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#1 2003-01-20 8:08 pm

skorche
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From: Minnesota
Registered: 2002-11-05
Posts: 460
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Microsoft and the Xbox

I've heard that the Xbox costs $400 to produce, so they lose a mint of money, by selling them, so they make it up by being the only publisher of Xbox games.
Does that allow them to really rip their developers off?
I really only use IE 5, and sparingly at that because I'm no Microsoft fan. I have $200 that I can only spend at Target. I have a GameCube, but there's nothing I want for that right now. So I was thinking about an Xbox, and getting Halo.

Does anybody know more about the above issue? That's really what's holding me back.

On the other hand, should I wait till this summer and get Halo for my iBook? A Radeon 7000 is about equal to a GeForce2 MX right?


Howling Moon Software and Chipmunk Physics: Fast 2D Rigid Body Physics in C

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#2 2003-01-20 10:37 pm

stosh
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From: Seattle, Wa
Registered: 1999-02-21
Posts: 103
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Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

I've got an xbox, but the only game ive enjoyed with it is halo...but i mean you would be better off waiting for the mac version this summer. Its going to have netplay with up to 32 players, the xbox doesnt even have a tcp option  (although organized lan games are awesome). Although if you want to see how the story ends you might want to invest in getting an xbox just for halo II.

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#3 2003-01-21 3:20 am

DBvader
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From: La Jolla, California
Registered: 2002-08-24
Posts: 403

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

i have an xbox, and i think its graet.  there are many more good games out on the system, and xbox live is insane.

i have a gamecube, and a two, as well.  i think that the cube is just ok, and the ps2 is pretty fantastic. 

the xbox will run halo better than a mac with a 7000. 

the game that comes bundled with the xbox, jet set radio future, is one of the best games ive played in a long time.


"Im not trying to make a difference"
-Eddie Vedder

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#4 2003-01-21 3:56 am

Bat
Flawless Cowboy
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From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

It's pretty much the same business model across all consoles- lose money on the hardware, make it on the games.

Halo better (faster, smoother) on X-Box than R7000- that's a firm. It may only have 64M RAM, but it's all available for graphics, and the internal bus gives it memory bandwidth out the wazoo. It's a system architecture optimized for games, so gets a lot despite aging hardware.

And yes, Halo II looks to be XBox-only, for the foreseeable, and previews look and sound great. Maybe by then a used one will come my way...


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

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#5 2003-01-21 5:05 am

mediocresau
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From: Mediocre, Honolulu, HI
Registered: 2002-09-24
Posts: 3567
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Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

Does anyone recall that Halo was orginally designed as a Mac game until Jobs brought out Bungie?

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#6 2003-01-21 9:44 am

skymt0
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From: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Registered: 2002-10-23
Posts: 1195

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

Does anyone recall that Halo was orginally designed as a Mac game until Jobs brought out Bungie?

Don'tcha mean Gates? roll

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#7 2003-01-21 12:24 pm

stosh
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From: Seattle, Wa
Registered: 1999-02-21
Posts: 103
Website

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

Does anyone recall that Halo was orginally designed as a Mac game until Jobs brought out Bungie?

yea it was designed as a mac game, but bungie has a lot more resources to help them make a better game.....like working directly with the xbox hardware development team, i mean their like in the same building.

I can also vouch bungie hasn't been throughly infected by microsoft, they are way off the main campus, and still seem to be the same company they were before the buy out.

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#8 2003-01-21 2:06 pm

Bat
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From: Björk, Björk
Registered: 2001-05-14
Posts: 28541

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

There's been endless debate here about that, but... that aside, apparently Halo, being a port rather than designed for the X, is suboptimal in its efficiency. Halo II, OTOH, is being ground-up built for the X-Box and will achieve much better graphics while maintaining framerate. As to story, who would balk at an opening that sees the remnants of 1 arriving home to see Earth under bombardment by Covenant warships, and Master Chief jumping across to the airlock of a Covenant ship to take care of business?


If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."

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#9 2003-01-21 2:29 pm

DBvader
Member
From: La Jolla, California
Registered: 2002-08-24
Posts: 403

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

youre right, bat.  actually, i remmber reading that th character models actaully are made up of less polys.  they are using lighting and bump   mapping to its fullest, and it looks insane.


"Im not trying to make a difference"
-Eddie Vedder

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#10 2003-01-21 7:58 pm

Gary Patterson
    
Registered: 2000-09-19
Posts: 4732

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

Halo-II is the best reason for buying an X-Box, and if I have a spare few hundred...

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#11 2003-01-21 8:34 pm

Bundy
Working As Intended
From: Moonrunner
Registered: 2001-12-06
Posts: 1022

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

My only reason for disliking X-Box: that god-forsaken controller. It drove me insane trying to play a first person shooter with that.... that.... thing they call a controller.
Playing Tony Hawk 4 on the X-Box was only challenging because the controller was so hard to use. On playstation 2 it was a blast.

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#12 2003-01-21 10:32 pm

skorche
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From: Minnesota
Registered: 2002-11-05
Posts: 460
Website

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

You really dislike the controller that much? I mean I don't think it's great, but I like it's design better than the playstation one. I like the intuitive feel of the GameCube's controller more, but it doesn't have enough freaking buttons.


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#13 2003-01-22 3:16 am

DBvader
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From: La Jolla, California
Registered: 2002-08-24
Posts: 403

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

the s-control is amazing.  and the normal control is fantastic with FPS.  the GCN control feels good, but if you paly it for a long time, its not very comfortable.  button placement sucks for non platformers, and the control sticks are all too small.  the PS control is neither good nor bad. unlike the xbox and cube control, it does nothing well.  it also does nothing poorly.


"Im not trying to make a difference"
-Eddie Vedder

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#14 2003-01-22 7:17 am

Bundy
Working As Intended
From: Moonrunner
Registered: 2001-12-06
Posts: 1022

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

IMO a mouse and keyboard will be the best for any FPS for a long time.

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#15 2003-01-22 5:38 pm

skorche
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From: Minnesota
Registered: 2002-11-05
Posts: 460
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Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

I agree about the Mouse issue, but that just wouldn't work well on a console.
What is the s-contoller? They make more than one kind of controller?


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#16 2003-01-22 5:59 pm

Rukh
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From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: 2001-04-29
Posts: 970

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

yeah, the Controller-S is a smaller version of the Xbox controller and the black and white buttons are moved.

it's definitely reallllllly nice for sports games.. but i still like the original for Halo, and other FPS games


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#17 2003-01-22 7:20 pm

DBvader
Member
From: La Jolla, California
Registered: 2002-08-24
Posts: 403

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

yeah, imo, the s cotrol is the most functional control out.

the GCN feels freat, b ut the control sticks are way too small, and the button layout is retardedly pointless


"Im not trying to make a difference"
-Eddie Vedder

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#18 2003-01-22 10:30 pm

skorche
Member
From: Minnesota
Registered: 2002-11-05
Posts: 460
Website

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

Gaah, what do you mean the layout is pointless. They are actually reachable without much thumb twisting. The Xbox controller has it's buttons in this big strip. You can't hit the black and white ones without letting go of the controller. If they could put the solid feel and vast array of buttons on the Xbox controller, with the centralized layout and clicking triggers of the GameCube controller, I'd be thrilled.


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#19 2003-01-23 9:38 am

DBvader
Member
From: La Jolla, California
Registered: 2002-08-24
Posts: 403

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

hah, have you played capcom v snk on the cube, or even timesplitters 2?  both games are worthless, becuase the controls are so bad.  i would know, i bought both, and returned them for the same reason.  how can you not hit all the buttons on the XBOX control?  clicking trigers is pretty worthless, imo, and the z button is pretty off too.  nintendos control is comfortable, but not remotely anything near usable.


"Im not trying to make a difference"
-Eddie Vedder

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#20 2003-01-23 2:30 pm

skorche
Member
From: Minnesota
Registered: 2002-11-05
Posts: 460
Website

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

I'll give the z button issue to you. (that's probably why it isn't used for most actions) But what's wrong with the shoulder buttons?


Howling Moon Software and Chipmunk Physics: Fast 2D Rigid Body Physics in C

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#21 2003-01-23 3:10 pm

fortysixandtwo
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From: N. Cali
Registered: 2002-06-25
Posts: 665
Website

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

My only reason for disliking X-Box: that god-forsaken controller. It drove me insane trying to play a first person shooter with that.... that.... thing they call a controller.
Playing Tony Hawk 4 on the X-Box was only challenging because the controller was so hard to use. On playstation 2 it was a blast.

I hated the controller at first too, but after playing Halo a good 4 hours i realized its the only consol controller that WORKS for FPS games. FPS on PS2 sucks....i wasnt too fond of the gamecube one either but i havnt played GCN for that long so..


"The cries of the carrots!  You see, Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day, and to them it is the holocaust.'"

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#22 2003-01-23 3:20 pm

AsgardTex
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From: Undisclosed.
Registered: 2000-05-02
Posts: 2442
Website

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

I've been console gaming since the Atari 2600 and I have to say that the GC controller is the best controller I've ever had. It's completely comfortable and I don't have to contort my hand into any insane positions to reach all of the buttons. The Xbox controllers feel like trying to play a game with a brick. I didn't think that anything could cause as much pain as a Dreamcast controller, but those Buick-sized Xbox controllers take the cake.

Other than that, the Xbox is great for Halo and.... well, that's about it. Any other games worth playing are either on PS2 or GC.

Or a Mac.  big_smile


You ever see the back of a twenty dollar bill... on weed? Jon Stewart

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#23 2003-01-23 5:30 pm

mentholiptus
part of the solution problem
Registered: 2001-04-10
Posts: 2620

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

I've been console gaming since the Atari 2600 and I have to say that the GC controller is the best controller I've ever had. It's completely comfortable and I don't have to contort my hand into any insane positions to reach all of the buttons. The Xbox controllers feel like trying to play a game with a brick. I didn't think that anything could cause as much pain as a Dreamcast controller, but those Buick-sized Xbox controllers take the cake.

Other than that, the Xbox is great for Halo and.... well, that's about it. Any other games worth playing are either on PS2 or GC.

Or a Mac.  big_smile

Awesome  big_smile

Yeah, I love the GC controller. The PS2 and xbox controllers feel like washing a car with dead fish.

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#24 2003-01-23 6:21 pm

joethebarber
Member
From: Crested Butte
Registered: 2000-03-02
Posts: 442

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

nintendos control is comfortable, but not remotely anything near usable.

same argument peeceers say about our one button mice.


"He has a company that makes computers.  Or a computer that makes companies.  Anyway, you wouldn't understand."-Homer

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#25 2003-01-23 6:34 pm

electric27
Member
From: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Registered: 2002-10-23
Posts: 593
Website

Re: Microsoft and the Xbox

I posted something like this last year but here goes: The GC controller is... shall we say... inadequate. Playing Time Splitters became a chore for me and my friends who own the system kept kicking my ass for a week. This is the Kate Moss of controllers: Thin, fragile, and lacking functionality. The Xbox controller (the regular one) is great for me 'cause my hands are kinda big, it has substance. It's the latina with the nice booty of the controllers. My friends and I agree that the PS2 controller is one of the best. Analog everything, small, but not too small, great for all genres (Xbox fails miserably for most fighting games and Tony Hawk). It is the Mia Kunis or Beyonce Knowles of the controllers, the crowd pleaser. Something for everyone. A while ago, I noticed that the Xbox and PS2 contollers have the same number of bottons, sticks, and pads... I wonder...  wink


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That is all.

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