Origen 360 Revealed in Less Than 12 Hours 300
MJXG writes "Gamespot has posted an article related to the adver-teasement Microsoft has set up at Origenxbox360.com. It seems that the counter will be hitting zero in less than 12 hours. It is speculated that once the zero-hour is reached, the site will open up with puzzles and riddles which may give away information or even prizes pertaining to the 360. Also from an article on xbox.ign.com, "In a somewhat shocking discovery, there is a Latin message written into one of the tree's lower branches. To view the message, zoom in a few times on the furthest left root near the bottom of the tree. The message reads 'in hoc spatio arbor noster floruit, fecundus pomis Elysii ignoti, quo in loco ludent electi, ab Originis angelis circumdati'. We consulted the IGN annals of ultimate intelligence and wisdom and came up with the following rough translation: 'In this place may our fertile tree bloom with fruits in strange elysium, where in the place of the chosen, angels surround the origin'." Something big is about to happen."
Something big is about to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
Like Slashdot is about to be spammed?
eh? (Score:5, Insightful)
Since when is a MS media campaign something "big"?
I guess no one at Gamespot read that one Slashdot article on how Microsoft is going to spend 100 million on their ad campaign for the X-box 360.
Too bad. One would think that Gamespot would pay more attention to game related news.
In other news (Score:5, Insightful)
The need for Story (Score:4, Insightful)
All we need is a hint of a mystery and the story-creating parts of our mind go into overdrive. What could they be about to announce? How amazing could it be? The answer is, of course, that it's going to be more details to do with the XBox 360. We all know that, and we all know that in the greater scheme of things a more powerful console is to be expected, not a shocking revelation.
But all it takes is a little bit of "What if?" sprinkled around the edges and suddenly people are drawn in, because maybe this time something groundbreaking will happen and they'll be there when it does.
Intriguing... (Score:5, Insightful)
I find it very intriguing that recently console ads have gone so far off at a mad tangent that they rarely mention consoles at all. Things like the mentioned tree-ad, the older PS2 "Third Place" David Lynch stuff, even my own personal favourite I Am The Wolf Man [iamthewolfman.com]. I know it's all about brand recognition, getting talked about etc. but it seems like all of this happens at the expense of any sort of substance - none of the ads mentioned above contain any information whatsoever about what the consoles are, what capabilites they claim to have, what kind of games they run, or even who might like them. Just snappy ad-agency ideas to try and get the name stuck in your head...
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Eh? (Score:2, Insightful)
Indeed. But a more apt question would be "Since when is slashdot part of an MS media campaign?"
I fail to see how this qualifies as "news for nerds" or "stuff that matters". It's a marketing campaign designed by MS to sell products - and slashdot, the largest tech news site on the planet, is giving MS free advertising. Gamespot is no better for running a story on it either, but one can assume they were paid for the attention they've given it.
I'm not getting on an anti-MS soapbox here. This is just a terrible story for slashdot to run. Actual news about the Xbox 360? That's fine. Release dates? Great. Tech details? Bring it on. But linking directly to an MS ad campaign and calling it 'news' is pathetic. It puts slashdot in the same boat as other 'news' organisations like FOX and CNN.
What an efficient way to destroy years of credibility. I hear Sony is going to have something 'big' happening in the coming months - perhaps slashdot can post their ads as 'news' as well?
Re:Something big is about to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Something big is about to happen (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Advertising? (Score:2, Insightful)
Now, to my mind it seems like when I click on one of the trees I should be taken to a place where someone (I don't really care who) is discussing what it was like to play the 360. Not a news site. And it'd be shocking if i was taken to www.nintendofanboy.co.uk only to find that a nintendo fanboy had been converted by experiencing the magical land of Xbox360.
Also the true/false questions part has the lovely phrase "How much have you heard about Xbox 360? And how much of is it is true?". I'm not sure Microsoft really should ask us to question if they are lying to us...
All in all I'm a little confused about what Microsoft are trying to do here. Is the Xbox 360 powered by dual rabbits? If so how often will I need to feed them? Or will a magic tree be growing inside the console. Will I need to shut down said console to let the rabbits take a break to eat? Are the controllers made of carrots? When will I get to eat mystical mind altering fruit? Will it be released with the console or will I have to buy it later... So many questions are raised by this website, so little answers... Perhaps the answers will come later! Only time will tell.
Sorry, think the mystical fruit hit me a bit hard, but I'm coming down now.... oh.. I'm unimpressed....
Oh well at least next time an Xbox fan tells me Nintendo is too kiddy... I'll point them to this website.