X-Box - Are you waiting...?

[Stuart Briscar]

X-box seems like it will be a big jump in gaming industry.
Here are the specs:

- DirectX API game development tools

- Intel Pentium III 733MHz processor technology with Streaming SIMD Extensions

- 300MHz custom-designed X-Chip, developed by Microsoft and nVidia

- 64 MB of RAM (unified memory architecture)

- Custom 3-D audio processor

- 8GB hard drive

- 5X DVD drive with movie playback

- Four game controller ports

- Expansion port

- Proprietary A/V connector

- 10/100 MBps Ethernet

- Broadband enabled

- Modem enabled (optional)

- 6.4GB/sec Memory Bandwidth

- 150 million micropolygons/particles per second

- 150 million transformed and lit polygons per second

- 100 million polygons per second sustained performance (shading, texturing)

- 4 simultaneous textures

- Compressed textures available at 6:1 compression

- Full-scene anti-aliasing

- DVD movie playback

- 1920x1080 maximum resolution

- HDTV support

- 256 Audio channels

- 3-D Audio support

- Midi/DLS2 support

- AC3 encoded game audio

Whatcha think?

[Hierophant]

It is not a bad specification but even the most impressive specification won't sell without games. That will be the key right there.

Will I wait and hold off for the X-Box? No. I have heard it will sell for $500 which is way too high for a game console. $250 would be the Maximum. For $500 dollars I can go out and buy a full featured computer to play games on.

I will keep it in mind for an addition to my inventory when it comes out though. It won't replace my PSX or PSX2 but it could make a nice addition.

[Stuart Briscar]

Yeah the price is outrageous but they have some pretty good developers such as Activision, Infogrames, Midway, Konami, Capcom, Namco, Bandai, Hudson, Eidos and THQ.

[CJ]

The x-boy is a computer... just a comp optimized for gaming

And isn't there supposed to be an OS in that. (I think I heard something bout that)

Christophe

[Mike Ossendrijver]

Oh yeah I'm waiting - knowing Microsoft, they will top this console off as the ultimate gaming machine!

And having aqcuired Bungie, they got the best game developers around on their team - and some of the greatest games can (and will) be exclusively released for the Xbox (pointing a sticky finger at the Halo game).

I'm looking forward to the PSX2 and the Xbox - I think the Nintendo consoles and games have become too childish with the Pokemon stuff. Indeed, a commercial hit, but I'll pass.

[mjames]

X-Box is certaintly neat-looking, but I'm not willing to dish out the bucks for it. I'd rather play computer, N64, Dreamcast, or PSII games.

[Aidan Bahta]

I won't be buying the XBox because

1) I am not a gamer
2) I am not rich
3) I don't have time for games
4) I have better things to do

But if I was a gamer, rich, and had time to blow, I'd buy the XBox since I am sure it will be a success. Microsoft must have an easy way of transferring all their great games over to the XBOX platform, so that's a start. Plus, Activision, Namco, Eidos, Midway, etc are making games for it.

Microsoft will have its way and the XBOX will dominate. But I am not buying it.

[Elledan]

One word: GameCube

The Playstation II is way to expensive and so is the X-Box. Instead of the X-Box you could better use your own Windows PC since the X-Box is a (trimmed down) Windows PC.

Besides, I can't live without Zelda and Mario

[RussellG]

Originally posted by Elledan
One word: GameCube

The Playstation II is way to expensive and so is the X-Box. Instead of the X-Box you could better use your own Windows PC since the X-Box is a (trimmed down) Windows PC.

Besides, I can't live without Zelda and Mario

I agree with everything Elledan said.

[TWTCommish]

Tell me about it - I absolutely cannot wait for the new Zelda/Mario games.

Can anyone really deny that Mario 64 was one of the most amazing games ever, and ridiculously ahead of its time? It was an adventure in a box...and the next one will surely be even better.

[Sparkie]

Despite all its fancy features, I dont think Xbox will be able to rival Sony, Sega or Nintendo. All three have a fiercely loyal band of followers, and I dont think many will give this "newcomer" a chance. Remember what happened to Neo Geo and TurboGraphX16? They got ousted by Nintendo and Sega, even though they seemed to have a solid system and a good stash of games.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that XBox is a ridiculously stupid name for a game console?

Sparkie

[Elledan]

Originally posted by Sparkie

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that XBox is a ridiculously stupid name for a game console?

Yup, I couldn't believe it when I first heard the name...

I think that Playstation (II) DreamCast and GameCube does both sound much more like names of consoles.

BTW the GameBoy has been rivaled by lots of other handheld devices (Neo Geo Pocket for example) and although it's technically less advanced, it's the most populair handheld gamethingy (forgive the expression )

[Sparkie]

I still can't believe that they're KEEPING the name XBox! Nintendo's new console went through several name changes from what I understand: dolphin->StarCube->GameCube (I think the last one is the final one).

I've owned a game system by all of the major companies at one time or another, and I still think that N64 was really ahead of its time.

[Hierophant]

X-Box is the current codename for the project. Just like "Whistler" is the current codename for the Windows 2002 release.

Dolphin was the codename for the GameCube, with Starcube being one possible name for it.

[pac91303]

-Mario64 was the biggest disapointment in the history of console gaming.
-To whoever asked: The X-Box has a very scaled down version of Windows 2000.

[Michel V]

(So, Microsoft wants to have a part of the cake too ?)

I'm not waiting for the X-Box because of the price, the future lack of games (n64 too had "great game companies" to feed it, but the few good games that were released were released by Nintendo), and the fact that you can't suddenly port PC type of games to consoles types... Sorry but i always prefered playing Doom & WarCraft II on a PC with my 2-buttons clever mouse, not on a console with my 36-buttons handicaped controller.
And vice-versa: i hate playing Zelda64 on an emulator, although my friends showed me how better the graphics were.

Oh, and the name X-Box is a bit ridiculous, so let's think it's not the definitive name... but if it was, they'd be sure to sell the console to all the wannabe ASCII w1z4rds around, the l33t blahblah haxx0r young people. Muahahaha.

Last point, i'm eager to see blue screens on a console ! ^_^

[Elledan]

Originally posted by Shin Ma

Last point, i'm eager to see blue screens on a console ! ^_^

Yeah, same here

That's another reason NOT to buy the X-Box: it's the only console with a 'real' OS and OSs like to crash in the middle of a game...

BTW Who wants to boot his console before he can play?!? All consoles (except the PSX ) are ready within a second...
AND: I enjoy playing Snes games on my PC, but not N64 games, at least not till I've my new Duron 800 MHz PC...

'My Snes and N64 never crashed. My Windows PC, on the contrary, enjoyed to crash during games just before I wanted to save the game...'

[RussellG]

Originally posted by pac91303
-Mario64 was the biggest disapointment in the history of console gaming.

What the hell are you talking about? Mario64 was way ahead of its time, better then anything Sony or Sega had made at the time. All Sony had was Final Fantasy VII and that was so boring.

Give some reasons why you think it was a disapointment...

[Hierophant]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RussellG

What the hell are you talking about? Mario64 was way ahead of its time, better then anything Sony or Sega had made at the time. All Sony had was Final Fantasy VII and that was so boring.

When playing games like Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, and other Nintendo games, I usually get bored after 2 of 3 levels of the monotonous mind numbing puzzles that (for me) don't require any skill to solve. The only games I ever played to the end on the Nintendo were Legend of Zelda and Metroid, only because I was a young kid and wanted to see if the rumor of the end of Metroid was true. The only other Nintendo game I had true fun with is the one on the Original Nintendo with the Robot, but that is because I liked smashing the Mario Bros. I have never even played Mario 64, since friends told me that if I played Mario Bros or Super Mario Bros, I wasn't missing anything. I seriously thought about spending the $200 dollars required to purchase the console and "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" when it came out, but then I saw "Final Fantasy VII".

Final Fantasy VII is my favorite game of all time. I am glad that Square abandoned the Nintendo platform because none of the current games or their games for the last 3 years could have been made on a cartridge system. Each new game from them brings better cinematics (Final Fantasy VIII has over 2 hours of full-motion-video in it) and rendered characters. Their stories are as in-depth as a book, so much so that you feel a loss when they die and triumph when you succeed. Those feelings are something never felt within a Nintendo game.

I would go so much as to say that Square doesn't even make games anymore but instead creates interactive movies of a depth Hollywood only dreams of today. I purchase every game from Square on my Playstation and will continue to do so. Their Playstation titles outshine the PC ports a lot in Graphics, Playability and ease of gameplay. If the only games I owned were Square games then I would say my Playstation is one of the best entertainment investments I have ever made.

Square games are the reason I will be buying a PSX2 as well. I wish to continue playing their great sagas and watching the cinematics which often times are as good as production movies and a lot more entertaining.


[Edited by wluke on 09-26-2000 at 11:48 PM]

[Michel V]

Anyone to tell me FF 6 wasn't GREAT ? It was on a Nintendo platform though...
Really, i bought FF 7 and found it very BORING and too linear. At the middle of the game, when there's a HUGE 1 hour cinematic session, i hated it, there was no playability at all, just "sit down and watch".
If i buy a console, it's for playing games, not watching hollywood movies. If i want movies, i buy a DVD player and that's it.
About cartridges: they got less storage capacity, but i prefer a short realtime 3d "movie" scene in Zelda, IN the game, i mean while you're playing **poof** there's a cinematic, more than a cinematic that **poof** makes you wait 1 minute before it appears on the screen, making you wondering "hey have i done something wrong, why is that CD player making such strange noises ? uh i see it's downloading the cinematics!".


But let's re-focus on the discuss: did Mickey Shaft announce a release date for the X-Box ? (excuse me if i'm a bit out of date...)
When i first heard about it, they were talking of PII 450 or something like that, but with the stupid power-race, maybe there will be P6 2500 (and still no software to take real advantage of these Mhz) when the X-Box will be released...
Talking about boot, i would't want my console to check for graphic cards, sound cards, IDE drivers, etc EACH TIME i reset it after an error while playing a RPG...

[RussellG]

Originally posted by wluke


Final Fantasy VII is my favorite game of all time. I am glad that Square abandoned the Nintendo platform because none of the current games or their games for the last 3 years could have been made on a cartridge system. Each new game from them brings better cinematics (Final Fantasy VIII has over 2 hours of full-motion-video in it) and rendered characters. Their stories are as in-depth as a book, so much so that you feel a loss when they die and triumph when you succeed. Those feelings are something never felt within a Nintendo game.

I would go so much as to say that Square doesn't even make games anymore but instead creates interactive movies of a depth Hollywood only dreams of today. I purchase every game from Square on my Playstation and will continue to do so. Their Playstation titles outshine the PC ports a lot in Graphics, Playability and ease of gameplay. If the only games I owned were Square games then I would say my Playstation is one of the best entertainment investments I have ever made.

Square games are the reason I will be buying a PSX2 as well. I wish to continue playing their great sagas and watching the cinematics which often times are as good as production movies and a lot more entertaining.


[Edited by wluke on 09-26-2000 at 11:48 PM]

But cinematics don't make a game. A game is where the person playing it makes there own decisions, when i played FFVII, all I seemed to do is run around, and when I came to an enemy, there was this horrible 'battle mode' that I really disliked.

You can't compare FFVII to LoZ:OoT because OoT is so much better.

I'll probaly buy a PS2 and a Gamecube, but if I keep hearing so much negative stuff about the PS2... it's of my list.

[Michel V]

Hey at first time i was thinking "what the **** is Lozoot ? i missed a good game again ?"

FF THINGS:
More negative stuff about FF7: you always had to keep the "hero" in your team. In FF6, there was no particular hero.
In FF7, you play for like 7 or 8 hours before you can take your first actual decision. OK, that's a great game, but it's the kind of game that you play, finish, and resell, because there's no surprise when you want to play it again from the beginning.
More negative stuff about FF8: FF8 ? We're talking about a RPG there ? Muahahahahahah. Now tell me where they've hidden the playability in this episode, coz i found none.
Stuff about FF9: heard they will come back to some old systems like in FF5 & 6. If they don't, i won't buy.

[Hierophant]

We all have our opinions which makes multiple choices great doesn't it.

I'll never own a Nintendo 64 because I find its games limiting and boring. You don't like Square's games. Big deal. You can play Legend of Zelda and I can play Parasite Eve II.

[Sparkie]

Speaking of SquareSoft, anyone care to enlighten me on why they constantly change the FF storyline and characters? Seems to me that they're never happy enough with the current setup, so they wipe the slate clean and start again!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the entire Final Fantasy series and have played most of the versions released in the US. It's quite a challenging game and not just about the player's dexterity and ability to smash buttons. However, I think the reason that the Zelda games are so popular is that the storyline and characters are always included in the same way, although Square's release Threads of Fate seems likely to give Link a run for his rupees

[RussellG]

It all depends on what you like really, I have to be in the right mood to play a certain game.

I could probaly sit down and play FFVII. Problem is I don't have a PSX

I think the Gamecube will grab some of the developers attentions and they'll start making more RPG's for it.

[Edited by RussellG on 09-27-2000 at 09:04 AM]