Some Reasons Why Microsoft Xbox is Better than PlayStation 2 or Game Cube
Written: Nov 28 '01 (Updated Dec 01 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: More power, hard drive & ethernet (broadband), based on DirectX
Cons: Add on costs may be necessary for things like S-Video and DVD playback
The Bottom Line: A more innovative console than the competition, with a stellar potential for game/content development, definitely points to the Xbox as the King... Just check out the games!!
kchin's Full Review: Microsoft Xbox 360 Core System White Console
In my opinion (and I actually own one) Microsoft's Xbox is the best GAME CONSOLE on the market today. You will own one -- or at least something very similar to it eventually. It's too bad, it's not the only game console out there...
INTRODUCTION
Ask anyone that knows me and you'll quickly find that I am not a big fan of Microsoft. I really don't like the way they do business, but then again there are certain advantages to being the 700 pound gorilla on the block.
The Xbox is (of course) Microsoft's first entry into the gaming console marketplace... and boy have they made a splash. I could sit here and regurgitate technical specifications to you such as the 733 MHz Intel CPU, Nvidia Graphics Processor, DVD drive, Hard drive, 256 audio channels, support for Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, built in Ethernet port, etc... (But this isn't what you really care about.)
The Xbox feels like it was made from computer parts. It's heavier than other gaming consoles (but not unreasonably). It's got a big cooling fan on the back of the unit (just like a PC), and it even has a built in Ethernet card. That's where the similarities end.
SMART DESIGN
The Xbox seems like it was designed to be part of your entertainment center/home theater. All ports and device access is in the front of the unit, so it's perfect for being stacked along with your other stereo components. All 4 controller ports, the eject button, power button, and even the load tray for the DVD are all easily accessible from hte front.
The controller is one of the most comfortable I've ever seen in a game system. I can't explain it other than to say it just feels right. I've heard others complain about how heavy it is... I think they may have just been young kids (I'm 28). The thumb analog joystick controls and buttons are all naturally placed. After playing hours of button intense games my hands felt good and were not fatigued. The cord is a good 9 feet long, so I can play it from the comfort of my couch easily. There's even a "break-away" point on the cord (about 6 inches from the connection to the Xbox) which is designed to easily separate the controller cord from the Xbox should someone accidentally trip on the cord (saving your Xbox from a nasty fall).
The one knock I'd have to add about the controllers is that each controller has two add-on slots in the front of the controller. This is where you'd put memory cards or other expansion devices (yet to come). The problem is that I don't have any memory cards, and these slots are wide open. They aren't covered at all... so I anticipate them collecting significant dust over time -- a real pain to clean.
POWER AND THEN SOME
The proof is in the pudding, right? This console is INCREDIBLE in terms of what it's capable of. To see this you have to look at games that were designed to take full advantage of the Xbox's capabilities. Consider HALO, Dead or Alive 3, and NFL Fever 2001. The textures of everything is amazing. You can see fabric texture in the football players jerseys, you can see individual blades of grass on the ground, you see photo-realistic tree bark, and the smoothness of the games is as it should be... flawless.
I have nothing but praise for the way the games look, sound, and play -- but I'll leave the details to the games' reviews.
The built-in 8 GB hard-drive is a unique advantage of the Xbox. It allows game levels to be spooled (cached) on the hard drives, games to be saved, etc. Data stored on the fly, lifetime statistics, etc. Conceivably, when the broadband online capabilities of the Xbox are worked out (due Summer 2002) you could see things such as patches, expansion packs, or game updates stored on the hard drive as well. When's the last time you "patched" a PlayStation game?? The potential a hard drive brings to the table is definitely one reason I decided to wait for the Xbox, and why I got one.
You can play music CDs in the Xbox, but that's not particularly special. One thing that is kind of interesting is that you can insert a music CD and rip MP3s to the hard drive. Then with certain games you can replace the standard audio tracks with your own music.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GAMES
Any person in the computer industry will tell you that it's the software and applications which make a platform relevant and popular. Game consoles are no different, however this is not a normal PC. There are about 24 or so titles available for purchase today spanning across all genres of gaming. There will be about 35 out by the end of the year (Dec 2001). They come from a variety of development houses including Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Lucas Arts, Infograms, and Temco. All games are currently priced at $49.99.
The games have been getting mixed reviews. Some like HALO and Dead or Alive 3 are getting touted as being among the greatest games ever created. Some are little more than ports of an existing game over to the Xbox platform. Herein lies the problem...
The Xbox has very special capabilities in the hardware and software which other game systems do not have. When a game is ported over to the Xbox, it seems that the developers are generally not taking the time to make the game take full advantage of the Xbox's power. This is annoying right now, but over time this will change... Just be aware of this fact so you don't get surprised when you buy a game you had for the PS2 and the game looks "remarkably unchanged".
Microsoft is known for being a software company -- the largest in the world actually. One of the ways they got to be so powerful is by creating platforms which are relatively easy and simple to develop software for. They have taken this experience and chosen to extend the philosophy to the Xbox. What I'm trying to say is that the Xbox should be relatively easy for game companies to develop to because the development environment is built around Microsoft's DirectX environment. This means that it should be a relatively simple jump to convert games from the PC over to the Xbox. Even better it means that there should be tons more developers capable of creating software for the Xbox. Time will tell for sure, but this is one HUGE difference between the Xbox and other game consoles -- all of which create their own specialized development environments for their particular game consoles. Think about it, if you're a PC game maker (and you use DirectX already) and you want to convert your game to run on a game console which console will you shoot for? One which uses an environment remarkably similar to DirectX or one which requires you to learn an entirely new environment?
More games will come eventually, and prices will fall... Just be patient. Heck, the Xbox just came out!!
IT'S NOT ALL ROSES...
There are some things which kind of suck about the Xbox, but not many. For one thing, the built in DVD player is a run of the mill DVD -- whereas it was originally thought that it might be a higher quality progressive scan DVD. Second, to actually use the DVD requires the purchase of a $30 DVD Playback Kit. This kit is basically a remote control for the DVD -- which is required because you cannot use the game pad to control the DVD player.
Another thing that's kind of annoying is that to get special enhanced video and audio capabilities you need to purchase add-on packs for the Xbox. There's one that gives you component video, there's one for S-Video, there's one for high definition TV, there's even one for an RF connector. If you need/want these add-ons it adds about $20 each to the overall cost.
WHY NOT BUY A PLAYSTATION 2 or GAME CUBE?
I thought I would put in a blurb about my thoughts on why I chose the Xbox over the Sony PS2 and Nintendo's Game Cube. Both consoles are powerful -- although the techie numbers aren't as high as the Xbox, I seriously doubt you would miss them.
Both are just game consoles though and seem like they might be limited to just that in the future. Whereas the Xbox has expanded capabilities and new potential directions due to the hard drive and broadband connection being built-in. Apparently Sony and Nintendo have hinted that these features will be add-ons to their platforms in the future it's going to cost you extra -- and I have trouble believing that it will be a mere $50 add-on. We'll see.
Sony PlayStation 2 (by far!!) has the most games developed for it. Thanks in part to the fact that the PS2 is able to play original PlayStation and PS1 games as well. There must be thousands of games for this platform by now. My biggest thought on this platform was that it's technology that's about 1 year older, it doesn't have built-in support for broadband, and it doesn't have innovative features like the hard drive. Oh, and it still costs the same as an Xbox... $299. As far as games go, I believe Xbox will have tons of games soon enough.
Nintendo Game Cube although it has a cool interconnection with the Game Boy Advance, it doesn't even come with a DVD player -- rather it's Nintendo's own proprietary media format. It has no broadband or hard drive either, and honestly I found that the games seemed to be aimed more at a younger audience (teens and below). Granted the cost of the unit is only $199, but I'm looking for raw sexy capability and the Game Cube just doesn't have that in my opinion.
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