The Xbox - what could have been...

Myrddin

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/dreamcast-xbox-sega-microsoft-games,news-5579.html

Sega apparently wanted the xbox to have full backwards compatability with dreamcast titles/software :cool:

To think it didnt happen because of some online feature? Damn would have been cool.

o1s1n

I read this recently enough myself. Really really weird idea.

From a retro gaming standpoint, it would have been fantastic. Might have meant to xbox would actually get some use!

CCCP^

o1s1n wrote: »

Might have meant to xbox would actually get some use!

Why did you clear Halo? Sure play it again.

Atavan-Halen

Hmm, interesting. I would imagine it would've been hard to put the dreamcast workings in an xbox and try and put all the xbox bits in aswell.

o1s1n

CCCP^ wrote: »

Why did you clear Halo? Sure play it again.

I only play that game when I'm having difficulty getting to sleep.

atavan-halen wrote: »

Hmm, interesting. I would imagine it would've been hard to put the dreamcast workings in an xbox and try and put all the xbox bits in aswell.

I wonder how they would have done it alright. The xbox is pretty much just a mini pc. So some of that could have been adapted to contribute to running the Dreamcast aspect of it. Would still have needed some extra bits and bobs though.

Atavan-Halen

I'd hate to think the xbox would've been bigger than it already is

trout

The Dreamcast OS was based on Windows CE, and used DirectX ... so maybe it's not so farfetched at all.

Ah ... what might have been.

o1s1n

atavan-halen wrote: »

I'd hate to think the xbox would've been bigger than it already is

Woah yeah! You'd either need to keep the thing on the ground floor or have reinforced floorboards installed if you wanted to take it upstairs.

Atavan-Halen

That is if you could get it upstairs in the first place.

corcaigh07

wow, why didnt they let the dreamcast in without Internet? xbox was majorly BB online gaming, most of DC's internet was 33K/56K gaming.

Myrddin

I suppose with MS being given a FULL technical breakdown of the Dreamcast, they probably would have wrote a dedicated emulator to run nativly from the xbox. I doubt the innards would have changed too much, because the show stopper was the internet thing. That tells me that is wasnt going to cause MS any technical headaches whatsoever to have Dreamcast capability.

I think the problem with modern day emulation, is that there is very little documentation on the hardware (proper tech docs), and much of it comes from guesswork/hacks. But given access to the full schematics of a system, software emulation can come VERY close.

weeder

o1s1n wrote: »

I read this recently enough myself. Really really weird idea.

From a retro gaming standpoint, it would have been fantastic. Might have meant to xbox would actually get some use!

mine sees regular homebrew use

CiDeRmAn

The Xbox was one of the most criminally under exploited consoles ever, more so than the DC.
I have a pretty good collection of games for it and they really shine, especially the Xbox only releases, so the PS2 as lead dev console didn't hamstring the Xbox versions.

Knights Of The Old Republic/2
Strangers Wrath,
Star Wars Republic Commando,
PGR2,
Amped 2,
Steel batallion,
Halo/2 (Leave it alone Retro!),
MotoGP,
Forza,
Panzer Dragoon Orta,
all great games and, due to the short life span of the console, who knows how much more they could have gotten from it.

Despite the fact that most of the machine was cobbled together from PC parts, it was more powerful than both Sony and Nintendos efforts.

The worst thing of all was the total cut off with the release of the 360.
The PS2 still has the occasional release, I can think of Wipeout Pulse and Indiana Jones for two.
The Xbox was simply brought out to the metaphorical yard and shot

Retr0gamer

I think it would have been very easy for MS to include DC b/c due to the fact that both machines were based on PC architecture and used direct X. The DC seems like a very easy machine to emulate, just look how good the ports of DC games like skies of arcadia, shenmue 2 and Ikaruga were. The PS2 ports suffered a little unfortunately.

o1s1n

weeder wrote: »

mine sees regular homebrew use

So did mine when I was living in my last apartment with no room for consoles. Was really useful alright.

It's been stored away unused ever since I got the games room though.

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

ever since I got the games room though.

Yeah yeah, we dont like your kind round these parts.*

*May imply extreme jealousy :pac:

o1s1n

EnterNow wrote: »

Yeah yeah, we dont like your kind round these parts.*

*May imply extreme jealousy :pac:

Feel free to come over and bask in the coolness of it all. There's an admission fee though...it'll cost you 1 game*




*Does not mean you can take one of my games on the way out :pac:

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

Feel free to come over and bask in the coolness of it all. There's an admission fee though...it'll cost you 1 game*




*Does not mean you can take one of my games on the way out :pac:

Thats great Ive an old snakes and ladders here to get rid of......oh you mean video game??:p

o1s1n

Also, he who wishes to gain entry, must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.

What... is your name?
What... is your quest?
What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

...

Sorry, I just went back to work today for the first time in 4 and a half months. I'm a little delirious. Going to leave now before I derail this any further!

Atavan-Halen

o1s1n wrote: »

Also, he who wishes to gain entry, must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.

What... is your name?
What... is your quest?
What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

What... is your name? Sonic the Hedgehog
What... is your quest? I wanna be the best, like no one ever was....
What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? 3 velocities

Roar

Is that a european or an african swallow?

Syferus

That 'some online feature' turned out to be the defining moment in video games in the last decade, and trying to integrate a fledgling Xbox Live with the Dreamcast's online functionality would have been fraught with problems. To add to it, Xbox live wasn't even online at the Xbox's release so integrating online functionality for the Dreamcast wouldn't have been particularly feasible.

We have to remember that Microsoft made an operating loss somewhere in the region of $4 billion on the original Xbox, and that that was well within what was expected by them - it was intended to establish them in the market and nothing more. The quick death of the Xbox upon the Xbox 360's release only typifies how much of a means to an end the original Xbox was to Microsoft.

Most people heard the Dreamcast rumours at the time, but it would have been a legal quagmire - Sega would obviously have expected a royalty fee for every console sold, and given Microsoft where already operating on the assumption of huge loses even that alone would be a bitter pill to swallow, disregarding tying their new console with a failed console by a company with a more than pockmarked recent history.

CiDeRmAn

I'm the same about the Xbox, used it to *backup* my xbox originals and play emulators, my bro had it hooked up to the old interwebby thing and had internet radio, the technical knowit all!
But the emu's are nice, still have a MAME disk, just pop it in and off you go, in any modded Xbox.
I believe my brother still has his dev Xbox, it goes with his dev PS2, the louser!

Had to get a switch installed so the mod chip could be turned off, Steel Batallion would detect it's presence, jedi style, and not work, the feckers!

Atavan-Halen

Ah, steel batallion. Didn't that have a whopper controller?

I've been meaning to pick up another 'box on the cheap to get it soft modded. My friend's brother can do it.

o1s1n

atavan-halen wrote: »

Ah, steel batallion. Didn't that have a whopper controller?

Yep, and Ciderman has one, the lucky git!

atavan-halen wrote: »

I've been meaning to pick up another 'box on the cheap to get it soft modded. My friend's brother can do it.

It's really really easy to do. Just consists of an xbox memory card with the save exploit and a copy of a game that it works with (I think it's Syphon Filter?)

Pop it in, press a button and away it goes. As easy as soft modding a psp.

I have both in my parents house somewhere. Must have a look for it and start modding peoples xboxes.

Atavan-Halen

I think it's Splinter Cell, or Splinetr Cell as it's known to some :P

o1s1n

atavan-halen wrote: »

I think it's Splinter Cell, or Splinetr Cell as it's known to some :P

Duur, Oisin stupid. I meant Splinter Cell alright. That's the game I used for mine.

Don't know where I pulled Syphon Filter from.

Speaking of which, I loved the tasers in that game!

Atavan-Halen

A game with tazers?! I'm there!

Edit: Didn't state of emergency have them?

CiDeRmAn

My Steel Batallion controller hasn't seen any action now in a couple of years, still requires a table that takes up half the floor in the games room, ah well.
Got Line Of Contact as well a while ago, can't play because,
1- My Xbox isn't online and it's an online only sequel to Steel Batallion.
2- I'm crap at Steel Batallion and don't want to embarrass myself.
3- Don't think there are any servers hosting it now anyways.