Earlier this morning, I posted my
first impressions of a handful of Xbox 360
titles. And as promised, I will spend more time discussing a number of those games in greater detail in subsequent
posts. But first, I wanted to dedicate some space to discussing the Xbox 360 as a next-gen console (aside from the
games).
Once the console has launched, we're gonna hear a lot of complaints. I think some people will return to the argument that we've heard all along; that is, the Xbox 360 is more like an Xbox 1.5. After spending a day with the system, I can definitely see how one might come away with that impression. But I hesitate to make that claim myself. What makes the Xbox 360 innovative—what makes it next-gen—is the interface, the Xbox Dashboard. My concern is that a lot of folks are gonna miss out on this revelation because it's subtle, and because, at its deepest level, caters explicitly to hardcore gamers—or rather, detail-oriented perfectionists.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is about choice. It’s about how you want to play and who you want to play with. Want to listen to different music? Just plug in your iPod and hit the giant “X” in the center of your controller. A few clicks later, and you’ve got the music you want to listen to in the game you want to play. Don’t have an iPod? Grab the music off your hard drive. Don’t have a hard drive? Stream the music from your computer.
We’ve all read about the new dashboard, about
the “blades” and gamer profiles. But once you see it in action, you begin to comprehend how this sort of interface is
really going to change the definition of gamer. The real Xbox 360 can only function when its hooked
into the network, Xbox Live. If all goes according to plan, Microsoft has developed a system that will rank and
categorize gamers like never before—and what’s so brilliant (or scary) is a user need simply to create a profile to
initiate this process, that’s it. In effect, your Xbox 360 is always watching; it’s always cataloguing and taking
notes. Theoretically, once it gathers enough information from you, if you do decide to make your experience Live, the
system will have gathered enough information to group you with like-minded gamers, automatically. In addition, the
options are there for you to fine-tune your preferences.
The Xbox 360 has the potential to make gamers famous. Don’t believe me? Project Gotham Racing 3 has tested up to 300,000 spectators watching a race on the Heroes Channel (a feature that tracks the Top 50 players and allows you to watch their races in real-time, or via short-delay). The Xbox 360 is going to turn gamers into super-stars; it’s gonna turn other gamers into students. But at the end of the day, you can choose not to create a profile; you can choose not to jack-in (Xbox Live); you can simply pop in a game and play for the sake of playing. But in doing so, you will miss your opportunity to be a part of the next generation of gamers.
Additional tidbits:
-
The glowing ring of light around the central “X” button on each controller is split into quarters. Each quarter represents a player’s position. Player 1’s controller will only glow in the top-left; Player 2’s in the top right, etc. These positions also correspond to the glowing ring of light on the Xbox console. That is, if only two controllers are plugged in, then only the top half of the ring will glow. What’s cool is that if you turn the Xbox on its side, the ring will readjust, so that the top half is still the part that’s glowing. (Note: the console will only support 3 wired controllers; but wireless controllers do not hog any of the USB ports)
-
Holding the central “X” button will give you the option to turn the console on/off—if using a wireless controller, you can also choose to turn just the controller off. You can check the battery level of your wireless controller at any time by pressing the central “X” button. The power level will be displayed near the top of the menu that appears.
-
If you play Xbox 360 at more than one location (e.g. a friend’s house), it’s a good idea to purchase a memory card and keep your profile on it. In addition, you can bring your Xbox Live Arcade games with you and play them in full on your friend’s 360. When you leave, your friend has the option to download a demo version of those games onto his/her hard drive or memory card.
-
Every game is going to have built-in achievements; and some will have badges. You can compare your achievements from game-to-game against other profiles. What’s nice, is that if you haven’t earned certain achievements, their details won’t be revealed; instead, each will be listed as “secret”—that way, comparing profiles won’t spoil parts of the game. But developers may also choose to list unearned achievement descriptions as an incentive—this will be common in Xbox Live Arcade games.
-
Aside from the Xbox 360 watching your every move, your “friends” can too. Now you can actually see exactly what part (down to chapter/area titles) of a given game your friend is currently playing.
UPDATE
To answer some of your questions…
-
I don’t think Microsoft will ever make an official announcement as to whether or not (unendorsed) 3rd party media devices can be used as memory cards.
-
Yes, you can stream movies from your PC via a network (wired or wireless) through Windows Media Center.
-
Yes, the system supports multiple profiles, which can be assigned to each controller or toggled back and forth on one—with ease during gameplay.
-
Most popular mp3 players (including the Creative Zen) should be recognized by the console. I don’t believe that AAC format is supported.
