Want to know about the Xbox 360?

[Blonde799]

Someone else posted this great link. I think it's worth a gander.

http://msxb.wmod.llnwd.net/a274/o2/ourcolony/TheColony_v1_750k.wmv

I now know the console will fail. j/k

[Grasshopper]

Did anyone actually get to see the MTV show the other day? I've heard from various people I know, websites, and even our regional manager all say the MTV showing was a dissappointment. I didn't get to watch it. Was it more music and commerical than anything about the Xbox or something. I was kind of looking forward to hearing more about it. What else was shown besides what can be seen in the movie above?

[zoraking]

EDIT: Nevermind, in video. :weirdo:

[Gerudo]

looks like someome decided to change the link. i tried saving it, and it says its not accessible anymore.

[Blonde799]

Did anyone actually get to see the MTV show the other day?
Here's what I found from a few posters at one of the forums I frequent in regards to the MTV showing:

Total crap. The people were total idiots, and the people who were supposed to be the makers of the games, seemed ignorant.

The games they showed for the most part, could have been made for XBox 1.

And only gave 1 minute worth of information.

I saw the unvailing and it did suck nuts. it had like a one minute glimpse of the Xbox itself. then they had "pimp my xbox" and it was the current Xbox >_<. then about a 10 minute commercial run. then a band played for like 10 minutes. they showed off some games and that was it. it sucked.

It was a half hour of nothing. They probably showed the actual Xbox 360 for 2 minutes. There was about 1 minute of trailers showing upcoming games. 75% of the launch titles are first person shooters which is just weird. The rest of the show was morons talking about nothing and two performances by The Killers...who completely suck.

[Archibaldo]

I have to admit it looks pretty awesome. I'm actually considering getting one. I love how you can change the front panel. AWESOME!

[vegeta1215]

The show wasn't really that great, but from what I've read and the pictures I've seen, the X-Box 360 is going to be REALLY powerful. Plus it looks slick. It makes you wonder what Sony and Nintendo are going to put on the table. Only a few more days till we know though.

[Darth Marsden]

Once again... it sounds more like a PC then a games console... It can go in both horizontal OR vertical postures? Wow, that's a load of my mind. [/sarcasm]

It does look powerful, but power is not always what makes a great console. The most important thing you need is games, and I didn't see a whole lot of those. All I did see was people bragging about how powerful the system was. I'm interested, but Microsoft need to do a whole lot more to convince me the new system is worth getting.

[Dart Zaidyer]

Silly people, did you honestly expect anything useful, worthwhile or informative from MTV?

The real info can be found plastered all over the big gaming sites like 1up.com and so forth.

[Masamune]

That guy had a fruit fucker t-shirt! =D Check the movie at like 3:24.

[vegeta1215]

It does look powerful, but power is not always what makes a great console. The most important thing you need is games, and I didn't see a whole lot of those. All I did see was people bragging about how powerful the system was. I'm interested, but Microsoft need to do a whole lot more to convince me the new system is worth getting.

That's may be true, but guess what? X-Box got a lot of exclusives just because it was more powerful (and because of X-Box live support, which as much as I'm not a fan of Microsoft, they did really well). If a system has an exclusive that everyone wants, they will buy that system.

Also, they have yet to reveal whether X-Box 360 will be backwards compatible.

[vegeta1215]

It does look powerful, but power is not always what makes a great console. The most important thing you need is games, and I didn't see a whole lot of those. All I did see was people bragging about how powerful the system was. I'm interested, but Microsoft need to do a whole lot more to convince me the new system is worth getting.

That's may be true, but guess what? X-Box got a lot of exclusives just because it was more powerful (and because of X-Box live support, which as much as I'm not a fan of Microsoft, they did really well). If a system has an exclusive that everyone wants, they will buy that system.

Also, they have yet to reveal whether X-Box 360 will be backwards compatible.

[Grasshopper]

That guy had a fruit fucker t-shirt! =D Check the movie at like 3:24.

Yeah, I noticed that. I bet I know where he goes in his free time. :P

More power is expected with any system, but I really think that Microsoft's angle with the 360 is to give a richer experience with Xbox Live. Really, Xbox live is pretty cool. Theres a lot of multi-media features I'm not really into though.

I did think it was neat that they said the CPU is liquid cooled. :P

About it being backward compatible. Check out the video at around 3:10. They show off the UI for the 360, and there is an icon of Fable. And I swear I thought I heard this one that video, but it must of been on a web site or something, saying that in order to play Xbox games, you would need the hard drive since it was standard on the old one. Who knows.

[Grasshopper]

That guy had a fruit fucker t-shirt! =D Check the movie at like 3:24.

Yeah, I noticed that. I bet I know where he goes in his free time. :P

More power is expected with any system, but I really think that Microsoft's angle with the 360 is to give a richer experience with Xbox Live. Really, Xbox live is pretty cool. Theres a lot of multi-media features I'm not really into though.

I did think it was neat that they said the CPU is liquid cooled. :P

About it being backward compatible. Check out the video at around 3:10. They show off the UI for the 360, and there is an icon of Fable. And I swear I thought I heard this one that video, but it must of been on a web site or something, saying that in order to play Xbox games, you would need the hard drive since it was standard on the old one. Who knows.

[Cloral]

It does look powerful, but power is not always what makes a great console. The most important thing you need is games, and I didn't see a whole lot of those. All I did see was people bragging about how powerful the system was. I'm interested, but Microsoft need to do a whole lot more to convince me the new system is worth getting.
Believe me, all the big names in the industry are working on games for the 360. We just haven't got too much that is worth showing yet. Remember that the 360 alpha dev kits have been available since late last year, while the PS3 alpha kits are just starting to appear. That gives the 360 about a 6 month head start on game development versus the other consoles. So by the time the PS3 shows up (and nobody has any clue when the Revolution might show) there will already be plenty of games for the 360.
I think the reason there were mostly FPSs shown is that is what Microsoft thinks people want - after all, look at how well Halo has done. But since it isn't just MS making games, there should be a lot more variety than that. I personally won't be picking up PD0 at launch since I'm not much of a fan of FPSs.

Another thing worth noting is there will be a free version of Live available for the 360. It won't have friends lists and that sort of stuff, but you will be able to get online with it and play. MS is doing this because they are requiring that all games for the 360 be Live-aware. So I would expect to see a lot more use of Live in this generation of games - since anyone with a highspeed connection will be able to get on it.

[Cloral]

It does look powerful, but power is not always what makes a great console. The most important thing you need is games, and I didn't see a whole lot of those. All I did see was people bragging about how powerful the system was. I'm interested, but Microsoft need to do a whole lot more to convince me the new system is worth getting.
Believe me, all the big names in the industry are working on games for the 360. We just haven't got too much that is worth showing yet. Remember that the 360 alpha dev kits have been available since late last year, while the PS3 alpha kits are just starting to appear. That gives the 360 about a 6 month head start on game development versus the other consoles. So by the time the PS3 shows up (and nobody has any clue when the Revolution might show) there will already be plenty of games for the 360.
I think the reason there were mostly FPSs shown is that is what Microsoft thinks people want - after all, look at how well Halo has done. But since it isn't just MS making games, there should be a lot more variety than that. I personally won't be picking up PD0 at launch since I'm not much of a fan of FPSs.

Another thing worth noting is there will be a free version of Live available for the 360. It won't have friends lists and that sort of stuff, but you will be able to get online with it and play. MS is doing this because they are requiring that all games for the 360 be Live-aware. So I would expect to see a lot more use of Live in this generation of games - since anyone with a highspeed connection will be able to get on it.

[Strider1982]

Never saw the TV ad for the 360, but I must say, after seeing a picture of the thing, it looks basically like a small home PC with a Sidewinder controller. Not surprising since this IS Microsoft...

I never have been a huge XBox fan. I know there's plenty of good games for it, but I just never liked the system...

Note: To the person who sent me a "reputation point comment" calling me an idiot: Just because I don't like a particular system it doesn't mean I'm an idiot. I never insulted you personally.

[Strider1982]

Never saw the TV ad for the 360, but I must say, after seeing a picture of the thing, it looks basically like a small home PC with a Sidewinder controller. Not surprising since this IS Microsoft...

I never have been a huge XBox fan. I know there's plenty of good games for it, but I just never liked the system...

Note: To the person who sent me a "reputation point comment" calling me an idiot: Just because I don't like a particular system it doesn't mean I'm an idiot. I never insulted you personally.

[MottZilla]

From what I remember, the Xbox 360 doesn't use an X86 processor thus no backwards compatability that way. It's possible they could emulate/wrapper things maybe. I hope they do something... it would be quite a waste to not have backwards compatabilty. It would make all whom bought Xbox titles not very happy.

Infact the only system we really know will be backwards compatable is Revolution, which will play GC games. PS3 isn't nessisarily backwards compat. It'll be interesting to see what is coming.

[MottZilla]

From what I remember, the Xbox 360 doesn't use an X86 processor thus no backwards compatability that way. It's possible they could emulate/wrapper things maybe. I hope they do something... it would be quite a waste to not have backwards compatabilty. It would make all whom bought Xbox titles not very happy.

Infact the only system we really know will be backwards compatable is Revolution, which will play GC games. PS3 isn't nessisarily backwards compat. It'll be interesting to see what is coming.

[Steezy20]

Dude! What a beast! Thats more powerful than the majority of Home PCs.

Probem is always going to be games though. I don't want another Halo, the second was crap enough. Microsoft needs to buy producers and developers etc like Rare and make them do decent games. I f Bill buys the licenses to every possible sport / brand etc, than we will be laughing.

The PS3 is still going to sell more though, irregardless of whether it is shite or not. People can't see behind a facade. The PS3 might as well be a wheelbarrow, it would still outsell the Xbox 360!

[Steezy20]

Dude! What a beast! Thats more powerful than the majority of Home PCs.

Probem is always going to be games though. I don't want another Halo, the second was crap enough. Microsoft needs to buy producers and developers etc like Rare and make them do decent games. I f Bill buys the licenses to every possible sport / brand etc, than we will be laughing.

The PS3 is still going to sell more though, irregardless of whether it is shite or not. People can't see behind a facade. The PS3 might as well be a wheelbarrow, it would still outsell the Xbox 360!

[vegeta1215]

From what I remember, the Xbox 360 doesn't use an X86 processor thus no backwards compatability that way. It's possible they could emulate/wrapper things maybe. I hope they do something... it would be quite a waste to not have backwards compatabilty. It would make all whom bought Xbox titles not very happy.

I think if they have backwards compatibility, it will probably be through emulation. Afterall, Microsoft did purchase Virtual PC. I agree with you that it would upset a lot of people if it weren't backward compatible, even if soley because MS is pushing the next generation of consoles sooner than the others.

[vegeta1215]

From what I remember, the Xbox 360 doesn't use an X86 processor thus no backwards compatability that way. It's possible they could emulate/wrapper things maybe. I hope they do something... it would be quite a waste to not have backwards compatabilty. It would make all whom bought Xbox titles not very happy.

I think if they have backwards compatibility, it will probably be through emulation. Afterall, Microsoft did purchase Virtual PC. I agree with you that it would upset a lot of people if it weren't backward compatible, even if soley because MS is pushing the next generation of consoles sooner than the others.

[Blonde799]

$100 says the backwards compatibility will be an add-on.:p

[Blonde799]

$100 says the backwards compatibility will be an add-on.:p

[Strider1982]

The Revolution is gonna be backwards compatible with the GameCube? Wow, that's impressive. I never knew that.

[Strider1982]

The Revolution is gonna be backwards compatible with the GameCube? Wow, that's impressive. I never knew that.

[Rainman]

The Xbox 360 will be utterly useless to me simply because it's a console.

[Rainman]

The Xbox 360 will be utterly useless to me simply because it's a console.

[vegeta1215]

The Xbox 360 will be utterly useless to me simply because it's a console.

Is it just a console? I read that MS may use the X-Box and its capabilities to deliver TiVo-like services and may be much more. I wouldn't put it past them.

[vegeta1215]

The Xbox 360 will be utterly useless to me simply because it's a console.

Is it just a console? I read that MS may use the X-Box and its capabilities to deliver TiVo-like services and may be much more. I wouldn't put it past them.

[Kairyu]

The article says it can hook up to Windows Media Center to work like a multimedia PC. Not sure if that's close enough for you, but it is certainly interesting to me.

Edit:Backwards compatability? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/12/news_6124365.html)
Doesn't it look like a GCN controller? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/13/screens_6124413.html?page=10)

[Kairyu]

The article says it can hook up to Windows Media Center to work like a multimedia PC. Not sure if that's close enough for you, but it is certainly interesting to me.

Edit:Backwards compatability? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/12/news_6124365.html)
Doesn't it look like a GCN controller? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/13/screens_6124413.html?page=10)

[Grasshopper]

From what I remember, the Xbox 360 doesn't use an X86 processor thus no backwards compatability that way.

Well, don't forget it also uses a different graphics processor too. The GPU is ATI now, not nVidia. So it couldn't do it that way either.

[Grasshopper]

From what I remember, the Xbox 360 doesn't use an X86 processor thus no backwards compatability that way.

Well, don't forget it also uses a different graphics processor too. The GPU is ATI now, not nVidia. So it couldn't do it that way either.

[vegeta1215]

Doesn't it look like a GCN controller? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/13/screens_6124413.html?page=10)

Looks just like a white X-Box controller to me... which happens to look a lot a Gamecube controller.

[vegeta1215]

Doesn't it look like a GCN controller? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/13/screens_6124413.html?page=10)

Looks just like a white X-Box controller to me... which happens to look a lot a Gamecube controller.

[Darth Marsden]

Caught the end of the thing on a repeat here in cloudy ol' England. All I saw was the bit about Rare with Perfect Dark 0, and that was enough to put me off the system there and then. I never liked Perfect Dark N64, it was all too finiky and never grabbed me the way Goldeneye did, but the way they were selling it was just... raw power this and we can do what we always wanted too that. Yeah, and what has Rare done recently that's impressed?

On that note, has anyone played Conker - Live & Reloaded? I got the original for the N64 and loved it, but I'm curious to know what the remake is like.

[Darth Marsden]

Caught the end of the thing on a repeat here in cloudy ol' England. All I saw was the bit about Rare with Perfect Dark 0, and that was enough to put me off the system there and then. I never liked Perfect Dark N64, it was all too finiky and never grabbed me the way Goldeneye did, but the way they were selling it was just... raw power this and we can do what we always wanted too that. Yeah, and what has Rare done recently that's impressed?

On that note, has anyone played Conker - Live & Reloaded? I got the original for the N64 and loved it, but I'm curious to know what the remake is like.

[vegeta1215]

On that note, has anyone played Conker - Live & Reloaded? I got the original for the N64 and loved it, but I'm curious to know what the remake is like.

From what I've seen it's exactly like the original in terms of the single player game (of course the graphics look better). I haven't read anything about new chapters though. The multiplayer is where a lot of the work has gone I believe. There are new modes and maps, and it's X-Box live enabled.

[vegeta1215]

On that note, has anyone played Conker - Live & Reloaded? I got the original for the N64 and loved it, but I'm curious to know what the remake is like.

From what I've seen it's exactly like the original in terms of the single player game (of course the graphics look better). I haven't read anything about new chapters though. The multiplayer is where a lot of the work has gone I believe. There are new modes and maps, and it's X-Box live enabled.

[MottZilla]

Well, don't forget it also uses a different graphics processor too. The GPU is ATI now, not nVidia. So it couldn't do it that way either.

Initially I thought of this too, but remember, Xbox games are developed using Direct X, so there is no reason a superior card with all the features of the chip in the Xbox couldn't be used to run the Xbox games. I don't think the video card will be a problem.

[MottZilla]

Well, don't forget it also uses a different graphics processor too. The GPU is ATI now, not nVidia. So it couldn't do it that way either.

Initially I thought of this too, but remember, Xbox games are developed using Direct X, so there is no reason a superior card with all the features of the chip in the Xbox couldn't be used to run the Xbox games. I don't think the video card will be a problem.

[Carcer]

Looks just like a white X-Box controller to me... which happens to look a lot a Gamecube controller.
... I thought it was more like a dreamcast controller on a diet.
Sounds really original to me. I'll simply have to get it for those better graphics they talked about... *Ahem*

[Carcer]

Looks just like a white X-Box controller to me... which happens to look a lot a Gamecube controller.
... I thought it was more like a dreamcast controller on a diet.
Sounds really original to me. I'll simply have to get it for those better graphics they talked about... *Ahem*

[Darth Marsden]

Just found this on a VERY reliable website. Have a gander:


The controller, the camera, the headset, the camera, and even the console itself...there have been a lot of Xbox 360 leaks so far.

Now, it seems a full list of Xbox 360 specs and Xbox Live details has been leaked. This list comes from a thread on the Team Xbox forums (the thread has since been deleted), and the TXB poster originally got it from another un-named forum.


2 types of Xbox Live:
Xbox Live Silver (no subscription required)
Xbox Live Gold (subscription benefits)

Features for Gold service
(S) Also for Silver
(O) Also for Offline

- Seamless transition to Xbox Live account from Xbox to Xbox 360
- Access to MMOs (additional fees may apply) (S)
- Free Xbox Live weekends (S)
- Multiplayer online gameplay
- Avatar for gamer profile(S)(O)
- Motto for gamer profile (S)(O)
- Personalized look for Xbox System Guide (S)(O)
- Offline achievments (S)(O)
- Online achievements (S)
- Access to other players' Gamer cards via Live (S)
- Cumulative gamer score (S)(O)
- Location/language profile (S)(O)
- Reputation (S)
- Enahnced matchmaking using above
- Skill level matchmaking
- Gameplay style profile (casual, competitive, etc.)
- Recent players list (S)
- Free and premium download game content(S)
- Free and premium downloadable movies, music, tv (S)
- Downloadable demos/trailers (S)
- Microtransactions (S)
- Custom playlist in every game (S)(O)
- Play music from portable devices (S)(O)
- View images from digital camera (S)(O)
- Strem media from Windows XP (S)(O)
- Interactive screen savers (S)(O)
- Track info for CDs (S) (O)
- Communication with voice, video or text (S)

The Hardware:
1. Support for DVD-video, DVD-Rom, DVD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-Rom, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 cd, JPEG photo CD
2. All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
3. Customizable face plates to change appearance
4. 3 USB 2.0 ports
5. Support for 4 wireless controllers
6. Detachable 20GB drive
7. Wi-Fi ready

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
- 3 symmetrical cores at 3.2 GHz each
- 2 hardware threads per core
- 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core
- 1 MB L2 cache

CPU Game Math Performance
- 9 billion dots per second

Custom ATI Graphics Processor
- 500 MNz
- 10 MB embedded DRAM
- 48-way parallel floating-point shader pipelines
- unified shader architecture

Memory
-512 MB GDDR3 RAM
- 700 MNz DDR

Memory Bandwidth
- 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
- 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
- 21.6 GB/s frontside bus

Audio
- Mulitchannel surround sond output
- Supports 48khz 16-bit audio
- 320 independent decompression channels
- 32 bit processing
- 256+ audio channels


To sum up the important stuff regarding XBL:

There will be two versions of Xbox Live. Silver is free (everyone gets it), and Gold is a paid subscription, like the current XBL. It looks like Xbox Live will be free on the weekends for everyone; Gold members will get it all the time, obviously. Current Xbox Live accounts will carry over to the 360 and become Gold Xbox Live accounts. Both Gold and Silver members will be able to download demos, trailers, and other content through XBL.

This info seems pretty legit, and some insiders have confirmed that this is indeed a real leak. At this rate, you have to wonder if Microsoft will have anything left to reveal at the MTV unveiling on May 12.

[Darth Marsden]

Just found this on a VERY reliable website. Have a gander:


The controller, the camera, the headset, the camera, and even the console itself...there have been a lot of Xbox 360 leaks so far.

Now, it seems a full list of Xbox 360 specs and Xbox Live details has been leaked. This list comes from a thread on the Team Xbox forums (the thread has since been deleted), and the TXB poster originally got it from another un-named forum.


2 types of Xbox Live:
Xbox Live Silver (no subscription required)
Xbox Live Gold (subscription benefits)

Features for Gold service
(S) Also for Silver
(O) Also for Offline

- Seamless transition to Xbox Live account from Xbox to Xbox 360
- Access to MMOs (additional fees may apply) (S)
- Free Xbox Live weekends (S)
- Multiplayer online gameplay
- Avatar for gamer profile(S)(O)
- Motto for gamer profile (S)(O)
- Personalized look for Xbox System Guide (S)(O)
- Offline achievments (S)(O)
- Online achievements (S)
- Access to other players' Gamer cards via Live (S)
- Cumulative gamer score (S)(O)
- Location/language profile (S)(O)
- Reputation (S)
- Enahnced matchmaking using above
- Skill level matchmaking
- Gameplay style profile (casual, competitive, etc.)
- Recent players list (S)
- Free and premium download game content(S)
- Free and premium downloadable movies, music, tv (S)
- Downloadable demos/trailers (S)
- Microtransactions (S)
- Custom playlist in every game (S)(O)
- Play music from portable devices (S)(O)
- View images from digital camera (S)(O)
- Strem media from Windows XP (S)(O)
- Interactive screen savers (S)(O)
- Track info for CDs (S) (O)
- Communication with voice, video or text (S)

The Hardware:
1. Support for DVD-video, DVD-Rom, DVD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-Rom, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 cd, JPEG photo CD
2. All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
3. Customizable face plates to change appearance
4. 3 USB 2.0 ports
5. Support for 4 wireless controllers
6. Detachable 20GB drive
7. Wi-Fi ready

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
- 3 symmetrical cores at 3.2 GHz each
- 2 hardware threads per core
- 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core
- 1 MB L2 cache

CPU Game Math Performance
- 9 billion dots per second

Custom ATI Graphics Processor
- 500 MNz
- 10 MB embedded DRAM
- 48-way parallel floating-point shader pipelines
- unified shader architecture

Memory
-512 MB GDDR3 RAM
- 700 MNz DDR

Memory Bandwidth
- 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
- 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
- 21.6 GB/s frontside bus

Audio
- Mulitchannel surround sond output
- Supports 48khz 16-bit audio
- 320 independent decompression channels
- 32 bit processing
- 256+ audio channels


To sum up the important stuff regarding XBL:

There will be two versions of Xbox Live. Silver is free (everyone gets it), and Gold is a paid subscription, like the current XBL. It looks like Xbox Live will be free on the weekends for everyone; Gold members will get it all the time, obviously. Current Xbox Live accounts will carry over to the 360 and become Gold Xbox Live accounts. Both Gold and Silver members will be able to download demos, trailers, and other content through XBL.

This info seems pretty legit, and some insiders have confirmed that this is indeed a real leak. At this rate, you have to wonder if Microsoft will have anything left to reveal at the MTV unveiling on May 12.

[AlexMax]

To be honest, I saw the XBox 360 presentation last night, and although the hardware looked impressive, I really didn't see many games that really stood out at me. I kept seeing hints of Perfect Dark Zero, which got me excited, and Oblivian was really neat, but none of the other titles really jumped out at me. 25 titles at launch, though, does sound awesome.

However, what surprised the hell out of me is the Xbox getting Final Fantasy XI. It's a shitty MMORPG, but it's a major step in getting Japanese developers to take the Xbox seriously. And what better company to make the jump to Xbox than fanboy favorite SquareEnix. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that in this thread.


Here's what I found from a few posters at one of the forums I frequent in regards to the MTV showing:

Here's a little hint, your forum friends are fucking idiots. However, they're right on the money about how the MTV special was practically devoid of information.

The E3 presentation that took place last night was tons more informative. And unlike the PS3, which just showed bargraphs, lots of trailors and cutscenes, and lots of questionable promises (HEY, THE PS2 CAN RENDER TOY STORY IN REAL TIME), the Xbox 360 presentation actaully had some ingame footage. It was pretty neat looking, but then again the stream was not very high quality, so it was hard to tell how much better it actually was. Dead or Alive 4 looked amazing, and so did Oblivian.


Once again... it sounds more like a PC then a games console... It can go in both horizontal OR vertical postures? Wow, that's a load of my mind. [/sarcasm]

It does look powerful, but power is not always what makes a great console. The most important thing you need is games, and I didn't see a whole lot of those. All I did see was people bragging about how powerful the system was. I'm interested, but Microsoft need to do a whole lot more to convince me the new system is worth getting.

It's simply being par for course with the PS3 (taking Sony's inevitable inflation of specs into account). You don't need good specs to have good games, but you do need good specs as to not alienate developers. Nintendo had the hardware this generation, but the proprietary media format (that held less than a normal DVD) really put a damper on third party support. Nintendo might be able to survive on it's own, but the lack of solid third party support durring the Gamecube era really took a toll on it. I don't want to wait three months between really awesome games.

I mean, having good specs and having great games isn't mutually exclusive. As much as you people hate to admit it, the Xbox has a solid library of games, and plenty of stuff to play in between blockbuster titles Halo 2 or Jade Empire.

I don't agree with the statement that the Xbox 360 is going to feel like a PC. If anything, it's going to feel like an all in one media center, with a major major gaming component (friend invites durring movies sounds neat).

[AlexMax]

To be honest, I saw the XBox 360 presentation last night, and although the hardware looked impressive, I really didn't see many games that really stood out at me. I kept seeing hints of Perfect Dark Zero, which got me excited, and Oblivian was really neat, but none of the other titles really jumped out at me. 25 titles at launch, though, does sound awesome.

However, what surprised the hell out of me is the Xbox getting Final Fantasy XI. It's a shitty MMORPG, but it's a major step in getting Japanese developers to take the Xbox seriously. And what better company to make the jump to Xbox than fanboy favorite SquareEnix. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that in this thread.


Here's what I found from a few posters at one of the forums I frequent in regards to the MTV showing:

Here's a little hint, your forum friends are fucking idiots. However, they're right on the money about how the MTV special was practically devoid of information.

The E3 presentation that took place last night was tons more informative. And unlike the PS3, which just showed bargraphs, lots of trailors and cutscenes, and lots of questionable promises (HEY, THE PS2 CAN RENDER TOY STORY IN REAL TIME), the Xbox 360 presentation actaully had some ingame footage. It was pretty neat looking, but then again the stream was not very high quality, so it was hard to tell how much better it actually was. Dead or Alive 4 looked amazing, and so did Oblivian.


Once again... it sounds more like a PC then a games console... It can go in both horizontal OR vertical postures? Wow, that's a load of my mind. [/sarcasm]

It does look powerful, but power is not always what makes a great console. The most important thing you need is games, and I didn't see a whole lot of those. All I did see was people bragging about how powerful the system was. I'm interested, but Microsoft need to do a whole lot more to convince me the new system is worth getting.

It's simply being par for course with the PS3 (taking Sony's inevitable inflation of specs into account). You don't need good specs to have good games, but you do need good specs as to not alienate developers. Nintendo had the hardware this generation, but the proprietary media format (that held less than a normal DVD) really put a damper on third party support. Nintendo might be able to survive on it's own, but the lack of solid third party support durring the Gamecube era really took a toll on it. I don't want to wait three months between really awesome games.

I mean, having good specs and having great games isn't mutually exclusive. As much as you people hate to admit it, the Xbox has a solid library of games, and plenty of stuff to play in between blockbuster titles Halo 2 or Jade Empire.

I don't agree with the statement that the Xbox 360 is going to feel like a PC. If anything, it's going to feel like an all in one media center, with a major major gaming component (friend invites durring movies sounds neat).

[Grasshopper]

For people making the the PC comments, its pretty much time to give it up. Both Sony and Microsoft are going down that road by offering more multi-media capabilities. And if thats what you guys mean in saying its a PC, then its going to be like that and probably will stay like that for generations to come. I defend the PC as my own, so stop comparing it to the likes of these mortal consoles. ;)

[Grasshopper]

For people making the the PC comments, its pretty much time to give it up. Both Sony and Microsoft are going down that road by offering more multi-media capabilities. And if thats what you guys mean in saying its a PC, then its going to be like that and probably will stay like that for generations to come. I defend the PC as my own, so stop comparing it to the likes of these mortal consoles. ;)

[Darth Marsden]

For people making the the PC comments, its pretty much time to give it up. Both Sony and Microsoft are going down that road by offering more multi-media capabilities. And if thats what you guys mean in saying its a PC, then its going to be like that and probably will stay like that for generations to come. I defend the PC as my own, so stop comparing it to the likes of these mortal consoles. ;) The point I'm trying to make is that, rather then making the consoles feel like a console, they're feeling more like PCs because they can do EVERYTHING and still give of a refreshing mint flavour. In the days of yore, many a moon ago, consoles had split-screen multiplayer and if you wanted to battle someone living half a planet away, you had to use a PC. Nowadays it's not - companies are taking what makes the PC great and incorporating it into their consoles. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but we do have to keep buying add-ons and 'upgrades' for our consoles. If I wanted to do that, I'd get a PC.

Oh, wait - I DO.

[Darth Marsden]

For people making the the PC comments, its pretty much time to give it up. Both Sony and Microsoft are going down that road by offering more multi-media capabilities. And if thats what you guys mean in saying its a PC, then its going to be like that and probably will stay like that for generations to come. I defend the PC as my own, so stop comparing it to the likes of these mortal consoles. ;) The point I'm trying to make is that, rather then making the consoles feel like a console, they're feeling more like PCs because they can do EVERYTHING and still give of a refreshing mint flavour. In the days of yore, many a moon ago, consoles had split-screen multiplayer and if you wanted to battle someone living half a planet away, you had to use a PC. Nowadays it's not - companies are taking what makes the PC great and incorporating it into their consoles. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but we do have to keep buying add-ons and 'upgrades' for our consoles. If I wanted to do that, I'd get a PC.

Oh, wait - I DO.

[Grasshopper]

What add ons or upgrades are you talking about? Hard drives? Modems? Those aren't required. Those are pretty trivial too. The only thing you needed a hard drive for was FFXI, and who would want to play that game. ;)

Seriously though, other than that, none of the games get any beneficial purpose when getting those. So only people who really want them can get them. To me, getting the added harddrive for PS2 is just like buying those monstrosities known as the 1019 memory cards for the Gamecube. The official brand is $35.

The modem doesn't count anymore, because both companies have them built in. I think internet is just a natural progression of multiplaying. Now I can play against you in our favorite games without having to be in the same house. And with the next generation of consoles, EVERYTHING has connectivity or announced connectivity. PSP, DS, 360, Revolution, PS3... It's just bound to happen.

Rest assured, I still think we have a while before a console will be a PC. I like a PC because it can not only play games, but mod games, and still run other applications. A console has one purpose, and all three companies are still abiding by that rule. It still only plays games, it doesn't run word processing apps, or imaging or modelling programs. PC's have interchangable parts so a person can pay maybe $50 to get a performance boost, while consoles don't.

In fact, if we go by that definition, I guess the Nintendo 64 could have been a PC because you could buy more RAM for it. Sure someone could take a console and mod it to do more things, but thats wasn't its original intention, and shouldn't be taken into account.

Don't get me wrong, I know where you're coming from. I understand what you mean. Its just that thanks to Microsoft and Sony, the definition of a console has changed and we pretty much have to just go with it. Each company wanted to find some way to make their console unique and reach out to a broader market.

[Grasshopper]

What add ons or upgrades are you talking about? Hard drives? Modems? Those aren't required. Those are pretty trivial too. The only thing you needed a hard drive for was FFXI, and who would want to play that game. ;)

Seriously though, other than that, none of the games get any beneficial purpose when getting those. So only people who really want them can get them. To me, getting the added harddrive for PS2 is just like buying those monstrosities known as the 1019 memory cards for the Gamecube. The official brand is $35.

The modem doesn't count anymore, because both companies have them built in. I think internet is just a natural progression of multiplaying. Now I can play against you in our favorite games without having to be in the same house. And with the next generation of consoles, EVERYTHING has connectivity or announced connectivity. PSP, DS, 360, Revolution, PS3... It's just bound to happen.

Rest assured, I still think we have a while before a console will be a PC. I like a PC because it can not only play games, but mod games, and still run other applications. A console has one purpose, and all three companies are still abiding by that rule. It still only plays games, it doesn't run word processing apps, or imaging or modelling programs. PC's have interchangable parts so a person can pay maybe $50 to get a performance boost, while consoles don't.

In fact, if we go by that definition, I guess the Nintendo 64 could have been a PC because you could buy more RAM for it. Sure someone could take a console and mod it to do more things, but thats wasn't its original intention, and shouldn't be taken into account.

Don't get me wrong, I know where you're coming from. I understand what you mean. Its just that thanks to Microsoft and Sony, the definition of a console has changed and we pretty much have to just go with it. Each company wanted to find some way to make their console unique and reach out to a broader market.