bishoptl said:
Splitting the market w/hardware is never a good idea if you want long-term support for that hardware. We saw it with the Coleco Adam, Sega 32x, Sega CD, the PS2 HD and I predict the same thing will happen here. As someone *raises hand* who not only rips soundtracks extensively for his Xbox games, but has decided not to purchase certain games due to lack of support for that feature, I want a HD standard in Xenon. >:|
I won't speculate further on the accuracy of Mr Buttocks' wildly entertaining conjecture.
I thought all of the same things about reading this.
I feel that peripherals are a cool Idea when necessary.
Basically I'd be happy if they'd hold off on the new systems and maybe make a cheap upgrade to each system. ( AkA N64 Ram Cart, Sega 32X hardware)
If I saw a small jump in what I'm currently happy with that would be enough to hold me over until new more powerful machines arrive. I'm content with what I have so I'm not gonna bite on Xenon I'm gonna wait for more powerful complete systems where hard drives are a standard.
I like having sound tracks some games would be unplayable with music on otherwise.
See Burnout3.
The thing that's upsetting which I'm gonna say again is that this time the early jump to next Gen is gonna make Microsoft the weakest link as a console.
The Xbox brand will no longer be that 800 pound Juggernaut that it was last time.
I think the Reveloution and PS3 may be an even bigger leap graphically then this generations graphical leap over ps2.
Microsoft to be successful needs to do everything right. They have to fall back on the fuck ups.
Negatives as of now
No Halo 3 = wrong (To soon, no one wants it now anyway.)
Fragmenting User Base = Very, very stupid historically speaking as noted by Bish Bish
Rumored that there is no backward compatibility = This may just make me not buy one at all until they become dirt cheap.
Sony's strong User Base = Sony has a lot of fans that I have heard talk about Ps3 a year ago like it was coming out last year. These fools have been waiting a long time for Ps3 some of these are the sames guys who ignored dreamcast and waited For Ps2 the amount of these individuals is far greater than last gen.
The Shiney new Handheld factor = Granted they will look like shit compared to Xenon but just being able to play ps2 in the palm of your hands will be good enough for people until Ps3 arrives. Nintendo fans have the DS Nintendo has masses of fanboys as well who will wait patiently.
Positives as of now
Head Start = This may be listed as a plus but things can go bad if Microsoft doesn't do this perfectly. We all seen Dreamcast what did that head start do?
Microsofts Money = I think this era we will see them throw around a little bit of William Gates bread. His mass fortune will be the wildcard this gen. Last gen we didn't see much of this. I feel we will see it now in this era of small studio swallow up they may make EA look modest in comparison.
We may see some francises on The Xenon exclusivly that you never thought possible because of this. This is there biggest asset and they know this.
Overall- I think the hardware will be inferior to the new guys when they get here.
Microsoft can be a successful weaker system like the Sega Genesis or Ps2. I just hope that the games feel drastically different. Such as a Ps1 action or sports title compared to a Ps2 Action or Sports title.
A lot of Ps1 games are unplayable even once you get past the dated graphics. I can't wait to feel the next step in gaming from all three of the console companies.
In the back of my mind though I wish they'd wait another year at least sometimes patience is more rewarding for everyone.
