Because the people buying Xbox’s get stuck on things like overheating. Computers are too complex to make it worth their time.
didnt the Playstation have an overheating problem? caused by most of the vent being on the bottom, and if people rested it on a carpet no air could get in.
Shhhh! Don’t try to confuse the issue with facts! The Xbox is made by Microsoft, and is therefore inherently buggy if not deliberately evil!
Part of the problem are the phrases “used whole computer systems” and “a good video card.” What kind of video card? What graphics API – D3D, OpenGL, Glide? How much memory is on the card? Which OS is running on the system? What other cards are included on the system? Does it have a network card? A legacy sound card that’s conflicting with an available IRQ? What’s the speed of the hard drive? How much space is available on the drive? How about the CD-ROM drive? Does it have a DVD player?
If you’re developing a game for the PC, you have to account for all these variables and more. When you develop for a console, you’re going to be developing and testing the game on exactly the same setup that every player is going to have. You don’t have to spend excess time supporting a hundred different hardware configurations, and you don’t have to remove features from your game because they won’t be supported on 100% of the video cards out there.
The first wave of PSX’s had this problem. Places like Funcoland and Babbage’s that give you credit for used systems won’t take the old PSX’s for overheating. I know because I learned the hard way – I was trying to sell back my PSX to get credit towards a PS2 and was VERY upset when they wouldn’t take it back. The later version of PSX doesn’t have this problem, however. You can tell the difference between the old ones and the new ones because the old ones have the three A/V plugs in the back (the yellow, red, and white round plugs) while the newer ones don’t have any at all.
[/girlfriend of Funcoland manager rant]
Not only that, but if you look inside the vent, there’s a big metal plate covering it. May have been necessary for something but circulation wasn’t it.
The Best Buy location I work at has an air circulator in the Xbox container which allows the hot air to go out and fresh, cooler air to go in. It has not crashed a single time.
What can’t the do? Get purchased for $300.
Basically, the processors in the consoles may not be as “powerful” as a PC proc, but since they don’t have to take compatibility issues into account, they are far more streamlined. Ergo, you can get about as much work out of a 700 Mhz console proc as you would out of a 1.2 or 1.3 ghz PC proc.
Further, the consoles are (duh!) much smaller (despite the size criticisms of the X-Box). And simpler to use.
You wanna build a computer that’s just as powerful as the X-Box? Pop in a 1.2 Ghz chip (I’m going with the Athlon since it’s cheaper). Say, $120. Pop in a cooling unit… $25. Case? $40. Motherboard? $80 (it’s on sale). Ram? 128 megs… say, $20. Hard drive? 20 gig, $90. Video card? GeForce-2 MX with 64 MB of RAM… $100.
So far, we’ve got up to $415, and that doesn’t even include the disk drives (another $60), keyboard and mouse (say, $20), and/or monitor (at least $150 for anything decent), or sound card (oh, $60 for a SBLive! Value). Grand total? $705. And that doesn’t even include an OS…
And remember… I’m being generous and raiding the Bargain Bins at Fry’s. You want quality hardware? Heh. Add another $200 to the price.
Basically, I’ll always prefer PC gaming - hey, I’ve got a damn good computer right now (for the money I paid). But a console system is far more “casual” and more of a group activity. Since few of my friends have broadband, I can’t really play with them.
But this is exactly my point. Microsoft didn’t appear to take that into account. They wanted all the great graphics, features, A.I., etc… and apparently didn’t care that this would cause the machine to easily overheat in a small space. All they cared about was having the best hardware. Did you ever wonder why Sony decided to only put a 300MHz processor in the PS2? I’m sure they considered using a faster processor. Microsoft had to be a showoff and more than doubled the speed of the other consoles, without regards to what other effects that would have on their system (heat problems being one of them).
I’m saying that Microsoft should have known their customer a little better. Console gamers are not PC gamers. Most DO treat game consoles like you described. A small amount of research would have revealed that. Of course, I can’t point to any actual studies, this is just from my own observations, so take it at face value.
As a side note, you could have made the same exact post without the name calling and rudeness. It’s unnecessary. If I am wrong about something, I’m more than happy to be corrected. Don’t treat me like an invalid because you know something that I may not.
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Does the manual that comes with the X-Box include warnings about overheating? My PS2 warned me about heating issues and gave tips for were to keep your console while playing.
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I’ve never kept any of my console games in particularly tight quarters. Not because I’m aware of overheating problems it just always worked out that way for me. If people read the instructions that come with their consoles then they probably won’t be having any overheating problems.
Marc
It took me a few minutes to remember where I had heard this before, and I finally got it. Intel took some abuse for introducing the Pentium chip, which was the first chip to have real problems with overheating.
People claimed that showing off by doubling cpu speed “without regard for overheating problems” was going to backfire, and that tacking on cooling systems would never take off. Hence, the 486 is still the dominant processor today. :rolleyes:
Please. More power = more heat. We already went through this in the PC market, and it was silly then. Microsoft took a gamble that most people would sacrifice some convenience for a substantial speed increase, and I think they’ll prove to have a good strategy in that regard. If you’re not one of those people… get something else. Vote with your wallet.
I got an X-Box on thursday and aside from a few annoying interruptions (work, sleep, etc.) I’ve been playing it pretty much nonstop since then without any problems at all. The manual DOES tell you to make sure that the system is kept cool and that you don’t block the vents, but then so do the manuals for my VCR, TV, DVD player, stereo, and Playstation. Maybe some X-Boxes have had problems with this, I don’t know, but mine’s been doing just fine inside its slot on the entertainment center. The games for it are kick-ass too, in case you were wondering 
I spent a couple of hours tonight playing DOA3 and Halo, and now I want an X-Box more than ever. Halo appears to be a game I could play forever, but the driving really does take some getting used to.
Nope, I never wondered, because I know. It’s because they made some sacrifices in power in exchange for decreased mass and size (not necessarily a bad thing, mind you). It’s because they figured that a 300 Mhz processor would be sufficient for the task. It’s because they were making bold new steps and didn’t want to be too rash. But mostly it’s because the PS2 came out a year ago.
I understand, I didn’t say it wasn’t worth it… I mean, it dosn’t happen much I guess. I didn’t even knoe it was an over heating prob. I have nothin against the box (get your mind out of the gutter_
c_goat I am not sure whether you are a Mac user with a microsoft grudge, or an AOLien who doesn’t know any better, but here goes…
No, they did. The Box has a clever air flow route, which maximizes the fan intake. Once again though, in an airtight box such as a STORE DISPLAY, it doesn’t matter how many fans you have going. And what would you have console gamers do? Keep playing 8 bit Super Mario Bros. until the technology advances enough that we have cooler running procs? Or better yet, have a Peltier system installed to jack up the price a little more?
Yep. That was the goal when they first started development, to make the best gaming experience possible.
I am sure they considered it. But at the time R&D was going on for the PS2, a 750mhz processor would have been cost prohibitive. And yes, pretty much everything on the Box is twice GC & PS2…If it wasn’t, the Box would be just another run of the mill console.
Actually, the development team for the Box WERE hardcore gamers. It is a console developed by gamers, for gamers. Hence the break-away controllers…Who hasn’t had a someone trip over the cord an pull the console to the floor?
Look, I am not knocking the PS2, or the GC (Well, ok I AM knocking the GC…Not because of performance, but because of the kiddie games) I loved my PS1, and I have played the PS2 several times…But I am sorry, the X-Box knocks it flat on it’s ass. I hope with the PS3 Sony makes a comeback…But who knows?
Ok, ok, I get it. Take it easy, no lynchings today please.
I was just under the impression that they never realized it might overheat. That was the core of my original post. I realize now that this is not the case, and I was woefully wrong. The fault lies in the users who treated them poorly, even if other consoles might be able to handle the abuse.
The console gamers I was talking about are the younger gamers, like the ones on the GameFAQs Message Boards. I’m sure most of the people there do not treat their game consoles the way they should be treated, and they obviously don’t read the manual based on some of the questions you’ll see, and I feel that the younger gamers make up the majority of console gamers. It seems to me that the older gamers play games on their PCs, and are the minority when it comes to the console market in the USA.
All I was really saying, is that if Microsoft was aiming for the younger gamers, they can’t expect them to take good care of a system. I assumed they were marketing to younger people based on my feeling that they make up the majority. In that case, it would have been a better idea to make a console that could handle the abuse that would normally lead to overheating, especially as a new player in the console race. Word of mouth is the most effective advertising, and if the people that buy the consoles are always complaining that the thing breaks, then other people aren’t going to buy it, regardless of how powerful or great it is when it works.
I guess I was wrong for either assuming that younger people make up the majority, that younger people mistreat their consoles, or that Microsoft was marketing to the younger gamers. Or maybe all of them are wrong. Maybe my worldview is just totally wrong.
I never said the X-box was bad though, or that the PS2 or GC was better. In fact, I’d like to get all 3.
It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out, regardless.
c_goat- Sorry if I came off a little harsh, but on this board you have to stay on the offensive, or otherwise get tossed aside.
You made a GREAT point. Consoles are not being marketed towards kids anymore. If anything, they are being directed towards the 20-something set, that grew up on gaming. I think that is where Nintendo will keep a niche market…With kids. My brother, who is 10, would love nothing better than a GC for X-mas. Myself, being 23, want something with a bit more substance.
Too bad all debates can’t end on friendly terms.
Definitely a good point about the age issue… I really get the impression that the XBox has been marketed to the older “PC gamier crowd”, people who spend their time with over the top hardware trying to eke out a few more FPS with the latest technology. It will be interesting to see if this works, as a PC gamer myself I can’t say I’m terribly interested in dropping 300 bucks on a console even if it is the biggest and baddest hardware out there, but it does seem to be working at least in some areas of the PC sector.
NT and Win2K are much faster and less crash prone than Win9X flavors of MS operating systems, regardless of hardware.
Not to totally hijack an XBox thread, but I think Nintendo isn’t going to do the kiddie markte thing as much as they did with the N64, and even with the N64 I think it was just that the kiddie games got a lot of attention. There were plenty of FPS games for that crowd (which sorta includes me).
At any rate, the latest Popular Science has an article about the consoles in which the author says that 57% of the console market is aged 18 and over.
RE: Processor Speed
Heh, the muscle cars moved into the computer realm; the muscle processors moved into the console realm! 
Processor speed like that of the XBox is so outrageous that I almost laughed when I heard about it. However, MS had a good idea with it.
Longevity. While console clock speeds have been doubling every generation (pretty much), MS said, “Why play that game? We can put a system out right now with next-next-gen specs. This system should last a long time.” Thats MHO about why they chose the processor speed they did: to keep the system out there longer.
I don’t know much about the GC, but I’m know that Sony lost money on every PS, and I don’t doubt that MS did, too. That means they gotta make it back up in the games. And that means the system has to stay out there.
I think MS is brilliant. I do not worship them (in public) but I think they’ve got a great thing here. We’ll hear the real story in five years when people start wondering if the XBox will outlive the original PS’s incredible run…