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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

US Troops Get European Xbox Gaming Centers 40

Posted by simoniker from the trashtalk-bomber-pilots-at-yr-peril dept.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to an EStripes.com article discussing the 17 new Xbox gaming centers being installed at the US military's European Air Force bases. According to the article, airmen "..located in the Azores could race a virtual motorcycle against an airman stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany - then team up with someone from Izmir, Turkey, to win the Super Bowl on 'NFL Fever.'" This gaming network, being installed at a cost of nearly $200,000, is even trying to get the top brass involved, as the organizer of the scheme "..suggested to his deputy commander that the colonels from the different bases in Europe should have a commandwide Xbox death match."
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US Troops Get European Xbox Gaming Centers More

US Troops Get European Xbox Gaming Centers

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  • In the previous thread about Nintendo's lack of online capabilities, regardless of what the actual numbers of people who use it are, it's good for PR purposes alone.
  • Oncel Sam wants you now! Tired of playing your XBOX in your parents basement? Then this is the thing for you! We want trigger happy, folks to sign up now! And you can play all the games you want with others like youself! And in the case of war it will be just the same, only without the credits!
  • ...being installed at a cost of nearly $200,000...
    I'm all for keeping soldiers comfortable whenever possible, but doesn't this seem excessive? Besides, who wants to play videogames when you can go out and drive the real thing [fas.org]?
    • Oh fine, they're airmen not soldiers, and they fly jets not drive tanks. My question is still valid.
    • These must be MILSPEC X-Boxes. Sure they're more expensive, but you get more too: EMP hardened, NBC resistent (via overpressure and filtration in "buttoned up" mode), protected against impacts, water, and sand, man-portable, can run on either diesel or kerosene, incorporates lessons learned from previous conflicts, the usual. This assumes the procedures in the field manual are being followed, and regular depot-level maintenance is scheduled.
      • This assumes the procedures in the field manual are being followed, and regular depot-level maintenance is scheduled.
        Only problem is, if you pull PMCS on on X-Box, Microsoft sues under DMCA.
    • $200,000 is small change compared to how much it cost just to "drive the real thing." The A1 M1 Abrams MBT cost something like $4 million and a single mock battle would cost far more then $200 grand. The last thing the taxpayer needs is a bunch of grunts driving the "real thing" for fun. ;)
    • With all the military cutbacks over the past ten years or so, troops are working longer and harders shifts and deployments. Morale needs to be maintained and the most effective way to do it is to get things the they guys actually like to do! What else would you spend the morale money on? a clown? some interesting literature?
      When it comes down to it, they like to play video games. The troops can play video games for 2 hours and feel more refreshed for another 24 or 36 hour shift. Also, please try to re
    • A tomahawk costs 500,000 alone... And they are expended. Besides we are going to invade libera next... Great, how many wars can we fit into 4 years?
  • airmen "..located in the Azores could race a virtual motorcycle against an airman stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany"

    Maybe they could play a game of Halo against Saddam Hussein stationed somewhere in Iraq??
  • I like the idea of troops playing hours upon hours of Unreal Championship only to get disoriented and confused on the battle field. "Wait! What happened to my Flak Cannon? And where are my anti-grav boots.....CRAP!" *BOOM*
  • Instead of deploying troops in Iraq to force our American way of life on others, we can settle things online.

    Imagine, being able to overthrow a dictatorship in a few rounds of DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball!

  • ha (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 07, 2003 @06:28PM (#6386666)
    Airmen located in the Azores could race a virtual motorcycle against an airman stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany
    This is nothing new. Airmen located in the Persian Gulf have been fighting a battle against a virtual threat for well over a decade.
  • IMHO, anything that keeps the troops happy (within reason) works for me. These guys perform an important job for the US - I hope this will be implemented in more locations worldwide where the guys need diversions from their "real" jobs in their off time.

  • American games in European region (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Krellan ( 107440 ) <krellan@kr e l l a n .com> on Monday July 07, 2003 @06:37PM (#6386726) Homepage Journal
    I can see how Xbox would be chosen, since it's an American-made system, and the military prefers American-made whenever possible, to be patriotic.

    But what of region coding?

    I wonder what will happen if a soldier buys a game off base while stationed in Europe, and brings it into the Xbox gameroom on base, and discovers it won't play.

    Will all games have to be imported from the USA?

    I would imagine Microsoft would make a special deal with the military, and give them regionfree consoles that would play anything, regardless of region.
    • the real problem in this case is pal VS ntsc
      • whoops, hit submit too soon.. anyways... as i was saying; i dont think this will be a problem anyways, as the "gaming centers" will probably be fully stocked themselves, and not at all depend on soldiers/officers/whatever-you-want-to-call-them to supply the games.
    • It's the supermarket/kmart on base that has all
      sorts of American goodies no matter where you
      are in the world. Chances are this with be the ONLY
      place they can buy the correct region Xbox games to
      play on these systems unless they order them
      off the net. Imagine that!
    • This really isn't going to be a problem. The military operates stores on its military bases that sell a wide variety of stuff - it wouldn't be a problem stocking X-Box games from the US.

      Just so you, know, the profit from the base stores goes to the base Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Department.

    • I would imagine the reason the xbox was chosen has more to do with the capabilities of the system - the article pushes the online features and the advantage the xbox has in this area alone makes the choice an easy one.

    • I wonder what will happen if a soldier buys a game off base while stationed in Europe, and brings it into the Xbox gameroom on base, and discovers it won't play.

      Well, he takes it back to the store for a refund. Since he has a gun slung over his shoulder, the store will take it back without any questions. They'll also learn to start warning the soldiers before they buy games, and the soldiers will learn the mail order them from the US. No matter the stereotypes you might have, soldiers are not stupid, an

    • What the heck are you talking about being an american made system... Do a quick search: ----- In an effort to cut manufacturing costs and allow Microsoft Corp. (Quote, Company Info) to offer its game console at a lower price point, electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider Flextronics Corp. (Quote, Company Info) will relocate its Hungarian Xbox manufacturing operation to Doumen, China. ----- So we are once again supporting china? Sick
    • Many of the Xbox Live games are actually not region-restricted - you can play a US copy of MotoGP 2 on a UK machine, and vice versa, for instance.

      Even if this wasn't the case, the games will still play against each other. I have a basic unmodded PAL Xbox, and for my first Live game (only last weekend, coincidentally) I was playing Midtown Madness 3 against a Canadian, an American, a Begian, a Dutchman and a fellow Brit. Lag wasn't even a killer, and voice was still working fine. Its really cool, actually.

    • I wouldn't be surprised if they sell US Xboxes and US Xbox games on these bases. I was at Ramstein AB in Februray and everything there is american. They use dollars, the police uses american police cars and so on. There are people there living on the base for years without ever walking outside the fence.

  • I remember playing a few Xbox Live games with a soldier stationed in Korea, that was like in december 2002.
  • of the Military-Industrial-Entertainment complex.

    Yes, soon the needs of the US Entertainment industry will be driving US foreign policy.

    As Eisenhower said 'We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge entertainment and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.'
  • I have been stationed on two submarines, and I can tell you the single best moral booster was a couple of computers networked together and Unreal Tournament. The study was packed after a watch with people waiting a turn. Small price to pay for a bunch of people stationed on an island with nothing, and I do mean nothing (I flew in there last year) else to do.
  • Of course this give new meaning the the old bumper sticker. You remember

    Join the Air Force .. Travel to exotic countries meet unusual people and kill them NEW V 2.0 is available with virtual death online!!
  • If you read the article, it sounds more like an advertisement for x-box than anything else. (italics article, bold for emphasis)

    The Air Force chose Xbox over other game systems because of its online gaming network, Quinn said.
    "It's really the premier gaming system" for playing online, he said.
    for example, someone located in the Azores could race a virtual motorcycle against an....

    I mean, give us a break! Personally, I love my x-box... but this is more an ad than news. Why do we want to know this?
    • I agree its basically a Microsoft puff piece, but its actually pretty true.

      Dreamcast servers have been switched off now (possibly except PSO, I'm not sure). So they don't count.

      PS2 only has a couple of games online; Socom (not something I'd want to play in my spare time if practising how to shoot people in teams was my day job) and Twisted Metal: Black (which, frankly, sucks in my opinion). I'm not aware of a third yet.

      Gamecube has PSO. Which is also available on the Xbox.

      Admittedly, the best choice of
  • when OPeration Flashpoint comes out for the Xbox it's almmost virtual training. Also, what about America's Army?

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