Critics Say No to 360 on Launch Day
Not everyone is impressed with the XBox 360 it seems. At least not as a Christmas present for you and yours this year. Chris Morris at CNN, and Maxine Shen at the NY Post have both told readers not to bother with the Box this December, and have inspired some of the silliest fanboy responses I’ve ever read.
The argument seems to be that if your television isn’t HDTV enabled, there isn’t a heckuva lot that the XBox 360 can offer you (as far as in game experience) over top of the original XBox, and with publishers still churning out the games for the XBox, PS2 and Gamecube, that there is a larger pool of choice within those platforms. Both points are, in my opinion, completely valid. It’s great to have all of the HD technology, but unless Microsoft plans on shipping me a nice big plasma to go with the console, I’m not going to benefit from the ground-breaking graphics, now am I? And yes, because the launch is today, there won’t be thousands of games available for the XBox 360. This is called common sense.
BUT, the 360 is not all about the HDTV, and that certainly isn’t the only upgrade on the new system. people seem to be forgetting about the completely redesigned and thoroughly impressive XBox Live!, which allows for better coordination of your playing, and media experience. About the games…they will come. And in time there will be thousands of games to play, but to use the lack of a library as an excuse not to buy a brand new system is ridiculous. There are plenty to keep us all busy for now, with releases ramping up for the holiday season.
Things I will agree with though, are the lack of compelling games. This is purely personal, and if you like the launch list for the 360, then you like it and will be quite happy. I though, just aren’t interested in most of the games. Perfect Dark Zero sounded pretty decent, until news of cut features, reduced content, and a rush-rush finishing job saw the game go gold before it had been certified by Microsoft’s rigorous final checking step. Elder Scrolls is delayed, EA sports games can’t hold my interest past a quick hockey fix, and Kameo just looks to damn cutesy.
Also, the expense isn’t something I can deal with at the moment. I have better things to spend $400 on, and I know that the 360 will drop pretty drastically in price within a couple months, likely following the Christmas season, which should remain high as Microsoft takes advantage of the launch hype to boost sales.
2 opinions for Critics Say No to 360 on Launch Day
Tor
Nov 22, 2005 at 1:54 pm
*looks at his big HDTV stuffed away in the corner* wait.. so you’re saying… that there are actually televisions *without* HD? What would be the point of that? :) But I agree aswell, it’ll be better to pay 300$ in a few months, and maybe some of the RPGs have come stumbling behind aswell… (although I do know the thrill about getting something before everyone else… priceless)
Erin
Nov 23, 2005 at 11:39 pm
Why don’t you slide that fancy HDTV over this way Tor? It’s purdy.
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