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"I played on an X-box and have a few words of warning"

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Thu 15/11/01 at 20:23
Regular
Posts: 787
I don't normally post in this forum, not being a massive games fan. However, in the recent months I have been swept along by the PS2/Gamecube/X-box hype machine, and I thought I would share my experiences of the X-box..

Basically I was on a school trip in America only a few weeks ago during half term and a part of the advertising campaign some of the games shops had got their very own preview consoles in for people to play on. The demo disc was fairly functional, with only one interactive game, Abe's world something or other. I must say I was really not impressed with it. Far from being the lean machine I had been led to believe it was, the graphics weren't actually that good in any of the games. The one game I was interested in was Halo, which seemed to be the main release game, and that really did not look very good, graphically. From what I was able to see from the rolling demo the gameplay appeared to be in the Turok vein. That was bit of a disappointment, especially as I was expecting something that would trounce Perfect Dark. If push came to shove I would probably choose an N64 with Perfect Dark than an X-box with Halo.

The one interactive game, Abe's World, was equally ropey. The camera was hard to control, as was Abe. While I may not be the most coordinated of gamers, even I can tell when a camera angle causes you to fall to your doom much to the amusement of the guy behind you with the huge afro. Abe's World looked like a fairly mediocre PC game. I was not impressed. As far as sports games go all the demos were for American sports. Again the graphics were a little ropey and I was hardly left breathless. Finally, the controller is really quite cumbersome as well; all in all a disappointment.

My friend was a bit of an X-box fan and he blamed the poor showing on the quality of the in-store TV and the unfinished state of the games on the review disc. Maybe this was true, in which case I don't think it was a wise move on Microsoft's part, as the preview console left me feeling much less desperate to get one.

Personally I will go for a Gamecube, which seems from the reports I've read, to be a bit of sleek gaming machine. One report said that it had movie graphics of breath-taking resolution. Sounds good to me! If I can say anything to people thinking of buying either console then it would be to test one before you part with your cash. Had i not have played on the X-box I would have put my name down on the waiting list as soon as I got home.

Hardly words from a wise one, but I hope they help..
Fri 16/11/01 at 12:31
Regular
Posts: 23,218
i always knew it was rubbish
Fri 16/11/01 at 12:07
Regular
"Back For Good"
Posts: 3,673
So we're not missing much with Abe then, ah well Microsoft can keep the green gas mutant and their crashing PC in a box :-)
Fri 16/11/01 at 09:04
Regular
Posts: 6,702
Tyla wrote:
Unlike Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft can afford to screw up,
> bith make billions producing other things, sony make 46billion a year producing
> electrical goods etc, and microsoft turn over excessive ammuount producing
> software...

Interestingly, that`s true for Sony, but according to Digitiser (poor reviews, but useful news information), the X-Box has had so much invested in it that if it is a failure, it could mean Microsoft never recover. They were expecting to go something like 1/2 a billion in debt before returning to profit - if they ever do.


Nintendo make games..., they have always made games right from
> the early day of card based combat games and rely soley on the games industry to
> stay afloat... The N64 almost ruined them and they relied purely on their
> PokeMon franchise to stay afloat.


And their handhelds too. Being the only real manufacturer of handhelds has meant even Nintendo managed to stay on top.
Fri 16/11/01 at 08:50
Regular
"Back from the dead!"
Posts: 4,615
Tyla wrote:
> Could Nintendo do the same thing if the GC crashes?

Quite possibly, but I think the Nintendo dedicated following is strong enough for the machine to keep selling, and they have the GBA also, a field leader. It's unlikely they will go under for a while at least.
Fri 16/11/01 at 07:56
Regular
"l33t cs50r"
Posts: 2,956
Sibs wrote:
> That means Xbox titles will probably cost quite a bit.

Anyway, I heard that
> PS2, even selling at £300 per console, Sony would still make a loss on
> every single console, but they went ahead anyway cos they are so cocky that they
> have the games market. oh how us Nintys will laugh! That's why Sony needs to win
> this console war and so does microsoft (make a bad impression now and they'll
> probably be out of it for good, so they've pretty much lost already!), and Ninty
> don't NEED to win, but need to improve upon how they did with the 64. Ninty look
> on target, Billy bob looks beaten already, and Sony look in control, but
> precarious...

Unlike Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft can afford to screw up, bith make billions producing other things, sony make 46billion a year producing electrical goods etc, and microsoft turn over excessive ammuount producing software...

Nintendo make games..., they have always made games right from the early day of card based combat games and rely soley on the games industry to stay afloat... The N64 almost ruined them and they relied purely on their PokeMon franchise to stay afloat.

Now they have a chance to bounce back with the GC... If Nintendo flop this time against the competition, then it could seriously send them the same way as Sega (Who oddly enough, only made games too!!)

The original Playstation was an experiment for Sony and did them well, the XBOX is the same kind of expeiment for MS and could surprise us all, but both firms had the money and the resources available to write off any misshaps along the way... Could Nintendo do the same thing if the GC crashes?
Thu 15/11/01 at 23:34
Regular
"Jags is teh l33t"
Posts: 4,074
nintendo don't spend alot on hype they let people tell other people how good they are.

It works. they make more profit on sales than sony.

Can't wait for the GC!!
Thu 15/11/01 at 22:43
Regular
"Peace Respect Punk"
Posts: 8,069
That means Xbox titles will probably cost quite a bit.

Anyway, I heard that PS2, even selling at £300 per console, Sony would still make a loss on every single console, but they went ahead anyway cos they are so cocky that they have the games market. oh how us Nintys will laugh! That's why Sony needs to win this console war and so does microsoft (make a bad impression now and they'll probably be out of it for good, so they've pretty much lost already!), and Ninty don't NEED to win, but need to improve upon how they did with the 64. Ninty look on target, Billy bob looks beaten already, and Sony look in control, but precarious...
Thu 15/11/01 at 22:41
Regular
"Back in black"
Posts: 5,486
Grix Thraves wrote:
> Heh! That actually suprises me.

Ah well, looks like they really are going to
> have a lot of problems then.

Windows can't run a smoothe programme if there life depended on it!!
Thu 15/11/01 at 22:28
Regular
"Jags is teh l33t"
Posts: 4,074
Well get this

Bill Gates has already spent so much hyping the xbox and advertising it that it won't make a profit for somthing like 5 years!!!

HA!
Thu 15/11/01 at 20:46
Regular
"funky blitzkreig"
Posts: 2,540
Bear in mind that it was still a few weeks before the official release date, and it was a preview version. I think the Nintendo preview consoles might be equally dodgy.. I think I'll wait to see both running at one of my friends' houses before I commit to either.. besides they always slash the price in two after 4 months of being on sale...

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