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....The X-BOX. I recently witnessed this big black PC-Like architectural box on TV. And guess what console it was sitting rather uncomfortably beside?. No, not Playstation 2 but an Nintendo Gamecube, sitting with a Gamecube controller spralled on top of the Disk lid.
And boy does there look to be a BIG difference in size, really a BIG difference. Put it this way, the X-BOX is massive, really and truly big!, you could almost mistake it for an old video recorder itís that bulky. Sitting next to the Dinky Gamecube, made it appear even bigger, considering the Gamecube is known to be small, heck, even the Controller is small and as it was sitting on the console, the actual system was swamped with it on top, itís that small.
So now that's is over, got the size out of the way. Time to move on then and give my opinion of the console. (For all I know). Could It be a hit or miss, or maybe a Dreamcast style in between, later to fail unfairly?.
First off. Power. That is it's most obvious feature. With the supposedly most state of the art console hardware around and with the largest and richest company in the world hosting it, who better to cater to than the PC hardcore gamer? That's Microsoft's goal and more, to garner interest and at the same time, shake off all the ëSimulatorí type attachments that people associate them with.
Fair played on them, they are innovating the way we think about a console. Sony collaborated with Nintendo and did it by using the CD format for the Playstation. For PC Diehardís Microsoft, they're adding Ethernet and a Hard drive built in. Another simple innovation is the idea of a controller cord being long enough (10ft supposedly) to sit on your couch! and a cumbersome looking big joypad that we could do without, despite Microsoftís opinion that itís ëwhat we wantí.
And Yes, itís Microsoft we are talking about here, backing of the console and money should be expected. They have money to throw around and because of that, they at least have the resources to make the best console out there! But unfortunately for them, I think they won't. Who cares if they monopolize the console industry? That just means more and better games for us!! regardless of the system. And only because of their seemingly bottomless wallet and industry muscle, they have the "no name console maker" signed with little of the best hardware manufacturers and software developers around, yes little and they havenít went far enough, people were expecting huge buyouts. But I think Microsoft realised those sort of things donít happen in the Gaming Industry, however big they may be.
The way Microsoft is going about things, they are on their way to a fabulous little start. However, because of some general misgivings regarding Microsoft, there is a giant hurdle for Microsoft to overcome and that is TRUST. Most people look at MS and think of synonymous words- crashes, bugs, freezing, invalid page faults, illegal operationís and blue screens pf death, etc. etc. They have to prove many and that takes time and money.
Fortunately for Microsoft, they happen to have both! The games MUST be great, they need lots of exclusive titles and the online setup has to be convenient and stable. Talk about stability, the console itself HAS TO BE STABLE. Otherwise the common 'misconception' of MS will hold true and Xbox will die. Which it more than likely eventually will, as so-far, a PC like attitude has stuck since itís conception. Why? Take a look at the gameís, they look like High end PC gameís, giving a ëTinneyí look to them rather than the chunkiness of say, the Gamecube or the Dreamcast. That of course will and should be sorted out, however, time willtell. But on top of that There are some serious issues that are finalised with the system. Being the controller. Which looks and is supposed to have an uncomfortable feel to it and the buttons rigid look . And yes, 'the bulky system' (Iím saying no more). And what about the green bubble on top, what the heck is that for??. Hereís to March 2002, to find out.
And boy does there look to be a BIG difference in size, really a BIG difference. Put it this way, the X-BOX is massive, really and truly big!, you could almost mistake it for an old video recorder itís that bulky. Sitting next to the Dinky Gamecube, made it appear even bigger, considering the Gamecube is known to be small, heck, even the Controller is small and as it was sitting on the console, the actual system was swamped with it on top, itís that small.
So now that's is over, got the size out of the way. Time to move on then and give my opinion of the console. (For all I know). Could It be a hit or miss, or maybe a Dreamcast style in between, later to fail unfairly?.
First off. Power. That is it's most obvious feature. With the supposedly most state of the art console hardware around and with the largest and richest company in the world hosting it, who better to cater to than the PC hardcore gamer? That's Microsoft's goal and more, to garner interest and at the same time, shake off all the ëSimulatorí type attachments that people associate them with.
Fair played on them, they are innovating the way we think about a console. Sony collaborated with Nintendo and did it by using the CD format for the Playstation. For PC Diehardís Microsoft, they're adding Ethernet and a Hard drive built in. Another simple innovation is the idea of a controller cord being long enough (10ft supposedly) to sit on your couch! and a cumbersome looking big joypad that we could do without, despite Microsoftís opinion that itís ëwhat we wantí.
And Yes, itís Microsoft we are talking about here, backing of the console and money should be expected. They have money to throw around and because of that, they at least have the resources to make the best console out there! But unfortunately for them, I think they won't. Who cares if they monopolize the console industry? That just means more and better games for us!! regardless of the system. And only because of their seemingly bottomless wallet and industry muscle, they have the "no name console maker" signed with little of the best hardware manufacturers and software developers around, yes little and they havenít went far enough, people were expecting huge buyouts. But I think Microsoft realised those sort of things donít happen in the Gaming Industry, however big they may be.
The way Microsoft is going about things, they are on their way to a fabulous little start. However, because of some general misgivings regarding Microsoft, there is a giant hurdle for Microsoft to overcome and that is TRUST. Most people look at MS and think of synonymous words- crashes, bugs, freezing, invalid page faults, illegal operationís and blue screens pf death, etc. etc. They have to prove many and that takes time and money.
Fortunately for Microsoft, they happen to have both! The games MUST be great, they need lots of exclusive titles and the online setup has to be convenient and stable. Talk about stability, the console itself HAS TO BE STABLE. Otherwise the common 'misconception' of MS will hold true and Xbox will die. Which it more than likely eventually will, as so-far, a PC like attitude has stuck since itís conception. Why? Take a look at the gameís, they look like High end PC gameís, giving a ëTinneyí look to them rather than the chunkiness of say, the Gamecube or the Dreamcast. That of course will and should be sorted out, however, time willtell. But on top of that There are some serious issues that are finalised with the system. Being the controller. Which looks and is supposed to have an uncomfortable feel to it and the buttons rigid look . And yes, 'the bulky system' (Iím saying no more). And what about the green bubble on top, what the heck is that for??. Hereís to March 2002, to find out.
Heh. Imagine playing an x-box game and then it crashes.
"Invalid runtime error"
PAH!
:D
"Invalid runtime error"
PAH!
:D
Woo! Gamecube!
Anyway, good post... and I agree with most of it...! I agree that the X-Box is massive!
For anyone living in or around Birmingham there is an X-Day at the Custard Factory in Late November...
Anyway, good post... and I agree with most of it...! I agree that the X-Box is massive!
For anyone living in or around Birmingham there is an X-Day at the Custard Factory in Late November...
....The X-BOX. I recently witnessed this big black PC-Like architectural box on TV. And guess what console it was sitting rather uncomfortably beside?. No, not Playstation 2 but an Nintendo Gamecube, sitting with a Gamecube controller spralled on top of the Disk lid.
And boy does there look to be a BIG difference in size, really a BIG difference. Put it this way, the X-BOX is massive, really and truly big!, you could almost mistake it for an old video recorder itís that bulky. Sitting next to the Dinky Gamecube, made it appear even bigger, considering the Gamecube is known to be small, heck, even the Controller is small and as it was sitting on the console, the actual system was swamped with it on top, itís that small.
So now that's is over, got the size out of the way. Time to move on then and give my opinion of the console. (For all I know). Could It be a hit or miss, or maybe a Dreamcast style in between, later to fail unfairly?.
First off. Power. That is it's most obvious feature. With the supposedly most state of the art console hardware around and with the largest and richest company in the world hosting it, who better to cater to than the PC hardcore gamer? That's Microsoft's goal and more, to garner interest and at the same time, shake off all the ëSimulatorí type attachments that people associate them with.
Fair played on them, they are innovating the way we think about a console. Sony collaborated with Nintendo and did it by using the CD format for the Playstation. For PC Diehardís Microsoft, they're adding Ethernet and a Hard drive built in. Another simple innovation is the idea of a controller cord being long enough (10ft supposedly) to sit on your couch! and a cumbersome looking big joypad that we could do without, despite Microsoftís opinion that itís ëwhat we wantí.
And Yes, itís Microsoft we are talking about here, backing of the console and money should be expected. They have money to throw around and because of that, they at least have the resources to make the best console out there! But unfortunately for them, I think they won't. Who cares if they monopolize the console industry? That just means more and better games for us!! regardless of the system. And only because of their seemingly bottomless wallet and industry muscle, they have the "no name console maker" signed with little of the best hardware manufacturers and software developers around, yes little and they havenít went far enough, people were expecting huge buyouts. But I think Microsoft realised those sort of things donít happen in the Gaming Industry, however big they may be.
The way Microsoft is going about things, they are on their way to a fabulous little start. However, because of some general misgivings regarding Microsoft, there is a giant hurdle for Microsoft to overcome and that is TRUST. Most people look at MS and think of synonymous words- crashes, bugs, freezing, invalid page faults, illegal operationís and blue screens pf death, etc. etc. They have to prove many and that takes time and money.
Fortunately for Microsoft, they happen to have both! The games MUST be great, they need lots of exclusive titles and the online setup has to be convenient and stable. Talk about stability, the console itself HAS TO BE STABLE. Otherwise the common 'misconception' of MS will hold true and Xbox will die. Which it more than likely eventually will, as so-far, a PC like attitude has stuck since itís conception. Why? Take a look at the gameís, they look like High end PC gameís, giving a ëTinneyí look to them rather than the chunkiness of say, the Gamecube or the Dreamcast. That of course will and should be sorted out, however, time willtell. But on top of that There are some serious issues that are finalised with the system. Being the controller. Which looks and is supposed to have an uncomfortable feel to it and the buttons rigid look . And yes, 'the bulky system' (Iím saying no more). And what about the green bubble on top, what the heck is that for??. Hereís to March 2002, to find out.
And boy does there look to be a BIG difference in size, really a BIG difference. Put it this way, the X-BOX is massive, really and truly big!, you could almost mistake it for an old video recorder itís that bulky. Sitting next to the Dinky Gamecube, made it appear even bigger, considering the Gamecube is known to be small, heck, even the Controller is small and as it was sitting on the console, the actual system was swamped with it on top, itís that small.
So now that's is over, got the size out of the way. Time to move on then and give my opinion of the console. (For all I know). Could It be a hit or miss, or maybe a Dreamcast style in between, later to fail unfairly?.
First off. Power. That is it's most obvious feature. With the supposedly most state of the art console hardware around and with the largest and richest company in the world hosting it, who better to cater to than the PC hardcore gamer? That's Microsoft's goal and more, to garner interest and at the same time, shake off all the ëSimulatorí type attachments that people associate them with.
Fair played on them, they are innovating the way we think about a console. Sony collaborated with Nintendo and did it by using the CD format for the Playstation. For PC Diehardís Microsoft, they're adding Ethernet and a Hard drive built in. Another simple innovation is the idea of a controller cord being long enough (10ft supposedly) to sit on your couch! and a cumbersome looking big joypad that we could do without, despite Microsoftís opinion that itís ëwhat we wantí.
And Yes, itís Microsoft we are talking about here, backing of the console and money should be expected. They have money to throw around and because of that, they at least have the resources to make the best console out there! But unfortunately for them, I think they won't. Who cares if they monopolize the console industry? That just means more and better games for us!! regardless of the system. And only because of their seemingly bottomless wallet and industry muscle, they have the "no name console maker" signed with little of the best hardware manufacturers and software developers around, yes little and they havenít went far enough, people were expecting huge buyouts. But I think Microsoft realised those sort of things donít happen in the Gaming Industry, however big they may be.
The way Microsoft is going about things, they are on their way to a fabulous little start. However, because of some general misgivings regarding Microsoft, there is a giant hurdle for Microsoft to overcome and that is TRUST. Most people look at MS and think of synonymous words- crashes, bugs, freezing, invalid page faults, illegal operationís and blue screens pf death, etc. etc. They have to prove many and that takes time and money.
Fortunately for Microsoft, they happen to have both! The games MUST be great, they need lots of exclusive titles and the online setup has to be convenient and stable. Talk about stability, the console itself HAS TO BE STABLE. Otherwise the common 'misconception' of MS will hold true and Xbox will die. Which it more than likely eventually will, as so-far, a PC like attitude has stuck since itís conception. Why? Take a look at the gameís, they look like High end PC gameís, giving a ëTinneyí look to them rather than the chunkiness of say, the Gamecube or the Dreamcast. That of course will and should be sorted out, however, time willtell. But on top of that There are some serious issues that are finalised with the system. Being the controller. Which looks and is supposed to have an uncomfortable feel to it and the buttons rigid look . And yes, 'the bulky system' (Iím saying no more). And what about the green bubble on top, what the heck is that for??. Hereís to March 2002, to find out.