's true. There are some other factors, but I'll sum it all up:
1.) I hate that this is just Nintendo's lame attempt to further their platform into the living room. Nintendo sooo does not belong in the game console market. They make card games, for Christ's sake. Thank goodness Atari got their shit together and ran away with digital media via the 2600, or else Nintendo might have had a greater chance at conquering the living room. Right now, it's not looking too good for them.
2.) The first NES was just a 6502 home computer in a box. Literally, opening it up revealed standard home computer parts. That they duped an entire market into buying it astonishes and frustrates me. The articles I've read have stated that the SNES is still very home computer-like (it has the same processor as the Apple IIgs) but at least it's smaller this time.
3.) The name is stupid and personifies what I hate about this machine and its community. Nintendo's marketing drones, in trying to decide how they'd market to drooling middle school gamers, thought "Well, gee, they'll see the Super Nintendo and think of Superman!" And thus, a stupid market-drone name, Super Nintendo, was born.
4.) The game library will mostly just be Sega ports. Another reason I wonder why anybody ever bothered with the original Atari.
5.) It's more of the same. Same kind of controller as before, graphics that aren't as impressive as I was imagining "next-gen" to be. Even the shills on G4 were giving grades of "B" and "B-" to this thing. At least with the Sega Genesis, it has the appeal of being the absolute top hardware, and the Neo Geo will be absolutely top of the line. They have their markets to appeal to. Super Nintendo is in the middle here.
6.) Again, it's Nintendo just trying desperately to further their platform. What annoys me is that they'll use all their billions of marketing dollars to blast this into everybody's faces as hard as they can, regardless of the console's actual quality. Instead of letting the product sell itself based on its own value, as other companies do (a cliched example, but see Apple and its Macintosh...all Steve Jobs had to have a Mac say "Hello" to the camera, and everyone was SOLD on it), this thing is just a shareholder-driven profit grab initiated by managers looking for new markets to "get a hold on," and not a genuinely fantastic product from a company that actually makes games and game consoles and belongs in that market.
All laughs aside and I know some of these parallels are a stretch, but do you seriously think that Sony and Nintendo are a bunch of "artists" that are in it to create quality games and are not in it for the money? Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are all large corporations eager to make a buck at all costs.
Has anyone on here checked Ebay prices for 360's? Wow. Upwards of two to three grand, each. God I wish I had preordered a handful to resell. Pretty nice profit margin....
I'm very responsible, when ever something goes wrong they always say I'm responsible.
>>> Yes, it's not productive in a "contributing to society" sense but how has your modding and posting on Slashdot changed the world? >>>
It's called conversation: thinking, articulating, interacting. Yes, it's better for you than staring at a tv for hours wiggling your thumbs.
Spent all night in line at a BB in Phoneix, only to find out that they only had 40-some units. Talk about an artificial shortage. I called every wally world in the greater metro area, only to be told that as of noon yesterday they were turning people away that weren't already in line. Hopefully MS keeps trickling in a supply, as there were alot of angry people who spent alot of time in line and got nothing. I paid $200 to some kid who got a ticket and was trying to sell it. Figure that it was worth not spending 40+ hours in line!
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...
http://www.theapplecollection.com/design/macproto/ Pippin.html
- nuff said
b00tl3g
/\/\icro/\/\uncher
I just got mine, haven't slept yet since getting it, actually.
:( )
But I have to admit it probably isn't worth the price for everybody except the hardcore. It's waaaay pricer than what I payed for my original Xbox on launch day.
I payed:
$400 XB360 Premium bundle.
$50 Extra controller
$100 WiFi adapter for Xbox (my TV is not where my router is setup; had to buy it
$60 Madden
$60 Quake 4
In total I payed around $700 including tax. That's basically with 2 games and an extra controller. If tt wasn't for the WiFi it would have been closer to $600.
Personally, I think I payed too much relative to the enjoyment factor. Quake4 is great but there is some MAJOR frame rate issues with that game, but my friend got PGR3 and it is absolutly beutiful, but the gameplay isn't my taste (personally prefer the Burnout-style gameplay to this "Kudos" system).
While I'll say that I'm happy with my XB360, I wouldn't recommend buying one to anybody else until PS3 comes out and MS drops the price of the console. Also, there is no killer-app that's worth the price, and graphics aren't any better than what you would get from a well-equiped PC. But I know Halo 3 will be out for it someday, so it's good enough for me.
Sounds like the advantage Sega always had.
I don't think going first is an advantage in this game. Not with hardware prices still going down, and the ability to incorporate the innovation of the new consoles into the newer consoles.
-bugg
At $300 bucks for an X-box 360 and $60 per game, I'm suddenly thinking of scooping up a used X-box. The attraction of consoles for me is the social aspect of gaming with others you can talk to/insult directly. I might not get the latest and greatest in technology, but I prefer that kind of game on the PC (mouse + WASD is my controller preference). I'm sure I can pick up an X-box for less than $100 (I think EB is selling them refurbished and warrantied for that much) and most of the games have dropped to $20-30 and been reviewed thoroughly so I know what games to buy.
Of course if the 360 is backwards compatible with X-box games, that takes half the wind out of my sails.
I sold my spot in line to someone this morning at around 5am.
Was waiting since around 12am, some kid comes up to the line, and says "I will pay $300 to one of the first 20 people in line for their spot". Believe it or not, but there wasnt anyone else in this line that was even interested in taking the money. Saved me the time of having to ebay it, plus I was able to get a couple hours of sleep. 8))
I think that's code language for "Xbox 360 is still heavily subsidized and it still isn't all that great, but maybe the next release will be better".
Think about it - the Xbox would be nothing without Halo and sports games. Half the folks I know who own one own it for Halo, and the other half just want to play Madden online. As it is, I think MS is shooting themselves in the foot by not having either of those ready for launch.
Downtown Vancouver's Future Shop (Best Buy in Canada) has 2 core system left at 11:30. Seems like we're a little more hype-immune up here...
Hmmm, lets see. The last company that launched a new console about a year ahead of everyone, was Sega with the Dreamcast... and where are they now again? :>
3 consoles in the market is just too many, especially when almost all games are published on all systems already... where's the advantage? I'll hold out for my $99 Revolution with new innovative games as opposed to the same old rehashed titles that have less substance than a bowl of cereal (assuming Nintendo doesn't simply create '256-Bit' versions of Mario, Zelda and Starfox with nothing more than better graphics. Not saying they won't, but I'm holding out for some *real* innovation).
Hah! This is like choosing between the Nazis, North Korea and the Orcs. I'm going with the Orcs.
-G
www.pixelstatic.com
I was at the Xbox Zero Hour release party last night (in Palmdale, CA). It wasn't that crowded at the event. I didn't have a problem playing every game on the show floor. I'm sorry to say that I'm not all that impressed with the release titles. (Yeah, I know first generation.) I also had a chance to buy one last night, but I didn't (however, hundreds of others did).
I am impressed how well Live is integrated with the console. When we got there, they gave us a free memory unit and helped us transfer our Live account on it. Then we were able to play on Live wtih the number of games that were available. I think Live will dominate over whatever Sony has to offer as far as online integration with the console.
Despite being not overly impressed with any of the titles, there was one that my buddy and I played for over an hour. It was from Live Arcade (a number of small titles you can download from Live). The game was called Geometry Wars. Yes, strangely enough, it wasn't the multi-million dollar developed games that won my game of the show, but this small independently developed game you can download from Live.
I'll wait around like I did with the original Xbox before I get one. Same thing goes with the PS3. Comes back to what we said many a time: good games make good consoles.
So far (acording to cbs marketwatch/wsj) MS has lost 4 billion dollars on trying to make a profitable console. No other company has so much money to throw into an unprofitable business. They don't plan to see any profit for 2 years..
Thus some resentment.
They're subsidising there console business with profits from there OS/and Business apps.
...I love TiVo. I haven't seen a single Xbox 360 ad yet! :-)
is a major problem with this society today. I find it truly annoying that we don't celebrate more the success that many people do have. Instead we have many people who attempt to bring these people down.
STOP IT.
Damn it, we are a society of achievers. It is what drives this country. Yes it can be excessive but damn if we keep up this "loser" mentality then we truly will fall behind.
It is the lack of celebrating the winners that is affecting our schools. We have systems which now "play games" with grades so as not to embarras those who don't strive to succeed. Schools go out of there way to minimize the success of a few and wonder why the students stop trying? If we want to know why our schools are falling behind in math and science we have only to look at why we stopped celebrating those who truly were outstanding. If you punish success you will get mediocrity.
You ever think that many of the people buying these things don't have to care about their heating bills; which btw are not going to be that hideously different from last year. My price per therm hasn't budged, don't believe all the BS hype
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
As Sony loses them.
:P
It's amazing how keeping your mouth shut and not coming up with ANYTHING inventive at all over the past 3 or 4 years actually benefits Microsoft this time around.
Sony kept blabbing and then made their 'innovations' in DRM -- and screwed over a large portion of people. And gave themselves all the bad press they needed.
Besides, the benefit to Microsoft is that they came out first. So when people start buying the next generation games... they will be on XBox. Playstation will have to catch up to their lead from coming out first.
Who knows... I don't! I play games on the computer only. Xbox is for teh pansies
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
From the article:
Windows Live is designed to compete with similar online offerings from competitors such as Google and Yahoo.
What similar online offerings by either of those two is this designed to compete with?
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
When did virtually tied begin to mean way, way behind? The video game industry as a whole (which is what we're talking about here by the dollar figures bandied about) has Nintendo far ahead of Microsoft, and indeed right in the same ballpark as Sony. Why does everyone conveniently forget about the 40% of the market called "handhelds" which Nintendo is nearly a monopoly in?
Make no mistake about it: Microsoft is worldwide a distant third, and if we're counting things like pachinko machines and arcade games, they might struggle to compete with the like of Sega-Sammy for that. And they only got that far by subsidizing their hardware costs to the tune of billions of dollars.
Overall it seems really solid but out of the 4 games he got, nothing grabbed me. His long wait for a native title that can push this new system to its limit has begun.
I don't get these people.
I wait for a few good games to come out, THEN I buy the console to play it.
I don't buy a console and a bunch of rushed games just because they're new... I can't get the logic behind that at all.
You can't take the sky from me...
The excess of US consumerism? People willing to pay thousands of dollars for a "luxury item" (if it's not food or shelter, it's "luxury item" in third world country.) And we wonder why the rest of the planet hates us? Spending more money than most of them make in a year... for a game console?
That was back in the day when gaming didn't need to adhere to the marketing standards of pop-culture in order to be successful. Damn you Sony!
I can't wait.. Microsoft Bob for Xbox 360... SWEEEET!!
It's not free access. You pay for each title.
My good looks paid for that pool, and my talent filled it with water.
I clicked on the link for "jail time" but all I got was a report of police handing out vouchers to obnoxious fans. No one's "braving" jailtime. Let me know when this hits NIN concert level then I'll be interested.
My work here is dung.
Just spotted this little bit of news at Gamespot about how half of surveyed "active" gamers said they would wait until they had choice before buying in to the next generation.
;)
Well at least I know I'm not alone.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
3.) The name is stupid and personifies what I hate about this machine and its community. Microsoft's marketing drones, in trying to decide how they'd market to drooling middle school gamers, thought "Well, gee, they'll see the '3' after Playstation 3 and think it's better than the '2' after X-Box 2. But we can't call it X-Box 3." Then they turn to their young, "dynamic" new guy they hired from an MTV marketing firm. "What would sound hardcore and hip to the kiddies?" "I've got it! It's better than 3, because it's 360!!!" And thus, a stupid market-drone name, X-Box 360, was born.
Oh, I don't know. I think it's pretty aptly named. It's basically the old XBox with a bit of spin.
Thinkin' Lincoln - a web comic of presidential proportions
If you examine an XBox-retail-box (at least the one that have been available in stores for display) you can hardly find the Microsoft logotype anywhere. There are just a few small insignificant ones. Obviously Microsoft wants to let the XBox trademark live on its own without too much Microsoft association. Why? Are they not proud of the XBox or fear it will be another commercial failure? Do they think Microsoft makes people think of boring low-quality products? Does their MS logotype not appeal to children? Do they plan to sell the XBox in the future or split the XBox division from the company? Do they think that the XBox as a toy should not be connected with their Server/Business products? Any ideas? Anyone who knows?
all these people that have $500C for a game system with no games?
Chicks want useless shiny rocks, guys want useless shiny electronics.
You can't take the sky from me...
I just read through the "exhaustive" reviews on HardOCP and Gamespot, and came to the conclusion that they had been done pre-release without ever using actual hardware. It's just a bunch of PR photos and checklist specifications. There isn't even an mention of FPS for games they played, much less, say, photos of the inside. Little things like that, you know?
And IMO an "exhaustive" review would probably have things like, say, measuring the read latency of caches and RAM, benchmarking the CPU, etc. The XBOX 360 has a brand new PPC CPU design in it - why the f*ck is nobody benchmarking it? I'm sure most gamers don't care about things like that, but personally I care a lot - the only reason I'll buy a PS3 is so I can put Linux on it and use it to write software for Cell. But who, gamer or dev or whatever, gives a damn what kind of package it comes in? Seriously... those reviews were just a bunch of filler.
Well, I don't know if it's "duping" anyone. I agree, that's going a bit overboard to say that. But I will say, that the one thing that kept me from buying an Xbox was that it basically was just a Pentium III with 64 megs of RAM and a GeForce3 video card. All I had to do was wait a few months and get a PC with better hardware than that for very little more money. True, there are some Xbox-exclusive games, but nothing that would justify my spending $300 on one. The PC is "good enough" for me. I suppose that if I didn't already have a PC or didn't have a need for a PC, then the Xbox might be attractive. But I just could not see having both from a "spending my money wisely" POV.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
now there starting them at $1000.00, that's just crazym =8236363019
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ite
..Starvation I've seen in a while. WTF would pay $5100 for this thing ?!?
I didn't think the house band in Hell would play this badly.
Aye agreed (although I may get a PS3 as well). I doubt the Rev will be $99 at lanch though. $199 I can see, $149....maybe. $99 and Nintendo just wouldnt be taken seriously!
...although it should be "keeping up with the Cletus'" given what I saw standing in line...
Im sorry but right now after the whole rookit thing i dont feel Microsoft are half as bad a Sony..
*Gratuitous Sig/Plug* Heres my website - firesuite
Can any /. 360 users confirm whether the old controller will work in the new console when fitted with a USB plug? I've heard good things about it's USB capabilities, but nowhere has been implicit about this.
Do you see what I did there?
It seems that at least some of the Xbox 360 consoles are faulty... No clear problem is pinpointed at the moment, but one strong cause could be overheating; http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?s=c04af2866 ed9534607ad98ce292b6a3e&showtopic=462099
advertisers know what they're doing
No they do not.
You can't take the sky from me...
The big "first day demand" may just be resellers stocking up. There are over 5000 xBox 360 auctions on eBay right now. Prices are dropping rapidly.
Ironically, the store guys showing them off were more impressed by the HD screens on the pods than the actual games themselves. Every time somebody new came along to check it out, the store guy at GameStation took the opportunity to say something like, "This screen's great! Look, you can really see where they haven't anti-aliased this object!"
As yet, I personally don't see any compelling reason to buy a 360. It's all about the gameplay, not the visuals (I'd rather play Puyo Puyo or Robotron 2084 than Doom 3 any day), and the 360's launch titles are mostly graphical upgrades of games that are already out on PS2 and Xbox. There are no killer - or even severely wounding - apps yet (and after being stung by the disappointment that was Halo 2, I won't be blindly rushing to the shops when Halo 3 turns up).
You must think in Russian.
Ah but one can dream. :)
Just so you all know XBOX 360 Lauched in CANADA today too! All those people lining up at best buy will be happy!
Well, the marketing geniuses at Microsoft have struck again. Yesterday I found out that only 20% of the shipments shipped out for release date, meaning 80% of the people (including myself) have to wait for another shipment and hope there is enough to go around.
Why does Microsoft pull this stunt? They did the EXACT same thing at XBox launch, and I think pulling this crap by not having their stuff together is going to tank them when the PS3 comes out next year.
Now I'm not bashing Microsoft for once by saying they suck, they are crap, etc.....I think the XBox was and still is an awesome system, I play mine quite frequently...but if you are going to promise a release date with X amount of quantity in the shipment and then you only ship 20% of them and tell everyone else to go home and wait, what effect do you think that has on overall profitability and success?
Get it together Microsoft. The 360 is an awesome piece of hardware, but if you don't have enough to go around, no one's going to bother getting it and wait for something else to come along with better quantities in stock.
That's Windows Live, not Xbox Live. And all it is is a Personalised Homepage thing...just like Google and Yahoo!'s offerings. See it here - http://www.live.com/ Yeah, similar names - but not similar enough that you should really get confused.
Way too loud, Way too hot!
I had it outside my stereo cabinet, I couldn't take the noise. So I put it inside, and it gets far too hot with the door closed, and with the door open it's as loud as outside the box and even hotter! And I even made sure to put the enormous power supply outside the cabinet.
This stinks. I didn't expect to have to mod my living room to play this thing.
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
Ah. Geeze... that's what I get for cutting back on coffee. Let that be a lesson to you all. :)
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
When I checked this auction, with 2 minutes to go, the Xbox360 premium package was bid up to $2550. http://cgi.ebay.com/Microsoft-Xbox-360-Premium-Pac k-Game-console-NEW_W0QQitemZ8234635572QQcategoryZ6 2054QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I'm in complete and total shock. I would have never pictured myself saying this, but I wish I had pre-ordered an Xbox360... so I could sell it on eBay and more than quadruple my money in one day !
WTF?!? I mean... they're going to make more... you have to pay $2000 extra to have it *now*?!? That doesn't even include a fricking game!!!
At least Super Nintendo described the console accurately. It was a Nintendo with better graphics. The XBox 360 isn't a magic ball that floats in the middle of your living room. If anything, that stupid marketing drone also said, "and a 360 is a revolution! So if we rush out the system first, it'll look like Nintendo stole OUR name!"
I've played plenty of 360 in the last 15 hours, and Perfect Dark froze up and Quake 4 has load screens longer than the PS2. Need for Speed Most Wanted only looks marginally better than other versions. Tony Hawk doesn't look any better. At least, with the PS3 and Revolution, there are things to be excited about.
What is the motivation for buying one of these beyond some artificial cool factor?
Gaming? Is there any game available or in development for the XBox2 that can't be played better on a PC?
Online gaming? Well, the only services I know of can't play with anything except other XBoxes.
HDTV? Even with 1080i it's still nowhere nere the bare MINIMUM requirement for modern fps games: 1280x1024@100HZni@2xFSAA.
Media center? If I wanted a media center I'd install MythTV on my Linux box.
Perhaps this unit might make a nice linux box, who knows? I haven't seen a mod chip for it yet.
Maybe people just like bending over for Microsoft...
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
So, who else saw the Red Bull Mini Cooper? I spotted one and received some free cans in Springfield, IL at Best Buy. Anywhere else?
Even if the hardware isn't as good as the PS3's will be, Microsoft's still the better choice. With all the touted internet functionality of the new systems, at least we can be faithful that Microsoft's system will be secure without, you know, leaving open any backdoors for hackers or anything...
"It's entirely personal, though at one remove."
Ha! I hate Apple. I just hate Microsoft more.
/\/\icro/\/\uncher
The single xbox replaces a (cd player / dvd player / surround sound controller / etc). You can lock it in your private quarters in a minute when you leave. All the stuff it replaces, you couldn't feasibly move every time you left the common area. All it takes is yanking out a few cables and stashing it under your bed and locking the door before you leave for class.
-everphilski-
Slashdotters must have a serious woody for the Xbox 360. Once again proving that the only kind of box most slashdotters get any action from is a game console.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
Bought at EB an hour ago.... damienrichter@hotmail.com
Odds are the criminal was hardened by long hours training for theft by playing Grand Theft Auto.
I'm sure Jack Thompson would agree.
And now with not one, but two Xbox 360 who knows what heights of evil he will be able to attain?
Sometimes my arms bend back.
Maybe I just don't get the appeal of a console, but being policed by a DRM protected system, spoon fed expensive content/games and restricted to a TV or forced to buy a HDTV with a lower resolution than my monitor doesn't appeal to me at all.
$500 for a console.
THINK ABOUT THAT.
In 6-8 months when the PS3 comes out, it will drop down into the mid 200 range.
In another year, $199.
2 years, $149.
If you really wanna burn $500 so you can have 15 mins of fame with the "omgwtf, I have xbox before you," then more power to you. It's just stupid though considering the games aren't going anywhere and there really isn't anything worthwhile out for it just yet.
Quake 4? Yeah, out for PC. Maybe if Halo 3 launched with it, I could see the hype (and it would make sense), but that's not the case.
Same goes for PS3 and Revolution. Unless they're coming out with a handful of epic *QUALITY* games upon launch, MGS4, the next GTA, Final Fantasy 13, etc, it's just a pointless money sink. What, you're gonna spend $500 so you can play Monkey Ball? Damn.
I know a lot of little slashdot readers will cry over this post, but it's true.
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
As of my lunch break @ 12:00 they are all sold out : |
http://freeipodforall.blogspot.com/
speaking of ebay... a friend of mine is selling his 360 premium back with a bunch of extras a lot cheaper than many of the auctions. check it out if you want:
m =8236339030/
360 premium http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ite
I swear this is SO true. I remember the last console wars when PS2 and Xbox were both trying to replace the PC / become home entertainment solutions. I ALMOST bought a PS2 when I saw the keyboard and mouse adapter, plus all the hype talking about how soon you would be able to use the PS2 instead of your PC for things like surfing and email. Hell, I thought, a PC for $300 can't be bad right?
Then there was the Xbox that again was supposed to be the CENTER OF HOME ENTERTAINMENT. I ended up buying an Xbox when I realized that all I really wanted was a gaming system and the Xbox seemed like the best one at the time (graphics-wise). Currently I hardly even use it (all the games I want are on my PC) and really only use it as a $300 DVD player, since it's easier than hooking up my computer to play on my TV.
Fight the fall of slashdot by supporting PlayfullyClever in your sig.
Stop it.
Yeah, sure, maybe a lot of the games *are* available for PC. Is that a bad thing? I'm no Microsoft lover, but come on people, get over it.
The fact is, a lot of people don't have a 'game pc'. To get a PC that is capable of running a lot of the games, you need to drop like $600-1200 (depending on how much power you want, and you can probably spend more than 1200 if you really want to, I'm sure). An XBox 360, at launch, costs 300 (ebay auctions notwithstanding), and will likely come down in price over time, and is powerful enough to run fairly high-end games.
Plus, it is much simpler for most users, than trying to get PC games working right. "I need to upgrade my drivers? For my motherboard, video card, sound card? I need to get a better powersupply, because the voltage is dropping during peak processing times"?
Maybe the XBox was "basically a PC", but it brought PC gaming to people at a lower price, and with less technical hassles. The XBox 360, supposedly, gives the console more power, so developers can potentially develop more computationally complex games (which may or may not be more fun), but continues to be incredibly easy to use, and fairly reasonably priced, for what you get. The same could be said of any console.
And what the hell is wrong with profit anyhow? Nobody is forced to buy an XBox 360. If they choose to spend the money on it, and Microsoft can make a profit, then I say good for Microsoft. They provided a product that people wanted to buy, and made some money. This is one field where MS doesn't (yet), have a monopoly, and competition is good.
Microsoft's gamespot.com gives a 9.0 to perfect dark with the following:
The Good: Awesome presentation, featuring cutting-edge graphics and sound; delicious assortment of high-powered near-future weapons; excellent cooperative mission mode lets you play split screen or online; lots of multiplayer options, including some clever twists on familiar themes; one of the best original soundtracks this year.
The Bad: Characters can look ugly up close, plus some other minor graphical glitches; some missions are frustrating, especially since you can't save midmission; pretty weak storyline is incidental to all the action.
So it has an awesome presentation (WTF is that anyway?) but a pretty weak storyline, incidental to all the action?
It also has cutting-edge graphics, but characters can look ugly up close, plus some other minor graphical glitches.
Let me reword that then for you gamespot:
The Good: Great sound and soundtrack. Excellent coop mode, and great weapons.
The Bad: Frustrating missions, weak storyline.
The Ugly: Characters upclose.
And this is the best of the show?
This one is on Sony and Nintendo to lose...
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
"Lest you forget, they also make an Operating System. They also make media apps. Why are you upset about greater competition in the console market? That should benefit all of us."
They also publish a lot of game software for PCs and have done so for a long time. Since Windows 95 came out and their push for DirectX (OpenGL fans go ahead and bitch all you want about it - it's still better than the hell of DOS games) they have published games by some pretty good developers:
Rise of Nations
Age of Empires (all of them and Age of Mythology)
Mechwarrior
Flight Simulator
Dungeon Siege
Sometimes my arms bend back.
If it's anything like this guys story, the majority of us won't be getting one until next year. Why supply nearly half of the demand? Is this a ploy to get people to buy the core system so they can milk them for the accessory prices later? This was such a bonehead mistake by Microsoft. They should have staggered the console release since they now have such a dramatic shortage it isn't even funny. I know I won't be getting one well into next year.
If I were a store owner, which I'm not, but if I were, I would have not allowed anyone to purchase a 360 on opening day, and then taken the lot of 40 xboxes and auctioned them on Ebay for what people are willing to pay (just saw one close at $3,890 without any games). Seems a better way to make a buck. Is it moral or ethical? No. But if people are willing to pay, perhaps its not unethical, at least not to the person paying. Note to self... when the xbox 640 is release, prepare in advance for the feeding frenzy to follow.
Thanks,
Leabre
"Why are you upset about greater competition in the console market? That should benefit all of us."
Well, personally, I'm a bit annoyed that consoles get almost all the interesting games nowadays. I would infinitely prefer to just have one PC than 3 consoles, each with their own controllers, wires, power bricks and special peripherals hooked up under the tv. Especially since I need to own a PC anyway.
And that 3 is a conservative number by the way. If I had the space I'd have GC/N64/SNES/Xbox/Xbox2/DC/Saturn/PS2 all hooked up. My PC plays every game I ever got for it (using DOSbox for the old stuff), all in one system.
Competition amongst consoles is bad, because they're getting good enough to kill an open platform with a closed one based on disposable systems. And Microsoft, who are basically the godfathers of PC gaming, are also helping destroy it with Xbox when they should be competing right back on PC gaming's behalf.
For instance, your point about console gaming being easier and more couch-friendly - PCs are perfectly capable of sitting under a TV with 4 controllers on them, it's the software that's lacking and MS could be busy fixing it.
Hmm, bit offtopic this, might as well go AC...
Might I remind them politely that they can get a computer for the same price, and it can do games and everything else the XBox 360 can do
How did you get "insightfull" writing that? You might as well have said for $50 you can go find an old C64.
No $500C computer is going to be able to come close to touching what you can get for the $300/$400 USD you're going to get with the Xbox2.
Some people do love the next-gen stuff. Games like Madden 06 and PGR3 do look next-gen, albeit 1st-gen next-gen. It's technically a pretty big damn upgrade. And I'm looking forward to buying one. I certainly aint going to get anything looking close to that good on a computer. Not only could a $500C touch it in specs, developing for a specific arch. lets developers push it to the limits easier. There's a lot of things going for it. And games a huge enough industry now that a new release of a console is big news. You don't like it or want one, your call. But it's easy to understand why there's hype, and your assertions were not accurate.
stop talking shit - I couldn't give a fuck if it was MS or MartianSoft so STFU
A friend I knew pre-ordered a few months ago - but most places you can pre-order from got such limited quantities that they were not going to get one - the retailer said until after Christmas.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Are people just trying to screw over the people selling xboxs, or are they microsoft droids hoping to make the nightly news...
Knowing eBay, my vote is for the screwing.
If I were selling one I'd put a minimum of five positive comments as a requirement and kick all other bidders.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"1. "Microsoft sooo does not belong in the game console market. They make Office software, for Christ's sake.""
"Lest you forget, they also make an Operating System."
I think most Slashdot readers would agree that's up for debate as well... ;)
THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS - CC Licensed Sci-Fi Novel
Pick up an "old" XBox now that the new one is being sold? Doesn't seem like many people would want to do that, if the goal is to buy a 360 buying something cheaper now that you'll just replace in a few months is just a waste of money.
Of course that's why I'm not buying a 360, because models with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drives are inevitable and I'd not want to replace that system in six months.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
According to an article here at /. if you don't have a home theatre you get mono audio (oh boy!) and they still haven't incorporated VCD support....
I'm also still waiting to see if this new system has the trouble of disk-read errors that plague the Xbox beta(tm)....
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss
I arrived at my local Walmart at around 10:30 last night ready to camp out until the store opened at 7am. I was the first one there. Other folks started showing up around 11:00-11:30 and we heard from multiple employees that there were only 14 Xboxes.
Some of my friends showed up around 11:30 and that was it for the 14 folks in line. We circulated our own list with our names in order and that was that. Or it should have been.
We bundled up, sat in cars pulled up to the curb in front of the store or under the overhang and waited it out until around 5:30 am or so. A number of people showed up in the night, but we told them there were only 14 Xboxes and they were too late, so they left.
At about 5:30 people started showing up convinced that they could barge their way through to get an Xbox. By 6am my friends and I had packed up our blankets, tossed our junk in the car, and everyone was standing up in a mob in front of the store doors.
At this point, we've got about 30 extra people who plan to rush in to get the Xbox even though they didn't wait all night in line. Somebody from the management of Walmart comes outside and says they're going to use the list of 14 people, and everyone else can just go home.
Nobody leaves, though. Some of newcomers are especially obnoxious, particularly one big guy who threatens to literally run me over in order to an Xbox in front of me and eventually starts complaining about how I "put my hands on him" since he bumped into my elbow, despite my hands remaining in my pockets the entire time. Nevermind this guy is about twice my size, and I have no desire whatsoever to fight him. Ue's being extremely loud and boisterous as he bangs on the glass doors and repeatedly states his intent bulldoze down anyone between him and the Xbox.
We're calling the Walmart from cellphones to make sure they'll use the list and keep order. They aren't very commital but certainly want to maintain order. We warn them that they may have an angry mob on their hands. Some police arrive half an hour or so before they open the doors.
At 7am, a Walmart employee opens not main double automatic doors my friends and I had been congregating around to insure we get it, but a sidedoor directly to the left of them. They just let people, holding us back so we go one at a time and once they get 14 or so of us they stop. I managed to squeeze in since I was on that side of the door and one of my friends gets let in by the assistant manager he had talked with last night before everyone showed up.
They've got us in the anteroom and then it's a mad rush back to the electronics section to get first in line to get the four premium versions in stock. The asshole from earlier in the story got let in with the first 14 people and then squeezes into the second place in line at the electronics desk with girlfriend after showing up after everyone else.
There is some justice in the world, though. The asshole managed to get in a fight over a wireless controller and got himself arrested after a number of people waiting outside volunteered to testify against him. He was led out in handcuffs (but he did get his premium edition... grr...).
At least I got an Xbox, but about half of those who had waited overnight (including a couple of my friends) did not. The manager did let in one 7 month pregnant woman when they opened the side door who had waited all night to buy an Xbox for her boyfriend. There's no way she could have ran for it. But still, it's pretty outrageous Walmart couldn't maintain order and keep a line.
[Game 1] froze up and [Game 2] has load screens longer than the [previous-Gen system]. [Game 3] only looks marginally better than [previous-Gen games]. [Game 4] doesn't look any better. At least, with [something we haven't seen yet], there are things to be excited about.
Congratulations, you just expressed the "pre-order letdown" of every console since the Sega Genesis.
x = x + ++x;
Son of a! Stupid buttons next to each other. *sigh*
x = x + ++x;
"You might as well have said for $50 you can go find an old C64. "
Sure, and some people would get as much enjoyment out of that $50, as they would for $500 getting a gameless core XBox 360.
The difference between a $500C computer and the core XBox 360 is that the computer has access to hundreds of free games and thousands more you can pay for for a lot less than $70C a game. And everything else you can do with a computer and can't with the XBox. You're paying a premium for the cutting edge, specialized 360 console.
"and your assertions were not accurate"
But they are, under a certain outlook. It's not the case for everyone, but in the subjective world of opinion they certainly stand up to reason.
There's hype, but we don't have to like it being shoved down our throats.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80491849@N00/65990154 /
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80491849@N00/65990156 /
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80491849@N00/65990158 /
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80491849@N00/65990159 /
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80491849@N00/65995966 /
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80491849@N00/65995967 /
Lest you forget, they also make an Operating System. They also make media apps. Why are you upset about greater competition in the console market? That should benefit all of us.
How long do you think this "competition" will last? The console market is not currently profitable at Microsoft, but they have their sights at the long term. And do you know what the long term goal is? Allow me illustrate to you their goal with evidence from Microsoft's hisotry of business practices:
Microsoft will keep throwing money at the problem to gain market share. And once they get rid of Sony, they will eventually out-last Nintendo as well. And when they do, do not expect Microsoft to provide any innovation.
They are notorious for taking over markets and then stop putting any Research and Development money into their monopolies. In other words, since they are saving money on R&D once they have a monopoly, they make profit for years to come. At the same time, Microsoft stifle innovation because the money that consumers give them gets no return in terms of R&D.
As consumers, we lose when Microsoft takes over a market. Microsoft's entry into the console market DOES NOT benefit us in the long run.
You didn't like the drm in the Sony CDs? Well the XBox line is DRM incarnate. Many people have speculated the XBox line is the prototype hardware for palladium. And at least Sony backed down on the DRM CDs thing. Microsoft shows no signs of stopping...
Not everyone lives in Saskatchewan. I hear that they have something called "the sun" in places farther
south. I bet most Americans would get a kick out of us plugging in our cars in the winter. Also, here
in Alberta people have much higher disposable incomes. It's like that in many other parts of the
country. $500 is a lot in Saskatchewan, not so much elsewhere.
- A fellow Saskie
(p.s. go to Vancouver sometime, they have green grass there all year long)
You'll pay for this! Muahahahahaha!!
- tlf
SK may be one of the poorer provinces, but $500 is a lot in any place, it just isn't treated that way. As long as someone's healthy, it's hard to imagine a more safe and rich lifestyle than someone can have living in Saskatchewan [and yes I've lived in other places and travelled all around North America]. Excesses may be more common in Alberta, and it's not surprising, they've managed to exploit their natural resources more efficiently than SK has, and has made use of SK's human resources better too.
Tell someone in Myanmar or India that $500 isn't a lot. There are a heck of a lot more people in the world that would find $500 to be a life changer, than there are well to do Canadians that would snort at it.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Guys, I'm confused. Which next gen console should I buy? Now that Sony is evil too I'm stuck. Can we have some kind of Slashdot "Evil Index" so that we can chose the lesser of two evils in a reliable way?
3.) The name is stupid and personifies what I hate about this machine and its community. Microsoft's marketing drones, in trying to decide how they'd market to drooling middle school gamers, thought "Well, gee, they'll see the '3' after Playstation 3 and think it's better than the '2' after X-Box 2. But we can't call it X-Box 3." Then they turn to their young, "dynamic" new guy they hired from an MTV marketing firm. "What would sound hardcore and hip to the kiddies?" "I've got it! It's better than 3, because it's 360!!!" And thus, a stupid market-drone name, X-Box 360, was born.
...I don't care that you're modded flamebiat, I hold generally the same opinion. I don't see someone's opinion as flamebait.... but either way.
This naming convention blows me away... though, I do think it rather clever that Nintendo played off of that with the name "Revolution", that is 360 as well.
Assuming they played off the name, in case...nevermind
The difference between a $500C computer and the core XBox 360
is that the Xbox360 is going to be able to offer a lot more performance for games then what that $500C computer is going to give you. And mind you, we're really talking $300 and $400 USD, not $500C. So where's the premium? You couldn't build that system on your own for that cheap.
You're not going to touch a computer system that will give you comparable "oooomph" in the game world for that price. Go price a video card, mobo and cpu and ram, in the mid-upper performance range, and let me know when you can get them for $300. Don't come back with a 9700 Pro and Athlon 2600+ and tell me you've done it either. It's not on the same level. There's no premium. You're actually getting decent deals compared to comparable PC's when you buy consoles when they are fairley new.
And no one is shoving the hype down your throat. You *clicked* on the link to read this thread. There are three major consoles making companies in the world. Three. For a giant market. And one of those is releasing their newest kid on the black. This *is* a pretty big event. There should be some hype. The day people break into my house and force me to read threads about crap I don't care about is the day I'll agree something is being shoved down my throat.
When you sell to a customer, you can often get them to purchase multiple other items they may not need or did not think of.
Now it is even more likely when you have companies like Microsoft demanding that people must buy two games to go with their xbox, and you making sure sure people pay your protection plan!
My fiance and her little brothers went to the local Wal-Mart yesterday to see the line for the xbox360. There were a couple of dozen people there, maybe 30 tops. The funny part is that there were 14 occupied chairs. Crystal then noticed a sign that there were 14 xbox360s available and that if you were sitting in a chair you would get one otherwise you were out of luck. I guess the other people were just sitting there hoping others would drop dead or something.
That evening I mentioned to her profit opportunity presented by supply and demand. She didn't believe me until I showed her the xbox360 auctions today. Now she is asking me why I didn't make her by 10 or 11 xbox360s to resale.
Enjoy your Xbox360 & games!
Yes it is a shame that those of us, who prefer to wait a while before buying a new console, will miss out on all the fun.
XBOX overheating, Black Screen of death, etc.
4 62099
Go here for details.
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion, you must set yourself on fire.
Looks like the Microsoft loyalist/employees are out in full force. Mod the parent flamebait while mod the pro-Microsoft reply as insightful.
The parent had valid points, and if it's flamebait, that's only because the viewer is overprotective of anything Microsoft or Xbox 360.
...until at LEAST 75% of my games are backwards compatible. I'm not throwing away my investment in games. Since only 1/3 of my current library will work on the 360 (and THAT only if Microsoft don't, as they've reserved the ability to, change their mind and remove games from the list), I have no incentive to stay with Microsoft. If the majority of my games don't work on the 360, I may as well switch to Sony's console if I feel it to be technically better than the 360.
$12,100.00
Twelve thousand dollars... Plus shipping.
It's different with the 360: all chips are now Microsoft owned. THey bought all the IP. See anandtech's article about dissecting an xbox360 recently.
Never underestimate the relief of true separation of Religion and State.
It seems that some sort of massive fraud is going on here. The sellers themselves may simply be propping up the prices on their own auctions. Or, even more sinister and genius, a third party (Microsoft?) is following up Microsoft's deliberate Xbox shortage plan with a plan to inflate the eBay market as well. The fact that Xbox 360 units are selling on eBay for about $1000, there is a lot of money at steak here and what better way to show how wonderful and popular the new system is than by populating the press with stories of people so desperate for an Xbox that the system is selling for $1000?
Crazy conspiracy theory? Brilliant plot uncovered? What do you think?
Dude, are you that poor you earn $2 a n hour and it will take you weeks to save for one like
a SNES did in 1987?? Dude people paid $4000 in equiv 2005 dollars for amigas etc....
Get some reality check, this isnt expensive, its all new silicon.
How do you define cost, the first 12months are always 100% return on R&D, ie 1 billion dollars, / 2 million people = $500 each.
1 weeks wages = the maximum cost since 1992
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
There are many of us out here who don't need our PCs to program on, we have them for games, other entertainment, e-mail, and surfing.
It's not that you want to program for a given machine, but that someone else in the community wants to program for it and give you the results. The problem is that consoles tend to have few or no independent games because the console makers, who control access to the secret bootloader, historically have only talked to established publishers who have already proven themselves in the PC or arcade business.
Playing DvDs is a bonus, if it means one less component I have to hook up or keep up with all the better.
The good thing about making a game console cheaper by leaving out the DVD player is that you can afford to buy a separate DVD player and then use the DVD player on one TV and the console on another.
Funding would be an investment, not a charge to the console.
But investment does show up on the cash-flow number, even if it is eventually amortized over the expected five-year newestness of a console.
Dude, are you that poor you earn $2 a n hour and it will take you weeks to save for one like a SNES did in 1987??
I have a college degree, and despite using both CareerBuilder and Monster, I can't even seem to get an interview anymore, let alone a job. Currently I've been working for $0.00 an hour plus lunch at a local VA hospital.
Yet nobody seems to be denying that the 360 is being targeted exclusively to one single demographic
Microsoft can initially manufacture only enough units to target one demographic at a time. The "second launch" will happen when both the games and the manufactured consoles are ready for a wider audience. The Nintendo DS as well had a "second launch" when Kirby: Canvas Curse and Nintendogs came out in North America.
Stop gaming and write code for fun instead.
If you write code, then it won't even run without a modding method because almost all the major consoles and handhelds (PStwo, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360, DS, PSP, but not the GBA SP) have a secret bootloader. Fortunately, there are a multitude of modding methods for, say, the Nintendo DS.
Here's Penny Arcade's take on the issue.
That link will probably only work until Friday. I would have linked to the permanant link, but that, of course, does not work (at least, not yet).
"Microsoft will keep throwing money at the problem to gain market share. And once they get rid of Sony, they will eventually out-last Nintendo as well. And when they do, do not expect Microsoft to provide any innovation."
Well, there are a lot of differences between the console market today, and the markets in which MS was able to corner. I suggest you compare those markets, and ask yourself the following questions:
Is there established competition, with deep pockets, in the market?
Is it an emerging market?
Is interoperability with other systems an issue for the product?
Is there high-demand content available only with a competitors product?
Also, I'd like to point out that the nature of gaming consoles is such that every few years, there will be an opportunity for someone else to produce a competing product. If MS chooses not to pour money into R&D for consoles, there is no way they could retain control of the market, even if they could get a monopoly.
Finally, MS spends a lot on R&D, even when they are in a dominating market position. A lot of that R&D is outsourced (either directly, or buy purchasing R&D companies/technologies).
I don't know how you can claim that MS's entry is a Bad Thing(tm). Do you think Sony or Nintendo would waste millions of R&D cash if either of them had a monopoly? I understand you're ill will towards MS, I feel the same way. But I can't see the console wars playing out the way the browser wars did (and look, MS continued to spend on R&D there!).
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
It looks like more than 12 people are pissed off. http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/23/ 138200&tid=128&tid=211&tid=10
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion, you must set yourself on fire.
In my case I need high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor), and a PC by the TV doesn't have much WAF.
You also have to worry about the LEAF (law enforcement acceptance factor). In some countries, case mods for a PC are deemed much more legitimate than modchips for a console.
I'd say nicer than a computer simply because a menu is simpler than navigating an OS GUI.
There are several GUI launchers that have been customized for launching emulators.
SNES emulation is flawless
But how did you copy the ROM images from your Super NES and Sega Genesis cartridges so that you could use them with your modded Xbox console? You answered it about the PS1, but not about the Sega Genesis and Super NES.
How does one legitimately earn positive comments on eBay?
I think what you are getting at is - if everyone does this however do you earn comments?
The most direct answer to that of course is simply sell a few things. Note I did not say to never buy from a zero-comment buyer - though it's always more risky and people will not pay as much.
However the real answer is that I did not say EVERYTHING should be sold only to people with five or more positive comments - only larger and really hot things like the 360. If I'm selling anything under even $50 or so, I generally let anyone big without kicking them out. After all, people have to get good comments somewhere...
Note also that I was only saying what I would do as an experienced seller. Due to the glut of product on eBay, there are plenty of other 360's for zero-comment folk to bid on - just not mine (if I had one but I don't). So that too is another option for comments, to buy from people that don't know any better than to trust a zero-comment enigma.
An alternate rule is if you have comments on a bidder from non-payyment, kick them immediatley. There was one guy whoe bought a small thing from me, and kept saying he was going to pay - never did. Then I come to look over his comments and found his favorite hobby was bidding on vending equipment and not paying for it either. He also had some shady looking ads up in Craigsliist New York.
So sellers - use the power of the bid cancel to get rid of people who look questionable!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley