The X-Box is here -- Are you ready? ;)

[Wraith]

--"Well, your figures would be right if you were talking Canadian funds."

I got my numbers online. Best Buy unfortunately doesn't have their numbers up, but all the other places I checked are in the $500 range for the bundle. EB World, Target, Amazon.com. And yes, that's US dollars. Sounds like you could make some money exporting the things to the US, though.

--"You are correct: Halo is 4x3 most of the time. In the cinematics, it switches to 16:9."

Hehe. That's actually kind of funny. I do wonder if actually switches to 16:9 or just does letterboxed 4:3, though. From what I've heard, it has trouble with anamorphic DVDs, so it most likely does not do a proper 16:9 here either.

--"And what's wrong with having the game companies turn on/off anti aliasing?"

I like having the big performance/quality effecting options at my command. We'll see how often it's used, though.

Wraith
Be sure to save your money. You never know when it might be worth something

[Eroberer]

I think in all of this technical discussion, we've kind of lost the point, which was that the X-Box looks better/outperforms all other consoles.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Eroberer
So you have to either stop strafing or aiming in order to jump? Is there any way to make it so you can do all these at the same time?

Not necessarily, the A button (jump) is right next to the aim joystick. Really quickly jumps. I think you can remap the controller to use a trigger if you want.

Crouching is done by pushing in the strafe analog joystick, btw. Pushing in the right analog joystick (aiming) zooms in and out if you have a capable gun.

I got my numbers online. Best Buy unfortunately doesn't have their numbers up, but all the other places I checked are in the $500 range for the bundle. EB World, Target, Amazon.com. And yes, that's US dollars. Sounds like you could make some money exporting the things to the US, though.

All the retailers around here have about the same price. My are you guys ripped off in the states.
FutureShop
still has 94 in stock at $599.99 CDN with any two games you want.

[Eroberer]

So the joystick is like a button, too? Does it ever click accidentally?

[Wiglaf]

Where do you pull that from, oh wise one?
The Xbox is getting some really great reviews (newspaper gave it 4 out of 4, etc).
There's 200+ announced titles in development, and it quite clearly is better than the PS2 in both the audio and visual department. There's nothing like playing Halo in Dolby Digital 5.1. Or those DOA levels like Forest...*drool*

the launch titles were horrible, save for halo or maybe madden 2002 (as microsoft's own effort in that department was god awful). the online features will amount to very little in the end (they have to be planned before release, not on the fly), and as far as sales are concerned, things don't look so hot. there's two competing consoles out there, predictions for the holidays go to the playstation 2, and like you said, improved systems are due in 2003 anyway. console gaming is full of screwovers, and either MS or nintendo will get it hard this time. my bet goes to xbox.

poor MS. it was a multi billion dollar ad campaign, too.

(newspaper gave it 4 out of 4, etc).

what? where? when? how? who? why do I care?

my newspaper gave it a 1 out of 4, actually.

Originally posted by MacTBone
OK Wiglaf, one of the reasons I didn't mention those games is because to this point they haven't been on the same console as Madden. Let's go with it though. NFL2K2, comparable graphics, franchise mode, but no salary cap, realignment, expansion, and no real physics wrt the ball. Yes, I have played it, yes I did play gamebreaker and Madden. Madden in Madden gets old at times, but for the first couple of days is very entertaining. I think the problem you have is that you must not like playing sports games, because from everything I've played and seen, consoles whoop PCs when you like sports games.

You already said that Madden has gotten better in the last ten years, right? OK, we've seen the franchise mode, and all the features that have arisen from that, we've seen exponentially better graphics, balls that don't bounce predictably, AI that can stop you, players that don't quit until the play is dead, play designers, practice mode, two-minute drill, and other things I can't recall right now. What more do you want?

they still haven't gotten passing, running, or sound right.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
the launch titles were horrible

Maybe that's just your opinion.
I know tons of people quite satisifed with Project Gotham Racing, Oddworld, Amped, Halo, etc.
Actually, I think the launch titles on Xbox kicks the PS2's launch title's ass.

the online features will amount to very little in the end (they have to be planned before release, not on the fly)

What does this have to do with the launch?
And that's purely idiotic, anyway.
That's just like saying multiplayer for the PC never amounted to very much...

and as far as sales are concerned, things don't look so hot.

Care to cite some figures for me, other than making up an obvious bull**** statement with no grounding in reality?

there's two competing consoles out there, predictions for the holidays go to the playstation 2, and like you said, improved systems are due in 2003 anyway. console gaming is full of screwovers, and either MS or nintendo will get it hard this time. my bet goes to xbox.

Well, Sony thinks otherwise.
They consider Microsoft to be much toughter competition than Nintendo (by the CEO's own admission). My prediction will be the #1 console sold will be PS2, #2 will be Xbox, #3 will be Gamecube.
PS2 because of the PS1 compatability and because of the brand name.
Xbox because...well, it doesn't have launch titles like "Super Monkey Ball" like Gamecube.
Gamecube is last because...well, hardware wise the thing has a lot to be desired. Gamewise it's still aimed at prepubescent children.

poor MS. it was a multi billion dollar ad campaign, too.

ONCE again you show complete ignorance of the subject.
Since when did half a billion ($500M) equal "multi billion"

what? where? when? how? who? why do I care?

Calgary Herald, Friday. November Adam can back me up on this one.

my newspaper gave it a 1 out of 4, actually.

Yeah, I'm SURE it did.
Which paper? I'll have a looksee in the archives...

So the joystick is like a button, too? Does it ever click accidentally?

I've never had that happen. You need to push directly down on the analog joysticks for the button to press in, and you're pushing it in some direction unless you want to press the button.

[Wiglaf]

What does this have to do with the launch?
And that's purely idiotic, anyway.
That's just like saying multiplayer for the PC never amounted to very much...

hm?

no, I'm saying all these rumored features will never become a reality. downloading demos, etc on a console just won't happen with the xbox, in the same way online clubs and massive product updates never happened on dreamcast. the system should have solid support for something like that going in. now that launch is over, it's too late for anything like that to happen on xbox within two or three years.

Care to cite some figures for me, other than making up an obvious bull**** statement with no grounding in reality?

"Windows XP Sales Poor in First Week"
"Economy Sucks"
"No one wants to buy a videogame system anymore"

Well, Sony thinks otherwise.
They consider Microsoft to be much toughter competition than Nintendo (by the CEO's own admission). My prediction will be the #1 console sold will be PS2, #2 will be Xbox, #3 will be Gamecube.
PS2 because of the PS1 compatability and because of the brand name.
Xbox because...well, it doesn't have launch titles like "Super Monkey Ball" like Gamecube.
Gamecube is last because...well, hardware wise the thing has a lot to be desired. Gamewise it's still aimed at prepubescent children.

young children make up the majority of console gamers, asher.

It looks like retailers are focusing on the PS2 this holiday season, anyway. A poll of 25 top toy and video game retailers ranked PS2 as the likely best-selling console this holiday season. MGS2 is supposed to be the top seller in the software department, a PS2 product.

Two GCN titles made the top-10 game list, while not one of the thirty Xbox games on track for release this year made the cut Nintendo did.

ONCE again you show complete ignorance of the subject.
Since when did half a billion ($500M) equal "multi billion"

Nintendo has a $75 million ad campaign, MS has a $500 million money machine. that's what I was getting at: for so much invested, xbox won't provide such a huge return. (see above)

Yeah, I'm SURE it did.
Which paper? I'll have a looksee in the archives...

they don't have a site...

[Wiglaf]

oh, and by all means pony up a link of that calgary newspaper or whatever it was. I'm sure it's a great read.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
no, I'm saying all these rumored features will never become a reality. downloading demos, etc on a console just won't happen with the xbox, in the same way online clubs and massive product updates never happened on dreamcast. the system should have solid support for something like that going in. now that launch is over, it's too late for anything like that to happen on xbox within two or three years.

The reason that never happened on the Dreamcast is because Sega went down the sh*tter. They don't support it anymore, they don't have the money to fund that kind of stuff.
MS is loaded, wants to break into this whole scene, and has money to burn. Plus, they've already got a really good infrastructure set up for free online play (www.zone.com?)

"Microsoft XP Sales Poor in First Week"
"Economy Sucks"
"No one wants to buy a videogame system anymore"

LOL!
You justify your bull**** comments about a ****ty Xbox launch by citing a bunch of stereotypical "Duh" articles on other things? Of course XP sales are poor, MS sells the VAST majority of their copies on pre-installed computers. Not stores. In fact, they encouraged people to just get it on a new computer.

young children make up the majority of console gamers, asher.

Actually, they don't anymore.
Average gamer is something like 24 now.

It looks like retailers are focusing on the PS2 this holiday season, anyway. A poll of 25 top toy and video game retailers ranked PS2 as the likely best-selling console this holiday season. MGS2 is supposed to be the top seller in the software department, a PS2 product.

Link, please?
And of course a PS2 product is probably going to sell more than an Xbox product for this holiday season: Look how many more homes have PS2s in them than Xboxes right now. Again, one of those "duh" comments.

Two GCN titles made the top-10 game list; not a single one of the thirty Xbox games expected this year for release made the cut Nintendo did.

Not even Halo?
That there shows you just how much you should value their opinion.

Nintendo has a $75 million ad campaign, MS has a $500 million money machine. that's what I was getting at: for so much invested, xbox won't provide such a huge return. (see above)

It's not intended to provide a huge return...yet.
If you're too blind to see what MS is trying to do here, maybe it's for the better.

they don't have a site...

I'm sure it's a hugely popular and informative newspaper, trustworthy to the last letter.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Wiglaf
oh, and by all means pony up a link of that calgary newspaper or whatever it was. I'm sure it's a great read.

www.calgaryherald.com (Imagine that!)

They don't post the vast majority of their stuff online, and I don't see the Xbox review there.
But there are posters here from Calgary (November Adam, flubber, Zylka, etc) that can tell you that there was, indeed, a 4/4 star review on the Xbox.

[DinoDoc]

*Ahem*

Originally posted by Asher
Xbox because...well, it doesn't have launch titles like "Super Monkey Ball" like Gamecube.
Gamecube is last because...well, hardware wise the thing has a lot to be desired. Gamewise it's still aimed at prepubescent children.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Warhammer 40,000
Resident Evil Zero

Just to name a few.

ONCE again you show complete ignorance of the subject.

I could say the same.

[Asher]

Re: *Ahem*

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Warhammer 40,000
Resident Evil Zero

Just to name a few.

Of course there could be exceptions. Like Bad Fur Day on the N64. But Nintendo admits to targeting children (under 18) with the Gamecube.

I could say the same.

You're quite welcome to that opinion.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Asher
Of course there could be exceptions. Like Bad Fur Day on the N64. But Nintendo admits to targeting children (under 18) with the Gamecube.

Come on. Admit it. You haven't looked at the games list, have you?

Of course there is some crap there, but there is also some decent games on that list.

[Asher]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Come on. Admit it. You haven't looked at the games list, have you?

Of course there is some crap there, but there is also some decent games on that list.

I have too looked at the games list.
I was seriously considering getting the gamecube (I have an N64), but then I read about the hardware it was packing, and then looked at the game list. There ARE good games for the Gamecube, just like there are for the PS2 too.

Unfortunately, the majority of the games on the Gamecube are the same rehashed Mario/Luigi/etc games over and over again, or Pokemon, etc, or even other abstract games.

Nintendo TARGETS youth with the Gamecube. I mean, look at the thing.
You can't deny that.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Ramo


Bah! You can't properly play a fps with a gamepad. You need a mouse! Foolish Aggie.

Actually, on my PC, I use the keyboard.


Please don't burn me as a witch.