So why are people looking for an excuse to blast the Xbox? (1 Viewer)

[Chris Bardon]

You know, you're right-it IS all about the games. I actually rented all 3 systems this fall before I bought, and strange as it may sound, the Xbox had the most games that interested me at the time. GTA3 was the only Ps2 game that seemed to be anything special (and I read about the Xbox release), the cube was prety mediocre, but the Xbox had Halo and Munch (a little biased since I'm a big oddworld fan). True, I'm tempted by ffX right now (and GTA is looking further off than ever), but I'm really looking forward to seing what happens by Christmas.

As for online gaming-Morgan, you're right-it IS overrated. Hasn't done anything for me on PC, and can't see it being much more on consoles. Maybe a little Halo here and there, but I wouldn't play something like FF 11-no interest. If MS can deliver half of what they showed in their video though, it'll be a miracle.

As for bashing the xbox for the same reason we bash macs-not true. I bash macs for 2 reasons:

-The fact that working on a mac was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. Crashes with NO ERROR MESSAGES! If my computer breaks, I want to know how to fix it-tell me what broke.

-I _HATE_ the "Buy our computer-it's orange!" thing.

 

[Gary King]

I think people are confusing "good titles" and "over-hyped, highly-publicized, widely anticipated titles." There are enough good (and replayable) games in the Xbox lineup that if you were to buy an Xbox and the best 5 games today, you could probably survive a couple of months without a new game (and by May there should be quite a few new titles available).

I think there are more titles on the Xbox that are worthy of putting hundreds of hours in then there are titles on the PS2. PS2 has a lot of 10-15 hour "experience" titles, but there aren't too many games that can be played constantly for months (GTA3, GT3, and Twisted Metal: Black come to mind).

If Xbox is going to succeed, it is going to be due to word-of-mouth, and I think Microsoft realizes this. So far I've been *much* more satisfied with my Xbox than my PS2, and in general it seems to have a coat of polish or two that the PS2 is lacking (and I'm sure part of this is due to the Sony's half-hearted attempt at PSX accessory/game compatibility on the PS2, and bad DVD UI). They may be little things (e.g., saving games on the hard drive, custom playlists, break-away controller cords, longer controller cords, one-menu-suits all for sound and video options, painless networking, hard drive for decreasing load times, no "Install" option on game menus, 4 controller ports standard), but they really add up to make the Xbox experience quite satisfying.

 

[MikeM]

-The fact that working on a mac was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. Crashes with NO ERROR MESSAGES! If my computer breaks, I want to know how to fix it-tell me what broke.

-I _HATE_ the "Buy our computer-it's orange!" thing.

Gary, please see the deeper analogy here. First off, new Macs don't even come in multiple colors, let alone Orange anymore, and the errors you encountered are probably the result of not knowing the system. Once you invest the time & money, and learn a new system like the Mac, many people don't go back. This is the analogy. This is what Xbox fans are saying. Touting the cool new technical features of their console, and loving the results.

Many PS2 users are currently not seeing anything amazingly different from what they currently have, outside of Halo. They don't want to invest the $350+ for Halo alone, and until there are other games out there for the Xbox that may lure them away from their PS2s, they wouldn't mind the Xbox dying a quick death to make their console choice be the "right" one.

Hey, I'm not saying it's right, I'm just answering the question that was raised.

 

[Gary King]

I think you meant Chris.

I've been a happy Xbox owner since Day 1.

 

[paul h]

Which console is best is a pointless argument, they've all got good and bad games...i own a PS2 and cannot justify spending more money on another console when i dont get much time to play the one i've already got! At the moment, in the UK anyway, the PS2 is at a very competitive price and it's current selection of games makes it a good buy. Plus while Sony probably dont want to admit this the fact that it can be chipped is also a selling point.

I've spent a few hours over the past week or so playing on demo XBox's set up in the local software stores and nothing has made me think 'wow' i need an XBox. Like someone said there is not the quantum leap above the PS2 that i, maybe wrongly, expected to see. Ok over time maybe the gap will become more apparent but at the moment titles like MGS2 and ICO hold up well to games on the box.

Have to say recently i've seen more threads where people are hyping up the XBox than trying to knock it. Sales figures are always thrown around here whether they're impressive or not. The XBox had a relatively poor start in Japan, so what...MS arent idiots. Ideally i would own all 3 consoles but have more important things to spend my cash on!

 

[DonWinzen]

MikeM, the only thing that has made me interested in owning an Apple is the new OS (System X) which is Unix. Drop out of the GUI and you have a command line you can actually work with (I love Unix). I still cannot justify the cost of purchasing yet another system since I can simply use an older box and load Linux but the day may come when I actually own an iMac.

 

[Oscar_R]

A friend of mine is a 28-29 year old video game tester. His favorite hobbie is bashing the X-Box at any opportunity he gets. Dumb dumb dumb arguments like, overheating problems, no games, then with the news from japan last week added a whole new dimension to his dribel.

Can't wait to show him JSRF. Project Gotham, Halo....

I just have to get the Sony fanboy over sometime for some re-education.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Every single PS2 game I own except for maybe 2 has been well worth the purchase. Same goes for the GameCube. Thats a total of around 25 games (18 PS2, 7 GCN). Considering that the GCN also has all the games coming out for it in the future (Metroid, Zelda, etc.) and that the PS2 plays PSX games, the X-Box is not worth it FOR ME. The only game that would appeal to me is Halo since the rest, IMO or AFAIK (based on things I have heard from others on this forum and at reviews), either suck or don't appeal to my tastes.

Not trying to continue X-Box bashing, but I think people are looking at their X-Box purchases as "it works for me, so it is the best" and not looking at "it works for me, but I haven't tried anything else."

And IMO, MGS2 delivered EXACTLY what I thought it would. I was not disappointed and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Besides that, I don't think any other PS2 games were considered disappointing by anyone.

 

[DonWinzen]

Morgan, I have "tried" everything else and play the other nextgen consoles but I see strengths in each one. I am very happy with the XBOX even though I would like to see even more original games made for it. The PS2 has a lot of games but not many original ones either. I enjoy the many continuations.

I am very happy that their is finally a "successful" American console out there.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I see any Xbox "bashing", or people who want it to fail, much the same as those people out there wanting the Macintosh to fail.

I forsee (but not actually desire) a failure for both
Does this make me a neutral party?

 

[Andy Sheets]

Not trying to continue X-Box bashing, but I think people are looking at their X-Box purchases as "it works for me, so it is the best" and not looking at "it works for me, but I haven't tried anything else."

Maybe I haven't been paying attention to the right places but I haven't seen much if any evidence of this. To the contrary, I've generally been impressed by how much informed decision-making has been going on with regard to the purchases people have been making. Personally, I know I tried all three systems and enjoyed them all but when it came down to buying one, based on my own tastes I finally decided on an Xbox. Doesn't mean I think there's bad stuff on the other two, but I haven't had any reason to regret the Xbox at all.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Not trying to continue X-Box bashing, but I think people are looking at their X-Box purchases as "it works for me, so it is the best" and not looking at "it works for me, but I haven't tried anything else."

Just to turn this around, Morgan, I don't recall you ever saying you played a game on an Xbox yet, either. So you are basing your opinions on the same things that your alleged "people" are.

Even so, I disagree...there have been many posts, especially in this forum, of converted PS2 or Gamecube owners who are enjoying their Xboxes. I remember one post about Gamecubes gathering dust that had far more "I agree"-type posts than "You're crazy".

The other point I would like to make is that one common complaint I hear about the Xbox library is that it has a lot of ports. And I guess that is true--many of the more popular titles like THPS2X, Genma Onimusha, Max Payne, and of course all of the sports franchises could be considered ports. But the assumption being made is that if a game is a port, it is the same game no matter what console it is played on. And with that, I disagree. I have played Onimusha, Max Payne, Madden, and THPS2 on the PS2, and without exception all of them are improved on the Xbox. They look better (drastically better, in the case of Max Payne), they certainly sound a lot better, and in the case of Onimusha and THPS2, they even play a lot better because of new or expanded functionality.

Yes, if you already own the game on the PS2, it may not be worth a repurchase for the Xbox. But if you don't already own the game, it becomes a question of which console does it better? And with a few exceptions like Spy Hunter, I would argue that the Xbox does.

(Argh, I don't know why I let myself get sucked into these arguments...at this point we pretty much all know where we stand on each console, and words are not going to change anyone's mind...)

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If a game is a port (which means that it is the same game) then it, for me, is not going to affect my decision on which console to buy. If its a special edition with a lot of added features (like DoA2 and DoA2:H) then its not a port. Onimusha had tweaked gameplay and some additions, as did Silent Hill 2 and Tony Hawk 3, so they are not really ports. They are more or less Special Editions. SSX Tricky is on every console and is the same game, so its a port.

People have said "I got a PS2 and didn't like it" but don't say why they didn't like it. I find that if they do give reasons, its that they tried it out to see if they would like it, but didn't try many games. They will get a game or two, rent another game or two, and if they are disappointed with one of them, will say the console sucks. I have a bunch of PS2 games, and pretty much every type of gamer would enjoy at least 2 or 3 (if not more) of those games. So my complaint is people not giving the PS2 a fair chance.

I haven't played X-Box much. But based on the reviews I read, the genres of the games, and the games that I just have absolutely no interest in, it wouldn't be worth it. When more games come out, maybe it will be then, but right now its not.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

...but I think people are looking at their X-Box purchases as "it works for me, so it is the best" and not looking at "it works for me, but I haven't tried anything else."

Morgan, this was an illogical statement on your part for several reasons - some of which have already been addressed. I owned a PS2, and spent alot of money in game rentals trying to justify and qualify my purchase...but I couldn't. It has some great games, but it didn't have the "next generation of gaming" feel to it. The PS2 software was plagued w/ poor graphics and the system wasn't even a leap above my Dreamcast at all. The straw that broke the camel's back was the price - the PS2 IS NOT WORTH $299!! I will probably pick up a used PS2 in the future for substantially less, but for now I sold the PS2 and re-invested in an XBOX. Microsoft is doing very well at this juncture compared to the debacle of a launch that Sony had - something that Sony fanboys refused to admit a little over a year ago, and still refuse to admit to this day.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Sony totally screwed up their launch. I'm surprised it did so well in the long term.

If you seriously put all your effort into trying out the PS2, then I would say that you are an exception to my comment. I have heard other people (not necessarily here, BTW) say things like "I wanted to get game x but didn't because I already didn't like the 3 games I rented" and when I find out what games they rented, I figure out why they hated the thing.

If someone rented a Dreamcast with Sonic Adventure 2, Omikron, Mortal Kombat Gold, and some other notoriously bad DC game, I would expect them to not like the DC. Those games would make anyone hate it. Do you see my point?