XBOX 360 specs revealed

[Cornucopia]

Most of the back catalog of Nintendo has already seen porting of the ROMs' code to files for use in PC Game emulation software, so I don't think that'll be a hurdle for any 3rd party developer that's even partly interested.

>>>>>>>>

Actually, I think all 3 brands will do quite well with their new offerings if they make good on their hype.

Scott

[shelbyGT]

I'm as excited as everyone else seems to be. The only thing is, I don't have $400-500 just laying around. Looks like I won't be getting one anytime soon!

[Xylob the Destroyer]

start saving NOW!
I'm not rich by any means, but I definitely make a comfortable living.
Still I'm with you, I don't just have an extra $400 in between my couch cushions.... If all 3 systems really are as cool as they're being made out to be and all 3 really will have all the 3rd party support they supposedly do, that's $1200.00 for launch systems..... of course, I've already said I won't buy any of them at launch -- I'll definitely wait until at least the 2nd generation of the $ony hardware, and X-BOX just had a new recall on their machines a few months ago. After they work out the fire hazard and DRE issues on them, they should be down to at least $300-$350.
maybe I'll start a swear jar or collect aluminum cans between now & then...

[shelbyGT]

I live happily enough on my income. But when you factor in my 401(k), mutual fund, random investments, car and mortgage payments, beer money and food... there just ain't a WHOLE lot left over!

[Nilfennasion]

I am on a very low income, pretty much below the poverty line. If I am lucky, I might find a couple of hundred dollars lying around that I don't need for something critical, and therefore spend it buying a console or some other entertainment device in order to stop myself going bats from boredom. Even then, I will always shop in a second-hand store like GameTraders first. The hidden costs of games console ownership add up in an awful hurry if you don't know where to shop.

For me, and for a lot of consumers around the Southern Hemisphere, I expect, machine specifications are not nearly as important as the old bang-for-buck factor. A factor that Microsoft have found themselves unable to compete in time and time again. Given the vertical orientation of the box in those demo photos, they also seem pretty determined to emulate everyone else's mistakes of the past.

Wow, I just got a response to my email regarding Microsoft's contribution to the Sega Dreamcast... interesting stuff.

[Xylob the Destroyer]

didn't the Dreamcast run on a stripped down version of Windows?

[smearbrick1]

Windows CE

[Nilfennasion]

Funny that. I was corresponding with the author of Why I Hate Microsoft about this very thing. Sega were hoping that a strategic partnership with MS would enable them to overcome the burden of previous financial disasters. And it could have worked out, except that Microsoft suddenly decided that they had all they were going to get out of a partnership with Sega, and put the whole thing on the backburner. The lack of development kits or promotion for how to program for this OS or machine did not help. So Sega eventually became just another business claimed by a partnership.

It is not a coincidence that among Dreamcast users, Windows CE soon developed a nickname of Crash Everytime. Random games refusing to run in spite of being right-out-of-the-box, so to speak, really put everyone off.

[vitualis]

Every console crashes inexplicable on occasion.

Sorry, Nilfennasion, but your anti-MS bias really completely twists reality.

There was nothing wrong with the Sega Dreamcast from a technical point of view nor was there any problem with its partnership with Microsoft. The Dreamcast being based on a Windows CE core with DirectX was easy to program for. This is in contrast to the PS2 which was notoriously difficult to program for (which is why games which really exploited the PS2 hardware were not realeased for years).

The Dreamcast died for many reasons but probably most importantly is that of timing. It is "better" than the PSX and N64 but not hugely so... at least, not in the eyes of the consumer. It was only "half" a generation better than the PSX and N64 and with the PS2 and Xbox and Gamecube around the corner, it just didn't make it.

Search around the net... the Dreamcast is still very highly regarded in no small part BECAUSE it runs on Windows CE and is thus, easy to program for.

Regards.

[Nilfennasion]

What I love about people who defend the indefensible, more than anything, is how they love to claim that a bias on one person's part washes the sins of the defendant away. The recent adaptations of The Lord Of The Rings being a good example.

Even if the Dreamcast system ran perfectly every time (which thousands of Australian purchasers have testified to not be the case... are they all biased?), that does not erase the simple fact that Microsoft simply abandoned the Dreamcast when things started to go South. If Sony had been running in the red and only had the PS1 to market, there is little doubt that MS would have done the same to them eventually. Fortunately, Sony has deep enough pockets that even the PS3 failing won't weaken them that much.

My Dreamcast, and those of a dozen people I spoke to personally, did not crash "on occasion". They crashed so frequently and regularly that one could set their watch to it.

If MS did make Windows CE easily programmable, it was for one reason. To attempt to bind games developers to an inflexible system. If you've ever wondered why DOS was not abandoned until 2000 or so, consider that one word - bind. Thankfully, Japanese game developers were savvy enough to understand that a concession from Microsoft comes with a future price tag, and made sure their investments could be easily ported. Infogrames didn't, and that's why such classics as Silver don't appear on any other console.

Bias my eye. Seems every view that isn't warm and fuzzy these days is called a bias. Almost makes me want to not be human.

[vitualis]

Yes, it is biased because if you read around, the same complaints are true for every console system, be it PSX, N64, PS2 or Xbox.

These are complex machines and are computers in their own right. They will from time to time crash.

Microsoft abandoning Dreamcast?? Sorry, Nilfennasion, but that is a ridiculous statement. Microsoft simply supplied the base OS for the Dreamcast -- which is one component of many in the console. They had little else to do with its development. Furthermore Microsoft did not abandon Windows CE during the live of the Dreamcast and nor did they change or restrict its licencing. Windows CE is still alive and ticking. How exactly was Sega "abandoned" by Microsoft?

As for your "dozens of people", I would suggest that you are simply exaggerating. For your "dozens", I also know "dozens" of people who have absolutely no problems with their Dreamcasts.

"Bind" to an inflexible system... Get your head out of the sand. The Dreamcast was easy to program for obvious reasons.

1. Windows CE had been around for years (and Windows CE APIs are mostly similar to Win32 APIs)
2. The Dreamcast ran on the SH4/SH3 processor which again, had been around with Windows CE for years (previously in Handheld PCs).
3. The Dreamcast used DirectX

Which is why the Dreamcast was one of the first machines to have any significant amount of user/fan software written for it. For example, turning your game console into a media/DivX player came on the Dreamcast long before the PS2 and XBox.

Compare this with the PS2. Square which made FFX was the showcase game early on for the PS2. Square also has a tight working relationship with Sony. FFX was far and away the best looking/running game on the PS2 early in its release. Compare FFX to FFX-2 which was released recently. It looks like its running on another machine. It took programmers years to get the most out of the PS2 -- this is a testament to the fact that the PS2 is relatively difficult to program.

I'm sorry Nilfennasion, but you have a certain record whenever you start discussing Microsoft. Personally, I don't understand why you have such a personal vendetta against them. If you don't like their products, then don't use it. A lot of what you have stated in this thread and others have not only been wild exaggerations, but frankly untrue. It seems like every time you even look at a Microsoft product, it seems to fail on you. Well, frankly, that is more likely to be user error.

Regards.

[smearbrick1]

Yes, it is biased because if you read around, the same complaints are true for every console system, be it PSX, N64, PS2 or Xbox.

These are complex machines and are computers in their own right. They will from time to time crash.

Microsoft abandoning Dreamcast?? Sorry, Nilfennasion, but that is a ridiculous statement. Microsoft simply supplied the base OS for the Dreamcast -- which is one component of many in the console. They had little else to do with its development. Furthermore Microsoft did not abandon Windows CE during the live of the Dreamcast and nor did they change or restrict its licencing. Windows CE is still alive and ticking. How exactly was Sega "abandoned" by Microsoft?

As for your "dozens of people", I would suggest that you are simply exaggerating. For your "dozens", I also know "dozens" of people who have absolutely no problems with their Dreamcasts.

"Bind" to an inflexible system... :roll: Get your head out of the sand. The Dreamcast was easy to program for obvious reasons.

1. Windows CE had been around for years (and Windows CE APIs are mostly similar to Win32 APIs)
2. The Dreamcast ran on the SH4/SH3 processor which again, had been around with Windows CE for years (previously in Handheld PCs).
3. The Dreamcast used DirectX

Which is why the Dreamcast was one of the first machines to have any significant amount of user/fan software written for it. For example, turning your game console into a media/DivX player came on the Dreamcast long before the PS2 and XBox.

Compare this with the PS2. Square which made FFX was the showcase game early on for the PS2. Square also has a tight working relationship with Sony. FFX was far and away the best looking/running game on the PS2 early in its release. Compare FFX to FFX-2 which was released recently. It looks like its running on another machine. It took programmers years to get the most out of the PS2 -- this is a testament to the fact that the PS2 is relatively difficult to program.

I'm sorry Nilfennasion, but you have a certain record whenever you start discussing Microsoft. Personally, I don't understand why you have such a personal vendetta against them. If you don't like their products, then don't use it. A lot of what you have stated in this thread and others have not only been wild exaggerations, but frankly untrue. It seems like every time you even look at a Microsoft product, it seems to fail on you. Well, frankly, that is more likely to be user error.

Regards.

Sorry Nilfennasion, I must agree, your claims and bias border on obsession and absurdity, and offer nothing to further any discussion. Most of your threads read like half-**** conspiracy theories.

With that said... the Dreamcast, unfortunately, never got to realize its full potential (ever play Half Life for Dreamcast?). The possibilities for the Dreamcast were similar to those of the PS2. I realize there were some hardware limitations as compared to the PS2, but there was alot going on under the hood of Dreamcast. As a result of this, as Vitualis, there is still a lot of homebrew interest in this system. Just check out www.dcemulation.com and other sites similar. There are some great developments for the system. Some went as far as enabling the dreamcast to play PC games. (Quake PC for Dreamcast using a slightly modified version of the Quake for PC demo). I believe someone is currently working on a way to play Quake II. I know this doesn't sound like much, but these folks don't have millions of dollars in backing to create anything huge. With all of this support of a supposedly dead console, where's your arguement now? Doesn't seem to me that Sega did such a bad thing by using CE. Besides, even MS had pulled out early when they saw the demise of Sega, would any smart business person do the same? Would you simply stand around and watch millions of dollars get tossed just so you could say that you stuck it out all of the way to the end? I don't think so.

Clues? Got any?