InsideMicrosoft

Well, Its Finally Here

The Xbox 360 hit stores last night. Anybody get one?

I don’t have mine yet, but I’m told its on its way. Currently, I’m trying to come up with ways to get controllers without having to pay an arm, a leg and $50 for each.

There’s a lot of coverage of the launch, and I won’t even try to get it all here. Some of the important stuff:

Still looking to buy a 360? Chris Lambert has done everyone a favor and created a Google Maps mashup that queries Best Buy’s inventory system for remaining consoles, and lets you search near your house. Ars has an article on how the shortages are very real, and the pessimism store employees are saying. I wouldn’t believe it. Microsoft will be shipping more units in the coming weeks, and any store that says they won’t have any more till February is lying.

Reviews have not been great, mostly based on the fact that there aren’t any revolutionary launch titles, and the wrong people are writing the reviews. I’m pretty sure the twenty-something video game crowd is a little more positive than the New York Post’s heavily biased crap article (Don’t believe the hype — and don’t buy the Xbox 360) that actually says the Xbox 360 isn’t worth it because it doesn’t play Nintendo DS and Sony PSP games.

I’m willing to admit that for most people, the 360 doesn’t need to be bought today. But with all the news coming from Sony’s camp, its quite clear a very large number of people will eventually buy it. If you can afford to wait, more power to you. But if gaming is important to you, then there’s no reason not to buy it. If you don’t, then how can you know if its the right system? With a year till the PS3, according to some reports, even if the 360 isn’t the right console, it still is, like the loud girl in the bar, its the “right now” console. You aren’t going to get anything better for the next year, so if you want to be stuck in the last generation…

The tech behind the console should be enough for casual gamers who are big tech geeks. Keep in mind, the 360 is a Windows Media Center Extender, and that is a big deal. I’ll probably use it more for TV than gaming. I’m already dreaming of hooking it into my wireless network and running all my Media Center options off of it, freeing up my computer to just be itself, and not be connected to my TV. PC Magazine reviews the Extender, and it looks good, although you may want to buy a real Media Center Remote (two of which I will be reviewing when the 360 arrives).

More than half of PCs sold are now Media Centers, and almost every Vista PC will be, so Microsoft is now putting a full Media Center solution in tens of millions of households. While Sony is losing $100 per PS3 to get a high-capacity DVD drive in homes, Microsoft is spending far less to give you a DVR. Better value? Duh…

Joystiq says the console is very loud, which I hope isn’t true. Why is it that only Apple knows how to eliminate noisy fans? The 360’s power brick is also huge, but lightweight, designed to prevent it from overheating, and keeping the console smaller and cooler. Its not a good trade-off for portability, but it does help keep it looking good under your TV.

There was an unaired Xbox 360 ad that had people making finger guns and shooting each other in a train station. You don’t have to ask why they yanked it.

Bill Gates was playing Project Gotham Racing 3 at a midnight sale at a Seattle Best Buy. He forgot to bring Conan O’Brien along, so he didn’t exactly kick ass.

Many links from Todd Bishop, Bink, Findory

Oh, and to celebrate the whole shebang, Microsoft turned a stream outside their offices green.

November 22nd, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Xbox 360, Xbox, General | one comment