Negaview

The xbox 360 is Microsofts second foray into the world of console gaming.  The original xbox was killed off after a scant 5 years.  This, along with Microsofts less than stellar reputation in the PC software world, leads to many fears about the long term viability of the 360.  On top of this the failed experiment that was the original xbox begs the question, ‘can Microsoft really compete with the Sonys and Nintendos of the world?’  Read on to find out.

Yes.  Is that straightforward enough?  Microsoft learned from the lessons of their previous console.  However, what really sets it apart isn’t the hardware (although the controller is excellent).  It’s the software, afterall Microsoft IS a software company.  By software i specifically mean Xbox live and NXE (new xbox exerience).  Both are vastly superior to anything offered on either the Wii or the PS3.  Xbox live is without a doubt, the most polished online offering from any game console manufacturer.  Sure it costs money, but it is worth every penny, and it is fully integrated into the xbox experience.  NXE can really be called an evolution of Sony’s XMB design.  It functions very similar to the XMB as in you can move up/down and left/right.  In practice however it is far more functional and easier to use than the XMB.  As far as movies, there is DVD playback.  Sure there’s no blueray but who needs it when you can stream netflix movies?

Where does the 360 suffer?  Hardware.  $99 for a wireless adapter?  Are you fucking kidding me?  (that’s built in on the ps3) $20 for a play and charge kit???  (Also built in on the ps3)  A 60 gigabyte hard drive for $99????  I can buy a terabyte pc hard drive for that price.  Basically microsoft is finding every possible way to nickel and dime the consumer that they possibly can.  They give the bullshit reason that they don’t want to force you to pay for something you don’t want, but come on, some things are a no brainer.  Once you add up all of the accessories you have to purchase for the 360 the price quickly comes in line with the sony playstation 3.  On top of that there are the hardware failure rates.

On a long enough time line the failure rate for the xbox 360 is going to be 100%.  I’m not even being facetious.  The hardware is so shoddily constructed that something has failed for every single person i know that owns an xbox 360.  Red ring of death, disc drive error, E74.  There are so many technical problems with the hardware that it’s amazing people put up with it.  Yet we do.  We get our console coffins and mail it back to Microsoft and happily continue to game after getting it back.  I’ve known people whose consoles had fallen out of warranty.  When their console broke they went out and purchased a new arcade unit.

Therein lies the difference.  This console is fun, and will actually see some use.  Would i do the same for my playstation 3?  I doubt it.  You may wonder why i compare the 360 solely to the ps3.  That is because as far as i’m concerned they are the only 2 next gen consoles.  So yes, the xbox360’s construction is shoddy, yes they nickel and dime you for every accessory that comes pre-packaged with the ps3.  However, it is such a great console from a games and services point of view that i’m willing to overlook all of that.