Xbox 360 hands-on preview
posted Oct 11th 2005 1:35PM
Ok, technically I was just one of many journalists at yesterday's press preview event, but I did get a chance to spend a couple of hours with the Xbox 360. I wasn't exactly blown away with every title I saw, but overall I walked away impressed. We'll have a full review of the 360 once we get the review unit they've promised us, but for now a few quick initial impressions:
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The event started off with a lengthy tutorial to show off the ins and outs of the console, particularly Xbox Live and its media capabilities. The integration with Xbox Live is excellent and permeates the entire experience — unlike with the original Xbox, it’s hard to imagine using the console without a broadband connection.
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They also had iPod nanos on hand to demo the 360’s ability to play audio stored on a portable audio device (it can actually play MP3s or WMAs stored on any USB mass storage device), and how you could listen to whatever music you liked during gameplay.
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The controller itself felt good in the hand and that button in the middle brings you straight to Xbox Live. You can jump instantly in and out of Xbox Live from any game without messing things if you want to check your messages.
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The graphics and textures of Condemned were amazing, and Need For Speed Most Wanted was one of the most photorealistic games I’ve ever seen. Project Gotham Racing 3 was pretty sweet, too, the level of detail in each city was mind-blowing.
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Somehow managed to repeatedly kick Major Nelson’s ass at Dead or Alive 4 (the game’s graphics were a bit too glossy for my taste).
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Couldn’t get past practice mode in NBA Live 06 because of a bug in the build (we were playing on dev units), but it seems like they’ve managed to eliminate much of the herky-jerkiness in previous generation basketball games.
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Kameo was a bit disappointing (supposedly it gets better once you’re in deep). Call For Duty 2 was engrossing, but like Dead or Alive 4, it also seemed like it could use a bit more texture.
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The Xbox 360 doubles as Windows Media Center Extender and the demo I saw ran flawlessly, it was as if a copy of Windows XP Media Center Edition was running natively. They showed the Xbox streaming high def video off of a PC and it was perfect.
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They also showed off Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Perfect Dark Zero, and King Kong, all of which I wouldn’t mind spending more time with.
Yeah, so the PS3 will probably have the edge over the Xbox 360 in graphics and sheer computational power, but after actually playing some of these games it’s hard to imagine all but the most diehard Sony fanboys holding out for the 5 - 7 months that’ll pass before Sony introduces their console. And at the end of the day that’s what Microsoft is after — to grab as much of the market before Sony enters the scene. Hate to say it, but as of November 22nd the Xbox 360 is going to be only game in town.
For as much of a Playstation fan as I am (Not that I can ever afford one as a college student - it's either computers or consols and I take computers first :-D), that is pretty friggin' sweet :-) Especially on that Samsung LCD TV. Microsoft should send one this way for review
why do you hate to say it? review the machine, not the company that makes it.
Will I be able to use my iPod Shuffle as both a source for music and as a memory card?
Wow...I mean...WOW...Ijust cant wait!!! It sucks to hear the dissapointment for DOA4 and Call of Duty, but who cares? It sounds pretty great overall...
I'd really like to know if the iPod compatablity is just for reading core mp3 files off its storage, or if I get to use my playlists that I have setup with iTunes the way I'd normally use an iPod.
If you could answer this, that would be very helpful! :)
FAKE!!!!
jk, this unit will suck.. woohoo same games with slightly "better" (by better i mean untextured) graphics! ZZZzzz boring! go revolution!
"it’s hard to imagine all but the most diehard Sony fanboys holding out for the 5 - 7 months that’ll pass before Sony introduces their console"
Rubbish! If that logic was correct, we'd all be playing Dreamcasts right now.
I feel PS3 will be worth the wait. It looks much better than the Xbox 360 on paper at least.
I am a comment spammer: electrox3d@yahoo.com
@2
Review the games not the machine. Consoles are so powerful now that spec fetishs are just a joke. It's about the games! And erm the controller!
I'll be trying it in paris this week-end at wcg!
"They showed the Xbox streaming high def video off of a PC and it was perfect."
Did you happen to notice if the PC was running XP or Media Center?
Anyone know a place where I can pre-order just the console and not a bundle?
xbox 360 has an identity crisis, its the next transgender of consoles....put the ps3 in the basket......PUT THE PS3 IN THE BASKET!
It is great that the Xbox 360 looks so great and supports HD widescreen monitors/TVs. However, I have an older SD 4:3 TV that I don't plan to upgrade anytime soon. It seems no one ever talks about Xbox 360 running on an SD 4:3 TV, which I suspect most of the potential Xbox 360 buyers will have. Will all these great new game graphics look so great on a "standard" SD TV? Or, will Xbox 360 graphics look the same as the old Xbox on an SD TV? I guess the big question is, do you have to have a HD widescreen TV to see any benefit from the Xbox 360 graphics?
#7 -- that's silly, there is a much smaller difference between the Xbox 360 and PS3 than there was between the Dreamcast and PS2. Also, the Dreamcast didn't have the developer support that the Xbox 360 has. You'll have to be pretty patient to hold out, remember, you can always buy both consoles.
thats so pretty.......
no, im not crying..theres something on my eye, that all,,,youre crying
i dont cry , i work out!
lucky bastards...hope you have more pics of the ports on the back, and other things!
A buddy of mine at playstation says they got to see what xbox 360 can do in the labs (basicly what they have in store in terms of graphics and such for the future) and it blows anything we've seen with ps3 away, even the metal gear solid 4 video.
Also #12, you can get the unit alone at ritzcamera (dot) com
So......will we need to buy a memory card? The harddrive is in fact optional.
It would be really cool if a Nano could be used as a memory card.
@ #15:
What are you talking about? A lot of Dreamcast games look better than their PS2 versions. Even Soul Calibur 1 looks better than Soul Calibur 2(jaggies galore) on the PS2.
Not to speak about the games like Shenmue 1 & 2, Jet Grind Radio, Sonic etc which are actually truly beautiful. Especially textures look far more crisp on the DC(which has more texturememory).
..as of November 22nd the Xbox 360 is going to be only game in town.
huh?
PS2 and XBOX have strong enough installed base, that most games will still feature ps2 and xbox ports that will outsell ps3/xbox360 versions of the same games for a looong time.
unless you are really the most hardcore console gamer who already has ps2/xbox/gamecube and psp, for at least the next 12 months the best fun/money deal is to buy a used ps2/xbox with a game collection..
#15: Do games on the PS2, for example, look better than games on the PSX? Yes? What's that? "Oh my god yes?" Okay. That means you don't make ridiculous statements like you did.
Every true gamer that I know of has not one, but every game console in tow. I plan on buying this one, AND PS3 will be just in time for me to get another console. what else can you ask for???
I think that people will wait for the PS3.
Early adopters and tech geeks..already have their 360's on pre-order but they'll probably buy both systems.
The General public is still getting a lot of enjoyment out of their current X-boxes (Halo 2, Far Cry,) and PS2's (MGS3, DMC, GT4 etc..) and outside of techies like ourselves I just don't see any real buzz around the 360...or the general public clamoring to upgrade...
Sony's massive base will take notice of the 360 launch but I just don't see large numbers of these folks getting a 360.
So it sounds lie you were underwhelmed by the Xbox 360, Are you buying one for yourself?
To put it in simple terms every screenshot every video of Xbox 360 stuff looks just a tad bit better than current gen
However, when I've seen PS3 stuff it all looks so much better and amazing hmmmm?
Trust your own eyes.
Microsoft constantly says "we belive the graphics gap between PS3 and Xbox 360 are pretty close" Well why not just say The Xbox 360 can blow away the PS3, becuase they know it can not period.
The x-box 360 sounds and looks cool. Any word on whether we'll be able to use a PC external HD, instead of the x-box 360 HD? I ask this because it has USB 2.0 plugs and it can read regular mass storage devices, so why wouldn't it be able to save to a external HD.
@ #15:
What looked better - Halo 2 or Halo?
Halo 2 looked better in 4:3 on the SAME platform. With more horsepower in the XBOX 360, expect XBOX 360 games to look great in 4:3 mode than current games in 4:3 or even 16:9 mode.
In most cases 16:9 mode gives you a larger FOV. It doesn't magically make the textures or geometry better.
#26, almost everything we've seen for the PS3 has been prerendered, just like the _ridiculously_ good-looking stuff that we originally saw for the 360.
The DOA games were always too glossy for my liking. I'm liking what I'm seeing from the other stuff though.
U ppl need to stop with the stuff about "everything i'v seen with the ps3 blows up away the xbox" ps3 has shown nottin but tech demos and pre-rendered video's. everyone will be able to see which one is better when ps3 shows in-game footage. we all can make up our minds then.
#27, Microsoft HAS said that its graphics WILL be killer in comparison to ps3 by the time the ps3 ships. They don't show the public all that hype yet, but they sure showed Sony. My friend said they were in disbelief that what they saw was running on the 360 hardware, so now they're doing mandatory overtime for at least 6 months.
I was there at the press event yesterday day (wearign the green 1up baseball cap) and I LOVED the mechine. Check out my review at
http://gotmaddgamez.blogspot.com. I personally LOVED DOA but I'm a big fighting game fan. The new latino female wrestler was dope. Perfect Dark 0 was cool. But overall my favorite where Need for Speed and DOA. And I really like the Xbox Aracade games and the fact that small indie publishers can get their shine on.
PS3 is so deam ugly to look at, I couldn't even look at my TV if that thing was sitting by my TV, Xbox on the other hand is a dream come true with its smooth curves and insanely sweet graphics that you have to consider what would even be the the point of owning a PS3 when it wont even be compatible with Windows XP MC and stream video from my PC in HD unless you run a crappy homebrew no name linux app with HD Encoding. (Hows that for a run on sentence Mr.Engadget editor?) Anyway, all the screenshots for Xbox look better than PS3. Sony just doesn't make as good of stuff as they use to, sorry :p
"Did you happen to notice if the PC was running XP or Media Center?"
the xbox 360 has a "windows media center extender" feature, and the extender program (by definition) only connects to windows media center computers. so, would the pc have been running media center? yes, indeed.
"So......will we need to buy a memory card? The harddrive is in fact optional."
if you have the optional hard drive, then you do not need a memory card. that's sort-of why the cheaper xbox 360 bundle is such a poor value: it's one hundred u.s. dollars cheaper than the hard-drive-plus-remote-control bundle, but then you'd still need to buy a forty dollar memory card or one hundred dollar optional hard drive in order to save your game progress. and the hard drive is required for backward-compatibility with old xbox games.
My friend works for MS and he saw what Sony can do with the Cell processor. He almost died on the spot when he saw what was possible.
Because the PS3 is so amazing, my MS friend realized that it was futile to work for MS anymore and has since left and is now growing hydroponic peanuts.
ps, never believe posts like these
I heard from major nelson that the 'box360 will be able to play any tunes you have on your ipod but, and here is a big but, you will not be able to play the mp3's that are DRM. in other words, tunes purchased off of the itunes store will not play back on the 360.
I don't think that is what #15 was saying.
The point is that since the xbox360 isn't as huge of an improvement as other consoles (N64, Playstation), the difference in texture quality and such will be less noticible. You will be able to see a lot more of the features with a 16:9 40" HDTV than with a 10" B&W tv. Of course, things like HDR and effects/blur will still be easily visible, but I think the difference in resolution with the textures and bump/specular mapping will not be huge without a fairly large SDTV or an HDTV. Hopefully, however, since games playing on an SD set have less pixels to render, it will make the framerates faster.
buy a x30 when it´s launch? no way, i prefer to wait the new version of x360 with HD-DVD... for the same price
oh yeah.. also, the cell processor WILL be faster than the xbox360's powerpc processors. It is a fact. The technical documents have been released. What remains to be seen is how fast these multicore processors' full potential will be realized, and the xbox360 has a much more developer-friendly environment. Therefore, I think that the xbox360 games will get to full potential faster than PS3, especially because the PS3 is coming out several months later. Eventually, however, the PS3 will be able to handle certain graphics in games that the xbox360 just can't compete with.
@ #35
Yes. What I was getting at was whether Xbox 360 will provide a significant and noticable difference in graphics and visual experience between an SDTV and an HDTV, to make getting an HDTV worth it.
From the comments, it sounds as though the game viewing experience and graphics resolution will be similar for both an SDTV and an HDTV.
This leaves me a bit confused (or perhaps uninformed). I had read that Xbox 360 supports HD. In this context, does Xbox 360 (and the games themselves) output two different resolutions? That is, an SD (aka 800x600) resolution signal for SDTV and an HD (aka 1920x1080) resolution signal for HDTV. If so, it would seem that the viewing experience and graphics would be much better in HD than in SD, the same way HD movies and television look much better in HD than in SD.
Visually I haven't seen anything on the PS3 better than the X360. Even thought the PS3 has 7 cores, thats going to mean more expense, time, resources etc to take advantage of that for developers. I can see games on par visually between x360 and ps3 with maybe the odd exception of mgs4 and possibly 1 other hit Sony has under wraps.
It just seems like more of the same games from Sony. I'm more interested in some of X360's original titles and Perfect Dark Zero. Also can't wait to see what the Revo's games will be like.
PS3 is technically more powerful but I can't say we'll see a massive difference between the systems due to the limits of the amount of money and time developers have to put into a title.
"Hopefully, however, since games playing on an SD set have less pixels to render, it will make the framerates faster."
that's how it works with PC games, but it's different with xbox 360. xbox 360 games are rendered in 3D at the resolution that the developer chooses, and optimized for that. then there is an analogue video scaler further down the line from the GPU, which (if necessary) re-renders the flattened 2D image at whatever other resolution the user has selected. so, basically, no intentional difference in 3D framerates between one type of TV and another, everybody gets the same framerates regardless of output resolution.
yawwwnnnn... technical documents say bla bla bla bla... doesn't everything always look better on paper?
any tech enthusiast should know that
many products have bombed regardless of awesome spec papers...
people have a really good idea what the awesomeness the 360 can achieve now... sony has YET to show any real material for PS3... til then i'm not gonna make any comparisons
on another note...
need 360 now!
Everyone just shut your mouths and nod your heads in agreement to these facts.
1. One would be a fool to buy X-Box now, unless you have money to burn. It'd be best to wait until the HD feature is implemented in the next release in the Spring (along with all the bug fixes since MS is rushing things out the door to grab market share before PS3 comes in.
2. We don't know anything about the PS3, except for the specs on paper. A console's computing power comes from the sum of its components along with software implemention. Thus, no more comparisons until Spring. OK?
3. Nintendo are idiots for not supporting HD in the revolution.
Looks like a good new thing! I remember in old time I was a fan of SEGA, then PlayStation and then stopped my ill on it. But I definitely will try later this XBOX and maybe present it to my child.
All this talk about graphics, graphics and more graphics.
The big selling point for me on the XBox360 is that the XBox Live service is the best way to play console games online. Sony is leaving online up to the individual game developers like with the PS2 and they will struggle again in the online battle. The XBox360 has integrated voice chat so that you can talk with anyone on your friends list, even if you are playing a game offline or listening to music.
Being able to play co-op games with voice chat with my friends online is the selling point for me. I'm glad that I pre-ordered a non bundled unit when they were still available.
Titles look under whelming. Nothing new and exciting here. Better graphics is always a plus, but XBox 1 already has that now. PS2 really could use the update to PS3, so that is logical.
I guess i'm just really interested in what Nintendo will offer with their new control system. I want to play entirely new games in a new way and I think they might be able to pull it off.
If Microsoft can offer up some new games with the likes of Katamari Damacy where traditional gameplay and ports are tossed out the window, i'll pick one up. But your typical racing and sports games got old even before Dreamcast came out.
@ 40:
"In this context, does Xbox 360 (and the games themselves) output two different resolutions?"
Even some current XBOX titles are able to be played in HD or SD. Yet, users without an HDTV are able to play the game on their SD sets. How does it look? I think comparing a show broadcast in SD to the same show broadcast in HD is a good example or the detail you will see. Look at a show in digital SD. Then look at that show in digital HD. Is that difference worth purchasing an HDTV? I'll let you be the judge.
The stuff in the HD broadcast isn't any different, it just comes across in a sharper image because each frame is at a larger resolution and the cables transmitting your HD signal have the bandwidth to support the "heavier" picture. So, you need to have an HD source, pumping clean HD signals, through clean HD pipes, to a clean HD monitor.
Depending on the programming of an XBOX 360 title, a change in resolution does not necessarily mean that the game is accessing different texture maps or better shading techniques.
I'm a big fan of Call of Duty myself, I really hope it's not disappointment like they say.....
In response to #35 concerning what Operating System is needed to stream media to the Xbox 360, check out this page http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox360/xbox360console.htm and you'll see that it says:
"We're talking a 20GB detachable hard drive for downloading content and saving games, plus a headset and a wireless controller for instant Xbox Live action. That's on top of the console itself, which not only plays games in high definition (HD) with 720p/1080i output and full surround sound, but can stream digital photos and music from your Windows® XP or Windows® Media Center Edition 2005 PC. Xbox 360 delivers the ultimate digital entertainment and gaming experience.
----- and
For the ultimate home entertainment experience, Xbox 360 also streams music or movies, records television shows, and more from your PC running Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005. Alternatively, connect to a PC with Windows XP Home if you only want access to your music and photos. Watch what you want, when you want, all in the comfort of your living room."
All you need to do is install Windows Media Connect to stream media from your XP Home or Professional machine.
With the huge backlog of great games I have to play right now, I'm definitely not interested in a new console yet. Especially not one with such generic launch titles as these. (War FPS, 2 Racing games, Fighting game, Adventure game, Open-ended RPG, Basketball game...) Maybe Condemned could be good, but not really my cup-o-tea. I think the DS, FFXII, DQ8 and the new Zelda will hold me out until I actually need a new console.
Xbox 1.5
“Yeah, so the PS3 will probably have the edge over the Xbox 360 in graphics and sheer computational power, but after actually playing some of these games it’s hard to imagine all but the most diehard Sony fanboys holding out for the 5 - 7 months that’ll pass before Sony introduces their console.”
What is this news-reader basing this analysis on? The processors in the xbox360 and the ps3 have about the same number of transistors. They are both using the same silicon technology. The whole issue is who has a better cleaner architecture, and there are no functional PS3’s yet to compare with. All these non-technical lackeys giving their analysis with nothing to back it up, makes them look like fanboys! Come on guys stick to the facts that real objective experts have spoon feed you please, or wait till you can compare both systems side by side.
regarding power just have a look at the cell chip mirror demo:
http://www.ps3focus.com/archives/131#more-131
xbox may be first in the race but all these games just look like slightly better versions of the games from the last generation nothing that my pc can't do.
in opposite most of the ps3 demos blow away everything seen in the last time.
i agree with Xtrek.
thingso n papper always look better. and there are no actual games for the PS3. and if they dont have any playable games at their next conference (coming up next week) we WILL know 100% sure that everything was CG. the 360 has playable games in may.
lol on a side note Xtrek, the 360 has 20 million more transistors. it has 332 million while the PS3 has like 310 or somehting dont remember exactly.
No, Ciaran. SDTV is usually 640x480 interlaced, aka 480i. All X360 games will support 720p, aka 1280x720. The difference is quite substantial IMO, and clearly noticable.
does anyone know which model is that TV? I'm gonna have to buy a TV for my new XBOX 360 ;)
Yeah just a few points to think about
Games aren't floating point centred all these functions get shifted to the gpu (shaders etc) a good use for this though is video decoding. Integer performance is very very important..
I think another idea to reflect on is that that the cell processors reports 7-10 threads or something but this is a bit unrealistic for games. The two main cores have direct access to the memory which is rather important for games its not like they aren't constantly swapping memory values. Whilst the rest of the threads dont have direct access making them hard to involve with games, they seem more or less like dsp's. This isn't to say it will be less powerful than the xbox 360's just dont believe the ridiculous hype sony are pushing out please please dont forget the emotion engine fiasco. Now with this idea of memory bandwidth being a bit of problem with all these threads factor in that the cell has half the cache of the processor in the 360 and i think these processors will be very very closely matched. Afterall its the same company supplying them if IBM offered a far better processor to the other for a similarish price there would be a massive uproar about it all!
"Xbox 360 also streams music or movies, records television shows, and more from your PC running Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005. Alternatively, connect to a PC with Windows XP Home if you only want access to your music and photos."
ah so. xbox 360 features both a media center extender AND a windows media connect client. i can already imagine this will cause some confusion for users, as MS haven't done a whole lot so far to publicize the difference between the two programs.
Rubbish! If that logic was correct, we'd all be playing Dreamcasts right now.
Don't be a dipstick. We stopped playing dreamcast because the dev's stopped supporting it because Sony took an 'Us or nothing' approach with them, and Sega just ran out of the capital required to keep an proprietary system afloat. I still have fond memories of online NFL2K matches with my college buddies. It was a great system and died way before it's time.
I have a Gamecube and an Xbox, and I plan to get a Revolution and Xbox 360. I've really had no desire to get a PS2, and I have no desire to get a PS3, for that matter. All games come out for either 1 system, 2 systems, or all 3. For the games that come out for only one system, I tend to like the Gamecube and Xbox games better, if a game is going to come out on 2 systems, I am covered by at least one, and if it comes out on all 3, I am fine there as well.
I should say that I am a Nintendo fan. Always have been. Well, there were the Genesis days when I sided with Sega, but we don't need to think about that. For me, getting a Revolution is a no brainer.
I don't care about any Microsoft vs. Sony crap. I prefer Sony for most electronics, and I hate Microsoft. I hate their business tactics, and I just don't like much of anything they make, except the Xbox. And I like the Xbox because of it's games.
So far, I want to play the games that have been announced for the Xbox 360 more than I want to play games that have been announced for the PS3.
Will the PS3 be superior to the Xbox 360 in processing power and visuals? Probably. But that is taking into account that a game is taking advantage of all of the PS3's capabilities.
Will a developer making a game for PS3 and Xbox 360 build it with the PS3's better graphics and then scale it down for the Xbox 360, or will they just use the least common denominator?
My personal preference is that the game matters more than the look. Some games look awesome and the gameplay sucks, and some games look so-so and the gameplay is great. Sure, I miss out on some great looking games by not getting a PS3, but that's just not what it's about for me.
>This leaves me a bit confused (or perhaps uninformed). I had read that Xbox 360 supports HD. In this context, does Xbox 360 (and the games themselves) output two different resolutions?
Yes. The current XBox already does this. Obviously all games on the XBox support plain-jane 480i, but many also support 480p (not a resolution difference, mind you) all the way up to 1080i. If you have the HD cables you can set whether your TV supports 480p, 720p and 1080i. Games that support the higher specs then automatically use them.
you guys got are getting an xbox 360,
um...HOW DOES SOMEONE GET A JOB AT ENGADGET
Everyone has a 'friend' in 'the industry' who 'has the inside track'. Baloney. You know nothing more than anyone else. Any idiot who wastes our time by saying that the 360 graphics and engine 'blows the ps3 away' is spewing garbage. Look, they'll both be incredible, we all know that. But to be so stupid as to say, before EITHER systems are released (and MONTHS before the HD DVD 360 is released) that the 360 is better? You and your 'friend' in 'the industry' need to lay off the bong hits.
regardless of the graphics i believe that the ps3 will come out on top because of the shear fact that it is backwards compatable with the 30 or so games people have for ps2. remember that the ps2 has a HUGE player base.
#36, LOL i loved your comment. i just laughed at the idiot talking about "his friend" at "playstation" (whatever the hell that means).
i also love all the comments about how all ps3 stuff so far has been prerendered. where are you getting your facts? or are you guys just babbling and repeating everything you've read?
and about "it's all about the games" i never heard that comment when comparing ps2 and xbox versions of games. ps2 always gets slammed for its graphics even though the games are exactly the same. the xbox version is just prettier.
"so the PS3 will probably have the edge over the Xbox 360 in graphics and sheer computational power"
Prove it. Wait, you can't? Sorry, you're not credible.
Hey I still play my Dreamcast! :P
also, i'd like to know exactly WHAT you revolution folks are looking forward to? everyone says ps3 sucks, everything is prerendered. we have seen absolutely nothing from nintendo except the controller. oh wow, this controller will be a new way of playing games. what games? we have no idea what the specs of the machine will be. hell, we haven't seen any sort of game screenshot for it. what's with all the ps3-hating bias with everyone?
"Prove it. Wait, you can't? Sorry, you're not credible."
prove everything we've seen for the ps3 so far is prerendered. wait, you can't? sorry, you're not credible. lol
I'VE GOT THAT TV!!!
But I'm not getting an Xbox 360 :p
Just for the record, I have nothing against the PS2 or the PS3. They just aren't my cup of tea. Or coffee. Or bawls.
Also, I would HIGHLY doubt that when an HD-DVD Xbox 360 comes out, that all games will convert to that format. I think they will just add it for the ability to play DVDs in that format. Hopefully, HD-DVD will die off before then, as all but one studio (afaik) will be using Blu-ray.
Am I missing something? Where are all these comments about the "HD-DVD Xbox 360" being "months" away coming from? Has Microsoft ever confirmed that a HD-DVD drive is even in the works for the 360? I've never seen anything other than Bill Gates mention that it would be "possible" to upgrade the device in the future. All that was was a bit of propaganda to take a little sting out of the fact that the PS3 will have a Blu-Ray drive.
To 35
You can stream data to your PC via Windows XP. The 360 will come ready for it. Believe me on this one. I just know from actually playing it and talking with XBOX Reps.
Personally I don't want a blue-ray or an HD-DVD drive in my game box. Both of these are DRM lock-box wonder drives. I don't want to subsidize the development costs of either one of these. These drives are what the movie studios want us to buy. If the movie studios want to give me one for free I'll take it. Otherwise I'd rather sit this one out and let someone else pay for it.
I'd love to see Microsoft be so dumb as to not release a HD DVD 360, even AFTER committing to that format once Sony committed to Blue-Ray. Bill is not that stupid. Bet on an HD DVD release, folks; otherwise, enjoy your XBOX 360 that's obsolete in a mere 3 months...
But that's a pointless comment since Microsoft WILL release HD versions next year.
Personally, I love how anything regarding the PS3 or XBOX 360 results in a no-holds bar fanboy slugfest regardless of the subject matter of the article. Hilarious.
Any of you people out there that are still undecided about which console to purchase and really are so sheep-like that you need others to make a decision for you, here's my 2 cents:
First of all, whatever you decide, PLEASE don't buy the 360 the moment it comes out in November--that's exactly what Microsoft wants you to do. Wait for the HD DVD release next year(you naysayers to that fact can say 'it won't happen' all you want). That gives Microsoft a chance to provide the system they should have in the first place, were they not so money hungry. However, at the very least, I personally would not make a decision on either at this point. IT's WAAAAY TOO EARLY FOLKS!!!
I'm making my decision on this--GAMES (kind of the point of the consoles in the first place, right?)
PS3:
Final Fantasy? Check
Metal Gear Solid? Check
Grand Theft Auto Next-Gen? Freaking CHECK!
Gran Turismo? OMG CHECK!
Sports Titles? Will come out on BOTH systems.
Resident Evil? Check Check Check
Now the XBOX 360:
Halo 3? check
Perfect Dark Zero? um, er...undecided. we'll see...
Call of Doody..sorry, Duty? BOORING. (probably will be on both systems anyway)
Kameo? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Need for Speed Most Wanted? Looks good, but again will probably be on both systems.
wow, my post has gotten way to long. To sum up: Both systems=good choice. It's all about what YOU WANT.
you guys are getting an xbox 360,
um...HOW DOES SOMEONE GET A JOB AT ENGADGET
The only reason that people say that XBOX 360 is not going to be that much more powerful than the original XBOX is because the original XBOX was so much more powerful than the PS2 to begin with. The PS3 WILL be leaps and bounds better than the PS2 only because the PS2 was so weak. In reality the PS3 and XBOX360 are quite comparable. And BTW 3X3.2 GHZ processor with a modern graphics card is no small upgrade from the 700MHZ single processor in the original XBOX. Also the Cell processor is probably THE most HYPED piece of technology since the Segway Scooter.
This is how I see it, 3 systems for 3 types of gamers. 1st XBOX 360 for the online gamers and people wanting to integrate Microsoft media center. 2nd PS3 for the videophiles looking for stunning game play graphics and HD media via BLU-RAY. 3rd Nintendo Revolution for those that love Fun games with a new spin on gaming with new controller and old school Nintendo addicts.
Ok, I think that people are obsessing WAY too much about graphics, consoles are for GAMES and that's what should be important.
In my opinion the perfect thing would be to get X360/PS3 + Revolution 'cuz on the one hand you have all the good graphics and horsepower you could want, and then youv got the fun and intuitive gameplay of the Revolution.
Unfortunately for me I can't afford 2 consoles, so for me it's a Revolution only (since I'm a nintendo fan). I just hope developers will bring out more mainstream games using the Revolution's "normal" controller like extension in ADDITION to the fun intuitive revo games.
In the end, it's all in what you like.
Actually, I think you should just continue with what you have because of backword compatibility. If you have an Xbox, get a 360, if you have a PS2, get a PS3.
Just stop fighting already!!! It's way too early anyway!
"Every true gamer that I know of has not one, but every game console in tow."
Sooooo, *true gamer* now means "more money than brains," does it?
"You can stream data [from] your PC via Windows XP. The 360 will come ready for it. Believe me on this one. I just know from actually playing it and talking with XBOX Reps."
yes. we got that straightened out at posts 50 and 59. 360 will be compatible with windows media center AND with winxp thru windows media connect. media connect isn't quite as sexy (i.e. not as many features) as media center.
Like # 75, I'm basing my decision based on games:
Condemned? Check
Dead or Alive 4? Check
Gears of War? Check
Project Gotham Racing 3? Check
Oblivion? Check
Ghost Recon 3? Check
Ridge Racer 6? Check
NINETY-NINE NIGHTS? Check!!!
The Xbox 360 is worth the money but graphics will more likely depend on the detail of the t.v. monitor mainly LCD screens. Also it will depend on the games that you buy like compare Madden 2006 and Halo 2 to a game like Full Metal Alchemist 2 or Rachet and Clank: Up ur Arsenal
Anyone consider 360 uses DVD and will probably run of out disk space as game graphics grow in size ie EA or Ubisoft make a game thats 20 gigs of graphics/textures and only fully able to fit on a PS3 blueray?
Here is how I see it,
Back when the PS2 came out, a full year before the GC and Xbox, everyone was talking about how great it was and how Sony was going to kick the Xbox's butt.
Then when the Xbox and the GameCube came out two things happened. 1. We all realized that Nintendo would not be a player for the hardcore gamers like it had once been 2. Microsoft was loosing ground like mad. Everyone was talking about how Microsoft was loosing money everytime they sold an Xbox and it seemed like the PS2 was selling like crazy.
Then Xbox started to catch up with some great games and then LIVE was introduced. This is what I think saved the Xbox. Who cares about stats, graphics, etc. It's about the gameplay...and more and more people love the game play of Xboxs with Live especially with Halo2. Sony does not understand what Microsoft does.
Nintendo is for casual gamers (like myself..but I'll probably still get an Xbox360).
"EA or Ubisoft make a game thats 20 gigs of graphics/textures and only fully able to fit on a PS3 blueray?"
psst. here's a secret: EA and Ubisoft don't even fill up a single layer PS2/Xbox DVD with code/textures/etc, and they're not gonna come up with enough of that to fill up a Blu-Ray disc either. they basically only max out the disc capacity by stuffing the game with pre-rendered MPEG cut-scenes. it's all padding rather than actual gameplay material. if Xbox 360 uses more efficient/optimized video codecs than Xbox did, for the cut-scenes, that'll go a long way toward preventing a disc capacity problem.
Of course, there are a couple million people who will buy any console with decent specs & decent release titles (ie: Dreamcast) but basically it looks and plays pretty much like XBox 1.0. It's not a category killer. It's a nice machine and they'll sell many but it's NOT a breakout mass market machine. It's exactly like the Sony's PSP delusions of grandeur - of how "non gamers" will suddenly want one just like MS' delusion that people will put this in their living room (not counting those placing it on their cinder block TV stand).
Yes, hard core gamers will buy one but a) the price point for the mass market is simply too high and once you factor in the cost of year sub on top of a complete package ($799+?) - most people are going to look at the investment of XBox one and wonder what the big deal is. The graphics look nicer but it's not exactly like going from Atari 2600 to PS1 ... and of course, nice graphics anyone can whip up but gameplay - that remains to be seen.
Of course, people who have money are going want to get one to prove their means and "love" for the kids in scoring one so they'll be a perceived shortage but by January 2nd, there will be a massive stack of the base unit version since MS who is clueless about consumers will no doubt ship in a 60-40 ratio.
In the long run, it didn't help Atari Jaguar, Sega's DReamcast, etc, etc ... shipping first ultimately means nothing to the ultimate bottom line.
MS will not win the console because they just don't understand consumers. MS is great at taking down tech companies but they can't even defeat AOL or Google - how are they going to take down Nintendo & Sony?
#82
They already said multi-discs. FF8 was 4 discs if you remember. There is no way I can see anyone making a console decision on that.
it's all about halo 3
halo 3 is the only reason I will be buying an xbox 360. I wont buy one till halo 3 comes out. I don't care about all the stupid features it has all i care about are the games.
#84
It's called marketing.
You're all nuts
#82
They already said multi-discs. FF8 was 4 discs if you remember. There is no way I can see anyone making a console decision on that.
bah. Square and their "Where's The Beef?" Final Fantasy games. there were only about 4 or 5 Xbox games that even started to spill onto the second DVD layer, and most other Xbox games only approached the single-layer capacity limit by including a ton of cut-scene movies (some of 'em even had two copies of every movie on the same disc... both NTSC and PAL files). it just WOULD have to be Square who can't manage to fit a game onto a dual-layer DVD 'cause of their, uh, "fondness" for pre-rendered cut-scenes.
9 GB is a HUGE amount of data, even for memory intensive assests such as textures. Bigger doesn't mean better in this case. A developer must do everything it can to optimize and streamline as much of the data as possible to make sure it runs nice and smooth. Why do you think compression technology exists? The DVD vs BR debate is meaningless in the case of games. And remember, it's the DEVELOPER that makes a game LOOK and PLAY great, never the machine. As for that true gamer remark earlier, I think he meant if you're a true gamer, you don't let something like brand names get in the way of your decisions.
They have elder scrolls: oblivion, and perfect dark zero available, and this guy plays and talks about need for speed.
Who cares if the 360 is going to be the "only game in town" Nov. 22? Buying consoles at launch is just plain stupid. Wait for a price drop for $100 , and by then if there are any launch titles still worth having they will have been reduced to $20. Also by then it will be easier to tell witch console (360 or PS3) has the better library.
"prove everything we've seen for the ps3 so far is prerendered."
We all know that the Killzone 2 thing was prerendered, the devs said so. MGS, I dunno. From what I understand, it was realtime. However, that video looked nothing like actual game-play. As for its quality, I'd say it is on par with (not better than) the best 360 games. Back to your cave, fanboi.
Bahhh.... Same old games, shooters, driving games and other simulations, but with "better" graphics. Same controller, same game experience, but oh it got "better" graphics...
Anyway it's funny to see you guys fighting about which one between the PS3 and XBOX360 has the best graphics, based on specs for two completely different architectures and on promotional game demos. Most of you don't even realize how easy it is to make a game look better than anything else by forcing players into predefined paths and scenes. The original Crash Bandicot is a prime example of this kind of trick Sony and others used time after time to make people believe that their console/game was more powerful.
The more we'll get closer to "realism", the more CPU and GPU power it will take to get closer. Kinda like trying to reach the speed of light...
These two consoles will have to render 3-6x more screen area because of the increased resolution, so most of the improvements in CPU and GPU will be lost to that, since most people can't make the difference between SD and HD. If you think about it, for any fast-paced game, it won't make a difference even for hard-core gamers, except for requiring more power to support those who have HDTVs.
I understand that some of you kids here link their masculinity to their choice of console, and want to be sure to chose the same console and same violent games as their favorite bullies at school. Hopefully I'm way past beyond that point, and over the years learned that real fun is elsewhere...
So yeah, if you didn't figure it out yet, I'm buying a Revolution in 2006 :)