Comparing Xbox Launches
IGN is running a piece taking a look at the launch of the Xbox 360, and comparing it to the launch of the original Xbox. From the article: "What we now have is some good old fashioned perspective, and since Sony's PlayStation 3 has yet to launch, what better system to compare the Xbox 360 to than its little brother, the Xbox. Our focus will be the launch of each Microsoft system. Specifically, we'll be answering these questions: How do the games that launched with the Xbox and Xbox 360 compare? What were the big issues surrounding each launch? What worked, what didn't? And which launch was ultimately better?"
The problem when you do a sequel is that you are trying to please the people who liked the original version. Because of this, your target demographic gets older (all the existing customers have gotten older, and you need really a lot of young customers to offset this), this means usually people with more money, but more conservative tastes.
In this sense, a given system is linked to a certain "generation", that largely stays with a system they know. I suspect that the really new games will come out on consoles for younger people, either cheaper or more portable systems.
So they determined that even though the original xbox launch had more selection and better games, the xbox 360 wins because it's technically superior? WTF? Why bother even comparing the two then? I should certainly hope that it's technically superior to the original after 5 years.
If that's their criteria for determining the winner, then all it sounds like is a paid advertisement.
I currently have a xbox, ps2 and gamecube.. but there's no way I'm going to buy either of the new offerings until they are all out and can make an informed decision myself, not from someone _telling me_ what I _should_ buy.