[Stogieman]

Well it looks like Bill is going to unveil the Xbox to the public this Saturday. EMG has exclusive pictures of the Xbox in their latest issue. The pictures can be found here:
http://www.xboxweb.com/news/0101/004.html

So what does everyone think? How would you compare it to other consoles (DC, PS2, GameCube) in looks and function? Personally, I think the Xbox controller is a complete ripp-off of the Dreamcast's. The console itself looks cool but from the pictures, it looks HUGE. Like the size of a VCR. But I guess what really matters is the quality of games for the system. We'll still have to wait and see on that.

Oh, on a side note http://xbox.ign.com had a chat transcript on a Matt and John from Bungie discussing Halo. It was a very interesting article.

[The Dude]

Personally I think that this thing will only have a folowing from peecee wanna be l337 gamer lamers and us mac users. Not say that we mac users are lame, but because we are mac users, we do miss out on many good games. Fortunately, this is not the case as it once was. However, there are always a few that slip by us. So I think that this will be the answer for a lot of us. It is a sub-$500 console that can play peecee games at peecee qualities. That's a good deal if you ask me! However, you won't see in line for one of them, nor will you ever see me playing with one. Microsoft was screwed me over one to many times for their marketing to convince me that I need it.

[Archangel]

I will won't be getting an XBox not because it is made by Microshaft, but because I have never had a strong attraction to consoles. The games on consoles have never been near as good as games on modern computers. The interface is simplistic because of the limited function of the control pads/ joysticks, thus the control over the game itself is limited. When the control over the player is limited, then the game must have limitations to accomodate the restrictions on the player. What results is a sucky game.

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"Elvis has left the building!"

[Cipher13]

I'll be getting a GameCube.
I don't think the XBox will play PC games.
And anyway, the XBox is simply a crappy PC that doesnt' come with a keyboard.

Cipher13

[Adam Silver]

Why is it that no one seems to be able to design a decent gamepad anymore? Sony uses shapes to name the buttons, Nintendo uses odd shapes for the GAMECUBE buttons, Sega has the cord come out of the back of the gamepad, and Microsoft's Xbox gamepad looks unwieldy.

At this point, I plan on getting a PS2 and only a PS2. Unless Microsoft or Nintendo can sign up some major RPG developers (SquareSoft, Enix, Working Designs), I will stick with Sony.

With that said, I think the Xbox looks cool.

[Cipher13]

The Nintendo 64 controller is the best controller I have ever used. The PlayStation and Playstation 2 controllers are TERRIBLE.
I really hope I can use the old style gamepad on the GameCube (as if), or that they refine their design...

Cipher13

[Adam Silver]

I don't have any problems with Sony's gamepads except for the fact that the buttons are named after shapes. I didn't mention the N64 gamepad because the N64 is near death and the GAMECUBE will soon replace it.

Hopefully Nintendo and Microsoft will realize their mistakes and redesign their gamepads before the releases of the GAMECUBE and Xbox. I also hope that Sega will realize that a cord coming out of the bottom of the gamepad is uncomfortable and fix this. As for Sony, it's too late; we've lived with shape-named buttons for five years now.

[TimmyDee51]

I would have to agree with Cipher. The N64 controllers are the BEST I have ever used. The joystick is well placed and has a good feel. Sony's joysticks just plain suck. They give you the worst feel in any game. And the arangement of the buttons is terrible. Nintendo's varying shapes and positioning allow you to know what button you aer pushing by feel and placement alone. I hope the Gamecube doesn't screw with this too much.

I haven't yet found any controller that I like as much as a mouse and keyboard. As long as that's true, I don't care much about consoles.

Nevin

[Adam Silver]

At the very least, I hope we can all agree that the Xbox will be better than the Pippin Atmark/Pippin @World.

Do you know anyone who bought a Pippin Atmark or Pippin @World?

[Archangel]

Originally posted by Adam Silver:
At the very least, I hope we can all agree that the Xbox will be better than the Pippin Atmark/Pippin @World.

Do you know anyone who bought a Pippin Atmark or Pippin @World?

Never even heard of those. . .

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"Elvis has left the building!"

[Cipher13]

Sounds sorta familiar but... nope, no idea either.

Cipher13

[Stogieman]

Good thing you don't remember. I don't really think Apple wants you to either. The Pippin was Apple's ill-fated attempt at a game console. Based on a 66MHz PowerPC 603 with 6MB of RAM, it shipped as the Bandai @World for $599. It was underpowered, overpriced and had no games. The Pippin machine never quite caught on in the US or in Japan, selling just 30,000 machines in Japan and 12,000 in the US.

[Adam Silver]

The concept behind the Pippin was similar to the one behind the Xbox: a high end game console based on Macintosh components that doubles as a hub for home entertainment and Internet access. Additionally, it was supposed to be easy to port software from Mac to Pippin or the other way around.

This is not to say that Microsoft is copying Apple's plans exactly. Apple took the Pippin a step beyond the Xbox; the Pippin was also supposed to be used for productivity applications such as TV Works (think AppleWorks for Pippin). Also unlike the Xbox, but like the 3DO, Apple did not manufacture of sell the Pippin; that was left to licensees.

Unfortunately for Apple, by the time the Pippin was ready, it was out of date. The Saturn and PlayStation were far superior for games, WebTV boxes were better at displaying the Internet on television, and no one ever wanted to use a television set for word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.

To make matters worse, Apple was only able to get one licensee to sell the Pippin: Bandai (best known for Power Rangers toys). Bandai sold its Pippin units in Japan as the Pippin Atmark and in the United States as the Pippin @World. At $500 ($200 more than what Sony and Sega were selling their superior consoles for), the Pippin was ignored by the media, the public, and software developers.

Will the Xbox fare as poorly as the Pippin? I doubt it. While there are some similarities, the Xbox is more powerful than anything else out there, it has plenty of software developers behind it, it will be competitively priced, and Microsoft is spending money to market the Xbox.

[Adam Silver]

A few corrections to my last post: the Pippin @World cost $600, not $500 and by the time the Pippin was released, the PlayStation and Saturn were selling for $200, not $300. This means that the Pippin @World cost $400 more than its superior competitors. Also, Pippin software didn't need to be ported to Mac, it would automatically work on both platforms.

I have my PS2 and love it. It's the only console I'll own until PS3