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"The Problem with the X-box"

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Fri 21/06/02 at 23:56
Regular
Posts: 787
Ok now the X-box has arrived and had a little time to pick up speed. Unfortunately despite alot of talk about shifting consoles the X-box is not selling paticulary well, especially in the UK.

In my personal opinion there are a number of reasons for this which i feel Mr. Bill Gates needs to address before the X-box can turn into the success that he has hoped for.

The Price

Ok This has got to be the biggest problem with the microsoft bad boy. I am not putting anything against the console because i think it has possibly the most potential of all of the next generation consoles. It is the fasted the most powerful and has a top notch DVD player not to mention the memory meaning no memory cards are needed as there is next to an infinite amount of save space. However despite the excellent potential it posesses the console itself is still not worth the £300 price mark they gave on release, even after the drop to £200 it is still struggling because basically who is going to pay that kind of money for something that does not blow away the competition. The games are not too expensive, about average however with the need of a dvd remote to use the dvd feature the cost of the original price soon rises. The competition is too strong for such a price.

The Games

Lets face it this is what you buy a console. Sure you can get 84 controller ports, a 67 dvd disc changer, puker cd player and more tools than a swiss army knife but if you havent got the games to back it up what is the point in being able to even cook ya toast in ya console eh?

It is unfortunate that in the most important factor of the console the X-box fails miserably at present. The only 3 big sellers they had on launch day were

Dead or Alive 3
Project Gotham Racing
and Halo

and lets be honest Gotham Racing while a good game is not on the same level as GT3.. Dead of Alive 3 another classic beat em up but with virtua Fighter 4 now out and Tekken 4 around the corner it just does not have the same appeal. And Halo the supposed best game of the year. While a fantastic first person shooter is heavily overated purely because it was the one major selling point of the X-box and the only "original" big hitting game they had.

I say "original" because the X-box's line up is not at all original now is it, i mean not only are the games they are bringing out not THAT impressive they are not even original. In fact 90% of microsofts games are ported from other consoles or originally planned for another console.

Halo ----> originally a PC game
Dead or Alive 3 ----> DoA2 on PS2
SSX Tricky ---> PS2
Crazy Taxi ----->PS2, DC
Champ Manager -----> PC
Munch's Odsesee(sp) ------ Oringally PS2

Am i making my point yet! the Xbox is relying heavily on the games they are bringing over from other formats. The lineup is just not strong enough and with games like

Return to castle wolfenstein
Unreal Championship

The 2 huge games coming out being pc games and first person shooters. The console needs some huge original games and alot more variety. They are getting killed on the market at the moment. They need more games like Halo and the likes of Panza Dragoon to stay in the console war.

Lets hope Bill pulls his socks up because the Xbox has the potential to be great and altho i still think gates is being greedy trying to conquer another world good luck to him hes got his work cut out.

Online?

Possibly another big selling point of the Xbox was the online gaming, well now E3 is over and the plans have been revealed the UK are getting a raw deal. The Xboxs online plans are being used with broadband and with alot of the UK not able to get broadband at the present time it means we are not all able to play online meaning less profit for microsoft and a lot of annoyed british gamers.

What are everyones views.

THESE ARE JUST MY OPINIONS AND I USUALLY TALK RUBBISH SO....

-Omega-
Sat 22/06/02 at 18:29
Regular
"gsybe you!"
Posts: 18,825
Only joking Garbe123!



*I thought I had made 'peace' with you, oddly over 'Nuclear War' ?*
Sat 22/06/02 at 18:27
Regular
Posts: 10,489
Arghhhhhhhhhh! ITS CYCLONE'S BORING ARGUMENTS! :)

That list is truly amazing and whatever anyone else thinks I will own most of the games on that list. I was only pointing the list out to you so there is no need to start crying about it!

Wookie, like Savatt said, why do you bother playing games? Ypu talk about also on PS2 but we all know that the Xbox has so far got the best ports for every game! I gave you an excellent list and all you could do was say no to each one, I was only trying to help and now I won't bother as it is obvious you are stupidly picky about all those games which is ridiculous!

As for Max Payne, this is my favourite game of all time and the PS2 tore the game to pieces so please do not compare an excellent Xbox version to a shoddy PS2 version, thanks!
Sat 22/06/02 at 18:16
Posts: 0
DAMN!! Yo i never meant to start a riot.

Look I am not saying the Xbox is terrible far from it if you read i believe it has ALOT of potential and as for being a PS2 fanboy LOL please... i am not a one console fanboy at all.. i have a PS2 yes but i am not saying it is the best console ever far from it nothing will ever top the SNES but that is another arguement lol...

Now let me take apart each arguement one by one lol

-Omega-
Sat 22/06/02 at 18:08
Regular
"ATAT Supremo"
Posts: 6,238
Plus it needs updating ! :-) Get onto adding the other titles Garbe ! ;-)
Sat 22/06/02 at 17:59
Regular
"gsybe you!"
Posts: 18,825
garbe123 wrote:
> Take a look at this list of games amd tell me which ones you are
> lookin forward to. Personally I am looking forward to them all!
>
> Air Force Delta Storm
> Black And White
> Blade 2
> Bruce Lee: Quest For the Dragon
> Buffy the Vampire Slayer
> Burnout 2: Point Of Impact
> Commandos 2
> Conflict Desert Storm
> Dead To Rights
> Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
> Die Hard
> Dino Crisis 3
> Duke Nukem Forever
> Enter The Matrix
> Good Cop Bad Cop
> Gun Valkyrie
> Halo Online
> Halo 2
> Hitman 2
> House of the Dead 3
> Hunter: The Reckoning
> James Bond 007: NightFire
> Lord Of The Rings
> Max Payne 2
> Medal Of Honour: Allied Assault
> Metal Gear Solid Substance
> Midtown Madness 3
> Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance
> Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis
> Prisoner Of War
> Project Ego
> Rainbow Six: Raven Shield
> Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
> Return to Castle Wolfinstien
> Rocky
> Serious Sam
> Shenmue II
> Shenmue III
> Soul Calibur 2
> Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
> Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter Special Edition
> Superman: The Man Of Steel
> SWAT: Global Strike Team
> Terminator Dawn of Fate
> Timesplitters 2
> Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
> Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
> Unreal Championship
> WWE: Raw Is War
> WWE: Raw Is War 2
> X-MEN Wolverines Revenge
>
> I don't know how you can argue with this list, its absolutley amazing!






AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Garbe123s list is back!


;-)
Sat 22/06/02 at 17:54
Regular
"ATAT Supremo"
Posts: 6,238
Not being funny Wookie, but why do you actually bother playing games ? Is there actually a type of game you LIKE ?? ;-))

As for the PS2, I don't see anything it has to offer that goes beyond what X-Box Live will do except for maybe a web browser and seeing as I have a PC thats the last thing I need. I don't really see much that beats the line up of games on the X-Box with online capability either. If there is a game that appeals to me on PS2 in this area it would be Final Fantasy 11.

As for the games that are also coming out on PS2, yes they may well be, but the X-Box will have the better versions of the games.
Thats on a shot at the PS2, but it IS an older console and the X-Box's capabilities will give a game a more polished look so given the choice of the 2 versions, surely it would be better to get the X-Box version.
Sat 22/06/02 at 15:18
"High polygon count"
Posts: 15,624
Max Payne - also on PS2, not interested, didn't get it on PC

Spider Man: The Movie - also on PS2, not interested

RalliSport Challenge - got as part of my reward pack, haven't played yet, may possibly trade in

Dead Or Alive 3 - had it, returned it

Gun Valkyrie - played demo, not interested

Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding - played demo, got as part of reward pack, not interested, will be trading without playing

Championship Manager 2001/2002 - never been interested, even on PC

Crash - not interested

Moto GP - had Konami's version on PS2, traded, not interested

Jet Set Radio Future - skating and cel shading, not interested
Sat 22/06/02 at 15:18
"High polygon count"
Posts: 15,624
Panzer Dragoon Orta - not sure about this one

Metal Gear Solid Substance - also on PS2, will reserve judgement until I see final product as I didn't buy the original MGS special missions.

Soul Caliber 2 - also on PS2

Blinx - possible, as I enjoyed Jak & Daxter and an looking forward to Ratchet & Clank

Project Ego - RPG, unlikely I'll bother

Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic - unsure at the moment

Unreal Championship - not interested

Mech Assault - not interested

Halo 2 - possible, if more interesting than the first.

Toejam & Earl 3 - not interested

BC - not interested

Psychonauts - not sure, but unlikely

Steel Battalion - not interested

Mortal Kombat : Dark Alliance - absolutely no interest whatsoever

DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball - not interested

Splinter Cell - not sure, but coming to PS2

Turok Evolution - not sure, but coming to PS2

> Personally, although Tekken will always do well, I don't think Virtua
> Fighter 4 is anything really special.

Never been interested in VF myself. Enjoyed Tekken, but may well not bother with Tekken 4.


> Add to that your own exclusive titles and developments and over time
> the other consoles will be left behind.

Nothing is going to overtake the PS2 now, as anyone who is perfectly honest will tell you.


> Plus Microsoft are looking to have the best online set up too.

Already discussed, and Sony's plans appear to go far beyond Microsoft's. Personally, I'm not interested in online gaming in the slightest. Never have been, even on PC, so Microsoft's options are not likely to appeal to me. Sony's might, but this will depend on exactly what services they offer apart from gaming. Time alone will tell.
Sat 22/06/02 at 14:33
Regular
"ATAT Supremo"
Posts: 6,238
I won't bother going into the hardware and prices, etc as thats already been mentioned. But I really do disagree on the comments about the games.

There are plenty of exclusives coming to the X-Box and some excellent games that are in development that can only work on X-Box. Project Ego has to be one of the strongest titles as far as promise goes. But when I think of AAA titles on X-Box, I think of the following games wether they appear on other formats or in many cases not...

Panzer Dragoon Orta
Metal Gear Solid Substance
Soul Caliber 2
Blinx
Project Ego
Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic
Unreal Championship
Mech Assault
Halo 2
Toejam & Earl 3
BC
Psychonauts
Steel Battalion
Mortal Kombat : Dark Alliance (can see this bringing back popularity to the
series)
DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball (not everyones idea of AAA but I think this is
going to be a pretty solid game with Tecmo
putting in plenty to do)
Splinter Cell
Turok Evolution

Those are some of the titles that spring to my mind at the moment. You also mentioned beat em ups with DOA3 being overshadowed. Personally, although Tekken will always do well, I don't think Virtua Fighter 4 is anything really special. Plus Virtua Fighter 4.1 is coming to X-Box and out of all the big fighting games coming out, most of them with the exception of Tekken (at least for now) are coming to the X-Box.

Of course there are ports, all 3 consoles have them, but if they are ports of the best games on the other consoles, then surely this can't be a bad thing. Afterall, if you have a number of the best games of the other consoles along with very strong PC titles (with the X-Box versions being the best) then Microsoft have done well there. Add to that your own exclusive titles and developments and over time the other consoles will be left behind.

Plus Microsoft are looking to have the best online set up too. Even though its only going through broadband and not a 56k modem as well, thats because it HAS to go through broadband or as its already been said, customers are left with a crappy service with bad connections. If someone really enjoys online gaming, then they'll get the broadband and play. But its not worth forking out money for what will be a cack service. I owned the Dreamcast and went online with it - it wasn't nice being charged to play games where lag was just ruining 90% of my time on there. PSO had its moments and Quake 3 was just a bloody nightmare most of the time with people getting cheap kills while others were struggling because of lag.

Personally I think Microsoft are doing a great job considering the situation they've entered into. Unlike the time Sony entered the market, theres no other audience that can be attracted to gaming now, so Microsoft have to get peoples attention away from the likes of the Playstation and Nintendo consoles. You have to think of how hard this is when the main audience for Sony only know the name Playstation because its the console that made games "cool". And then you have the core Ninties who are basically die hard fanboys who seem to think they're fighting a war against all of Nintendo's rivals.

So far I think Microsoft are doing things right and I think over time, particularly with the help of X-Box Live, they will have a major share of sales, possibly overtaking Sony if things are done right. Some may laugh at that statement but there was a time they would have laughed at the thought of Sony overtaking the likes of Nintendo and look what happened.
Personally I'm impressed with Microsoft's plans for the X-Box and the ever increasing games line up. Its been a long while since I wanted around 70 games for a console ! In fact, especially this early in a console's life, I don't think I've EVER wanted this many games.
Sat 22/06/02 at 14:22
Regular
Posts: 10,489
Take a look at this list of games amd tell me which ones you are lookin forward to. Personally I am looking forward to them all!

Air Force Delta Storm
Black And White
Blade 2
Bruce Lee: Quest For the Dragon
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Burnout 2: Point Of Impact
Commandos 2
Conflict Desert Storm
Dead To Rights
Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
Die Hard
Dino Crisis 3
Duke Nukem Forever
Enter The Matrix
Good Cop Bad Cop
Gun Valkyrie
Halo Online
Halo 2
Hitman 2
House of the Dead 3
Hunter: The Reckoning
James Bond 007: NightFire
Lord Of The Rings
Max Payne 2
Medal Of Honour: Allied Assault
Metal Gear Solid Substance
Midtown Madness 3
Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis
Prisoner Of War
Project Ego
Rainbow Six: Raven Shield
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
Return to Castle Wolfinstien
Rocky
Serious Sam
Shenmue II
Shenmue III
Soul Calibur 2
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter Special Edition
Superman: The Man Of Steel
SWAT: Global Strike Team
Terminator Dawn of Fate
Timesplitters 2
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Unreal Championship
WWE: Raw Is War
WWE: Raw Is War 2
X-MEN Wolverines Revenge

I don't know how you can argue with this list, its absolutley amazing!

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