Xbox

15-01-2002 12:06pm #1

XBOX is coming out in a couple of months ,What do we think of it and are we going to buy it ? Im not too sure if i will get it yet.

Bluehair · 16-01-2002 1:20am

I'm keen to buy one to be honest but the price is a bit steep

I'm too busy with work at the moment but will be taking a trip to the States in a couple of months and am currently planning to pick up a Gamecube and a few games while there.

The Xbox will have to be a Xmas pressy at the end of the year

Shinji · 16-01-2002 2:01am

DoA3 is fun for a while as long as you're not a hardcore beat'em'up fan, Project Gotham Racing is basically Metropolis Street Racer Part Deux, Halo... well, I think it sucks, most people I know think it sucks, but some journalists have loved it to bits. Munch's Oddysee is a big heap of pants.

Basically the launch software isn't BAD, but hardly worth the price of entry. Stuff like Jet Set Radio Future and Wreckless is out soon after launch though, and ROCKS.

Bosco · 16-01-2002 3:29am

Just wondering...

Does anyone know how close XBOX architecture is to a PC?

Will it be extra easy to port XBOX games to the intel platform and thus wield a bounty of decent arcade games?

Is there any likelyhood of XBOX emulator hardware/software appearing for the PC any time soon/ever?

Bosco

Stonemason · 16-01-2002 6:14am

Any idea how much itll cost to get the DVD movie player add on ?The reason i ask is coz rather than get a dedicated DVD player i figure it would as well to get a console as well.Secondly will the games come on DVD or cd ? coz backing up a DVD game will cost a packet in new hardware.And lastly will you be able to play backups on it or like sony will you need some kind of mod chip.And before you all start thinking im a pirate youdbe wrong but its either back up my games or stop lending them to my for beloved nephews (4 of the buggers) who treat cds like frizzys coaster door stops or anything els their adled brains can concoct.

Stone

7Day Theory · 16-01-2002 7:02am

Originally posted by Stonemason
Any idea how much itll cost to get the DVD movie player add on ?The reason i ask is coz rather than get a dedicated DVD player i figure it would as well to get a console as well.

Im gonna guess, about €25-35, for the DVD "activation" kit which is essentially a Remote which tells the Xbox to install the codec to the harddrive.
The codec is encrypted and stored in a dongle and im guess that it will be hacked, but as to when...

You could just get a Station2.

Originally posted by Stonemason
Secondly will the games come on DVD or cd ? coz backing up a DVD game will cost a packet in new hardware..

All games will come on DVD, and most likely will be single sided, doubled layered.(very expensive in the dvd-r sense)

Originally posted by Stonemason
And lastly will you be able to play backups on it or like sony will you need some kind of mod chip.And before you all start thinking im a pirate youdbe wrong but its either back up my games or stop lending them to my for beloved nephews (4 of the buggers) who treat cds like frizzys coaster door stops or anything els their adled brains can concoct.

The XBox has "strong security". They do a lot of tricks to make sure that you cannot hack the box (regions, copy protection, unauthorized software). Microsoft does all production of disks and all games have been 'encrypted' to run on the XBox. It sounds similar to the DVD encryption, but Microsoft is holding all the keys so that they do not leak

The Xbox is so protective, that any alteration to the 3 Hd paritions, how ever minute, the console wont boot, if you solder extra memory it wont boot (waste of money anyways, games proggy'd to use 64mb and 128mb would not be used) and it goes on and on, have microsoft finally got secuity nailed in this aspect?

Bluehair · 16-01-2002 8:54am

Originally posted by Bosco
Just wondering...

Does anyone know how close XBOX architecture is to a PC?

Will it be extra easy to port XBOX games to the intel platform and thus wield a bounty of decent arcade games?

As far as I'm aware architecture is very close indeed so portability shouldn't be an issue. However whilst certain genres will probably make the PC-Xbox move very quickly I have my doubts that the Xbox-PC benefits will be as good... if only because Microsoft will tie up publishers in Xbox-Exclusive aggreements for defined periods (e.g. Odds of seeing Halo on PC this year-- v.slim)

Originally posted by Bosco
Just wondering...
Is there any likelyhood of XBOX emulator hardware/software appearing for the PC any time soon/ever?

Bosco

Soon: I doubt it

Ever: Sure no doubt but I'd say it'll take longer than people reckon before ya see it. Mircrosoft would also likely go mental with anything similar to 'Bleem' etc..

Krusty_Clown · 16-01-2002 10:13am

Do you not think that the XBox has the potential to flop big-time?

I know that sales over Christmas in the US were a good indicator of future success (sounds like an ad.!), but will they (Microsoft)ever realise any sales of the XBox in Japan?

Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo sell their console HW at a loss, hoping to recoup their money on game licensing. However, I would imagine (MHO) that your average Japanese Joe Soap will buy the Sony or Nintendo product, before they would buy a US/Mexican console (particularly one that comes from Microsoft - i.e. has been localised into Japanese, instead of originating there). So, I could be wrong, but it looks to me like Ms won't be able to tap into what is the largest market for Console game buyers...

None of the above is based on fact, purely ignorant speculation!

If the XBox is successful, I will be one of the first people queueing up for XBox 1.1 Service Pack 2! But for the time being, I think I'll just hang on, and watch from the side-lines...

Learnt my lesson the hard way:
Texas Instruments TI-99-4A
ColecoVision
Commodore 64
Amstrad PC 1512 (x086)
486DX266
P60
P200MMX
P400
PIII700
etc.
etc.
.

tHE vAGGABOND · 16-01-2002 10:43am

*cough*

Dont forget Championship Manager for the XBox

Bosco - its 'quite' similar to the PC. Thats means its not the same, but any 'Microsoft' programmer worth his salt would have no problems adaping.

That does not mean that every PC game would suit a console.

XBox has the potential to flop big-time

I think 1 and a half million sales in the US over christmas will ensure its not a flap anyway

Where you are right is that MS are still searching for the 'killer app' the megga game everyone must have. Like Wipeout on the Playstation all theose years ago. Everyone thought it was Halo, but everyone I speak to tells me Halo is poo!

We'll see!

Shinji · 16-01-2002 11:48am

Getting Xbox stuff up and running on a high specced PC will be easy enough in theory, but the operating system gets in the way quite a lot. Emulation will happen but never on a legal or professional level, because unlike emulating the PSone, emulating an Xbox will actually be illegal.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to see Xbox titles on your PC.

Stonemason · 16-01-2002 11:32pm

Thanks for the advice im going with the PS2 then i have to admit that i wasnt keen on going with MS anyway but judging what whats been said and my need for a consol for beat-em ups and DVD movies ill stick to my XP1800/512MBDDR/GF3 games machine :)for everything else besides who would want to play a game like Halo with a gamepad anyway!!!.

cheers

Stone

bonkey · 18-01-2002 2:22pm

Originally posted by Shinji
Emulation will happen but never on a legal or professional level, because unlike emulating the PSone, emulating an Xbox will actually be illegal.

As a matter of interest, how did MS manage this?

Also, concerning the non-hackability of the X-POX - did I not read somewhere that some bloke had already ported and installed Linux on it....complete with some rewiring to get his keyboard and mouse working? Maybe I was dreaming....

jc

Shinji · 18-01-2002 5:34pm

As a matter of interest, how did MS manage this?

Encryption of all executable code. You can't run an Xbox game without having the encryption key; you can't distribute the encryption key without it being illegal, as it belongs to MS.

Also, concerning the non-hackability of the X-POX - did I not read somewhere that some bloke had already ported and installed Linux on it....complete with some rewiring to get his keyboard and mouse working? Maybe I was dreaming....

Yes. Of course, it doesn't actually run Xbox games any more. He's effectively turned it into a (fairly poor) Linux PC. With no drivers for the graphics or sound. So er.... not very worthwhile really.

Blitzkrieger · 19-01-2002 3:00am

I've said this before but IMHO the X-box will be a big success. IMO it's the perfect games system. The combination of identical hardware and one-vendor OS\drivers will make it more stable than any PC. The HD is a welcome addition to store saved games, patches and expansions. The anti-piracy measures will ultimatly give more money to games developers and hopefully improve the standard of games.

The only downside is the cost. I know development costs for games are huge now, but games just cost too much. And MS will never to anything to keep the cost down.

Dont be at yourself · 20-01-2002 5:04pm

If they drop the price and release games that I actually care about, then sign me up.

Clover · 20-01-2002 6:05pm

well i'm going with the x-box , i'm #2 on the list for one in game in
blanch. i mainly use the pc for games anyway, so it will work out cheaper than buying a new pc to play the latest games on as my pc suxs(3years old).

Shinji · 21-01-2002 2:51am

I honestly don't understand the mentality that says "I'll get an Xbox rather than upgrading my PC".

The Xbox doesn't play PC games! The PC doesn't play Xbox games! Sure, there are a (very limited) number of ports between the platforms, but realistically, they're still two different things...

amp · 21-01-2002 11:20am

Well before I upgraded my old pc to a Voodoo 3 3500 I had a crap voodoo 2 so bought a PS1 cheap and played games on that instead for a while and then switched back to primarily use the PC when I upgraded it.

In other words, it's not about playing the same games it's just about playing games.

Easy!

Shinji · 21-01-2002 12:28pm

Exactly, but if that's the case then I can't see why people would opt to spend £299 Stg on an Xbox rather than £199 Stg on a PS2 - which has significantly better games in the here and now, and probably will have right up until mid-2003.

Kairo · 21-01-2002 12:43pm

Plus, It's made by Microsoft......

They're evil, or so my Mom says.

RasTa · 21-01-2002 4:25pm

me is wating for the gamecube,since sega is no more ill be looking towards the gamecube for my next purchase(if they ever annouce when its coming over here) them resident evil shots look yummy
by this time next year i predict the x-box will be kicking ass probaly,its taken this long for the ps2 to get there acts together and deliver some good games but my prob with this ps2 is all the good games are sequals
thats why im looking forward to see wha the x-box and gamecube has to offer

DeadBankClerk · 21-01-2002 4:43pm

Originally posted by Kyro
Plus, It's made by Microsoft......

They're evil, or so my Mom says.

nay! its those communists and there "Linux" that are evil.

Kairo · 21-01-2002 5:50pm

Don't you mean Lunix?
Lunix is already migrating to PS2 and Xbox...parents should keep an eye on their Hax0r kids. They're not limited by needing a PC for their evil deeds. :~D

Anyway..I'm hearing some bad stories about Halo. Really hope that X-Box is gonna fail.

Dont be at yourself · 21-01-2002 8:36pm

http://www.eurogamer.net/news.php?id=6641

Interesting read, we're being made pay far more than our Japanese chums

Clover · 22-01-2002 9:16pm

Shinji I honestly don't understand the mentality that says "I'll get an Xbox rather than upgrading my PC".

The Xbox doesn't play PC games! The PC doesn't play Xbox games! Sure, there are a (very limited) number of ports between the platforms, but realistically, they're still two different things...

i said i would rather get an x-box than upgrade my pc for a reason, that is : instead of constantly up grading my specs to keep up with the latest games ( pc ) i would rather get an x-box
and know that when i buy a game for it (x-box ) that it will play and i know that i will not have to spend money upgrading it (x-box) to keep up with latest x-box games in the future.
i'm making a compleate switch back to consol games.
i made no such comment that the x-box plays pc games or that you can play x-box games on the pc

Uphamizer · 26-01-2002 12:20am

Has anyone any idea of the exact spec of the Xbox?

Shinji · 26-01-2002 1:27am

Clover - right, fair enough, but that's not how your comment came across originally. And I still fail to see, if you're switching entirely to console gaming, why you'd pick an Xbox over a PS2 right now.

Uphamizer:

Intel Pentium 700Mhz core CPU
NVIDIA NV25 (GeForce3 equivalent) Graphics core at 233Mhz
64Mb RDRAM (Shared between graphics, sound and core)
NVIDIA multimedia processor (similar to Crush)
8Gb 5400RPM hard drive
4x DVD-ROM drive
Big chunky controller that everyone hates.

SantaHoe · 26-01-2002 5:02am

About to complete some horrible game....

"A fatal exception 0E has occured in module xbox.dll-0CC1f20113003e2900, you must reboot your xbox to continue, or you can wait and see if this blue screen will just go away."

reboot

startup

"Your Xbox was not properly shut down, scandisk will now check your drives for errors, to avoid this warning in future use the shutdown menu."

"Xbox has detected a new control pad and is installing the software for it"

"You must reboot for the changes to take effect."

Gah, think I'll get a gamecube or something...

Hobbes · 26-01-2002 9:39am

X-Box has Green screen of death (GSOD) not blue.

I very much doubt the x-box will compete easily against the PC, it's more for the console heads.

26-01-2002 1:34pm

Originally posted by SantaHoe
About to complete some horrible game....

"A fatal exception 0E has occured in module xbox.dll-0CC1f20113003e2900, you must reboot your xbox to continue, or you can wait and see if this blue screen will just go away."
reboot
startup
"Your Xbox was not properly shut down, scandisk will now check your drives for errors, to avoid this warning in future use the shutdown menu."
"Xbox has detected a new control pad and is installing the software for it"
"You must reboot for the changes to take effect."

Gah, think I'll get a gamecube or something...

Lol its so true

Im leaning towards the GC aswell

Bosco · 04-02-2002 2:45am

Hi folks,

When I asked about portability, I was thinking along the lines of Xbox to PC rather than the other way around. At any given time the PC has always been lacking good beat'em'ups and racing games (when compared to those available for consoles). Does the similarity beteen the platforms mean that developers are likely to port their Xbox games to PC because doing so would be cheap and easy and would boost game sales? Or will Microsoft try and stop them in an effort to boost Xbox sales? (Can they?)

Bosco

Xbox

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