X-Box

[Roger]

How's the X-Box doing? Is it doing well or is it dead?

[Dgenx321]

Its 2nd to the PS2, doing very good.

[Nick]

Actually... I heard the X box was next to first ;)

[Jasonbp]

As everyone has said it's in 2nd (in North America, England & Aussie). 3rd place worldwide (Nintendo's 1 Million in Japan last year put it ahead).

Has a strong line-up for 2003. F'n "Halo 2" got pushed back to 2004 today.

[marko]

Originally posted by thatguy16

Has a strong line-up for 2003. F'n "Halo 2" got pushed back to 2004 today.

Dangit, it would of been good to have that game out this year. I am really looking forward to that game.

[Rick_EE]

I recently read an article that Xbox Live is doing very well, with more subscribers than even MS expected.

[Brian Rector]

The XBOX is doing quite well. I do hear that they have signed up 350,000 so far for XBOX Live, which is great considering that Nintendo and Sony's online strategies are in the coma stage right now.

Rumors of what XBOX Next (The official name for the next XBOX, to be released in late 2005 or early 2006) have been circulating the Internet. Here's what I have heard it might be like:

1)It will have a bigger hard drive

2)It will be backward compatible with XBOX, so you can keep your current collection of games and dont have to worry about having the hassle of too many systems around the house.

If you are a XBOX owner, you might also come to www.xboxaddict.com. This is where I go for XBOX news and information.

[BobMurdoch]

Where did you read that Halo 2 got pushed back into 2004?

This unit rocks! 1080i/720p/480p/480i capable. 5.1 Surround sound in games (not just cutscenes a la PS2), hard drive and network adapter built in (350,000 XBox live subscribers already), and Microsoft recently purchase Rare, the company behind Goldeneye for N64, Killer Instinct (an old 2d fighting game), Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie and a bunch of other games well know for squeezing every last cycle out of their hardware.

Plus, throw in the fact that Bill Gates considers this the beachhead for getting into your household's living room (away from your PC) and this thing is going nowhere anytime soon. The only question is when does XBox2 ship?

BTW, for you old schoolers.... I saw on their long range release schedule that there will be an XBox game for Battlestar Galactica in September 2003. I heard rumors of a new miniseries on the SciFi channel, s well as a DVD box set of the origianl show (which is backed up by a recent showing of all the original episodes on SciFI with the tagline "newly restored", which is codespeak for we did clean 'em up for the DVD release but we figured we'd get a few extra bucks first to help with production costs.

It's amazing how a failed single season show still resonates with so many people today.

[Unthinkable]

Originally posted by BobMurdoch
Where did you read that Halo 2 got pushed back into 2004?


http://xbox.ign.com/articles/388/388461p1.html

Halo 2 in '04
The Master Chief won't make his triumphant return until next year.

March 07, 2003 - Microsoft Game Studios has announced that Halo 2 is now scheduled to ship in the first quarter of 2004. The Xbox Live enabled follow up to the multiplatinum launch title was originally listed as a Christmas 2003 release, but now the development team from Bungie is going to utilize the additional weeks of production time to ensure gamers are getting all they expect out of Halo 2.

"We don't want to let a Holiday 2003 release date dictate what we are and what we are not going to do with this game," said Microsoft Game Studios Chief Ed Fries. "We're committed to delivering the great gaming experience that Xbox fans are expecting from Halo 2."

While offical records on the matter are hard to come by, it is rare that a first party publisher would announce a delay of a highly anticipated title this early in the game's development cycle. Waiting until summer or fall of 2003 to announce an inevitable delay of Halo 2 could've cast an ominous cloud of doubt over the title's ambitions to be the ultimate Xbox game.

Halo 2 will nonetheless have a major presence as Xbox's marquee title at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo in May. IGN will have more on Halo 2 in the coming months as well as the game most likely to take its place as the top Holiday game of 2003.
-- Aaron Boulding

[BobMurdoch]

http://www.bungie.net/perlbin/blam.pl?file=/site/1/news/news_detail.html&id=A72CE2BD-7BBB-496A-893A-21E608758142

Here is more word re: the delay of Halo2 into 2004 (sigh....).

My son and I STILL play this game a few times a week. A perfect match of plot, thrills, action, and sledgehammer plot twists that would make Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel), and the producers of "24" and "Alias" proud.

Throw in some great humor (the Covenant (the bad guys) "grunts" mutterings) as well as a new menace in the second half of the game which comes out of nowhere and completely changes the tone of the game for the better.

For those of you who do not have XBox, plan on getting it when it hits the PC this summer. This game has soaked up more of my free time than Doom did when IT first hit in the early 90's.

[RandyAB]

http://www.teamxbox.com is also a good site for xbox news. I think the system is doing well. Obvviously it is not going to beat out PS2 just because the PS2 was out a lot longer then the Xbox. Look for good competition in the next round of systems. Didn't XBox just recently buy Rare, so if that is true that should help out as well.

[MarkA]

Dead? Nah.

But is it the best console to buy? Nah.

It's expensive, it has a poor selection of family games, a terrible controller (extremely uncomfortable), a huge ugly footprint (impotant if you care about keeping your home cinema area looking good), it's 3rd place (out of 3) in sales, and to top it off - a questionable reliability record (I've personally known a couple people with problems, but it is supposedly better than the early units were).

On the other hand, it ties with the GameCube for the best graphics (though both have their strong points and weak points due to the different chipset. GameCube has a totally custom ArtX/ATI chipset (it was almost completely developed before ATI bought ArtX), and XBox has a slightly modified GeForce3. There are major differences in what the chipsets do best), has the most "mature" games, and the best built in DVD player. It also has analog HDTV (via component video output) ability, but this is of very questionable value due to the fact that that takes a huge performance hit so not many games have it, and very few people have HDTVs.

[marko]

Originally posted by Zac
Dead? Nah.

But is it the best console to buy? Nah.

It's expensive, it has a poor selection of family games, a terrible controller (extremely uncomfortable), a huge ugly footprint (impotant if you care about keeping your home cinema area looking good), it's 3rd place (out of 3) in sales, and to top it off - a questionable reliability record (I've personally known a couple people with problems, but it is supposedly better than the early units were).

On the other hand, it ties with the GameCube for the best graphics (though both have their strong points and weak points due to the different chipset. GameCube has a totally custom ArtX/ATI chipset (it was almost completely developed before ATI bought ArtX), and XBox has a slightly modified GeForce3. There are major differences in what the chipsets do best), has the most "mature" games, and the best built in DVD player. It also has analog HDTV (via component video output) ability, but this is of very questionable value due to the fact that that takes a huge performance hit so not many games have it, and very few people have HDTVs.

I usually don't say much about stuff like this, but you are way off on many points. The xbox is $200 just like playstation 2, but it comes with 2 free games (decent games too). It is $50 more than gamecube. Some of the built in features are quite nice too... built in hard drive (no need for memory cards), built in ethernet for online gaming (if you want to do that anyway), dolby digital for pretty much all games.

There are two types of controllers available (big standard one), and a smaller controller, so you should be able to find a controller that suits. The xbox is second place in the United States(which is what I care about) and Europe, but a distant 3rd in Japan.

The HDTV value is quite nice. It cannot be a questionable value when the other 2 game systems don't even have the option.

You are right, it is not the entertainment choice for people with kids, and it is big and ugly (depends on the person, I have no problem with it). If you like sports game/first person shooters/racing games, xbox is definitely a great system to look into.

[MarkA]

"I usually don't say much about stuff like this, but you are way off on many points. The xbox is $200 just like playstation 2, but it comes with 2 free games (decent games too). It is $50 more than gamecube."

Okay, posting here was stupid. I admit it. But I never mentioned the price!

"Some of the built in features are quite nice too... built in hard drive (no need for memory cards),"

Yeah, that saves some money.

"built in ethernet for online gaming (if you want to do that anyway),"

Yeah, very true. But you can't get a modem. With the GameCube you have to pick, but you can buy a 56k modem or a network card.

"dolby digital for pretty much all games."

Very true, I shoulda mentioned that. It is a great feature the Xbox has

"There are two types of controllers available (big standard one), and a smaller controller, so you should be able to find a controller that suits."

Really? There didn't used to be that I know about. The only one I've played on is the kind that comes with it, so when I say a terrible controller - that's the terrible one. Maybe if you have HUGE hands it would be okay.

"The xbox is second place in the United States(which is what I care about) and Europe, but a distant 3rd in Japan."

Which makes it third, out of three (as I said), overall. We're in a global market. How it's doing in a few countries is meaningless to it's survival (though MS isn't. Microsoft won't let it go anywhere...)

"The HDTV value is quite nice. It cannot be a questionable value when the other 2 game systems don't even have the option."

If most people can't use it, and few games have it because of the speed hit - it's very questionable how much (if any) advantage that gives it over other consoles.

"You are right, it is not the entertainment choice for people with kids, and it is big and ugly (depends on the person, I have no problem with it). If you like sports game/first person shooters/racing games, xbox is definitely a great system to look into."

Did I say otherwise? I tried to be very fair and balanced :) But for the NORMAL console consumer, a family, it doesn't have the best game selection. For a single person (hate to be sexist, but especially males), it does have a great lineup.

[PeterB]

Originally posted by Zac
"There are two types of controllers available (big standard one), and a smaller controller, so you should be able to find a controller that suits."

Really? There didn't used to be that I know about. The only one I've played on is the kind that comes with it, so when I say a terrible controller - that's the terrible one. Maybe if you have HUGE hands it would be okay.


Its called the S-Controler, the same one MS shipped in Japan. Its now the standard controller. The bigger older one is no longer being made, which sucks, because I loved the thing, granted my hands are big...

but I'd take the original X_Box Controller any day over the GC's bizzare-3-year-old-in-mind-designed controler. Its the total opposite of the original Xbox controler, way to freaking small. And those triggers are awful.

Don't even start me on the PS2 controller...god that thing is a joke...why do people like it so much? Almost all PC controlers have become clones of PS2 controlers now, and its hard to find a decent one...They have the worst design, no analog triggers, 3d pads with NO resistance, and the worst D-Pad out there.

[MarkA]

"Its called the S-Controler, the same one MS shipped in Japan. Its now the standard controller. The bigger older one is no longer being made, which sucks, because I loved the thing, granted my hands are big..."

Cool! Must see one! But the old Xbox controller, whenever I play a game with someone who has an Xbox - my hands physically HURT afterwards. I mean, really hurt. I guess we're all different :)

"but I'd take the original X_Box Controller any day over the GC's bizzare-3-year-old-in-mind-designed controler. Its the total opposite of the original Xbox controler, way to freaking small. And those triggers are awful."

It's just about perfect for me. I REALLY like the GC controller, by far the best ever to me. See why a nice selection of controllers is important?

"Don't even start me on the PS2 controller...god that thing is a joke...why do people like it so much? Almost all PC controlers have become clones of PS2 controlers now, and its hard to find a decent one...They have the worst design, no analog triggers, 3d pads with NO resistance, and the worst D-Pad out there."

I don't like the PS2 controller as much, but I still like it way better than the (old) Xbox controller. It would be great if the controllers were interchangable, so people didn't have to take this into consideration :)

[JBKing]

hmmm.....maybe the GameCube isn't doing all that well.

British Retailer cuts Gamecube prices due to declining sales (http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=2360879)

[tontomono]

I have an Xbox and absolutely love it. The controller is also great, and my girlfriend's 13 year old brother has an Xbox and has no trouble with the controller. Xbox Live is also awesome, should try it out sometime ;) Lets see, what else. Oh yeah, heard from a lot of ppl that you haven't seen anything until you have seen a game on a hdtv in 720p running on an Xbox. They say it is amazing. Umm, game wise I am pretty set. My only reason to go to like a playstation would be DDR, since that is a fun game. Other than that I am quite happy with it and it fits in quite well with my other electronics and is now my dvd player as well. And I have had it since they first released and no problems yet.

[BobMurdoch]

Are you sure that the original controller is discontinued?

I have those big hand you speak of and my 8 year old son, pitched the S controller away in disgust when I got him one (thinking I was doing him and his small hands a favor). I guess he has gotten so used to the original one that he doesn't want to switch. We have four of the original controllers and one of the S controllers, but one of the original controllers lost a battle with some Jelly smeared fingers (did I say he was 8?), so the "A" button works only sporadically on that one.

[JBKing]

I have a 4 year old that uses the original controller. I haven't tried the S controller, but my son can reach all the buttons without any akwardness. It's pathetic how he clobbers me in Rayman Arena, so he isn't having any trouble with that controller!

[Jasonbp]

Originally posted by BobMurdoch
Are you sure that the original controller is discontinued?

It was a rumor that the original controller was discontinued. A few months back OXM (Offical Xbox Magazine) talked about it saying that they went to MS about it and that "the original controller hadn't been discontinued and will be making it for quite some time."

I like the original controller the best. I have a S Controller and a Japanese S Controller (look's a little different from the S Controller the trigger springs aren't as tight).

[Bardman]

I must make this comment about my XBox and XBox Live...

Microsoft is dead-on with thier online strategy... no modems allowed because you need the bandwidth to ensure a good gaming experience. being able to chat with voice with the people you're playing with online is invaluable! Also, the richness of the games and the interaction necessary between XBoxes on Live just makes the case for Broadband only.

Not to mention the broadband connectivity is built into the box from the start.. Granted, you have to pay ~$49 for the Live kit which gives you the headset, the headset adaptor, and installs the Live software onto the XBox's Hard Drive, but you also get ONE YEAR of LIVE SERVICE INCLUDED. Thus, for about $4/month, you get your online experience.

Don't forget that your XBox Live Gamertag is consistent across all games... and Microsoft themselves own the Live Servers to ensure system integrety (if EA were to drop off the planet tomorrow, we would still be able to play thier Live enabled games well into the future)

Also, Dolby 5.1 in games is Awesome!! First time I experienced a Covenent soldier in Halo coming at me from behind hearing him from my left rear surround speaker I damn near jumped out of my shorts!!! Then I spun around and Killed him!!

[BobMurdoch]

I wonder why these younguns are SO able to kick our butts on these fighting games. I guess the fast button mashing is an effective technique.............

[tontomono]

I hate button mashers. I fight with style. :) Go DOA3! Sweet fighting game.

[DDRio]

kolacell, the aditional mission from Splinter Cell is here! The graphics are great!! Even better than the original game!

[BobMurdoch]

I was holding off on getting Splinter Cell because I hear it is a "stealth" shooter. Nothing I hate worse than failing a level because some soldier saw me and sounded an alarm. Make it like Goldeneye. Send a dozen guards after me, which makes it more difficult to survive, but don't fail me automatically. I had to use a cheat code to finally get past that forest level in Castle Wolfenstein because of the "stealth" requirement.

Do you fail missions in Splinter Cell if you are spotted? How does it work. I know that it received higher marks than Halo in XBox magazine, but I refuse to buy any game marked a "stealth" shooter unless I hear that they don't automatically fail you if a camera/Soldier/light sees you.

[JBKing]

Splinter Cell on Xbox has fantastic graphics, probably the most detailed I have seen. Yes, stealth is the name of the game. I played it for a day or two, just because it looks good. My daughter has just about completed it and loves the game. But me, I like to go in with guns a'blazin'! There are several missions where if you are detected by guards, alarms or security cameras, the mission ends. And ammunition is always limited. One mission, I used up my entire supply on one guard and shooting a street lamp out. I was never able to finish the mission after that.

Great looking game and excellent play....if you like stealth games.