32_Footsteps's Full Review: Microsoft Xbox 360 Core System White Console
I might have been the only one who was surprised that Microsoft decided to leap into the console gaming fray. In retrospect, I shouldn't have - the company has always been willing to stick its neck out where it hasn't been before - to some success, whether I like it or not. But console gaming is a whole different beast than, say, the web browser market. Can Microsoft churn out another winner?
Well, even though it's not out yet, I'm going to take a look at the X-Box, as I've already done with both the Playstation 2 and the Dolphin. As a fair warning, I'm not going to give a positive review or a negative review just yet - just a review of what might happen.
First, Microsoft is keen on making themselves out to be the biggest, baddest machine out there. In a quick scan of their site, they have a comparison of their machine to the planned specs of the Playstation 2. And those specs do look impressive - they claim to be at least twice as better than the Playstation 2 in most statistical categories. Wow, it's twice as fast. And look what that did for the Sega Saturn compared to the Super Nintendo. There is too much concentration on numbers right now, but those numbers might actually translate into a gaming experience.
Note the might, please. While Microsoft has already lined up some companies to express interest in the new console, most of these are experienced computer games manufacturers. As anyone can quickly tell you, the person who looks for a computer game buys games much different than the person who is a dedicated console gamer. While "Deer Hunter" might be a popular PC title, you couldn't get your average console gamer to touch it. Meanwhile, the Playstation version of "You Don't Know Jack" continues to languish, despite the success of the PC's lineup of games. There is nothing to prevent crossover game appeal - both platforms tend to have success with first-person shooter games. But whether or not the system can deliver on that remains to be seen.
So far, the biggest promotional focus has been "Raven," the tattooed buxom lady in the screenshots demonstrating the X-Box's capabilities. The designers of Raven have obviously missed the boat in creating the character. She looks like a futuristic version of Lara Croft, complete with a bare midriff (with the subliminal advertising of an X across her belly button). I'm not sure if Microsoft is aware of the growing backlash against "Tomb Raider." To model a demo character after her is a bit of a risk. Considering the amount of detail that has gone into the art, however, you can be assured that Microsoft isn't just using her for demonstration purposes. They better hope that I'm wrong, or they could release Raven's game right into a thick jumble of anti-silicon(e) sentiment.
Microsoft does have one thing going for it - they are clearly pandering to the desires of the gaming community with the basics of the system. It's fast, contains more bits than the human eye will ever be able to discern (I believe that for stills, the human eye cannot differentiate graphics more fine than 24-bits), and runs on the golden standard of entertainment these days, the DVD. Further, it will also be, as expected, a DVD player right out of the box. Finally, it will have both four controller ports (thank Nintendo for thinking of that first) and built-in broadband capability, for multiplayer fun. Of course, considering how little-used broadband is now, that's a calculated risk, but one that Microsoft's competitors are also taking, so they aren't foolish in looking into this.
One issue that many people wisely have is the quality of the games. In particular, the first generation of games for the system needs to be exclusive for the X-Box. While Microsoft is planning on using either the same or nearly the same developmental tools as PC games currently use, they cannot just flood the market with multiple platforms versions of the same game. Why should I buy "Raven's Butt-Whooping" for the X-Box I would also have to buy when I could just by the PC version that came out at the same time? Also, gamer's don't want games that feel like an afterthought for the system. While X-Box will expectedly have games that are ports, like all other consoles have had, it needs to provide plenty of original entertainment to be able to stay viable.
More worrisome is the history of Microsoft in console gaming. Namely, the only experience is creating the OS for the Dreamcast - universally decried as the worst ever made for a console. It's buggy, and people are afraid of the thing crashing. That could just be negative experience with Wintel computers, but I've had my suspicions as well. I'm kind of hoping that Sony and Nintendo will either make their systems run on either an in-house program as they have traditionally done or get Sun or Apple to help them.
Microsoft also faces another, more serious issue in getting into the console gaming market - Japan and Europe. Japan is the established home of console gaming, home to all three of the major console manufacturers. Moreover, their gaming culture is even more deeply entrenched than our own, which is why so many more games, from dating simulators to RPGs, get released there. Moreover, launching in multiple areas can keep a company afloat as it gathers its resources - Sony, Nintendo, and Sega have all relied heavily on one side of the Pacific to keep them afloat at one time or another. Microsoft will need to have a similar approach in order to remain viable in the market.
Another more serious issue to consider - Microsoft's fate in the anti-trust suit could seriously impact the X-Box. Nobody has really mentioned this, and it's worth thinking about. While the proprietary portions of the system - namely, the OS and the hardware, would fall under Microsoft's OS division and would go with it, the all-important games division would have to follow with the applications division - and either the games division wouldn't be able to work with the X-Box, a serious blow, or the OS division would have to give the same equal rights to other third-party manufacturers, which would also cripple the system. Perhaps, if Microsoft wanted the system to survive, the best shot would be to make the console department a third division and leave it to fend for itself independent from the proposed two entities the Department of Justice would like. However, that is conjecture at best, since it is still possible that Microsoft will not be broken up.
Besides the legal issues, Microsoft has some serious issues about games. While the demonstrations look good, the system is due out in around a year, and no titles have been announced. Further, they don't really have a stable of mascots and supporters to rely on. With the Dolphin, you know there is going to be a Mario game, a Zelda game, and a couple of initial sports games. With the Playstation 2, you know there is going to be Gran Turismo, a Tekken game, and a batch of other miscellaneous games. With the Dreamcast, you knew there was going to be a Sonic game, SoulCalibur, and other, sadly forgettable, games. What will the X-Box have? Microsoft needs to answer that question soon, or nobody will even care when the X-Box comes out, except those who want to taunt Microsoft over a failure.
Can the X-Box be successful? Undoubtedly. However, they have to address some issues very quickly. They need to define what games will come out, and how the system will remain viable despite their legal woes. They further need to impress gamers that this isn't just some way to make money off of lazily ported PC games and instead something that caters specifically to the console gamer. Otherwise, they will find themselves wondering if Nintendo and Sony haven't plotted against them the same way they tried to plot with Netscape to divide the browser market.
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