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"X-BOX- Is it "Doomed"?"

The X-Box is on shakey ground at the moment, not just here in this continent of Europe, but combined: All over the world, despite successful occasions in the US.
With sales figures released last week of the Nintendo Gamecube in Europe from "Release day, to now", it really puts into contrast of how the X-box is fairing here in this continent.

Consider this, as from last week, the Nintendo Gamecube in Europe has managed to sell a pretty impressive: 1 MILLION UNITS!, the X-Box however till now, has managed to shift just under 500-000 units....And... that particular console was released 3 MONTHS before the Gamecube, it had a headstart.
Up against the popularity of the Gamecube, the X-Box has failed.
But yet, that is just Europe (The biggest gaming area in the world). What about Japan?

In Japan we are getting sales figures fluctuating around the 4000 mark or lower-per-week for X-Box, the Gamecube is sitting around the 20,000 mark per week and the mightey Sony PS2 and Nintendo GBA is sitting around the 30,000 mark. The X-box seems far behind.
Now where does this leave the console? Yes, as I've already mentioned, the console is successful in the U.S.A, but being successful in just one market isn't enough, you need to have considerable success all over the world- The X-Box, so far isn't that.

With the upcoming releases of Final Fantasy XI (And other Quirkey but massively successful Japanese RPG's) for PS2 and the Releases of Zelda, Mario, Metroid and the Resident Evil exclusives for the Gamecube the future of the X-Box is looking ever more grim. With titles like that, it would ensure more PS2's and GC's being sold and the X-Box left in the lurch even more-so.

But really what can be done?
'There are' wonderful games for it, there are wonderful games in development too, but in reality it all smells of another Dreamcast to me. A wonderful system being trodden into the ground from two Behemoths of gaming.
The Dreamcast was a stunner of a console, in fact I would go as far to say that it was my favourite console after the Super Nintendo (Skies of Arcadia anyone?), but it didn't matter in the end what I or any one else though how great it was, what happened was the abandonment of the hardware and with the X-Box, the same is possible... very possible.
To me, the situation that Microsoft's beauty (Yes I'll call it a Beauty)is in is all too familiar.
Over the past month or so I hoped I was wrong, but now I know I'm not. I've seen enough from the consoles release to now to convince me that the console is shaping its future to abscurity. Dreamcast style.
The X-Box is Doomed.

Tiltawhirl wrote:
> Blinx is lookin good but haven't I seen that vacuum cleaner in another
> game :D

Lol yup Blinx looks amazing, fuly utilizing the hard drive for the time controls.

> As for Project Ego I think the title says it all, Peter Molyneux
> exercising his ego, how playable it is remains to be seen.

We'll have to wait spring 2003 is my guess.

Blinx is lookin good but haven't I seen that vacuum cleaner in another game :D

As for Project Ego I think the title says it all, Peter Molyneux exercising his ego, how playable it is remains to be seen.

Mr Ripper wrote:
> Project Ego - what?
> Blinx Time Sweeper - ?

*

Don't worry, you'll soon know what these two games are - seeing they feature some of the most original and innovative gameplay seen in a long time.

Oh dear, you know hwne a thread goes t!ts up when someone posts a bloody long list of games. Seeing their names is no good, if you want to show people the supposed quality of these games, show them screenshots, and news of how good they are going to be.

ROFL Do you know how amazingly stupid you have just made yourself sound.


Halo 2 - Game coming out December 2003, don't think it'd be rushed
Project Gotham Racing 2 - Game coming out 2004, rushed? Nah
Unreal Championship - How can it be a port when its a different game?
Project Ego - Amazing looking RPG by Peter Molyneux, looks massive
Morrowind - Yes a port, but looks a good RPG
Black & White next genaration - Coming out 2003 how can it be rushed?
Splinter Cell - Metal Gear Solid beater, looks awesome
Metal Gear Solid 2 - Substance is a totally different game
Dead to rights - John Woo style movie game, looks excellent
Sega Soccer Slam - sega soccer game, nuff said...
Blinx Time Sweeper - Game making full use of hard drive, control time using blinx a cat, could be mascot?
BC - God Game set before christ, you have to look after a tribe of people with donsaurs ect.
Steel Battalion - Simulated Mech Game, control a mech robot
Commandos 2 - Amazing looking strategy game
Colin Macrae Rally 3 - Sweet rally cars, excellent graphics
Deathrow - Gory Futuristic Speedball game
Crazy Taxi 3 High Roller - Looks to be quite a different game
Panzer Dragoon Orta - Yes in Full 3D, looks quite good
Hitman 2 - port - True but still.
Star Wars galaxies - port - True, makes use of XBOX live
Timesplitters 2 - port, True but more graphcilly Enhanced
Street Hoops - Cool Looking Basketball game
Midtown Madness 3 - Looks phat
Turok Evolution - multi-format, but still looks amazing
The Thing - Looks atmospheric and pant-browning
Silent Hill 2 Inner Fears - reserved opinion
Racing Evolution - Construct own car and race it in photo realistic tracks
Shenmue 2 - mmmmmm
Mech Assault - Good looking XBOX live game, mech battle kinda thing.



> And if that's all it's got after 6 months on the shelf I really do
> grieve.

No if you actually read the post i said they are the games i like at the moment.


Mind you most consoles have pointless sequels and meer updates eg PS2.

I agree that the x-box is going the way of the Dreamcast.

Microsoft can throw as much money at it as they like, but unless they spend it on getting a much bigger library of diverse games, it wont help.

You've got to look at the competition. People love quirky Nintendo GC games, people love the vast library of diverse PS2/1 games.

The x-box, to me, doesn't look any better than the PS2 or GC, and it has less games to choose from.

Just like the dreamcast / PS1 situation.

It's even worse for MS though because the dreamcast had Sega behind it producing Shenmue, SC5, JSR etc. And this STILL wasn't enough to persuade people to buy the console.

gamezfreak wrote:
> Halo 2 - rushed sequel
> Project Gotham Racing 2 - rushed sequel
> Unreal Championship - port
> Project Ego - what?
> Morrowind - port
> Black & White next genaration - rushed sequel
> Splinter Cell - mmmmmmm
> Metal Gear Solid 2 - port
> Dead to rights - ?
> Sega Soccer Slam - sega soccer game, nuff said...
> Blinx Time Sweeper - ?
> BC - ?
> Steel Battalion - ?
> Commandos 2 - yawn
> Colin Macrae Rally 3 - yawn
> Deathrow - ?
> Crazy Taxi 3 High Roller - pointless sequel
> Panzer Dragoon Orta - another one?
> Hitman 2 - port
> Star Wars galaxies - port
> Timesplitters 2 - port
> Street Hoops - ?
> Midtown Madness 3 sequeeeeeeel
> Turok Evolution - multi-format
> The Thing - gay
> Silent Hill 2 Inner Fears - reserved opinion
> Racing Evolution - ?
> Shenmue 2 - mmmmmm
> Mech Assault - ?

Not much there tbh.



> Halo
> Project Gotham Racing
> Oddworld Munches Oddysee
> Jet Set Radio Future
> Spiderman
> Dead or Alive 3
> Moto GP

And if that's all it's got after 6 months on the shelf I really do grieve. But i've said my piece. It will survive.

Sigh.
List of excellent games that i want coming out on the xbox: -

Halo 2
Project Gotham Racing 2
Unreal Championship
Project Ego
Morrowind
Black & White next genaration
Splinter Cell
Metal Gear Solid 2
Dead to rights
Sega Soccer Slam
Blinx Time Sweeper
BC
Steel Battalion
Commandos 2
Colin Macrae Rally 3
Deathrow
Crazy Taxi 3 High Roller
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Hitman 2
Star Wars galaxies
Timesplitters 2
Street Hoops
Midtown Madness 3
Turok Evolution
The Thing
Silent Hill 2 Inner Fears
Racing Evolution
Shenmue 2
Mech Assault


They are just a selection of games coming out in the future, there is loads more.

Aswell as many good games out now eg

Halo
Project Gotham Racing
Oddworld Munches Oddysee
Jet Set Radio Future
Spiderman
Dead or Alive 3
Moto GP

(they are the games i like at the moment)

So yes there arre many third-party games coming onto the xbox platform.

It's crystal-clear to everyone that the X-Box needs more quality games besides the likes of Halo, PGR and a few old SEGA titles.

What Microsoft could try and do is find and buy their own 3rd party team to do the work for them - someone know-one really knows.
They've definitley got the money for it, and just look at what Rare have done for Nintendo over the years since they were discovered as 'unknowns'.

When an X-Box owner laughs at me for liking the GameCube I just ask him to compare future releases - which put Nintendo above MS.
Like a SONY fan, he bad-mouths everything, and reckons that Halo 2 and the likes of Unreal Tournament 2003 will be enough to see them ontop!
Honestly, I don't think the X-Box stands a chance right now.

Even if SONY are banging out endless sequels to the likes of GTA and Final Fantasy, they've still got a better chance of selling well as fans love and know those series' well. Everything on the X-Box is either too new or too old.

I don't know really..... it seems that they're too busy with all the hardware and stuff to really think about the selling points - games.

I can't see the XBOX failing myself. Sega's story is a different one, and they pulled support for their console to keep themselves in business.

Microsoft will throw money at their machine constantly for the next three years if they have to. This machine isn't about winning, it's about changing the console industry.

Sooner or later, MS will get round to realising that more advertising will help boost sales a little. Consistent sales will eventually lead to a respectably sized user base, and financial incentives given by microsoft to third parties will bring in all the games they need to keep interest in their machine.