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"Why is the Xbox so BIG?"

What's that pounding? Are there ripples in your drink? Maybe it's just the power trying to come back on. Where's the goat?! Brace yourself,because on November 8th in the US and on March 15th in the UK the Xbox is released. And Microsoft intend on making a big impression. A crater in fact, the size of a dinosaur footprint. Gates, you've built one chunky momma!

As they said on the Godzilla poster, size does matter. Certainly in the world of games. Big numbers mean more power, speed, polygons per second... But physical proportions are a different matter. When it comes to technology, smaller is normally superior, but first, let's size thing up against the competition...

Lying flat, PS2 is wider than the original grey Playstation and Nintendo's upcoming Gamecube is the narrowest of all. Xbox is well over double that, beating all-comers. I'm talking video recorder proportions here.

From front-to-back, old-style Playstation and PS2 consoles are 18cms. Gamecube shaves 2cms off that, but the Xbox is a humongous 27cm. Deeper than even Dirk Diggler can delve.
Height is a closer call. Xbox is only a centimetre taller than PS2 and GameCube tops both, but Nintendo's machine is, after all, a cube. Fact is, volume-wise, Xbox is nearly twice the size of PS2 and almost three times that of GameCube. So, if you intend to buy one, you'd better start knocking through an extension to your bedroom now.

Why so bulky? Is it sheer power? Xbox is easily the most pumped machine. It has a faster CPU, faster graphics processor, and can generate twice as many polygons as PS2. Supposedly, it's three times more powerful than any next-gen console and only 20% bigger. Xbox also has an eight gigabyte hard drive and it's the first console to have a permanent storage disk. But is it jam-packed with gadgetry or just full of hot air? Well, the power supply is twice the size of the Dreamcast and is heavier than any other console. This fits explanations that the size is needed for cooling so it's definitely not full of hot air. A cool breeze, perhaps?

Let's face it, if Sony can build VAIO laptops as thin as an exercise book, Microsoft could have made their console a tad smaller than a barbecue. So, is it intentional? They researched a whopping 5,000 gamers across the USA, Europe and Japan, visiting 130 homes to see how people play games. Feedback told them jet fighters, Ferraris, notorbikes and loud stereos were seen as symbols of extreme power. Staggering!
But the look of the Xbox is the work of one man, Horace Luke, who previously created footwear for Nike. The green jewel on top is designed to be like a porthole to a furnace or nuclear submarine and supposedly symbolises a rave in a nuclear power generator.

The Xbox controller is also huge, not much smaller than a remodelled PSone. Microsoft tested 34 versions, coming up with a variation of their Sidewinder pad. One cool super-sized feature is a 9.5 metre cable, which safely unplugs if you trip over it. Personally I think it looks like a fake kid's mobile that just says hello. They should have made something smaller, easier to hold like the PS2 pads. Maybe Microsoft were just trying to be different, who knows!

So there you have it. Big means more powerful than any other machine. Big means it looks like an atomic generator. Big means Batman can use it for flying around and big means the Japanese won't like it or maybe they will. At the end of the day though, it's whether we like it and whether you've got a small shed to keep it in, but most of all, it's the games that count and if they stink that'll be a different matter. The Xbox looks to be the start for the future of gaming due to its speed and power,, which looks BIG!!!

I have a massively heavy tele it wouldent work under there?

You know that bloke who invented the clockwork radio? Trevor Bayliss I think. Well the original one was really small, but when they sold it in foreign countries where batteries are more expensive they bulked up the size so that it felt like it had more worth than a bunch of resistors and capacitors stuffed in a box. Maybe Willy G is trying to sell boxes that feel like PC's or videos, but aren't. Think about it. My PSone can get lost down the back of my sofa and the PS2 would get crushed under my tele. If there was a device that fitted under my TV, like a video, then it would stay put and become part of the ergonomics of the room.

Maybe that's why?

The quoted reason is - like you say - for cooling. They've used pretty much off the shelf PC components which require far more cooling than soecifically designed console kit. That's about as exciting as it gets really... considering your going to dump it under the telly and only look at it to put games in I can't see the problem.

"It won't fit" - boom boom. Now be serious.

7 days till what?

dont go trying to get into my goodbooks again i'm still mad with you...go stand in the corner...you know i shall never speak to you, your children,and your childrens children









for three months

cool

mine doesnt do chimey things mine sings "hey mr taliban turn over bin ladin"

when you turn it on, do you reckon it'll play them chimes like when you turn on your computer??

yeah they have that white tape round the middle

Why? have you broken yours?