Its less than 3 weeks until the release of the XBox360, the first of the next generation consoles, and I have seen next to nothing in terms of advertising/hype. They had the launch crap on MTV several months ago but its been pretty quiet since then. Wouldn't you think they would be pumping it up a bit by now?

11/3/2005 12:53:57 PM

they've already sold like a gazillion copies. Wal mart has one that you can play demos on in the entertainment section. check it out. (briar creek)

11/3/2005 12:56:07 PM

I also thought that was odd. I found myself wondering when the 360 was coming out earlier this week. Now, thanks to this thread, I know. There might have been more advertising if the other next gen consoles were coming out at the same time. Since they aren't...

They might not need to advertise at this point. For all we know they may be struggling to meet preorder demand. I'm sure we'll all start to see them soon.

11/3/2005 1:25:42 PM

or someone fucked up and its not out till 11/2006

11/3/2005 1:27:04 PM

if they know that they are almost sold out with pre-orders it would be stupid to try to increase demand for it, because the only thing that will come of that is a bunch of pissed off parents and children - and not even any additional sales

11/3/2005 1:33:38 PM

what fuck is is an XBox360

11/3/2005 1:34:23 PM

i saw one at best buy on tuesday.... looked pretty cool i guess

then i grabbed episode 3 and left

11/3/2005 1:36:58 PM

^^^You mean like it was for the regular xbox release?

There were so few to go around the people that did sell them could get away with murder. While they couldn't up the price they could and did require extra purchases (xbox, extra controller, 3 games, etc.).

I'll wait until the xbox 720 or whatever comes out and pick up the 360 + a few games on the cheap.

[Edited on November 3, 2005 at 1:38 PM. Reason : ^^^]

11/3/2005 1:37:42 PM

I mean show ANY of the Madden videos on the page below on TV during an NFL game and people would be frothing at the mouth. The general public does not know just how good this console is going to be.

http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/742/742471/vids_1.html

11/3/2005 1:40:44 PM

show these madden videos. theyre at higher size. wayyyyyyyy better.

http://www.xboxyde.com/news_2246_en.html

11/3/2005 2:07:02 PM

I'm not disappointed they're not going ad-crazy.

11/3/2005 2:26:03 PM

They'll sell themselves. I don't see why they would need to have any advertisements until late January.

11/3/2005 8:48:47 PM

I don't think it looks that great. Not ready to put out the $$$ and upgrade as of yet.

11/4/2005 1:13:56 PM

They started putting up the Xbox 360 demo at the Best Buy on glenwood. It should be playable by tomorow.

11/4/2005 5:08:04 PM

I had no idea when it was being released before reading this thread

11/4/2005 6:34:49 PM

Yeah, the demo is up at the bestbuy on glenwood. It has 2 playable games and then some demos of like 8 other games. You can play call of duty and something else....looks pretty sick.

11/5/2005 1:12:37 AM

there was a badass promo for it in front of Jarhead tonight

didn't show any games or anything

but it had jumpropes

and that was the shit

11/5/2005 2:29:37 AM

thanks Woodfoot, now i HAVE to get one, DAMNIT

11/5/2005 2:01:02 PM

I just played Call of Duty on Xbox 360 at best buy in cary

i have to say i was very underwhelmed. granted this is a first generation game, but still the graphics were (i'd say) worse than a high-end gaming pc. One of the arches in the city was composed of about 8 polygons... I mean they didn't even try to curve that shit.... Quake 3's had curves since when 2000? 2001?

pathetic!

11/5/2005 2:25:13 PM

cod = quake 3 engine

11/5/2005 2:39:15 PM

^^ I would generally expect a 3,000 gaming pc to look way better than a 400 dollar console...

11/5/2005 2:43:13 PM

well then you'd be stupid.

consoles have to be competitive for 5 years

11/5/2005 2:45:42 PM

when the original x-box came out, the graphics on the high-end gaming pc's of the time was far superior. The graphics capabilities of 3-12 grand machines is pretty certainly going to be better than a 400 dollar console box even if it's pretty much dedicated to gaming.

While the ps2 and n64 arguably had better graphics capabilities than MOST pc's when they were released, as did the original x-box. you did not say MOST pc's, you said HIGH END GAMING PC's. you obviously have no idea what you're talking about.

"High end" gaming machines, 3000 bucks and higher for parts for just the box, will pretty certainly have greater graphics capabilities than a reasonably priced console. Although the specs look pretty impressive on those x-box 360's and ps3's, you have to remember that they're not using full desktop processors. You can't say "ooh, it's 3 core 3 ghz, that's like way more than 2 core." They're not really the same class of chip, and they're missing alot of stuff that a desktop has in it.

As for staying competitive for 5 years, that's true, but you still don't know what you're talking about. Consoles don't have to compete with 3000+ dollar gaming rigs... they have to compete with 1200 dollar rigs MAYBE and certainly other consoles. They also have to be the best graphics and gaming experience availible FOR THE MONEY. No console maker would be stupid enough to try to seriously outdo the highest end gaming pc's for under 400 bucks...

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 3:08 PM. Reason : ]

11/5/2005 2:57:50 PM

Quote :

"you said HIGH END GAMING PC's. "

yea and in a year, that "HIGH END" pc is gonna be a "MOST" pc

and the console will still have 4 more years of competition ahead of it

and just so there's no more argument here - the gameplay i saw today at best buy was equivalent to a common pc - i'm actually specifically thinking of a pc i built for $1000 18 months ago

go for yourself and have a look see. it looks like CRAP and by CRAP i mean nothing special at all

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 3:29 PM. Reason : s]

11/5/2005 3:24:19 PM

High-end gaming pc's from 2 or 3 years ago still outperform the 500-600 dollar dells. The existence of the celeron line from intel ensures that the most common low-end pc's will generally suck no matter how new they are.

I'm not arguing with you about how it looks though. I've been fairly dissapointed myself, but it's jut not fair comparing a console to a high end gaming pc. Wait till oblivion comes out on it in february (was pushed back, rumors about the x-box 360 having issues running the game at playable speeds or something?) That's a game developed for next gen graphics that'll also be on the computer. Should be able to make a fairer assessment then. Could also come out on PS3 depending on some factors, might make a really nice program to use for cross-comparison.

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 3:47 PM. Reason : ]

11/5/2005 3:44:28 PM

go to best buy

look at the graphics

if you're impressed, then gg to yourself, sir, and go buy one with joy in your heart

11/5/2005 3:46:47 PM

Hell no, I wouldn't buy one of those, I have one of those "high end" gaming pc's that kick its ass. Just think your comparison is a little unreasonable.

More fair would be to point out that it doesn't look that stellar really compared even some current gen console games...

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 3:48 PM. Reason : ]

11/5/2005 3:47:51 PM

its comparable to even a mid-end pc

this is truly disappointing

and no, i wasn't expecting anything more than disappointing, but that doesn't mean its not sad to finally see with your own eyes, the end of the "next-gen" gaming system paradigm

11/5/2005 3:50:05 PM

yeah well if it's having trouble competing with say... a 1500 dollar midrange gaming pc... then the ps3 may eat it's soul when it comes out, assuming it's not equally dissapointing.

11/5/2005 3:53:32 PM

I'm still wondering if they will have all the wireless bugs worked out by launch. Apparently, stores with wireless networks had to take down the models b/c they took the entire store offline. If its less than 3 weeks till launch, they might have some bustling to do if they are gonna hit the mark.

11/5/2005 4:02:51 PM

Does anybody else think it's fucking ridiculous to have to pay $100 for the wireless networking adaptor?

11/5/2005 4:11:33 PM

aren't you introducing unnecessary latency when you use a wireless network adapter? and don't online games require the lowest latency possible?

sounds like a bunch of crap

11/5/2005 4:42:57 PM

yeah but realistically you're not bad under 100 ms. my wireless network gives me pings of about 46 to most servers normally, which isn't that bad.

11/5/2005 6:12:31 PM

hey, ad wizards here on tww...

you say the xbox 360 has sold out with its pre-orders so there's no point in advertising
you ever think microsoft would want to lock up even *more* pre-orders? sell the pre-orders, a "second phase", while people are frothing at the mouth for it

...profit

[Edited on November 5, 2005 at 6:26 PM. Reason : $$$]

11/5/2005 6:23:05 PM

yes and exploiting that "froth at their mouths" by allowing them to pre-order non-existent units would only be like giving the scent of blood to hungry pissed off lions.

creates a lot of ill will

plz refer to PS2 launch debacle

11/5/2005 6:44:47 PM

I'm pretty sure microsoft could truthfully say "look we're not going to hvae new units until january 25th, if you want to go ahead and pre-order now so that you will definitely have it on january 25th, we'll let you" and people would still want to be on the list to get their xbox 360 on january 25th

11/5/2005 6:51:40 PM

do you have any real world experience to back up your assumption?

because I think that would make people upset - and i have the ps2 launch to back up my opinion

11/5/2005 11:29:47 PM

umm but there will be unit come 2006. just cause they arent made doesnt mean they cant put preorders down to sell them.

11/6/2005 12:53:44 AM

Pretty interesting article. I wouldn't say I put too much stock into it, but it is a decent read.

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3145154&did=1

11/6/2005 9:07:09 AM

Quote :

"Does anybody else think it's fucking ridiculous to have to pay $100 for the wireless networking adaptor?"

no, cuz thats how much the one for the original xbox was.




now personally i dont see a point in comparing consoles to computers at all. sure you could not buy the xbox cuz the games look better on the pc...but guess what, there are plenty of games that wont be released on the pc. many that do wont come out for pc for another 6 months. a console looking shittier than my computer has never deterred me (or many other gamers) from buying one.

the edge consoles have for many people is simplicity, plug and go. not everyone knows their shit and installation problems, hardware incompatibilities, etc would be beyond them. then if you want a comprable experience you have to set up a nice sound system, output to a tv, and find a comfortable gamepad. this is more than some people wish to do (including me since i never have my tv area anywhere near my office/desk/etc).

another boon is being able to play multiplayer on one box with four people. this works for people who cant necessarily afford that highend or even midgrade pc (not to mention 4 copies of the game), or not all of their friends at minimum.

i personally have been a little underwhelmed by the 360 thus far, but ill give it a chance at walmart or BB later this week when kiddies are in school.

11/6/2005 9:28:16 AM

Quote :

" EGSonikku writes "According to Merrill Lynch, after doing a breakdown of hardware and manufacturing costs., the XBox 360 may end up as little as half the cost as Sony's PlayStation 3 by 2006. Citing Sony's financial woe's and Microsoft's deep pockets, they predict '...Microsoft's Xbox 360 should emerge as the early winner in the next round of the game console wars.'" "

http://games.slashdot.org/games/05/11/03/1450202.shtml?tid=211&tid=187

11/6/2005 10:02:42 AM

its no surprise that microsoft was rushing it to be the first in the market. ppl complain saying thats a bad move, but look how well ps2 did last time despite being the crappiest graphic wise.

11/6/2005 11:48:14 AM

A $400 Xbox will play games better then a $400 PC. If you don't believe me, then buy a $400 PC and put games on it. Mid tier for a computer is about 1200$ and even those would have a hard time keeping up with the graphical power of the Xbox360. If you want a fair comparison, reduce all your game resolutions to 1024x768 and then compare those to games on the Xbox. The xbox ones will, at worst, be comparable.

Every console, upon release, competes well with computer systems but they end up failing roughly two years later when all the components within a computer have gotten much more powerful and new graphical techniques are employed by various houses.

11/6/2005 7:50:55 PM

A $1200 PC cannot come close to duplicating the performance of an XBox360. No one has a PC that can outperform the 360 right now.

11/6/2005 11:58:52 PM

the point is, the xbox360 game that is being demoed right now isn't using the capabilities of the system

and as a result

lots of regular fucking computers CAN duplicate what i've seen so far (one game - COD)

[Edited on November 7, 2005 at 12:03 AM. Reason : s]

11/7/2005 12:02:25 AM

that game company wanted to rush a release because they can sell just about as many copies without spending more time/resources and delaying the release and missing the large initial game sales.

[Edited on November 7, 2005 at 12:18 AM. Reason : ]

11/7/2005 12:17:19 AM

Why are people comparing the full cost of a PC to the full cost of an Xbox 360? I guess if gaming is the only thing you are using a PC for. I think it is safer to compare the 360 price to the price of a high end GFX card for a PC maybe some extra RAM. Most of us will have a PC with decent stats either way. Gonna drop $1K on a PC either way. Now what is the cost above and beyond that to make it game worthy?

11/7/2005 8:58:48 AM

^ it could be a lot of things. i had a 800mhz processor up until 3 years ago...i didnt like any new games and it was fast enought o do all of my work for programming, surf the web, etc. i then got a 1.5 ghz athlon with a geforce 4 and 512mb of ram, which was good for me up until it got hit by lightning 2 weeks ago. at that time, i couldnt play most new games for the pc on that without being slow. hell i upgraded my processor and doubled my ram and B&W2 still runs choppy kinda on my machine (geforece4 obviously).

you can have a really shitty computer if you dont want to play games and generally when i upgrade to play a new game i want i have to upgrade my ENTIRE system (except stuff like the sound card and network card). so it is a fair comparison.

if you got a $1k machine a year ago, im guessing you'd have to upgrade a lot to make q4 run as smoothly on there as it will on the 360 (since this is a port its a good comparison, since COD does look ugly...that happens).


[Edited on November 7, 2005 at 9:41 AM. Reason : added comparison]

11/7/2005 9:39:10 AM

Yeah. I'm just saying that comparing the 360 price tag to a new PC price tag isn't fair considering that you're buying the PC for other things. It should be a price comparison b/t the 360 and the difference between the computer you would buy anyway and the extras you are buying on that PC to be able to play games.

I prefer PC. The good console games eventually make their way to the PC. PC games are very cheap after a few years. Console games get cheap but still hover above the cheap PC game price tags. PC games are moddable, patchable, etc. You are paying a bit more for online on the console (broadband + subscription v. broadband only). I hear the 360 games will all come in at $59.99 by default. PC games are still at $49.99 (expect that to jump up to meet the new console standard). So there are other factors. Most people won't go either or anyway. Sure $400 for the hardware is a deal that can't be beat, but it is not like people won't want to be able to play PC games and beef their system anyway.

11/7/2005 9:50:20 AM

Quote :

"I'm just saying that comparing the 360 price tag to a new PC price tag isn't fair considering that you're buying the PC for other things. It should be a price comparison b/t the 360 and the difference between the computer you would buy anyway and the extras you are buying on that PC to be able to play games."

that's a good point

11/7/2005 10:17:26 AM