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Games Entertainment

XBox Delayed 249

Posted by michael from the just-get-a-playstation-already dept.
rumrum writes: "From CNet: 'The company says it will delay the launch of its video game console by one week to Nov. 15 but declines to clarify exactly how many units it will have available at launch.'" AP has a slightly more informative article which points to production problems, and the LA Times has a story noting that production hasn't yet begun.
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XBox Delayed More

XBox Delayed

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  • Promoting for the XBox... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by FortKnox ( 169099 ) on Friday September 21, 2001 @04:40PM (#2331850) Homepage Journal
    Did anyone read penny arcade [penny-arcade.com] today [penny-arcade.com]? They make a good point about how marketing is done in stores. Hardly any store is actually actively marketing the N-Cube (because they are both supposed to come out November).
    • Also note the 3 day difference in XBox's release (nov 15) and Nintendo GameCube's (nov 18).
    • In all fairness, this is partly Nintendo's fault. Nintendo has held firm with the belief that hyping up a system too far ahead of launch is bad for the industry (hurts sales of current systems, which is bad for everyone because gamers just waiting for new systems are not playing current games) and generally a waste of time. Too much hype can easily turn out to be a bad thing. Look at E3, MS had spent months hyping the X-Box, and every gaming writer who attended the show said they came away disappointed. Nintendo said very little about the Cube before the show and blew everyone away. Who knows, maybe the same will hold true with the launch.

      Nintendo will be marketing the Gamecube actively, but they've said on several occasions that they won't start until 6-8 weeks before launch. You'll probably start hearing a bit more about the Cube in October. I'd provide links, but most of my news comes from cube.ign.com and I'm having trouble reaching their site now.

    • There's an older one [penny-arcade.com] about the delay of the Game Cube that could easily have X-Box substituted in.
      Honestly if you didn't see this one coming a mile away... well just read the comic and have a laugh.

  • Heck, even the space shuttle gets delayed 1.5 times per launch!

    It's nothing tremendous, and, given the events in the past week a delay could be the best thing to do- give people a time to get out of their shell shock (and I am still in it) and move out into our life that Osama hates so much.

    Personally, I won't buy one... but that doesn't mean another game console couldn't help :)
    • Sid Meier has a good record for releasing his games on date (but, from what I've heard, its because he puts down an incredible amount of time for testing and slight tweaking of the game; Which is how it outta be IMHO).
    • I was at Steve Ballmer's luncheon speech to the Chicago Software Assiciation on Wednesday. He was pointedly asked whether the events of last week would impact the official launch dates of either WinXP or the Xbox. He clearly and unequivocally stated that the official launch dates of neither WinXP nor Xbox were changing because of Sept 11th's events or any other reason.

      This may be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, but Steve is a competent CEO and therefore stays on top of these issues within his own company. Thus, I can only cynically conclude that he deliberately lied.

      Although, it occurs to me that his hands may be tied by FTC regulations. Imagine that he had said "Actually, I was told this morning that we may have to delay the shipment of WinXP two months"; wouldn't everybody in that room immediately be on their cell phones sell Microsoft stock short before the general public is aware? Until there is an official announcement to which all investors have equal access, it may be illegal to be honest.
      • Weeeeell maybe the delay isn't due to last weeks events, but due to them not actually being able to make enough of them regardless?

        I mean, monkey boy wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the whole truth.

        "We're not delaying the launch of X-Box because of the terrorist attacks. We're delaying it because we're just as bad at shipping consoles on time as everyone else. Go easy on us, it's our first time."
    • "Even" the space shuttle? The space shuttle is a extremely large, complex, expensive piece of equipment upon whose correct functioning lives depend. I would hope it's delayed more often than video game consoles. :)

      Not that I don't agree with you -- it does seem like just about everything out there is delayed. IMO, over-zealous marketing is to blame in most cases. Not counting the shuttle, that is.

      -Puk
  • I don't ever recall MS missing a release date for other products. Wait, maybe it was the fact that they never met a release date...
  • What was that hard drive for? Saving games? How about the broadband? Internet play? If I'm not making it clear enough as it is, MS is probably going for the patchable console we feared. I mean, they have seven weeks to begin building them, so errors are bound to happen.
    • What do you expect? Buy MS, get an MS quality level product.

      In addition MS is trying to do something here that they have no real experience with: A system that should not need any patches. Combine that with their bad track record for PC software and the outcome is pretty clear.

      The low quality MS products have is something that never ceases to amaze me. The last "feature" I ran into is the problems W98 gets with 750 MB RAM. Stupidity or design? I really don't know.
      • To be fair to Microsoft, they have usually done a pretty good job with their hardware. I still have one of their joysticks kicking around, and I've NEVER had one of those last more than 8 or 9 months, the Microsoft one is going on 3 years now. I think the big problem with the Xbox is going to be the fact that hardware and software have to interact, and that hasn't really been Microsoft's strong suit.

  • It shouldn't be a surprise that microsoft is not reliable. Microsoft makes good hardware, but they don't have final fantasy, zelda, mario or sonic.
    • Er... Sega is an X-Box developer, so, someday, they may very well *HAVE* Sonic.

      Then again, so will all the other consoles. :-p

    • Microsoft makes good hardware, but they don't have final fantasy, zelda, mario or sonic

      It's been said that there have only been seven video games ever made, and that all other games are remakes of these. I can't get more specific because Slashdot search seems to be broken.

      For example, the Xbox may not have Final Fantasy(tm) brand final fantasy, but it does have Morrowind brand [xbox.com] final fantasy. It may not have Zelda(tm) brand zelda, but it does have Azurik brand [xbox.com], Malice brand [xbox.com], and New Legends brand [xbox.com] zelda, and these aren't cel-shaded like Z9 for GAMECUBE. It may not have Soul Calibur(tm) brand or Bushido Blade(tm) brand swordfighting Star Wars brand [xbox.com] swordfighting. It doesn't have Mario Kart(tm) brand or Crash Team Racing(tm) brand kart racing/combat, but it does have Blood Wake brand [xbox.com] water vehicle combat and Mad Dash brand [xbox.com] foot racing. It doesn't have Goldeneye(TM) brand goldeneye, but it does have Halo brand [xbox.com] goldeneye. It doesn't have side-scrolling mario, but neither does GAMECUBE.

      On the other hand, OmegaMan mentioned that Sega develops Xbox software and may release Sonic(tm) brand sonic.

      DISCLAIMER: Trademarks in this comment are used for comparative and comic effect.
      • When you say "it has been said," what you mean to say is "I have said, over and over and over." You bring up this same nonsense every time this topic comes up. Games are not interchangeable. Non-Miyamoto Zelda is not Zelda, because the personal touch that the master gives it is the very essence of the game. Halo and GoldenEye, aside from some superficial similarities (ooh, look, they have guns!) are not, by any means, the same game.
        Let us be clear: when a poster says, "It doesn't have Zelda, Metroid, Perfect Dark, etc.," he or she is not talking about trademarks. It is a matter of preference in design teams and fundamental vision behind the projects.
        But what do you know about games? How can anyone who knows what he's talking about associate a serious simulation like Bushido Blade with Soul Caliber?

        • When you say "it has been said," what you mean to say is "I have said, over and over and over."

          No, I refer to a specific comment made here a few stories back, which I can't find at the moment because Slashdot's search seems to be broken.

          Non-Miyamoto Zelda is not Zelda

          You got that right; bad gameplay and buggy code puts the 'blo' in a popular imitator.

          Let us be clear: when a poster says, "It doesn't have Zelda, Metroid, Perfect Dark, etc.," he or she is not talking about trademarks. It is a matter of preference in design teams and fundamental vision behind the projects.

          True; metroid, z3, and pretty much everything by Rareware rock. But moms still have whiny kids who want their Pokemon regardless of how bad the gameplay is (not counting the GB titles but rather the merchandising, which is all based on the $#!++y TV show). As Pikachu says: "BEAT THE JEW!"

          You mentioned Perfect Dark [perfectdark.com]. Good game, but expensive, as it costs nearly $800 to enjoy fully: $50 for Perfect Dark, $100 for an N64 to play it on, $40 for a RAM expansion pack (required for all modes [perfectdark.com] except a couple 2P deathmatch levels), $90 for 3 extra controllers, $30 for Perfect Dark for Game Boy Color (required to unlock some PD features), $70 for a Game Boy Color system to play it on, $50 for a Game Boy Camera to create face textures, $50 for a Transfer Pak to copy the textures to the game (nintendo says [nintendo.com] the msrp for the Transfer Pak by itself is $20, but I havent see Transfer Paks in stores apart from the Pokemon Stadium 1 bundle), and at least $300 for a TV large enough to fit a 4-player split screen. You can get an entry-level PC with Quake III Arena and 1000 hours of AOL(tw) for that price.

          But what do you know about games? How can anyone who knows what he's talking about associate a serious simulation like Bushido Blade with Soul Caliber?

          I gave them as examples of swordfighting games. I should have just mentioned the souledge series without bringing up Bushido.

  • If you read the news post attached to that comic, the point they're making is that retailers are supporting either one or the other. They go on to say how they received e-mails last year saying how Sony threatened to not give stores their fair share of PS2's if they advertised XBox.
  • When one of the X-Box consoles running Halo went out at E3, there was an RCA box behind the glass that the Microsoft people went to reset - so I don't even know if there's a working X-Box in existence.

    The other funny thing is, I went into E3 expecting to be blown away by the X-Box and go ho-hum at the Gamecube...And I went out being blown away by the Gamecube and going ho-hum at the X-Box. (Personal opinion.)
    • At least they have working prototypes. *cough*Indrema [indrema.com]*cough*
      • Apparently, you don't have any "toleranse" for a dictionary either:)
        If you're going to be pompous, at least be thorough about it.
      • I do hope your sig file is supposed to be ironic.

        -atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.

        For your edification please see www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=toleranse

        If you didn't mean it ironically, then I suggest you be more tolerant. A lifetime of self-hate really sucks.

    • When one of the X-Box consoles running Halo went out at E3, there was an RCA box behind the glass that the Microsoft people went to reset - so I don't even know if there's a working X-Box in existence.

      Wansn't there one with some large and lound fans hidden on the back side? Not that I couldn't do the same with a standard industrial PC card...
      • Wansn't there one with some large and lound fans hidden on the back side?

        There might have been - I must not have looked too closely to see it. I do remember seeing the design of the box, but I never saw a WORKING X-Box. All of the demos on the show floor had the console nicely hidden.
        • There might have been - I must not have looked too closely to see it. I do remember seeing the design of the box, but I never saw a WORKING X-Box. All of the demos on the show floor had the console nicely hidden.

          So only fakes. Not really difficult with something that is essentially a PC. Vaporware, obviously.
    • Nope, there wasn't final X-Box machines at E3. They still were using the PC boxes, with one difference hardware wise. Some of the sound functions were being done via software instead of hardware.

      I saw a few lockups (One game would cause it reliably in a section of a level), and one being carted away from repair.

      Meanwhile, we were enjoying the Gamecube on final hardware.

  • That's OK (Score:4, Funny)

    by ch-chuck ( 9622 ) on Friday September 21, 2001 @04:45PM (#2331884) Homepage
    Desperate parents will probably be able to pick up one up for their whining spawn off eBay for $25,000.
  • I'm shocked! Shocked! There's a delay!

    Wait. No I'm not.

    This is par for the course -- announce vaporware to attempt to destroy preemptively the competition. "Why would a want I [game cube | PS2 | Go Tablet | etc] when Microsoft's gonna have one in a month or two?"

    In this case, the competition didn't just evaporate -- much, I'm sure, to MS's chagrin.

    I wouldn't be *terribly* surprised if the thing slipped into spring... then never launched at all.

  • If it's only a week.

    As long as it gets out before Thanksgiving in the US, they will still sell an assload of these, at least in my opinion.

  • 'The company says it will delay the launch of its video game

    The company? What, is there only one now? Did Microsoft take over all the others last night while we were sleeping?
  • Microsoft has always followed the philosophy of getting their products working JUST ENOUGH to be functional, then release them to the public and put out patches and updates later, to fix the problems they should have fixed before ever releasing the title in the first place.

    The thing is, you can't do that with a console system, and nobody wants a console system or games with bugs. Suddenly Microsoft has found themselves in a situation where they have to get things right THE FIRST TIME! I wonder how many poker games Mr. Gates has had to skip while worrying about this one?
    • Suddenly Microsoft has found themselves in a situation where they have to get things right THE FIRST TIME!

      Exactly. And it is not a decent product they bought from somebody else either, they have to do it by themselves! But maybe by now they have succeded in lowering customer expectations enough with their other products and nobody will mind. (Personally I expect endless delays or them falling flat on their face.)
    • Except they don't have to get it completely right first time, as they can always patch it using the hard drive.

      "Register now to get your free bugfi^H^H^H^H^Hupgra^H^H^H^H^Hdemo disc! Yeah, it's a demo disc, no it doesn't patch the OS as well, honest..."
  • Or else maybe they are having a "strategy" rethink given that GameCube's launch was less than spectacular.

    I think that maybe there is an actual downturn going on in the game industry that is larger than has been publicised. Sony are also rumoured to be dropping the price by $100 so it will effectively kill the $1200 "MS package deals" for X-Box, especially with Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2 and loads more. PS2 Christmas line-up is the strongest of all the consoles, and it also will be the cheapest.

    There have been many rumours on the net for the past week that MS's production might be halved. Remember the hype around X-Box last year? A simultaneous WORLDWIDE launch? Right about now with production difficulties and strong lineups from Sony, it's seems even the might monolith MS can have trouble.

    Plus the PS2 has a nice retro look with the grill and all. X-Box looks like the sort of console Gordon Gecko would design, only he would probably put a big G on it or something. Actually, Bill Gates probably would do that to.

    A G-Box would be cool..........it might even come with built in pr0n as well.

    • Or else maybe they are having a "strategy" rethink given that GameCube's launch was less than spectacular.

      Well, I think there are two reasons for that: 1) the video game market is slumping in Japan anyway (according to this [msnbc.com] MSNBC article), and 2) the WTC had been attacked two days before. I doubt people even in Japan would be in the console buying mood after that happened...

      Just my $.02...

    • PS2 Christmas line-up is the strongest of all the consoles, and it also will be the cheapest.

      The Gamecube is launching at $200. Last I checked, the PS2 was still at $300, so that price drop will bring it to the GC level. I saw somewhere several months ago that Sony was going to do two $50 price drops this year, but aparently that didn't happen for some reason.

    • yeah... I sort of wondered where that 1Ghz chip went to that they were saying (considering you couldn't buy a 1Ghz chip at the time)
  • Since Nintendo delayed the GCN until the 18th or so, MS probably decided they've got a few extra days to churn out some extra units, as well as maybe build up the hype a bit.

    But is anyone getting any new preorders in? I got mine at the local EB the first day they had them, but they were out of their allotted units within 5 days. Maybe with this delay, a few more will get their XBOX for launch day.

  • "just-get-a-playstation-already"

    Personally, I was kind of waiting for the X-Box for hacking purposes. The standard CPU makes a lot more sense to hack than the custom CPUs in both the Playstation 2 and GameCube (although the GameCube's games seem to look the pretiest of them all).

    Also, if reports are correct, you will soon be able to buy a new Dreamcast for $49.99. That's a nice bit of pocket change for a little system that can run a variant of BSD.

  • apple apple apple apple apple apple apple apple apple apple apple



























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  • According to the LA Times article:

    Main said Nintendo, which recently pushed back its North American launch by two weeks, was "locked and loaded" to deliver 630,000 GameCubes to the United States and 70,000 to Canada before Thanksgiving weekend

    I'm amazed that the number of units going to Canada is so low. Are there really only 1/9th as many games in Canada as in the US?
    • let's see,

      canada has roughly the population of california (around 32 million).

      the us has roughly 285 million inhabitants.

      quick bit of math gives that to be about 1 in 9.

      -sam
    • Part of the problem might be that the Canadian distributor of the X-Box refuses to sell to anyone except Future Shop. When all orders are going to the same store, the number is less surprising.

      It's not like no other store in Canada wants them: I work at a computer store where we have access to a large college market. However they're still intent on selling only to the F-Shop.

      • FYI (Score:2)

        by Pope ( 17780 )
        If you hadn't heard already, Best Buy (big USA chain) bought Futureshop a month or 2 ago.
  • Interesting that they're choosing to delay it. In previous interviews I'd read, the Microsofties sounded pretty hyped about how they're not going to have the supply problems the PS2 had. This was then followed by the rumormill working overtime on a reduced launch.

    Check these out, courtesy of Gamespot [gamespot.com]:

    Some Microsoft comments on the delay. [gamespot.com]

    Ed Fries discusses XBox launch [gamespot.com]

  • Any thoughts on how this will affect the Nintendo Game Cube? Can we expect imense competition, maybe even (gasp) an extra free controller or two? I loved the launch of the NES... it was expensive, but at least it came with two controllers, a lightgun, and two games. Fun and variety right out of the box! Some bundles even came with the R.O.B. robot and even more games.

    Personally, I'd like to see the hackable X-Box make more of a splash. I love to work on various SW/HW hacks. The very closed GameCube, to me anyway, is a symbol of a vanilla money-hungry console of the past.
    • Personally, I'd like to see the hackable X-Box make more of a splash. I love to work on various SW/HW hacks. The very closed GameCube, to me anyway, is a symbol of a vanilla money-hungry console of the past.

      Maybe I'm too cynical, but isn't anything Microsoft produces a symbol of a money-hungry corporation that uses unfair tactics to drive the competition out of business? Microsoft throws a shiny ball in front of us and we're supposed to forget everything they've done? The worst part is that buying this just to hack around is still bad because it contributes to the number of console sales, which third party developers will use to decide which console to make games for. So maybe Namco decides to throw a few more exclusives at the X-Box and that leads to more people buying it because they want those games. Next thing you know, the X-Box is to the living room as Windows is to the desktop, and I have to pay Bill a dollar a minute to play video games.

      OK, maybe not, but still, I don't care how good it looks or how hackable it is, I can't in good conscience purchase one of these things. I'm not accusing you personally, but it seems like the /. readership in general hates MS but still wants an X-Box. I feel like Dave Nelson ("But he's evil!").
      • Which big corporation does everyone think of as inspirational, moral-always does the right thing, and makes everyone happy?

        I don't know of one. Granted, only a few others sport the sort of egregious abuses of monopoly power that Microsoft does, but so what.

        You don't like Microsoft? Fine go buy a Nintendo. Have fun. Go buy your shiny new ball from a different evil corporation.

        Any for-profit entity is *for profit*. You want to support a new order that respects people and the world in general? Then support, work at, and otherwise propagate non-profit entities.

        I for one, probably won't buy any new game system at all. I don't have time for it anyway with the new Compaq Presario 7000Z I bought from the "evil" for-profit Compaq Corporation. ;)

        • I don't care how good it looks or how hackable it is, I can't in good conscience purchase one of these things

        All Microsoft cares about is making money.

        If you buy a bare box, it costs them money.

        Seems very conscionable to me.

    • "Personally, I'd like to see the hackable X-Box make more of a splash. I love to work on various SW/HW hacks. The very closed GameCube, to me anyway, is a symbol of a vanilla money-hungry console of the past."

      Really now... Do you really think that the X-box is going to be any more hackable than the GameCube? Think again- they're not going to want you re-purposing the thing to run anything other than games. Therefore, expect all kinds of entertaining strangeness to make it inconvienient to hack it. Skip the X-box, it's not going to be any different than the consoles (for it to be usable in the console arena, it's going to HAVE to be that way) and it'll set you back as much as a PC that has the same features- why bother?
    • Hackability, a very big issue in these parts. Micrsoft will probably go to great lengths to ensure the system goes unhacked, and nintendo will too. Nintendo has the advantage of a non-standard disk going for them but I am almost sure that it can be hacked into doing whatever and this is why.

      1. Panasonic will make a DVD-Gamcube combo. This will have to be able to play DVD formated disk and gamecube games, so it seems logical that a DVD burned with a gamecube game would work.

      2. There may be loading restrictions requiring some sort of authorization to ensure it is a authentic game, but if this is stolen from a regular gamecube game it might work.

      3. cube.ign.com reported that the gamecube has fantastic fault tolerance for taking a disc out while the game is running. This could be used to hack shit up because after a regular game is authorized another game could be inserted masquerading as the authentic game that was removed. At the next load point the rogue game could take over and do whatever it wanted.

      You heard it here first, if gamecube hacking proves to be difficult, I think this will be how it will eventully be done. Of course this banks on being able to read gamecube disks at all, and being to burn DVD's, but those shouldn't impossible hurdles. Programming for it might be a different story, I haven't seen many details released on the details of its architecture yet. It seems that the processor and GPU are slight variations of commodity hardware (PPC and ATI Radeon 8500 I believe). I didn't take into account encryption eighther, because I haven't really thought about it, but I am sure the details will be released in time.
  • That Microsoft has been saying up until Wednesday that they will absolutly ship on time.

    They have also repeatedly denied any production problems.

    Assuming that they are not all simply lying scum:

    My questions is how can a company wake up one morning and discover that they will have no where near the number of units on hand they said they would and will need to push a launch date back. It's been a two day span between nothing is wrong, everthing will ship to, "We are delaying and have 'moved past' talking about specific launch numbers." What this would seem to indicate is a truly SPECTACULAR level of ingorance or incompetence.

    This follows of course on the Mhz reductions in their GPU and spec reductions across the board.

    The collorary to the first question is when will the fan sites covering the xbox stop just eating up what they are told. I have yet to see a fan site use an iota of intelligence in reporting on the xbox, but blindy eat up overhyped stats. What type of control does Microsoft exert over these numbskulls.

    It makes for great reading however... the fan sites are truly a bunch of nitwits who can't seem to critically evaluate a thing. I'd love to get the customer list for xbox buyers and call them selling the brooklyn bridge.
    • I would be wary of falling into the trap of thinking Microsoft guilty of ignorance or incompetence (that's what they want us to think!). So your assumption that they are not lying scum must be flawed.
    • I am glad that someone is saying this finally. The real story is how blatantly Microsoft has lied to people. They were so adamant about keeping the launch date, and what the hell, now its out the window. Very two faced indeed. And as for fan sites, unfortuantly they are very biased, but if they weren't they wouldn't be dedicating a site to a specific console. I guess those are just the throws.
    • My questions is how can a company wake up one morning and discover that they will have no where near the number of units on hand they said they would and will need to push a launch date back.

      Well, say, for instance, that the company woke up one morning to learn that a group of terrorists has blown up the wtc, throwing the shipping and airline industries into chaos and destabilizing the world economy and geopolitical climate.

      That could probably have some impact on their ship schedule, although if they busted their collective ass, they might be able to keep the delay two a week or less.

  • How it'll probably shake out (Score:3, Informative)

    by jvmatthe ( 116058 ) on Friday September 21, 2001 @04:59PM (#2331973) Homepage
    Not that there is anything new, but...

    Nintendo's advertising will probably start shortly. While Xbox may be building hype right now, Nintendo has year and years of name brand recognition and several widely known franchises (Mario, Metroid, Pokemon, et al) to their advantage. One good month of advertisements and kids'll be hocking their N64's like there is no tomorrow. Nintendo doesn't need to work as hard as MS to have the same (or greater) effect.

    Second, Microsoft is in the unenviable position of having the most expensive console. Sony could potentially drop the price of the PS2 to $250 now that they're over a year into mass production. The Nintendo GameCube has always been targetted at a much lower price point ($200) so it has a fairly good advantage over Sony and MS both in that regard.

    Finally, the recession is on the way (face up to it, boys and girls) and that means less money sloshing around to spend on toys. If a full-fledged depression hits, then Nintendo and Microsoft and Sony are all going to take a hit, and the odd man out, Microsoft in this case, will probably fall by the wayside.

    Anyway, this doesn't touch on the issues that others might find problems with like (a) having to buy a special remote to use it as a DVD player (b) the network adaptor being effectively useless until at least March 2002, and (c) the lack of real support from Japanese companies. (Token games, for sure, just to test the waters, but they'll probably pull back real quick when the recession hits full on.)
    • I don't know if this is true for all manufacturers but Microsoft will be losing money on every XBox sold. The plan is to make the money with game sales. So if MS can't get a decent set of killer games like the other two do then they indeed may be the man out. But with pockets like MS's they might be able to cope, hard to tell.
      • I've read some info on this in the past, and specifically, Sony initially sold the PlayStation and the PlayStation2 at a loss, and that they eventually would make a profit (hence, the potential for price cuts later in the system's life).

        Conversely, Nintendo has a history of not selling a system unless they make some money on hardware sales. The profit may be minimal, but they keep themselves afloat if no games sell.

        I believe that the XBox will initally sell at a loss.

        I think I read about this on IGN, but I can't find it now.
    • The network adapter will be effective for many of the ship-date games, Halo specificaly. While online play is nowhere near ready, networking between xboxen will be standard.
  • It makes sense that they aren't in production yet. Consider that essentially what they're selling is a repackaged PC. Most of the components in there are the same components any PC has in it. Now consider how much those components may well drop in price between now and mid-November.

    PC manufacturers try to keep a parts inventory measured in a few days (Dell actually has negative inventory, considering that their terms usually say they pay 30 days after receiving the parts, or so I hear).

    Sure, they're going to have to do a bunch of advance production to keep up with the initial demand, but it makes sense to minimize this.

    And that's leaving aside the marketing advantages of creating the appearance of a hit product by constraining supply to create shortages.
    • >>(Dell actually has negative inventory, considering that their terms usually say they pay 30 days after receiving the parts, or so I hear).

      Paying 30 or even 45 days after recieving something is standard pratice. The negative inventory you mention problem has to do with order part *after* they get the order from you.

      RZ
  • AP has a slightly more informative article which points to production problems, and the LA Times has a story noting that production hasn't yet begun.

    Yeah...I'd say that production not beginning yet is a problem :)
  • Companies like Sega, Nintendo, Sony, and their developers work work very to make sure console games aren't buggy. And considering how difficult it is to produce bug-free code, they do a pretty darn good job, if not a perfect one.

    Fortunately, a lot of very experienced console developers will develop for XBox, but what of those who are used to PC development and patch-releases? An what of bugs on the OS level? Might the hard drive be for "Quake4IPpatcha.exe" or worse, Xbox SP1-6a?

    Maybe the era of the bug-free console game is over.

    m
  • It'll still be out before Duke Nukem Forever.
    • So will the Apocolypse. But oh man, those graphics will be sweet!
      • So will the Apocolypse. But oh man, those graphics will be sweet!

        Agreed. White Wolf itself only says:

        "We continue to get a lot of questions about the status of the Werewolf: the Apocalypse computer game that was being produced by ASC games. Unfortunately, production on that game has been delayed. No further information is currently available. White Wolf will post new news regarding the status of this game as that information becomes available. We will not be able to respond to individual questions about the status of this game. This is all the news we have available at the moment."

        Unless you're talking about *my* Apocolypse Game [westpalmbynight.com], which will be starting, as schedualed, every Friday night at 7:00pm (with Masquerade starting at 10:00pm as usual, with the Wraith, Mage and Changeling characters entering game at various times during the night). Whoops, that reminds me... gotta head out now...

        --
        Evan

  • Anybody remember the hype trying to buy a PS2? (Sony, not IBM) Anybody have a hard time buying one now?

    Geez people, have a little patience! These too will reach bargain bin status faster than Nimda infects.

  • You may not use this game system in connection with any game that is deemed violent or questionable. You may not portray or refer to Microsoft as a Monopoly. [cafepress.com] Do not pass go, do not collect $200. The user of this device may not use it for any means other than that defined by Microsoft, and all companies that Microsoft owns or will shortly own.

    Michael

  • Was this maybe more of a move to mask Nintendo's launch of the Gamecube? Originally, it was Nintendo that had the 3 day cushion. In my eyes (looking from north of the boarder), I see Nintendo's launch being less of a bang then what would have been with the original dates. It's getting out advertised up here by 2 to 1 easy.

    Hmmm... according to the LA times article, if Nintendo is "locked and loaded" with their consoles, would they release on their original date of Nov. 5? That's a 10 day buffer to sell a ton of $440CD (2 game bundle) systems, and watch Microsoft wait and wallow with their $600CD (2 game bundle) systems.
    • I think Nintendo should move their release date forward, it would be a definite sign of confidence. It might cause some inconvienience but then again, Micrsoft would really be behind. Nintendo has the systems in place. They are meeting demand in Japan (which is less than expected, but not bad) so they could definitly pull it off. Not many people would wait over a week to spend more money on a worse product (that's right, flame on) from a unproven brand (in video games). Although the x-box will definitly be a quality product, it just isn't as good of an investment of money to most.
  • Who to believe.. one source says the factories aren't producing.. another says they (or at least one) is/are.

    from the latimes article:

    Microsoft's vice president of games, Ed Fries, this week told online game magazine Gamespot that two factories in Hungary and Mexico have not yet started to manufacture final retail machines.

    From http://xbox.ign.com/news/38488.html

    The Guadalajara plant has been in production for around two weeks.

  • Jet Set Radio Future (Score:1, Redundant)

    by stx23 ( 14942 )
    That is why I'm buying an X-Box.
    I think JSR is one of the best games I have ever played. I can wait another few months if I have to.
    BTW, If the XBox delay bothers anyone and they haven't played Jet Grind/Set Radio, buy a Dreamcast & JS/GR. It will keep you going for 2 weeks while you wait.
    Anyway, it must be about 10 dollars for a DC nowadays.
  • Wow, didn't Sony do this last year? Right before Christmas they delayed the release and then came up with drastically fewer boxes than they expected, thereby putting the market into a buying frenzy. Anything with the PS2 logo quickly sold out, and Sony raked in the money.

    Get out and start standing in lines now, cuz those units that you grab at the local Best Buy will be gold on eBay. And if you keep one for yourself I'd like the box from ya so I can sell it to some rube on eBay for $1500.

  • Remember when PS2 was delaying and initial shipments were constrained? People were selling PS2 on eBay before Christmas for as much as $5000.

    Anyone with some spare cash should probably get their pre-orders in, it looks like another hot investment opportunity... :-D
  • You may not use the hardware modem in connection with any site that disparages Microsoft, MSN, MSNBC, Expedia, or their products or services, infringe any intellectual property or other rights of these parties, violate any state, federal or international law, or promote racism, hatred or pornography.
  • I hate to get on a rant here... But are you people dense?? Why do you keep calling it vaporware when sites like xbox.ign.com [ign.com] have working hardware and games in their possession? That they're reviewing no les... Sure let's all jump on the I hate Microsoft bandwagon. You people are the same ones who complain that there is a monopoly in the desktop OS arena. But when it comes to consoles you feel only Sony and Nintendo should rule. (insert smart-ass remark here) Unless Indrema does make it to shelves... Then you'll only cry and complain how open source solutions don't get a chance to compete in the market. Cry me a river. If you don't like Microsoft's products do what all of us do... Don't buy them. But don't say because it's MS it must suck. Imagine if you were told don't use Linux it's not Microsoft so it must suck. You like others know that you need to evaluate new products before you use them, so you can make a solid judgement on merit, not brand name. That's why I haven't bought a PS2. My friend has one, and I'm not that impressed. I loved my PSOne, and my DC but the PS2 isn't all that. But that's just my opinion and because I'm and American I'm entitled to have one.
    • I'm and American

      On behalf of all America, I'd like to say that this person does not speak for our country's videogamers. Plenty of us play our KoF, DDR, UO, Sims or old school systems, and can think and communicate in an educated manner using more than trite cliches and a solid block of rant.

      Thank you.

      --
      Evan "Who is more of a dice and pencil gamer, but now spends his fair share of time in the local arcade and in front of a variety of consoles" E.

  • Success by attrition... (Score:3, Funny)

    by PotatoHead ( 12771 ) <doug.opengeek@org> on Friday September 21, 2001 @05:49PM (#2332227) Homepage Journal
    The scene: Xbox marketing and development lab conference room. Two MSX-droids hash out the ongoing

    problems with the Xbox project...

    Drone #1: Our box needs to kick ass, or we lose big time. The guys over in the hype machine have set the

    bar seriously high! The later it gets, the better it has to be! We might not ever get done!

    Drone #2: Yeah it is almost a PC now, maybe we should have thought that Dell offer through a little

    more... It will be ok though because that is what we do best --hype now and build later. Half of them

    don't even know the difference!

    Drone #1: What are we going to do about the price? I mean everything but the kitchen sink is in there!

    Parents know how much PC's cost, we have to drop that image, or they will never buy. They will say they

    already have one. Everyone knows there is a difference between a PC and a game machine.

    #1: That's ok, we will make it up on the licensing. Thats how those Sony and Nintendo guys do it.

    Besides the hardware guys know what they are doing.

    #2: For that it has to be closed. Damn! that means we have to get it right the first time. No

    upgrades...

    #1: We can use the expansion port! Everyone has one on their systems right? Anything we need to add goes

    in there.

    #2: Not everybody buys them though. Expansions make it messy for the dev guys. Remember they said they

    would port if the environment was stable. If it gets ugly they will probably just stick to the PC. We

    better just make sure we are covered on the hardware front and take the hit on the price. We have deep

    pockets -everything will be ok. Remember the chief did say 'at any cost'!

    #1: What if we don't have the best games? Damn Sony and their contracts! The bigger the initial loss the

    more games we have to sell.

    #2: Are you kidding? We have great games. Between Sega, the PC ports, and those cool guys over at the

    Microsoft Game development team, our games are going to rock! We don't have to have the best games

    silly, we just need the games that people are willing to buy. Remember Sony seems to mix in a lot of

    that Jap Crap, we have an all American line up. What could be better for America than American games?

    #1: Ok, we are covered on the games. Sounds good! --Wait! What about all those hippy Open Source Linux

    running geeks?!? They are going to make webservers, mp3 players, emulators and all sorts of things on

    cheap hardware we paid for! What about that!

    #2: Linux does not run on Xbox, whats the big deal? Quit worrying.

    #1: Man, Linux runs on everything! It's even on a wristwatch for Gods' sake! You don't get outside the

    campus enough. Besides we promised the Hollywood guys that it would be closed and cheaper than Sony.

    You know how they hate to pay one of their own for distribution -gives them fits just thinking about it.

    It's our ace in the hole!

    #2: We will just have to make sure it will never run. We can encrypt the ROM and CPU like they do with

    some of the Arcade games. That combined with special hardware will make it tough. Who said you get to

    leave campus? Running Linux are ya?

    #1: No, never... b-but it's all over the web, just look at Slashdot! There are ports mentioned every

    couple of weeks! Besides, if our stuff runs, then they can look at that to make their stuff go too. We

    would just be adding to the price in order to put them off.

    #2: Slashdot-Trashdot, that is why the DMCA was passed remember? You worry too much. Besides I hear

    that we are buying another law. It will be perfect! Linux will be illegal because it is not certified

    by hollywood and us to run, so even if they run it, they are screwed!

    #1: So, does that mean we have to include a contract that requires owners of an Xbox to buy our games?

    That is not going to make us look good at the DOJ. They seem to have backed off, but a lot of people

    are still pissed.

    #2: Which people? Oh, you mean the ones that don't have any money? They won't matter, we have some of

    the best inside help working with us on this one. By the time they scrape together any sort of a plan,

    this thing will go through right to the top!

    #1: Maybe you are right, it is just complex. Why can't we just do what we need to do without all these

    hassles?

    #2: Ok here's the plan just in case. Every Xbox connects to a phone line and we set up a new free online

    service like Sega did with PSO Online. When the machine comes on it checks its boot media, if a non

    Microsoft OS is there, it stops and reminds the users of their duty as a citizen to follow the DMCA.

    #1: That does not sound like a very fun game machine. Tech support is going to kill us. They are already

    buried with product activation, and this will send them through the roof. Ever talk to a pissed off

    Apple user. Clueless and angry, enough to drive you nuts! They are nothing compared to the parents who

    have to call about the game machine they bought to keep their kids busy!

    #2: It will be fine. Lots of things connect to the phone these days. Don't worry about it. Look at all

    those cable users with a phone line on their box. The geeks even like their TVIO machines with a phone

    line.

    #1: The new rage is cell phones, college kids all over the place don't even have a normal phone, and how

    are you going to do game parties? They don't want phones, they want ethernet!

    #2: Ok you make the call, we have to have more input on this.

    #1: No way! I remember what happened last time. That is why you are #2 --remember?

    (In walks #3 fresh from school with visions of stock options in his head.... )

    #3: Hey guys! What's with the long faces?

    #1 & #2: Just in time! Hey we have a little project we would like to to head up for a while, you seem

    ready for something new. Lets meet in our office later today to discuss the details.

    To be continued...
  • More then likely, MS got caught offguard by the gigantic typhoon that slammed into Taiwan last weekend, effectively shutting down various production plants. That'll put a dent into anyone's shipping schedule.
  • It'll be more eciting, more advanced... just like Windows XXXP. All hot stuff coming to you from MS in the near future!

  • Let's hope the delay of the X Box does not mean a delay of America's most hotly anticipated game. Sierra's new title Operation Infinite Justice is set to hit stores next week.


    Although it was designed and coded in the short time since the terrorist attack, developers felt the game would have fewer bugs than, say Myst III: Exile. [ridiculopathy.com]


    Full story [ridiculopathy.com]


    Box art [ridiculopathy.com]


    Screen Cap [ridiculopathy.com]

  • Is it just me, or has the XBox had flop written all over it since the start. I can't see any point in it.....
  • All this means is that I've got to wait another week before PS2 drops to $199. *sigh*

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