Demoed GCN and X-box kiosks today... (1 Viewer)

[Dan B]

Oh, if anybody is interested, the Xbox was attracting a good crowd & the Gamecube didn't attract any visitors during the time I was there. I must say, however, that the Gamecube's display in the Best Buy I was in was out of the way of traffic, at least in comparison to the PS2 & Xbox displays.


-Dan

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[Dave Falasco]

Dan, I'm actually in perfect agreement with you. I played that same old Munch demo at Target over the weekend, and then ran through a quick tutorial on Luigi's mansion (FWIW, the two were in fact side-by-side, so I don't smell a Target conspiracy here). The Munch demo is nothing special, but I do like the controller a lot more than I thought I would based on some comments I've read. And I as I descend from carnies, I have small hands (and I smell of cabbage). {Obscure Austin Powers reference...sorry...)
Okay, back on topic. I was also expecting to love the GCN controller, but I found it to be lacking. It just felt very light, like a plastic toy controller. The Xbox controller was much more solid-feeling. Going back and forth between the two, I definitely preferred the Xbox controller. I hate the placement of the black and white buttons, and I also don't like the hard plastic finish of the face buttons (I am afraid they will get pretty slick and hard to control after an extended Tony Hawk grind session), but I loved the feel and the different control options it offers. I also loved the analog triggers.
Graphics-wise, to be honest neither console looked as impressive as I was expecting, but I am chalking that up to the cruddy in-store TVs they were hooked up to. I expect both will be just absolutely gorgeous to look in a living room setting.
Can't believe we're only a few days away...

 

[Cy Jervis]

I made the rounds Friday to check out the displays with no crowds because the kids where in school. TRU had NFL Fever and Luigi set up. I found it interesting that Luigi played like a PC game, search for a key to open a room to look for the next item, I got bored after 2 minutes and moved on. The controler on the Game Cube was to small for my taste and I couldn't believe that all you did in the game was call for Mario and pick things up, no jumping or action in the parts I played. NFL Fever was a different story, action, great graphics, nice features and the only problem was the commentary fell behind once and said I was on 3rd down when it was 4th. I found the X-Box controler a perfect fit for my hands and stayed for about 2 games until the employees started getting upset and gave me the evil eye. Circuit City had Luigi again (skipped it this time) and Odd World. Odd World just didn't float my boat, I was looking for something with more action, but it looked great and gameplay was smooth. EB had Madden 2002 set up and I settled for only one game so I could head home. Madden was great and seemed a little better than NFL Fever but it was really close. I liked seeing the players on the field while I chose the next play and game play seemed more realistic although I was playing against someone else so I couldn't say how good the AI is. My last stop was Sears which didn't have a display but was waiting for a Microsoft tech to set it up so I talked to a salesman friend about it. I was advised that Sears will have a package deal or discounts on multiple items like but wouldn't give the employees and solid details. I'm holding out for Sears due to a $25 off $250 coupon I've been saving for a special occasion.

 

[Carlo_M]

Graphics-wise, to be honest neither console looked as impressive as I was expecting, but I am chalking that up to the cruddy in-store TVs they were hooked up to

Fair enough for all systems.
However do keep in mind that although the XBox and Cube can pump "millions and millions of polygons" etc...they will only do so for a game if the programmers take the time to put it in there for each game. Since a lot of these launch titles were hurried, you're probably not going to see quantum leaps over the PS2 games (which are now in their second & third generation) with either system. Even if the XBox/GCN can animate individual hairs on a character, I don't know a programmer in their right mind who would go through the trouble of putting that in a game. I think the real exciting stuff will be happening for both systems in about a year to a year and a half. The ceiling on the XBox does seem to be a bit higher than the GCN-based solely on hardware "specs"-but it's always been about the games for me, and that's why XBox isn't the clear winner for my hard earned dollars.

 

[Mike_G]

Even if the XBox/GCN can animate individual hairs on a character, I don't know a programmer in their right mind who would go through the trouble of putting that in a game.

Take a look at the grass in DOA3.
Mike
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[BrianB]

Take a look at the grass in DOA3.

Heh. The algorithms & techniques to simulate grass etc was discussed extensively on the GD Algorithms list a few months back. Expect it in a ton of games

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[Carlo_M]

Yes I know about the algorithms, I was talking about animating each individual hair separately. But anyway, that wasn't completely my point.
Has everyone forgotten about game play? I played DOA and DOA2 and found it to be a little lacking in game play. There is almost nothing on PS2 that enticed me to buy it, and not very many things that are too compelling on XBox's release slate that seem to be more than eye candy. Played Halo and wasn't that impressed over their killer app. Madden I would like but you can get that on any console.
Maybe I'm just a jaded Old timer when it comes to games, but it seems like the prettier games get, the less it's about the addicting gameplay that used to be indicative of the early generation of video games.
YMMV
[Edited last by Carlo Medina on November 13, 2001 at 11:28 AM]

 

[Morgan Jolley]

This is how I try to think of it (though it might not be so apparent):
The controllers, size of the consoles, and graphics are meaningless. You can buy third party controllers, make room in your HTs for the consoles, and the graphics are more dependent on the developer than the console because of how close the PS2, GCN, and XB are in power. Granted, the PS2 is the weakest and the XB is the most powerful, but truthfully, they are close enough so it wouldn't matter.
I know I am constantly talking about how the GCN has a better controller (IMO) and the XB is too large (IMO) but it all comes down to the main differences being the games.
BTW, the black/white buttons on the XB controller and the Z Button on the GCN controller are supposed to be used sparingly. I'm just saying that so the controllers get marks for what they are supposed to be used for and not marked down for bad button placement for infrequently used buttons.

 

[DaveF]

Finally saw a GC demo kiosk at BestBuy, Circuit City, and Walmart tonight (looking for Willy Wonka). I played briefly, and here are some quick impressions:
- I like the controller a lot. It felt comfortable immediately. The button layout and sizes generally seemed good.
- Graphics were clear and attractive
- Two minutes on Luigi's Mansion was pointless. This is not a "play for two minutes" type game. It may be a great game, but I was perplexed as to how to play.
- Played WaveRace briefly as well. Looked very nice! Felt like the original. It could be very fun, after learning how to play. Multiplayer could also be keen.
At CircuitCity, the GC kiosk has a better TV than the XBOX. The XBOX TV there sucks; it looks pretty bad. But the PS2 has the best kiosk with its sexy LCD display.