Xbox 360 Launch Coverage – The Good and the Bad

A look at a gaming milestone

Posted by Staff
Without question, the launch of the Xbox 360 is as significant to the technology sector as a whole as it is to the hordes of FPS-craving teenagers anxious to get to grips with the first next-generation console to hit the market.

Reactions have been somewhat mixed to Microsoft’s new console, so we thought it’d be nice to combine reports for you here in one easy to swallow lump.

The US 360 launch kicked off with the Zero Hour event, a 24 hour monster of a party held in the desert in California. Click here to see tons of images from our man on the ground in the US. The event went rather well from what we gather, and certainly deserves points for doing something slightly unusual.

And on to the mainstream and regional US press. Charlotte News reported that queues had formed outside various stores in the city. “People in Charlotte lined up in the cold and rain overnight to get a new Xbox 360 game console. More than a dozen people were camped out in front of the Best Buy store in the University area. Other area retailers also reported lines of customers waiting for the latest gaming device”, it said.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune also reports clamour at retail. “That's the time on Monday when the West St. Paul man arrived at the Best Buy store in Richfield to wait in line for the worldwide release of the XBox 360, the Microsoft Corporation's latest gift to video gamers. The approximately $400 system went on sale at midnight on Monday at stores nationwide. It was expected to immediately sell out. According to Waltz: "You've got to get it now; otherwise you're waiting until February to get one." That was the rumour among the people waiting in line, most of them saying the limited supplies of the Xbox were due to either incredibly poor planning on Microsoft's part or shrewd holiday season marketing.”

Of course, the obligatory headline grabbing “boy robbed for new console” story emerged, a record breaking one minute after the Xbox 360 launched. According to a report from the Associated Press “…A 17-year-old boy who was one of the first in this city to buy one of the much-anticipated new Xbox 360 video games was assaulted and robbed as he left the store, police say. The boy was attacked by two males around 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, when stores nationwide began selling the new Xbox system. The attackers took the game valued at about $450 and fled on foot. The boy suffered minor injuries to his face, police said.”

Various blogs were quick to point the finger at Microsoft for engineering hardware shortages in order to generate publicity. Blogcritics writer Ken Edwards states, “I am sure Microsoft thought this through. They figured it was better to provide all three major territories with smaller quantities of 360s then to send all of the units to one territory for a massive launch. They will take less heat from all territories instead of a lot of heat from one or two territories. That is the official line at least. This is a smart move - here is why. Microsoft has turned all the early adopters here in the US, Europe, and Japan into viral marketers. It feels a little dirty, yes, but that is what it is. Knowing that they have the PlayStation 3 beat to market, Microsoft does not have to push a huge number of units in any one area. Early adapters will tell their friends, and readers, about how great the 360 is. When that next big shipment arrives there will be even more people chomping at the bit to buy one. This is the plan that Microsoft is hoping to pull off.”

Seattle based Tri-City Herald exclaims that “If you want one, better get it early!” outlining that, “Retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Co., Circuit City Stores Inc. and Target Corp. say they plan to have consoles available at all locations today. What's more, retailers say they expect to get more consoles weekly leading up to Christmas, so people who don't get consoles immediately need not despair. Here's the bad news: most retailers won't say how many they'll have on launch day -- for competitive reasons -- and some locations could sell out quickly.”

And another robbery, this time featuring the exciting use of firearms. Boomtown picks up on a GameSpot article detailing how an EB store was robbed. “An Electronics Boutique store in Stafford, Virginia, was robbed yesterday. The perpetrator held the store manager at gunpoint and demanded two Xbox 360 systems, which he then made off with. He didn't get far though. Local police pursued the thief and caught him soon after.”

ABC News asks the question, “Does the mighty Xbox 360 have a key weakness?” It continues, “With stunning, movie-like graphics and sophisticated gameplay, Microsoft's new Xbox 360 aims to dominate the next round of the video game wars. But despite its cutting edge technology, it may have one key weakness: its price tag. The new video game console goes on sale today for $400, though a stripped-down version is available for $300. Players must also fork over an extra $50 or more for each game, and may still need to buy other key accessories, such as an extra controller. All in all, hardcore video game fans might leave the store $500 or $600 lighter today.”

ABC’s report features some odd comments from various folks on the day’s news. One comes from Robert Kushman, a 22-year-old account executive for a public relations firm in New York City. He complains that "...I bought a Game Boy; they came out with the PSP, I bought an iPod, they came out with an iPod that plays videos. They have enough of my money!” Technology advancing… Can you imagine…?"

ABC does give space to a ‘rabid fan’ by the name of Bernardo Ferreira. According to Ferreira, “I have owned every video game console since the Sega Master System (circa 1981), and am anticipating the Xbox 360 release. I will be going to a retailer at midnight tonight to get my Xbox 360 that has been reserved since late 2004!”

Given that Mr Ferreira was able to purchase a Master System some five years before the US launch of the console, SPOnG is surprised that he didn’t use his time travelling abilities to buy his Xbox 360 sometime in 2001, rather than pre-order one…

Stay tuned to SPOnG for full coverage of the launch of the Xbox 360 across all three territories, right here, as it happens.
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Comments

OptimusP 22 Nov 2005 16:20
1/10
"its this generation of gaming, part 2" you find in quite some forums. The thing is you don't have to look very hard to come to quotes who actually say in general that the X360 is not next-gen, its just better equipped to run games on HDTV's as the only difference.
Even looking at the games with a critical eye, at the controller and at hardware and what it really adds to gaming, don't buy the marketing bullshit... it's bloody true... for now.
fluffstardx 23 Nov 2005 01:24
2/10
Anyone who expects launch titles to offer something genuinely special has to live with their own stupidity or just buy Nintendo. There is no such thing as "truly next gen" - it's just a boost in machine power!

People need to start being realistic.
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realvictory 23 Nov 2005 02:25
3/10
fluffstardx wrote:
Anyone who expects launch titles to offer something genuinely special has to live with their own stupidity or just buy Nintendo. There is no such thing as "truly next gen" - it's just a boost in machine power!

People need to start being realistic.


So does this mean either way you look at it, the XBox 360's simply a more powerful current-generation machine?

If it's what you're happy with, then no problem. Do you modify your expectations to match what you're given?

Microsoft could have done worse. But they could have done it better.
fluffstardx 23 Nov 2005 11:44
4/10
Now that you mention it, yes it is.

The Saturn wasn't a massive leap; merely doubled the power. But that was back when there were leaps: 3D can be dismissed as a mere graphics upgrade, analogue thumbsticks a mere PC technology integration, as is force feedback... where were the real "next gen" leaps? Show me one.

There have been innovations, but what do you consider made the PS2 so "next gen" from the PS1? Making the system multimedia is just a byproduct of the media used, the Eyetoy and Singstar microphones are mere peripherals, the difference between MGS and MGS:SoL are graphical... where is this "next gen" leap?

It's a white elephant! The leaps in PCs are in the field of how much space and what graphics tech they require, are they not? When was the last time the PC evolved from mouse and keyboard? And in this upcoming "next gen", where is the leap? The Rev controller, a souped up lightgun? The PS3's dream of being a PC? The upgrades to the way community and internet are utilised on 360? If that's the way you look at it, 2 of the 3 systems have just gained PC functionality and the other's become an arcade cabinet. Is it next gen enough for people? Can anything ever be?

People need to wake up and smell the coffee. If all you look at is the games, all you will see is better efeects and graphics. All 3 machines will prove that. The difference between this gen and the next is how content is handled; the 360 brings in Media Centre functionality and the Live content (Marketplace, passive gaming, Live Arcade), the PS3 similar ideas (media handling, Linux PC emulation), the Rev a new way to play (a controller anyone could use, in a variety of different ways) and some old games too (the much vaunted back catalogue).

Is it really that hard to see? Did you not stop playing 360 game demos for a bit and take a tour of the interface? How about pressing that big button in the middle? The revised controls for easier use and adaption? That is the next gen stuff in the pod, not the games. Next gen gaming won't start until games companies work out what the hell it is. Until then, play your graphical updates.
realvictory 23 Nov 2005 12:09
5/10
3D could be dismissed as purely a graphical update, if it hadn't created new gameplay, but it does. Likewise with analogue sticks.

Better graphics is not "next gen" on its own, because current generation games have better graphics than others. Technology isn't an improvement at all, if it doesn't improve anything.

The PS2 was "next generation" because it used DVD media. It had a hard drisk drive and a modem. These affected the actual games, not just who plays them, when and where, but how. So, were they used effectively? Like hell, but the system was next generation, even if the games weren't. What are the next generation features of the 360? A different GUI? That is irrelevent, as far as I'm concerned. What can be done on XBox 360 that can't be done on XBox? That is the point. Nothing, as far as I can see. "Better" graphics, all the XBox live stuff, streaming content, etc... It could have been done on the original Xbox.

It's not me saying the XBox 360 is "next generation", it's Microsoft. So, criticise them, if you don't think it is. If you disagree with Microsoft's own opinion of the XBox 360, what justification is there to be so loyal?

...So, the conclusion is, if the system is capable of new kinds of games, then it's next generation. You could even say something has "next generation" graphics alone. But apart from that, I don't see anything else next generation on the XBox 360.
fluffstardx 23 Nov 2005 13:12
6/10
And you totally miss the point.

What great revolutions are left? Total immersion? What exactly do you think it could have done? It has changed games from the Xbox. It has made them all liable to similar settings (the console can auto setup options like sensitivity and inverted controls), added greater physics capabilities (the Prey footage proves that), made them easier to pick up, play and exit (the Media button on the controller), and that is just the beginning.

What exactly did the media change add to PS2? A bigger capacity. Not that massive a difference, just no need to disc swap a lot. The HDD was used for very few games. Analogue control is poorly implemented in many games. 3D hasn't been a massive difference like some believe, especially in the field of platformers and racing games (is F1 gaming really improved from Pole Position that much?). It added a bit of tactic to some games (sidesteps in fighting games), but I would hardly have called it a revolution in gaming. It's a graphical trick, proven by the likes of the original Wolfenstein and Doom games compared to modern FPSs, and comparing Desert Strike to, say, Thunderhawk 2.

I say again, people are asking for something that they don't know what it is! NONE of the new generation will satisfy these people! And, until they find out, I'll be happy with innovations like passive gameplay (Gotham TV and the like), heightened community (Marketplace, video chat when camera released) and the obvious improvements in physics and graphical realism.
OptimusP 23 Nov 2005 15:05
7/10
Did 3D and analoge control move gaming forward, yes it did and Mario 64 was there to prove it that when aplied well it gave a complete new sense of freedom and control.
Improved physics are a graphical gloss thing but HL2 proved you can do some nice and new gameplay stuff with pyshics.
The question, how many revolutions are out there is proof of the boxed thinking some possess towards gaming. Revolutions are events or ways of thinking that go beyond the box, outside of it, creating a enterily new box. you can not create a revolution whitin a certain box of conventions and that's were you are wrong.
There are a lot of things possible that can add new innovations to gaming, you just have to think out of the box.

Why many will not call the Xbox360 next-gen is because it breaks a certain cycle of revolution evolution-revolution-evolution set-up by Nintendo and followed by everyone else. What you called innovations aren't any, they are logical consequences of consoles connecting to the internet (and taking over designs done by the PC-community for years) and 2 companies who are battling it out for control over your living room.
PC-gaming is also a part of gaming mind, sometimes people forget that. It's not a seperate entity.

It's not a case that there are people who can not be satisfied by any kind of innovation, its more of a case of people still playing inside the same box of conventions for the past 10 years and the first hardware that claims it will bring innovation doesn't do it by a long shot.

Yes many will be having loads of fun on their X360 and be happy. The problem is if that box we are stuck in doesn't get supplemented by a new one (the box of 2D gaming still exist, so it actually exist besides the one of conventional 3D-gaming) the gaming industry will not be able to re-innovate itself enough to be viable and will utterly crash. Every market needs innovation to grow, keep going on the same track and it will get stall and later on shrink.

These kinds of discussions are needed to question those that deliver our gaming fix. Microsoft claims innovation but brings almost nothing new to the table game-wise. Can't blame so many of saying that isn't tolerable.
This generation can become a cross-road in the gaming industry, do we continue to keep going on the same track untill we hit the ceiling or can we also go on another track that can make the market grow in another direction.
The old track doesn't need to be replaced as such but the gaming industrie as a whole could need a enrichment in the form of a new box of gameconventions, a revolution.
king skins 23 Nov 2005 17:21
8/10
You completely missed fluffstardx points. Practically all things that are in new consoles have been done before and so can't be really be considered next-gen.

The BBC micro had 3D graphics in Elite, the Mega Drive has CD media in the Mega CD and DVD is nothing more that a bigger CD.

There are hardly ever any new ideas, just repackaing of old ones in a new way by either making it standard or by bring lots of ideas together in one easy to use package.

The last big shift for games was everything going to 3D for better or worse. I think we lost a lot of old gamers in that shift as it brought more complexity to games.

I think the next big step for games is in how we present them and how intuitive they are. I would argue that PGR3 is a step in that direction with its more open ended structure to the single player game where you can race the whole single player game in one car. When they started planing PGR3 they looked at how gamers where playing the game as it was always linked to Live to update your scores to the leaderboards and one of the things they found was 90% of people had stopped playing by the 3rd championship of the game...

how may other games does this happen to?
soanso 23 Nov 2005 18:44
9/10
Xbox 360 does absolutely nothing new. It's not so innovative or clever and it's not cheap.
But I quite like it.
It's all nicely thought out. nice controller. nice menus.
And Kameo seemed a pretty good game from what I played of it. Almost like a Rare game of old.
I never thought I'd ever say this....but....Microsoft, I applaud you.
realvictory 24 Nov 2005 00:02
10/10
I agree, optimusP. What's been done before is not everything that's possible, that's the exact difference.

The DVD, physically is just a storage of data. But, how it's used determines the huge difference, just like every technology. For example, a modem is "nothing more" than a load of wires and switches (been invented before), but it's how it's put to use that's the big issue.

So we all agree that the XBox 360 is not innovative and not next generation? That isn't a problem as such, because it still has a good use. The problem is the difference between what you perceive it as, and what Microsoft want you to perceive it as. To me this means Microsoft don't know what they're talking about, to an extent, which makes me more cynical towards them.
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