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."

Comments

Who cares?

[jmony]

Will this bring peace to earth? It's just a gaming console, nothing constructive there.

WTF?

[Shadow Wrought]

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.

Playa Hatin'

[hotgigs]

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...

Re:a media center

[prezkennedy.org]

Its perfect for college students and the like who have to pick up and move every few semesters and share stuff with other people.

Yep, until it gets stolen.