Xbox newbie question

Factual Questions
1

Good evening all!

I’ve recently had a change of heart regarding gaming consoles and have started looking into some of the options available.

The choices have been pretty much narrowed down to either the Xbox or PS2 system.

At this point, our decision is hinging on which vendor or retailer offers the more attractive package at the lowest price.

Well, this evening I was looking through the various flyers from the usual retail outlets that end up in our mailbox and came across what I think is a fair deal on the Xbox.

It includes a couple of games, one controller and 2 months of “Xbox live”.

This last incentive puzzles me. What exactly is Xbox live?

I’m guessing that it boils down to a userid and password on a server somewhere (Redmond?) that Xbox owners with a broadband connection sign in to in order to play games online against other Xboxers.

Is this correct? And if so, is it really necessary to play online? Are there alternatives? The fact that this is a MS offering leads me to believe that there aren’t any, but having spent the last 15 years in the high tech industry, I’m somewhat biased (or jaded…)

I’d really appreciate any guidance provided!

Steve

2

XBox Live is a subscription service for online play. PS2 also supports online play. From my limited knowledge on the subject, the XBox service is a little spiffier.

However, EA, which is the maker of all the best sports games, only supports online play for PS2. This is because EA offers their own proprietary online service, which has nothing to do with PS2. (PS2 online services vary from game to game.) Whereas XBox Live is the umbrella online service for every single XBox game’s online functionality. One service, one interface, one bill; a little spiffier.

So EA tells Microsoft “we run our own online service.” And Microsoft responds “all XBox online play is centralized.” So EA says “we will never offer any online support for any XBox title.”

If you care about playing sports games online, PS2 is the way to go. If you don’t care about sports games, the online thing is moot. (EA only makes sports games.)

XBox Live also allows online updates. New levels in Splinter Cell available for download, as an example. (Not sure if they have any yet.) The reason this is possible is because XBox has a hard drive. PS2 does not yet, so no additional stuff can currently be downloaded.

Also, PS2 memory cards have a tiny chance to stop working, losing all your saved games. XBox hard drives eliminate this problem. (Minimal concern at best.)

XBox graphics are better. GTA should be noticeably better (better long distance detail) on XBox when it comes out.

Free stuff (included in the console):

XBox: 4 controller support

PS2: DVD support

Both systems can do both, for a nominal additional purchase.

I’ve said this before, but really it does boil down to exactly one choice. Do you want to play Gran Turismo, a phenomenal one player racing game, or Halo, a phenomenal multi-player first person shooter? All other games are available for both consoles.

Both games mentioned are truly top notch. But as Sony makes Gran Turismo, and a Microsoft company (Bungee) makes Halo, neither title will ever appear on the competitor’s console.

You’ll be super happy with either. Maybe you could mention titles you are interested in, and we could give you more appropriate advice?

3

I’ve heard that GTA really isn’t much better on Xbox.

PS2 also has online play, but it’s free for most games (once you buy the network adapter) - each game has its own system for online play, like PC games. There’s a new PS2 bundle that includes a network adapter and a copy of some online off-road racing game.

While there are a lot of games released for both Xbox and PS2, there are still plenty of exclusives, including such PS2 titles as Ratchet & Clank and Rez.

4

Most of the exclusives aren’t deal-breakers. Ratchet & Clank? That’s not exactly a must-have title. (Unless that’s the genre the OP is interested in.)

The computer version of GTA is noticeably better than PS2, and the developers said they could do a similar level of detail on XBox.

5

Well, the main reason the computer version of GTA is better than the PS2 is that a keyboard/mouse combo is vastly better for running around and shooting things than a controller. Of course, a controller is better for driving around with, so that’s why I have a dual-shock clone hooked up to my PC. :smiley: Graphically, the X-Box and PC versions of GTA3 look a quite a bit better than the PS2 version, but they are not that far apart.

6

Well, Gran Turismo isn’t a must-have title either, if you aren’t into racers - GT3 convinced me to buy a PS2, but only because it proved PS2 games can have excellent graphics.

If you like platformers, you might consider R&C (and R&C 2, out this month) a must-have title… IMO it’s one of the few good 3D platform games.

7

To be fair (and for the record, between my roomate and myself, we have all 3 new consoles)-

XBox-- Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic, Halo, um…thats about it that I know of. Xbox is also “hackable” and “upgradeable”, which means you could potentially load MAME and other emulaters on it and have a library of classic arcade games on your tv.

PS2-Final Fantasy games, Gran Tourismo, EA sports online games…backwards compatibility to all PS1 games.

also check out the controllers…I hate the xbox layout, but at least the new S version is smaller.

8

There are also a few topics on ps2 Vs Xbox in Cafe Society for your reading pleasure.

9

I’d have to disagree EA necessarily makes the best sports games. The Sega title for hockey is certainly a lot better than recent EA NHL titles, I prefer Sega NBA over EA NBA, and Sega’s World Series games are better than Triple Play.

EA’s John Madden is a little better than Sega’s NFL games, though, and EA makes some excellent auto racing games.

10

I’d have to disagree EA necessarily makes the best sports games. The Sega titles for hockey are certainly a LOT better than recent EA NHL titles, which are, frankly, just awful. I prefer Sega NBA over EA NBA, and Sega’s World Series games are better than Triple Play.

EA’s John Madden is a little better than Sega’s NFL games, though, and EA makes some excellent auto racing games.

11

ookpik2, if you wait for black friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving, alot of consoles are on sale that day only. Over at fatwallet.com in the deal forum you can find these sales listed.

12

This isn’t going to be true much longer. The latest word is that EA and Microsoft have arranged a deal to bring the EA Sports games to Xbox Live. Hasn’t been officially announced yet, but should be soon.

And EA makes plenty of other games besides the EA Sports line. Perhaps you’ve heard of a little game called The Sims ?

13

Thanks for all the replies!

Handy: I’m in Canada, so the black Friday doesn’t apply (there are some amazing deals at that site though)

The price for the Xbox is listed as $219.00 CDN which translates to 168.00 US.

It’s the lowest price I’ve seen so far.

Cheers!

Steve

14

Xbox Live allows you to play against other players as well as download new conmtent for selected titles.

This is not all sports, there are some first person shooters as well as combat games that use this feature.

True EA won’t publish any current games for the Xbox because microsoft wanted to have a standard foundation for the service with one fee, one login etc for the users. They have developed XSN (Xbox sports network) as a portal for sports games… it keeps stats, has championchips with prizes and other features for the sports minded gamer.

The games that have downloadable upgrades are not just the online titles, for example Splinter cell has downloadable upgratdes, Knights of the Old Rpublic will have some as well, and many others.

15

That’s true of PS2 as well. You can even buy a Linux kit from Sony and run any Linux app on your PS2 (including MAME and various other emulators).