Out Of The XBox 120
theodp writes 'Bill G.'s snagged the cover of this week's Time, which asks the question: Is Microsoft about to do in the living room with the Xbox 360 what it did in the office with Windows? Turn to page 13 in your Book of Xenon, please: 'As the world's software leader, Microsoft is among the best suited to enable and capitalize this transformation. This is our opportunity to lose.' If PlayStation 3 folks are scared, they're not showing it. 'We look at delivering a quantum leap in technology, not just Xbox version 1.5,' quips a Sony spokeswoman.' The story also reveals that the previously discussed rumor about Halo 3 parrying the PS3 launch is accurate.
Oh really? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Oh really? (Score:2)
Even better... (Score:1)
Re:Oh really? (Score:1)
Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:4, Insightful)
The system with the best graphics might not always win, but keep in mind Sony has the asian markets that will eat up the PS3 more than the 360. And truth be told, it's all about the games. With all the emphasis on more power, better graphics, I think that gameplay is getting left as an afterthought nowadays.
Re:Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:2, Interesting)
One fact not noted (Score:2)
Re:One fact not noted (Score:2)
Re:One fact not noted (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:One fact not noted (Score:1)
Re:One fact not noted (Score:2)
Re:One fact not noted (Score:1)
Re:Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:1)
Re:Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:2)
Re:Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:1)
Of course, the latter could be explained by them testing out the new Live Dashboard on the Xbox, if they've done that. Footage of Halo 2 (and another game) on the Xbox 360, though, is a slightly different story.
Re:Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:2)
Re:Sony should be very scared indeed... (Score:2)
In any case, my Xbox is still in good condition, so it doesn't worry me for at least a few years. My buddy with a first-gen Xbox that's slowly falling apart will be more interested in compatibi
I think that is why they bought Virtual PC.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Sony is deluded. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not really all that fired up about the XBox 360... Until I see what games come out for it, I feel no real need to get one, but simply putting one of these things side-by-side with the current XBox or PS/2 makes it obvious that this is definately a huge leap forward, as far as the technology is concerned.
Let's set aside the massively faster CPU, and the collosally better graphics card. One would expect that.
This thing needs two wires: Power, and output. All the controllers connect wirelessly, and it uses 802.11 wireless for the network connection. I'm sorry, Sony, but I consider this a feature to be a very big deal, and one which you and Microsoft should have made the standard in the previous generation of consoles.
Full high-def support is also a biggie. DOAX on the old XBox in 480p looks far better than anything on the Playstation, but once you put it on the big-screen HDTV, the flaws become much more obvious.
I seem to recall Sony talking down the original X-Box back in the day... only to come out with a PS/2 console which in many ways is technically inferior. I've got a feeling history is repeating. Around November, Sony will ramp up yet another "just you wait" campaign, and eventually give us a PS/3 which is almost as good as the X-Box.
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
This sentence bothers me... Xbox didn't even begin development till the same year PS2 came out. Perhaps you were thinking of the Dreamcast?
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
I consider the X-Box to be the successor to the Dreamcast in many ways, as Sega has sadly departed from the market.
The X-Box had a very similar strategy to the Sega consoles: You can't compete with Sony and Nintendo when it comes to the huge quantity of available games, so compete on quality and make money off a smaller niche of the market.
I have a lot of PS/2 owning friends who consider the graphics to be "good enough", but when I see their games fired up I sometimes wonder if we are looki
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
Wow, that's pure BS. I owned a PS1, and now own a PS2. There is a huge difference between the graphics. Quit being such an XBox fanboy. Find me the survey... and it better not have been sponsored by MS.
The fact is that you will see more of a jump from the PS2 to PS3 because t
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
I was pretty happy when GTA-III and GTA-VC finally made it to the X-Box, but the fact remains that Sony owners get to play them right away, while owners of other gaming systems have to wait, and for Sony that's a huge edge. (And it will remain so as long as the GTA series continues to be so much fun.)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2, Informative)
Fanboys.
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2, Informative)
So it happened, just with a different console than I remembered off the top of my head.
(P.S. Don't assume everybody you disagree with is a "fanboy." If you knew me, you wouldn't consider calling me a Microsoft fan of any stripe. If anything, I'm a Macintosh bigot.)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
I have to admit that with the first generation of games on the PS2 it didn't look all that more powerful than the Dreamcast; however, look at the games now. Try to compare games like GTA:SA and Metal Gear Solid 3 to anything on the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast's most
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm really expecting all three systems to be similar in technical capabilities. It will be a matter of games and, this time, services and ease of use, that distinguish the various systems, I think.
While I know the XBox 360 is much closer to release than the PS3, I've noticed a very large difference in their hype strategies. Sony is doing the same thing they did with the PS2 by hyping the hardware's
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Operating loss 2002 1.135 billion
Operating loss 2003 1.191 billion
Operating loss 2004 1.215 billion
Wow. Microsoft has thrown away a lot of money on their quest for a "home entertainment" market.
In spite of what the grandparent AC says, I think they will throw away a lot more. They seem to really like losing money on consoles and set-top PVR systems.
What I wonder is: Why do you care? Are you a Microsoft shareholder? I can't imagine why anybody else would. Rich people and
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
Actually, I was the original poster, and I didn't "reverse history", I merely confused the Dreamcast with the first edition of the X-Box.
Also, I wasn't the one claiming Microsoft's home media division made a profit. That was an AC who posted later.
Plus, that AC might be talking about the X-Box itself, which IIRC has starte
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
So, you don't think Rockstar is likely to re-up the deal?
If I were them, I wouldn't rule out another exclusive contract until I saw how much Sony was ready to offer. The GTA series pretty much single-handedly defined what was so cool about the PS/2 in the eyes of many gamers. I can't imagine Sony is in any hurry to give that up.
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
Grand Theft Auto III created an environment which at least created the illusion of being totally open-ended. There were all kinds of fun things you could do in that game which had nothing to do with advancing the "narrative" of the story. It really did feel like something very different from any console game I've played or even seen before, and it had me insanely jealous of my Playstation owning friends until it w
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:2)
That faster processor-"s", mind you, are the biggest difference in terms of what the games will be able to deliver. Going from a 733MHZ pent to THREE 3.2 parallel processors? That is HUGE. That is the biggest difference between the original and the 360.
Wireless controllers? PLEASE.
And support for HDTV? DUde - the current Xbox supports HDTV!!! Developers can develop 720p and the Xbox will display
Re:Sony is deluded. (Score:1)
I found this on the web, best I could for insight into how these cores will work:
"Traditional approaches to processor design have focused on higher clock speeds, instruction-level parallelism (ILP), and caches. Techniques to achieve higher clock speeds involve pipelining the microarchitecture to finer granularities, also called super-pipelining. Higher clock frequencie
Great... (Score:3, Funny)
I hope not. Every office I've worked in has invested heavily in Microsoft Office products, and it's not uncommon to hear profanity-laden comments about Word headers and footers, or some silly idiosyncracy of Outlook. The last thing I need is to come home and have my living room be a den of annoyance.
Games, Games, Games (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Games, Games, Games (Score:2)
Sure, there were a few years there in the late 90s when their dwindling share had me worried that they might go out of business, but that's another matter.
As long as people are happy with a product, why should anyone give a damn how popular it is with other people. My X-Box plays several games which I really enjoy, and there's only one game out there (GTA-SA) which makes me the least bit jealous of other consoles.
Re:Games, Games, Games (Score:2)
Re:Games, Games, Games (Score:2, Troll)
Re:Games, Games, Games (Score:4, Insightful)
As of May 8, 2005 [m-create.com], the PS2 had 22.81% of the market in Japan, while the XBox had a 0.10%. (I can't figure out whether the data in the link is total console numbers, software numbers, or weekly sales, whatever) In a population of 127,417,244, that's a big deal. If the Japanese are not buying your console, developers are not writing for it.
Re:Games, Games, Games (Score:2)
Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:4, Insightful)
I really don't give a crap about how great Xbox 360 is supposed to be. There was only one game on Xbox I wanted to play that wasn't on one of the other consoles; that is the real problem with Xbox, not the hardware. Same goes for GameCube, really.
I'm quite happy with the graphical sophistication my GameCube already pumps out in Metroid Prime; what I want is good games.
The only place where I see the hardware as important is PS3, because frankly the PS2 is showing its limits, games like GT4 notwithstanding.
And remember: Microsoft has succeeded in turning a profit and becoming #1 in exactly two markets: office applications, and desktop operating systems. They've failed in every single other arena. Their success in gaming consoles would be remarkable, given their long history of failures and the strong competition. Xbox 360's dominance is far from assured, and the pro-Microsoft FUD being spread on Slashdot doesn't change that.
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
But you know, once in a while Microsoft actually is capable of releasing a pretty good product. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
For example, I generally like Microsoft mice (which, IIRC, are really re-badged HP mice) a lot better t
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:1)
All I know for sure is that every mouse I've seen which Microsoft was willing to screen-print their name on turned out to be a pretty good one, while I've encountered several crappy ones sold my Logitech.
Of course, Kensington pwnz as far as I'm concerned.
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
Ever heard of something called "The Committee to Re-Elect the President," for example? I didn't think so. It was a textbook-definition astroturf campaign intended to get Nixon re-elected in 1972. As I recall, it involved faked White House telegrams, letters in the New York Times and other major publications, and a series of staged demonstrations of public support.
In fact, politics in general has a very long history of exactly this type of behavior.
M
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
I thought I was quite clear about exactly what I meant by "failed": failed to achieve #1 position in the market and profitable status, which is what all the Slashdot articles have been suggesting Xbox 360 will do in the console market. In fact, this latest one seems to think they'll get over 50% market share like they
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
I'm sorry that I'm not thinking like a Slashdot drone, but I'm buying a Xbox 360 when they come out-- the idioc
MOD PARENT HILARIOUS (Score:2)
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
I don't blame you for being cynical and think this stuff is astroturfing. It could be. But why don't you just not read the stuff instead of freaking out.
pro-Microsoft FUD on Slashdot? Are you kidding? You must be referring to the article
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already! (Score:2)
I'm pretty critical of Nintendo and their overemphasis on cutesy crap too. (Please, someone, kill Mario!) But at least they had enough great exclusive games to make it worth getting the
how long..... (Score:1)
Re:how long..... (Score:1)
Sony Could Offer (Score:3, Funny)
It could also offer a platform that could record all your dvd's to network drives for instant playback at the touch of a button.
It could also be a DVR for SD and HD content.
Sorry folks but while graphics are cool good games are important but come second to managing the entertainment content of the house.
People dont like managing cd collections, game collections, and dvd collections come in 2nd to taking up space to the VHS tape. I think Laserdisc was probably worse but how many people actually bought more than 20 of them.
I want a device that has the ability through a open API that would allow others to write plugins that would let it interface with a iPod or other digitial media player. I want it to recode my movies on the fly and compress them down to fit on a 1g SD memory card to I can have some entertainment on my PDA. And if the wife is watching a recorded program on the TV in the living room I'd love the ability to load up a network tool that would let me play a video game on a PC monitor that's saved back on the PS3.
Do all this without any DRM encumberances and you will rule the home entertainment arena not just play in it.
Re:Sony Could Offer (Score:1, Insightful)
Maybe you need to consider buying a HTPC.
Re:Sony Could Offer (Score:1)
Re:Sony Could Offer (Score:2)
I said upscaling.. something that high end dvd players already do.
Good Luck (Score:4, Interesting)
First is the "media center" idea of the XBox 360. Good luck. You'll need it. I have a DVD player. Everyone does. In fact, I have many (computer, PS2, etc.). But the feature is nearly free, so I don't blame them for including it. Sony will do better in that regard because their machine will play Blu-Ray discs. But as for the rest of it, they are going to have a hard time getting me to use it for anything but games. Play music? Why should I rerip all my CDs? And even if they were in MP3 (they are in AAC), I bet I couldn't just copy them over to the X-Box 360, I'd have to re-rip them. I'm not going to do that. Unless I can stream them to the machine, I won't use that part. I won't play DVDs on it (already covered that). Now playing video would be nice if I could stream if off my computer (a Mac). But my guess is that you can only do that from a Windows Media Center eddition computer, which doesn't help me. They can put all the media features they want, it doesn't matter to me, I'll only be buying it for the games. I don't care about videoconfrencing, VOIP chat, or editing home movies (or anything else they come up with). It is a console, and while it is nice they will pack on all those features, I don't think it will make any real difference in sales.
The thing that WILL make a difference (in my mind) is the micropayments thing they are talking about. I don't know about the rest of you, but the idea of paying $1 so my character can wear a shirt that they sell at Old Navy sounds like one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. I will not be buying virtual shirts. I will not be paying money to unlock content on the disc. I refuse to pay to buy pointless items. I don't care if everyone who plays the game online gets a bright pink shirt with the word "Luzer" on it unless they buy another one, I'm not doing it. Go milk someone else for money, that idea will fail. And based on other industries (I'm looking at you cell phone companies), I wouldn't be buying that virtual shirt, I would be RENTING it for $1 per month. I WON'T PAY MONEY TO RENT VIRTUAL CLOTHING. I don't see myself buying extra soundtracks, cars to race with, new tracks, new levels, new playable characters, etc.
As for the X-Box 1.5 remark, it has some truth. The X-Box 360 is big because it has 3 cores. That is the most important part in my mind because it means that you have an additional 2 cores above what the current generation has for things like dynamically generated models (LOD on terain and such), and most importantly enemy AI. That single handedly more than trippled the ammount of CPU available to AI, so AI should get much more interesting in upcomming games.
As for the PS3, it is revolutionary in it's Cell architecture, providing 8 cores. Now because they are so specialized, they may be harder to program. But if it works out (I should probably say "when" because with Sony, they'll find a way to get benefit out of it even if it takes a while), it will make the X-Box 360 look like an X-Box 1.5 in how far they are from the programming model of the last generation of consoles.
Nintendo is the wildcard in all this. I saw what is suposedly their logo for the Revolution (which I doubt is real because Nintendo always changes from the codenames of their systems). But if what they are promising works out, it sounds quite interesting. Now the question is (after writing all the above) will the Revolution have multiple cores? If not, they could be at a real disadvantage once games start taking advantage of 'em.
The next year or so should be interesting to watch. I like the idea of MS releasing Halo 3 when the PS3 comes out because of the shear bravado of it. But if Halo 3 isn't as good as people hope (or the PS3 has some amazingly popular break out launch title) then the move could backfire. The other thing to watch on MS's part is backwards compatibility. That is the ONLY feature that I care about from them that would change my mind on purchase. Right now
Re:Good Luck (Score:3, Interesting)
"First is the "media center" idea of the XBox 360. Good luck. You'll need it. I have a DVD player. Everyone does. In fact, I have many (computer, PS2, etc.). But the feature is nearly free, so I don't blame them for including it. Sony will do better in that regard because their machine will play Blu-Ray discs. But as for the rest of it, they are going to have a hard time getting me to use it for anything but games. Play music? Why should I rerip all my CDs? And even if they were in MP3 (they are in AAC), I
Re:Good Luck (Score:2)
Now if they can only make it so I can use it for video...
Re:Good Luck (Score:2)
Re:Good Luck (Score:1)
It's not the hardware that counts... (Score:2, Funny)
Seriously, it's only Monday, and all this Xbox talk, that will without a doubt continue all week, is going to make me vomit.
<flamebait>
The Xbox is just a gaming PC for Posers, and Halo is a FPS for Posers!
</flamebait>
Re:Xbox's biggest problem (Score:1, Informative)
I guess I don't understand... (Score:4, Insightful)
Is being anti-ms or pro-ms so important to people? Is this like a large core of your existence?
It seems pretty simple to me...
1. If you like a console, and the games available for it, buy it.
2. If you don't like a console, or its games, don't buy it.
3. If you like all the consoles, buy them all.
So much is subjective... from gameplay styles to graphics. Some people prefer the more cartoony (imo) Nintendo stuff, some like the range of Sony games, some like the Xbox for its superior graphics or whatever. Great! That means that whatever you like, there will be something for you. Does it really hurt you as a person when someone else buys something you wouldn't have?
"M$ is evil blah blah blah"
Um, so? Blind hate is as misguided as blind adulation. You do realize that the developers working inside that huge company are just as committed to creating great things as the developers at ANY large company. They wouldn't be in the business if they didn't love it.
Hate Gates for being a tool if you want, and Balmer for being a twit, but the devs are like devs anywhere (though they seem to fall more on the brilliant/antisocial end of the scale, perhaps because of hiring practices.)
For the record, I own all 3 consoles, but I haven't plugged in the GC in months, and the PS2 only really gets use for Katamari Damaci. I'm addicted to PGR2 on the Xbox, though.
Of course, maybe if I owned a PC I would understand the hatred better... (I like my G5 too much.)
m-
Re: (Score:2)
Re:I guess I don't understand... (Score:2)
So what about informed dislike?
I put up with microsoft when necessary, but i don't like their buisness practices and in the case of consoles there's nothing necessary about it. I can get a PS2 and a GameCube, or a PS3 and a Revolution, and not be missing out on much from the lack of any kind of XBox.
I'd rather not see Microsoft start using the same kinds of tactics in the game industry that they've been using in other areas. Nintendo and Sony are
Re:I guess I don't understand... (Score:2)
People who compare the rumored specs of one unreleased product to the rumored specs of another unreleased product, and then proclaim a winner.... well, they have too much time on their hands.
IMO, competition is a good thing.
m-
Halo 3 in the Spring? (Score:2)
Re:Halo 3 in the Spring? (Score:1)
They've also had a big head start by not *really* finishing Halo-2. There's a lot of plot left to come out, apparently.
Just do it already... (Score:2)
Re:Just do it already... (Score:1)
Only problem of course is the lack of games for the Mac, or lack of games that would work well with the Mac mini. I think if the Mac mini price point hits 300 with a better graphics card. It will make an attractive console/media center.
It's been tried and failed many times before (Score:1, Redundant)
No
How many cookies? (Score:1)
Not to mention the slow down as your xbox gets compleatly infested with spyware and virii. Does this mean I have to purchase virus software for my console?
Re:How many cookies? (Score:1)
No, I'm sure there'll be free alternatives.