# Somebody please explain Xbox **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595 "2004-11-25T03:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/21 "2004-11-25T15:09:16Z")
Also bear in mind the $50 price tag is for new cartridges. Older ones are $10 or $20, so it’s not like you’re going to be spending his college tuition on cartridges right at first. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/22 "2004-11-25T15:33:09Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Also bear in mind the $50 price tag is for new cartridges. Older ones are $10 or $20, so it’s not like you’re going to be spending his college tuition on cartridges right at first. GAAAH! They’re round and shiny! Like _discs_. It used to bug me to no end when my mom would call my NES and SNES games “tapes”. Show me where you see a shred of “tape” on this game! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/23 "2004-11-25T15:45:25Z")
Hey, I don’t have one. Sue me. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/24 "2004-11-25T16:14:31Z")
Thanks for finding it on Amazon for me, **continuity error**. I’m ordering it now. My son turns 12 today. His big interest is sports, particularly basketball, so it looks like Xbox is the one to get. Thanks for the info, everybody. The Dope rocks! ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/25 "2004-11-25T17:02:49Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Or suitable for children. Or from what I hear, suitable for this 33 year-old… While I like dropping terrorists in Ghost Recon, or fragging Elites in Halo 2 (and 1) I don’t see the appeal. But that is jut me. Depending on how old your son is, Munch’s Oddessy is great fun and a graphically stunning game, tons of sports games (I don’t play them so I won’t recommend any) Blinx is pretty fun and I have played to trial Voodoo Vince, which is a clean, fun game, but with enough action to sustain interest. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/26 "2004-11-25T17:04:09Z")
Maybe I should have read to the end of the thread… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/27 "2004-11-25T17:16:34Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > Be aware that you cannot play DVDs on a stock Xbox. You have to buy a DVD kit. Yes. But the “kit” is just the DVD remote. Which is something you’d want anyway if you were going to use it for DVDs. ---
**Author:** ![Bleaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Bleaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bleaker)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/28 "2004-11-25T17:54:20Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Now I’m upset. I just beat GTA: Vice City and was planning to buy San Andreas soon. I can’t believe they dont make it for xBox. That’s freaking lame! > > Surely they’ll make it in that format in the near future, right??? GTA: Vice City was released on XBox about a year after the PlayStation 2 version. So you’re probably in for a wait. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/29 "2004-11-25T22:02:27Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Yes. But the “kit” is just the DVD remote. Which is something you’d want anyway if you were going to use it for DVDs. Err, no. The remote does not have to come with the DVD kit (although it can). The DVD kit is a small memory stick containing the DVD player (software) that you plug into a controller port. I have a real DVD player so I don’t use my Xbox but it sucks having to buy a $50 (CAN) device just to watch DVDs. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/30 "2004-11-26T14:27:01Z")
The DVD kit was made as an add-on by Microsoft to avoid having to pay a DVD license fee. This way they could compete better with Sony and only those who needed a DVD player would pay the fee. We bought the DVD remote for our rec room TV/Xbox setup. It works pretty good, my only complaint is that you can’t shutdown the Xbox with it. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/31 "2004-11-27T04:12:30Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > Err, no. The remote does not have to come with the DVD kit (although it can). The DVD kit is a small memory stick containing the DVD player (software) that you plug into a controller port. > > I have a real DVD player so I don’t use my Xbox but it sucks having to buy a $50 (CAN) device just to watch DVDs. Ive never seen a DVD kit without the remote. The DVD software is worthless without the controller because even with the DVD reciever in the system you cannot control DVD functions with the controller like you can on PS2, you MUST use the remote. I like the DVD player on the Xbox MUCH MUCH better than the PS2 because it has MUCH MUCH higher speed fast forward and rewind. The PS has a VERY slow fast forward and rewind. Annoying as hell. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/32 "2004-11-27T05:00:19Z")
Gaming is expensive, so if you want to give your son a decent selection of games to play, be aware of the deals taking place around you. There’s a site dedicated to nerds who search the internet 24/7, and scan hundreds of games at Best Buy and Circuit City to see if there’s any unannounced sales. That site is www.Cheapassgamer.com, and it has saved me hundreds. Save it to favorites, and register as a member (doing so is free) so you can check out the deals posted at their message board. Exceptionaly good deals that don’t die out in a matter of minutes are posted on the front page. However, many of the deals can’t be accessed online and require you to walk inside of a store to take advantage of them; these deals don’t make it past the forums. That’s why registering is essential. Anywho, last year there were very big deals announced. After Christmas, the members worked together to construct a huge list of games for all systems that were being liquidated for $4.99. Funny thing is, the price of these games weren’t announced for a least a week after the CAG members knew what they were worth. I walked up to the registers with a huge pile of games that I planned on reselling to ebay, and shocked the cashiers who saw how much the games were coming up as. These things happen, and most people don’t even believe it. This is the holiday season, and so deals are going to be posted a greater frequency and quality than they will at any other time of the year. You’ll see games that usually run for $30-50 in stores, selling for $5-10 brand new. Cheapassgamer doesn’t actually sell any games, it simply points you in the direction where they’re being sold the cheapest. So, keep an eye on it, otherwise you’ll be paying through the nose for games. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/33 "2004-11-27T06:01:12Z")
When buying games as a present, I tend to follow a set pattern. A $55 gift certificate to a games store like Eloectronics Boutique or whatever, packaged with two or three rented games. The idea being “try these out, and go buy whichever you liked most.” ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/34 "2004-11-27T06:45:26Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > The PS2 requires memory sticks to save games so the PS2 price is a little misleading. Which, IMHO, is a good thing. Having game saves stored on portable memory cards is, to me, far preferable to locking them inside the box. That’s one thing that really frustrated me with the Sega Saturn - it didn’t even have the option of using memory cards. I prefer the freedom of being able to take my characters, teams, progress, etc. to anyone’s house without having to lug my entire system around. And at least for me, the price isn’t misleading because even if I bought an Xbox I’d be dropping the $15 for a memory card anyway. So, **Jomo** , if your kid is going to be playing Xbox with his friends, get him a memory card. Otherwise he’ll just be asking for one later. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/35 "2004-11-27T12:51:10Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > Err, no. The remote does not have to come with the DVD kit (although it can). The DVD kit is a small memory stick containing the DVD player (software) that you plug into a controller port. > > I have a real DVD player so I don’t use my Xbox but it sucks having to buy a $50 (CAN) device just to watch DVDs. I thought the bit that you plug into the controller port was just an infra red receptor for the remote. the Xbox certainly didn’t seem to load any extra software when I hooked up the DVD remote. I have also never seen the DVD kit come without the remote. My Xbox came bundled with Halo and the DVD remote, but I would have had no problem spending another $50 for the remote kit. Still a lot cheaper than buying a DVD player + a decent gaming computer. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/36 "2004-11-27T15:31:01Z")
Actually, dedicated DVD players are now down to about the price of the Xbox DVD-Remote. And yes, there is the special license software on the infrared doggle. There is a licensing fee any DVD player maker has to pay for each machine; Sony chose to include the cost of the license with the PS2, while Microsoft chose to make you pay separatly; this is because the Xbox cost more money to build than a PS2(it does have more powerful hardware), and MS is already losing money on each Xbox is sells when they match Sony’s price. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/37 "2004-11-27T16:21:12Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > And yes, there is the special license software on the infrared doggle. There is a licensing fee any DVD player maker has to pay for each machine; Why is this exactly? Considering the DVD-ROM in the Xbox already reads DVD games (the games are DVD format). What is the licensing for exactly? Movie only DVD’s? The only difference is the controller port device that allows it to play movies (and you don’t even need that, but I won’t go into that as this board likely will not allow it). ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/38 "2004-11-27T16:36:36Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > Hey! Hiring strippers for a cheap fuck in my backseat and then beating them to death to get my cash back, all before the age of thirteen, made me the man I am today! A man named Ilsa? Hardly a ringing endorsement of the game. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bleaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Bleaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bleaker)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/39 "2004-11-27T18:02:14Z")
> [@Stinkpalm](#): > > I like the DVD player on the Xbox MUCH MUCH better than the PS2 because it has MUCH MUCH higher speed fast forward and rewind. The PS has a VERY slow fast forward and rewind. Annoying as hell. If you buy the PS2 remote, it comes with a software upgrade that provides three FF/RWD speeds, one of which is very very fast. Using the controller alone, the slow speed does suck, especially since you have to hold the button down the entire time. > [@cheddarsnax](#): > > That’s one thing that really frustrated me with the Sega Saturn - it didn’t even have the option of using memory cards. The Saturn did have [memory cartridges](http://www.shinforce.com/saturn/information/Cartridges.htm), in addition to its internal memory. That’s the best way, I think. The casual gamer doesn’t have to buy anything extra, but those who have lots of game saves or want to play them on multiple Saturn units have the option of buying memory cards. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595/40 "2004-11-27T18:42:57Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Why is this exactly? Considering the DVD-ROM in the Xbox already reads DVD games (the games are DVD format). What is the licensing for exactly? Movie only DVD’s? The only difference is the controller port device that allows it to play movies (and you don’t even need that, but I won’t go into that as this board likely will not allow it). The license is for the video compression codec that DVD (and SVCD) movies use, MPEG-2. DVD-ROM games aren’t in DVD format, they just use the same physical medium. You can find out more than you really want to know about MPEG-2 licensing [here](http://www.mpegla.com/m2/index.cfm). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-xbox/276595.md?page=3)