A Letter to Gamesmaster on the XBox360

Motley Crue

Dear Sirs

I’ve been an avid reader of your magazine since first owning a PSOne and a copy of Twisted Metal in 1996. Seeing as this is my 10th year reading your magazine, I decided that I should put my Journalism Diploma to some use, and take the step of writing to your magazine for the first time. Unlike most of the letters featured on this page however, mine concerns a rather slightly more pressing issue, albeit the future of the gaming Industry itself.

You see, recently, my friend Robbie purchased a brand new Xbox 360 and hes quite delighted with himself. Why shouldn’t he be? According to Microsoft, he now owns one of the greatest consoles ever built, and the future of gaming. Its true that Project Gotham Racing 3 could never compare to PGR2 on my brothers shabby Xbox, but then again, it doesn’t need to. As you’re possibly more then well aware, Microsoft have produced a list of 50 games which are backwards compatible, meaning that Project Gotham Racing 2 and about 66% of the Xbox roster are not playable on Xbox 360.

Newer Xbox titles like Burnout Revenge and Splinter Cell also fail to make the cut, and along with Far Cry and Chaos Theory will not work on your brand new 360, while tripe such as Barbies Horse Adventures will. Its no surprise that although NBA Live 03 and 04 feature as backwards compatible, NBA 05 has been left off the list, with NBA 06 one of the 360s most powerful launch titles. Add this to the confusion of gamers who cant understand why titles like Tony Hawks American Wasteland, GUN, and King Kong have been released on Xbox360 as launch titles in Europe as well as on the Xbox with little difference in graphics or gameplay in either version. In a bizzare twist of events, Tony Hawks American Wasteland is also backwards compatible, making the extra 30Eur for the 360 version seem like daylight robbery.

My house also holds a Nintendo Gamecube, and one may laugh, but at least games like Tony Hawks and GUN are still being produced for this proud little console while Gamecube only titles such as Pokemon XD and Day of Reckoning 2 can hold their heads up high. When the next-gen Revolution is released, Nintendo have promised 100% backwards compatibility, with not a single extra wire or disc needed to make your Gamecube games run. I once read an article after the launch of the Xbox, which reffered to the Nintendo Gamecube being nothing more then ‘a childs toy’, and I fully oppose such a statement as the Gamecube is clearly just as playable a games machine as the PS2 or Xbox360, and at the end of the day, isnt that what a games console is supposed to be?

And then, suddenly, a freak accurance happened. In a car boot sale I stumbled across a cheapy priced retro console and taught ‘what the hell…its christmas…well, just gone’ That console was the Sega Dreamcast, the first console to ever promise gamers in-built online capabilites, and the first to be launched an entire year before the PS2 in the hope that its Windows OSes system would help it become the greatest Sega console of all time. You at Gamesmaster are obviously well aware that Peter Moore was marketing guru for this machine, and that Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Bizzare Creations each worked on high-profile first party titles for the console, while Dreamcast was launched at the frantic Christmas period. You may be wandering why I’ve mentioned this, although I think you already know that its because if I took the word Dreamcast from the last paragraph and replaced it with the word Xbox360 I wouldn’t have told a single lie.

The Xbox360 stands at the forefront of a new future, with 66% of its predecessor’s games not compatible on its hardware, and with a list of launch titles comprised of several current-gen titles. If you’re going to spend big money, you want to know its on something reliable, and if you cant make that assertion and history looks doomed to repeat itself…the futures looking bright for Sony and Nintendo.

Yours in Writing
Wayne

steviec

Considering the XBox 360 is only the second console in history to offer any kind of backward compatibility out of the box(someone's going to prove me wrong on that point, I just know it), I don't think that's a fair complaint. They've gone to a lot of effort emulating 200+ original xbox games for the system.

Nintendo have never bothered with backwards compatibility before, they're doing it this time because the whole 'virtual console' thing is going to be one of the main selling points. You praise the Gamecube(I own one and its a serious console by the way and its more modern and high spec than a PS2 so I don't know where your going with the 'one may laugh', anyone who knows about games knows the Gamecube is a proper console) which has no backwards compatibility whatsoever.

As for some of the games being current gen ports, of course they are! You think EA and Activision, who are already porting their games to every other console, are going to just ignore the 360 when they have the option of polishing up their graphics and releasing the game on that system to gain some more sales?

The PS3 launch isn't going to be any different, and the revolution goes one better by selling you games from the 8-bit/16-bit era, there's plenty of great new games coming out too.

That letter just seems like a typical complaining about the next generation rant that could probably apply to every new console that came out in the last 20 years.

360*

I totally agree with you man, the XBox360 is very much making the mistakes of the past, and its launch titles could have been a little more solid. Im not the biggest fan of sports games, i like SOME racing titles, but I do think that a couple of more beat em ups and platformers could have hit the scene. Perhaps Quake 4 will quell my thirst momentarily, but a good RPG is need for the 360.

steviec

http://jasoncross.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=6192351&publicUserId=5694478

Might find that article interesting

TheForeSkins

as much as it pains me i tend to agree with the original poster. I think what hes saying is that while its obviously buisness to have the 360 games upgraded from XBox versions its a little silly when you actually play these games and find out that there are little to no differences in graphics and they dont seem to belong on a brand new console thats just been released. Obviously, games on the PSOne improved in graphics as time went on, but i think with the 360 they've got to ultilize as much of the graphics and power of the console RIGHT NOW so by the time Sony releases the press announcement for the PS3 and a trailer for MGS4 people dont feel weak in the knees and decide to save their hard earned cash.

Ciaran500

That just reads like a long rant, and I don't see any point bringing up the similarities between the Xbox360 and the Dreamcast.

The reason games like Barbies Horse Adventures works while the more advanced, recent games don't is because there is alot more work needed to get complex games to work.

All the Splinter Cell games were added to the backward compatable list a while ago.

steviec

Yea, and I don't think they've purposely left out any games either.

I could have got THAW for xbox for 15 quid the other day but didn't because I was thinking 'If it was me no way would I make that game 360 compatible when there's a 360 version of it available'

It was only when I got home and checked the compatibility list I found it is actually compatible. Oh well

monument

Motley Crue wrote:

I decided that I should put my Journalism Diploma to some use

I’ve used my subediting skills (ie MS Word) to find a large number of mistakes, including ‘hes’, ‘bizzare’, ‘30Eur’, ‘Its’, ‘reffered’, ‘isnt’, ‘a childs toy’. You’re in luck, some subeditors say good journalist are often rubbish at spelling and grammar. Just give them (and the people who read your posts here) a break and use a spelling and grammar checker. (BTW it's 'euro' (lc), and never 'euros']. Sorry wrong board...

Motley Crue wrote:

that its because if I took the word Dreamcast from the last paragraph and replaced it with the word Xbox360 I wouldn’t have told a single lie.

One question - What is the 'Sega Xbox360'?

Stephen

monument wrote:

BTW it's 'euro' (lc), and never 'euros'

That's not quite true. The Irish government misinterpreted an EU directive on the euro, which is why we pronounce it like twats now. "Euros" is how to pronounce it in the English language, whilst "euro" has become acceptable through usage.

Zen 2nd

I have an Xbox 360. Now before I had one, Halo 2 was on of my favourite games to play. But since I got my Xbox 360 I no longer play Xbox games. There's no point to it. The Xbox 360 games are far superior online with 32 player Perfect Dark Zero with no lag whatsoever. Plus the Xbox 360 dashboard gives it that extra "zenith"

which reffered to the Nintendo Gamecube being nothing more then ‘a childs toy’, and I fully oppose such a statement

But look what they have done with the Revolutions controller! They have actually made it more like a child's toy now!

Even though PS2 has compatibility with PS1 games its not that great! The only game I might ever play for the PS1 is Metal Gear Solid and I can get that for the Gamecube anyway.

and if you cant make that assertion and history looks doomed to repeat itself…the futures looking bright for Sony and Nintendo.

Is this coming from hours of research and checking the stock market and a deep analysis of each company and talking with the CEO's of the companies??

which is why we pronounce it like twats now

We don't pronounce it wrong since we spell it "Euro"

Triton

Originally posted by monument
I’ve used my subediting skills (ie MS Word) to find a large number of mistakes, including ‘hes’, ‘bizzare’, ‘30Eur’, ‘Its’, ‘reffered’, ‘isnt’, ‘a childs toy’. You’re in luck, some subeditors say good journalism are often rubbish at spelling and grammer. Just give them (and the people who read your posts here) a break and use a spelling and grammer checker. (BTW it's 'euro' (lc), and never 'euros']. Sorry wrong board...

LOL

Jammer

Isn't it the developers that do the mods for the old games to work, and MS just publish them? Thats how i understood it? So, if anything, moan at EA/Activision.

X-Box 360 has brought alot to consoles IMO. My favourites being 1080i and the marketplace. Fightnight 3 is a good way to demo both. The graphics at 1080i are nothing short of amazing. I walked in when my brother was playing it, and at a glance thought it was a real boxing match. IT won't be released for a while, but it is a good sign of what can and will be done with the Xbox 360.

It's also a good example of how the marketplace will change console gaming. We can now try games before and after they are released to see if they suit our tastes. Based on that demo, i will buy FN3. Based on the demo of Condemned, i bought it. Class game. The demo's, added to the arcade games (SFII coming soon), themes, music video downloads and on-the-fly updates for games it is a fantastic service. Sony and Nintendo will follow in suit.

I don't understand people bashing the 360. Its class. When the next wave of games come, you'll all want one.

Laguna

Hold on.. does the OP of this thread think he's made a startling find in the comparisons between the Xbox 360 and the Dreamcast?, don't we ALL realise this (not to mention the numerous web articles and magazines spreads that have articulated the entirety of his rant about three months before his post). No, I'm sorry mate, I don't agree with a word you say regarding that the 360 will go the same route as the Dreamcast, Sega were pinning all their hopes on the DC when it launched as they were on their last legs financially, Microsoft can keep throwing money at the 360 to 'make' it work despite of its impending inferiority to other next generation consoles, hell, the Playstation beat the technically superior N64 & Dreamcast... why?, marketing...

RuggieBear

Laguna wrote:

hell, the Playstation beat the technically superior N64 & Dreamcast... why?, marketing...

well that and the fact that people are idiots:D

Laguna

RuggieBear wrote:

well that and the fact that people are idiots:D

Quoted for truth. Many people complain how many boring and similar games there are out there these days.. Metal Gear 64:Grandson of Snake Twice Removed.... FIFA 2456: Road to Galactic cup... it's all a side effect of gaming becoming more mainstream thanks to Sony with their 'Wipeout' in 1995, the Playstation IMO was the death knell for creativity in the games industry as it was so successful, Sony adopted the same marketing and merchandising technique that all corporations do, flood the market with safe products (i.e. sequel after sequel after sequel).

The majority of new, casual gamers aren't interested in playing the games like Katamari Damacy, Neverwinter Nights, Oblivion, Phoenix Wright:Ace Attorney (e.g innovative games), no - give them the next fifa, the next MGS, the next Splinter Cell, games they have played before, safe games. The collective mind of the general masses don't like wholesale change hence their plea for minor changes on an annual timeframe with all their games, gaming used to be the realm of quirky type folk who weren't interested or would put up with sequelitus.. now that the people who appreciate innovativity in games are in the minority, open the floodgates and batten down the hatches for a FIFA game for every format on a bi-annual basis until the end of time..

Sorry for the rant, but when it comes to consoles over the last ten years (the Nes being my first, main console in 1989), I feel like I've been playing the same games over and over again, never more so than when gaming on a machine with Microsoft/Sony emblazoned on it...

steviec

You can't blame Sony for the death of creativity and then cite games from EA(FIFA, originated on the SNES/Megadrive), Konami(Metal Gear, originated on Gameboy) and Ubisoft(Splinter Cell, originated on xbox) as evidence.

And I love how Nintendo always seem to pass under the radar. After all, they are the masters of originality with Mario Party 7, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Soccer, Mario Baseball, Mario Dance Dance Revolution, Legend of Zelda: insert random subtitle, the 'pay 30 quid for an 8-bit game' series for GBA, endless Pokemon games, as soon as something original is created(eg. Warioware) it's out on 3 different formats with multiple sequels. But you know what, they're still fun, and that's whats most important. I love Mario Party but I'm not going to pretend its innovative.

If you asked me to name some innovative games of the past couple of years the first things I'd think of would be Eyetoy, Singstar and Buzz. Of course that doesn't make them the best. I'm just saying, I've never understood the bad rep Sony get when their consoles have consistently had a library of more original games than anyone else(ok, PSP excluded, for now). Heck the first original game you mentioned is Katamari, a Sony PS2 game being published over here by Electronic Arts. Damn those big corporations. I'd much rather see Mario Poker.

Cake Fiend

monument wrote:

good journalism are often rubbish at spelling and grammer.

Nicely done :rolleyes:

Stephen wrote:

The Irish government misinterpreted an EU directive on the euro

Charlie McCreevy specifically, mongo that he is

Lemlin

Heck the first original game you mentioned is Katamari, a Sony PS2 game being published over here by Electronic Arts. Damn those big corporations. I'd much rather see Mario Poker.

Not to mention God of War, one of the games of the year, which was developed by Sony America I think.

steviec

Lemlin wrote:

Not to mention God of War, one of the games of the year, which was developed by Sony America I think.

And Shadow of the Colossus is another example.

monument

Triton wrote:

LOL

Sico wrote:

Nicely done :rolleyes:

Very good. But the two of you missed a second mistaken.

MontgomeryClift

steviec wrote:

Considering the XBox 360 is only the second console in history to offer any kind of backward compatibility out of the box(someone's going to prove me wrong on that point, I just know it),

Can I be the one? Atari did that with the 7800 (compatible with 2600) and maybe the 5200 (correct name?) as well. Commodore's 128 was C64-compatible.

Laguna

steviec wrote:

You can't blame Sony for the death of creativity and then cite games from EA(FIFA, originated on the SNES/Megadrive), Konami(Metal Gear, originated on Gameboy) and Ubisoft(Splinter Cell, originated on xbox) as evidence.

And I love how Nintendo always seem to pass under the radar. After all, they are the masters of originality with Mario Party 7, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Soccer, Mario Baseball, Mario Dance Dance Revolution, Legend of Zelda: insert random subtitle, the 'pay 30 quid for an 8-bit game' series for GBA, endless Pokemon games, as soon as something original is created(eg. Warioware) it's out on 3 different formats with multiple sequels. But you know what, they're still fun, and that's whats most important. I love Mario Party but I'm not going to pretend its innovative.

If you asked me to name some innovative games of the past couple of years the first things I'd think of would be Eyetoy, Singstar and Buzz. Of course that doesn't make them the best. I'm just saying, I've never understood the bad rep Sony get when their consoles have consistently had a library of more original games than anyone else(ok, PSP excluded, for now). Heck the first original game you mentioned is Katamari, a Sony PS2 game being published over here by Electronic Arts. Damn those big corporations. I'd much rather see Mario Poker.

You missed my point entirely, I was talking about the death of creativity SINCE the Playstation.. I'm well aware Nintendo have adopted the sequelitus syndrome SINCE the success of the Playstation.

Dont be at yourself

Sure, the Xbox360's current line-up is fairly rubbish, but I can count the number of great launch line-ups on the fingers of my stubby, malformed, two-fingered hand.

The problems with emulation are being worked on - but even so, is it really an issue? I played maybe 4 or 5 games PSOne games in total on my PS2, and even then just as a diversion. Anybody who spends over €400 on a brand new console and complains that it doens't play games from an all but dead system needs their heads examined.

But then, anyone who spends over €400 on a console with such a small, run of the mill selection of games also needs their heads examined.

On the topic of Sony killing creativity:

While it's a romantic notion to assign all the blame to big multinational Sony wading in to the quaint, utopian games industry and ripping out any trace of innovation and creativity, flooding the market with sequel after sequel, it's simply not the case.

EA were knocking out a yearly FIFA before Sony came along, just as Capcom were knocking out 17 different version of Street Fighter 2. The market was flooded with cheap to acquire licenses for just about everything from Judge Dredd to the red spot on the 7-up can. And just as now, the informed gamer was able to avoid licensed rubbish, and buy good games.

Sony, if they are guilty of anything, brought games into The Mainstream(tm). The Mainstream don't want Killer 7, they don't want Gregory Horror Show, they don't want Rez, they don't want ICO - they want FIFA! They want James Bond! They want Need For Speed! Is it Sony's fault that the masses ignore the innovative in favour of the banal? Is it Sony's fault that the publishers are releasing these games?

Plenty of innovative games have been released over the last decade - and the majority of them have been released on Sony consoles. With a larger number of playstations under people's tellies, publishers have been able to try the odd quirky game - they won't do it on the XBox because the userbase is significantly smaller, and so the market is signficantly less.

See also: EyeToy, Singstar

Triton

Laguna wrote:

You missed my point entirely, I was talking about the death of creativity SINCE the Playstation.. I'm well aware Nintendo have adopted the sequelitus syndrome SINCE the success of the Playstation.

They had adopted it well before that. How many Metroid, Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong games were there? Not to mention countless other series' of games.

Dont be at yourself

monument wrote:

Very good. But the two of you missed a second mistaken.

A second mistaken! Do I get a prize?

TheDoc

In the store I work in it seems every 10th person i speak to they have a complaint abut the xbox 360 backwards compatability, that they cant play there old games. They canot grasp the concept of going on xbox live and downlaoding the emulators required.

I asume all you 360 owners understand that like every 2 weeks or month another 50 games a released into your backwards compat catalogue, yeah?

THEN STOP BOTHERING ME AT WORK ABOUT IT !

=P

monument

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

A second mistaken! Do I get a prize?

No, the postage costs to Japan is too much.

Dont be at yourself

monument wrote:

No, the postage costs to Japan is too much.

Postage costs are too much! I expect the prize on my desk by morning.

Big Nelly

I wouldn't buy an xbox. Reason: Microsoft. The reason it is noit backward compatibile is because Microsoft made it. They have done the same sh*t for years in the PC market and now trying the same crap in the console market. Gimme a PS anyday before an xbox

Actually bought an xbox for my Bday a year or so ago. Played it about 5 times and sold it on to someone here. PS is the baby for me. Loving Resident Evil on it:D

Ri_Nollaig

the reason the 360 isnt backwards comp is its using completely different hardware to the xbox1 intel/nvidia to ibm/ati
and i really dont get the big deal is about it, there is only about 1 r 2 games that i would actually want to play from the previous console and its the same in the ps1-ps2 and so to be ps3. why would u spend 400eur only to play old games?

steviec

Big Nelly wrote:

I wouldn't buy an xbox. Reason: Microsoft. The reason it is noit backward compatibile is because Microsoft made it. They have done the same sh*t for years in the PC market and now trying the same crap in the console market. Gimme a PS anyday before an xbox

Seriously. Where are you getting that argument from? Windows has retained backwards compatibility for the most part for years. Unlike MacOS which is the only real competitor.

Backwards compatibility isn't important, I have about 5 PSone games left and can't remember the last time I played any of them. People don't buy a next gen console to play old gen games. The PS2 was backwards compatible because it contained the PS1 hardware inside it. The xbox hardware was far too much to put into the 360, and emulation is never going to work with every game. Be glad to have any at all, if it wasn't for Sony doing it with PS2 I'm not sure we'd see backwards compatibility from any consoles, it amazes me how it happened once and now suddenly everyone expects it as standard.