Everything There Is To Know About the Xbox: Technology, Games, Accessories and What’s At Stake – THG.RU

The Game Console Market: A Ruthless World

The video game console market is both extremely lucrative and extraordinarily difficult to penetrate, because the console targets a family audience, which by definition covers a wide range of ages and social categories. The obstacles are considerable: the manufacturer has to provide a device that is affordable, appeals to a vast audience and is positioned at the forefront of computer technology. Nevertheless, even if all of these conditions are met, the battle has not yet been won, not by a long shot. In the final analysis, technology is of little interest to the user. Actually, it is the games available for a particular kind of console that will determine consumers’ decisions and, ultimately, the device’s success!

Manufacturers must see to it that their game publishers think up titles which exploit the potential of the console and which are attractive enough to win over players. This situation is exaggerated to such an extent that a single exceptional game can be enough to make a console’s reputation. But another element complicates the matter even further. The console overshadows the PC, and the games overlap, becoming increasingly similar to one another, even if there are still distinct categories. As far as the published gaming titles go, console games definitely sell better. In this context, the worldwide console arena is currently going through a profound change. Sony practically has a monopoly with Playstation 1 and 2, especially since Sega has abandoned Dreamcast and withdrawn from the market, and Nintendo has settled for Game Boy. Based on the fact that sales in video game consoles are constantly increasing, it was clear that the level of competition was going to increase, too. Nintendo, with the incredible armory it has accumulated, thanks to Game Boy and Pokemon, attacked the market with the GameCube. This console, based on an ATI graphics chip, surprised the whole world with its capacity. However, it targets a younger audience that remains faithful to the Nintendo tradition with its Mario Kart-inspired key titles. Success will depend primarily on Nintendo’s attitude toward third-party publishers. On that score, one remembers the relative failure of the N64. It’s worth noting. But it’s mostly Microsoft, which enters the scene with the Xbox, that’s taking on the role as spoil sport in Sony’s sheltered universe. The Xbox positions itself clearly in the same arena as the PS2 – a console for everyone, with a particular emphasis placed on teenagers and adults.

Microsoft has made a study of the situation. Its activities as system provider and manufacturer of office automation products alone will not be enough to keep its dominant position. Bill Gates understood early on that tomorrow’s stakes will be based on communication, whether it is on the Web or interactive TV. However, Microsoft’s difficulties in establishing a monopoly on the Web are well-known. Government regulators even feel endangered by media manipulation, and this has created a rather hostile relationship between the regulators and the corporation. The alternative? To tackle this challenge from the other end. And launching an Internet-ready console seems quite sensible within the scope of the company’s global strategy. Microsoft has all the necessary resources at its disposal: it produces games and designs systems. But above all, it is has the best programming kit in the world with DirectX. All that’s left is to assemble the console, connect it to the Internet and, once again, everything is in place to be the leader in the online gaming and communication market of tomorrow. Without a doubt, the final goal is, on one hand, to dominate massive multiplayer gaming and, on the other, to integrate this console into an Internet-connected living room. On the practical side, in order to build the console, Microsoft chose the obvious: it turned to PC components, which it masters through Windows and Direct X.

Xbox was released on November 15 in the United States and will be released on March 14 in Europe.

The Technology

We must mention right off the bat that we tested the American version of the Xbox using the NTSC system, as well as the games and accessories available in the United States. For our European readers, we will provide any necessary corrections once the PAL version is available.

The Xbox is more or less a closed, non-evolutionary PC. This choice is an obvious one, and besides, other console manufacturers will inevitably follow Microsoft’s lead. Let me explain. For example, up to now, with the PS 2, the development of a console and its SDK was a huge enterprise. The electronic components had to be adapted or specially manufactured, and then put together to form a coherent whole. However, since competition in the PC arena necessitates a certain standard as well as constant technological progress, in order to make a state-of-the-art console, the smart choice is clearly to ally oneself with PC experts. Nintendo has just proven this by entrusting the graphics to ATI. Thus, the Xbox choice is very smart. It is said by some that in selling a disguised PC, Microsoft shows that it doesn’t give a damn about the world, but this argument does not hold water.

Using a PC as a basis is one thing, but making a coherent whole out of it and selling it at a low price and making it last for at least a few years is not an easy task – there’s no leeway for mistakes! To summarize: yes, the Xbox is a PC, but no, it’s not that simple! On the contrary. Let’s look at the innards of the beast. For every computing device designed for entertainment or leisure, the decisive factor in 2002, and presumably, for at least several years following, is the graphics. 3D games are the order of the day and 90% of the console’s resources must be used to perfect the display of an increasingly sophisticated world. With this in mind, Microsoft has quite logically returned to the most advanced manufacturer in this arena – NVIDIA. Just like ATi, NVIDIA is actually capable of producing a chip that takes care of all data calculations and processes the original code to create what you see on the screen. Once this problem is solved, the rest of the console becomes much simpler to complete. And if this 3D is easy to work with, at least from the programmer’s point of view, one can be happy (and we will see that, basically, this is the case). Later, we will discuss the graphics in greater detail, and how they affect the performance of the console.

A Modest CPU, Apparently

In order to manage the data, Microsoft has opted for a 733 MHz Pentium III processor. Some will say that that is a bit light, considering that PC technology has reached a Pentium 4 with 2.2 GHz and that the life cycle of a console is between three to five years. But one should not look at this problem in these terms. In a PC, because of the open architecture of the system, and because it goes through an interface and millions of restraints, the power of the CPU is basic. With the console, everything depends on what it is supposed to do.

In this case, it is relieved of the main graphics work, which it assumes on the PC. If an Xbox game (which requires T&L or shaders) is well-programmed, then it practically doesn’t even need the Pentium III. On a PC, it is not the case because of descending compatibility. On the Xbox, the CPU processes and sends the entered information – it is the connection between individual elements, such as the hard disk, and it manages the artificial intelligence. For this, one can say that the PIII is over-specified. As far as memory is concerned, the PS2 has a 250 MHz processor, even if the two are not comparable.

The other argument that is used against the Xbox concerns its 32-bit architecture, a step down from Nintendo’s N64. But that is only marketing. If you are familiar with the PC, you know very well that switching to 64-bit doesn’t change anything in and of itself because everything depends on the architecture. The method of handling and interpreting the registers, especially concerning the graphics performance that follows, would not add much to this type of architecture by switching to 64-bit. For now it is certainly not a limiting factor, but we’ll see in a few years how limiting it is. Upon closer inspection, we can see that this is a Pentium III Coppermine 733 MHz processor with a mobile FC-BGA package soldered directly onto the motherboard. This reduces costs and saves on space.

The CPU only has a heat sink, cleverly air-cooled by the fan in the case. The cache has been reduced from 256 to 128 KB/sec, which shouldn’t get overloaded. The wait times in dedicated programming on a dedicated platform have nothing to do with the PC, where the CPU spends its time fishing for information, in every sense of the word. To better understand this, it’s enough to compare it with the Mac, which, because of its more closed architecture, also makes do with less cache.

Of course, there is a motherboard, which connects all the components. Its specifications are rigorous and do not vary among the various manufacturers, which include Intel, MSI, Asus and others.

The Bandwidth: A History

On the other hand, the 133 MHz FSB is crucial, because, just as in PCs, the speed at which the exchanges take place in the console directly affect the operating speed. Anyway, Microsoft has done things right by equipping its console with DDR SDRAM memory at 2 x 200 MHz. For a PC, it’s good, but for a console, it’s limited! But the memory is laid out intelligently, producing memory bandwidth of 1.06 GB/sec for the CPU – this is more than sufficient and leaves at least 5.34 GB/sec available for the rest (especially the 3D). Considering that the screen has a resolution of 640×480 in 32-bit, one can say that it’s comfortable. A resolution of 1024×768 is planned for use with HDTV, which should still be within the limits of the console. The memory manufacturers vary according to availability and the total amount of 64 MB can appear to be weak, but in a dedicated system less of this goes to waste (in the case of PCs, up to three quarters are wasted).

In our console, the memory is made up of four Samsung modules. Basically, the memory serves as a cache for the graphics processor and a small percentage of it serves to store the game code. No doubt, 128 MB would have produced unanimity among the developers. They will have to optimize. And, of course, the PS 2 has 32 MB and the GameCube 40.

3D: Its Power and Functionality

The general Xbox architecture is derived from the NVIDIA nFORCE platform, or vice-versa. There is a Northbridge chip equipped with a graphics processor, such as the IGP by nFORCE, and a Southbridge chip, which also functions as the audio control (similar to the MCP 420-D).

Unlike the IGP by nFORCE, which uses a graphics processor derived from the GeForce 2 MX, the Xbox’s XGPU uses a derivative of the graphics processor GeForce 3. The architecture of the NV2A is situated between the NV20 (GeForce 3) and the NV25 (GeForce 4). It actually has a four-pixel pipeline and two vertex shaders. By comparison, the NV20 offers four pixel pipelines and one vertex shader, and the NV25 also has two vertex shaders. The graphics chip probably consists of about sixty million transistors (NV 20:57 / NV 25:63). This 233 MHz Northbridge chip is connected to 64 MB of 200 MHz DDR memory. Be careful, the 64 MB has to be shared with the rest of the system, as we have already explained.

At 233 MHz, the theoretic fill rate of the NV2A increases to 933 Mpixels/s, while each pipeline can produce two textures in one pass. The total memory bandwidth amounts to 6.4 GB/sec. The Pentium III will use only a maximum of 1.06 GB/sec as a result of its 133 MHz FSB, leaving 5.34 GB/sec for the GPU. This value, however, is inferior to the memory bandwidth of a GeForce 3 Ti 500, which has 7.45 GB/sec available. Remember, however, that the games are programmed only with a resolution of 640x480x32 bits. This bandwidth will lag behind with the use of anti-aliasing, a multi-sampling mode derived from NVIDIA’s Quincunx. With consoles, the anti-aliasing becomes all the more important because of TV’s weak resolution.

3D: Its Power and Functionality, Continued

In comparison to Playstation 2, the image quality is clearly superior. At the theoretical performance level, the graphics architecture of the Xbox is somewhat less powerful than GeForce 3 Titanium 500, except for the additional pixel shader unit, and far behind the GeForce 4 Ti 4400 and Ti 4600.

The geometric transformation and lighting computation unit (T&L) seems identical to the one in the GeForce 3s, meant to relieve the CPU from repetitive and often complex computations for an X86 processor. At any rate, this fixed T&L unit risks being supplanted in the hearts of developers by the two parallel vertex shaders, which offer impressive computational power with geometric details. Remember that the vertex shaders offer a wide range of possibilities to developers for skeletal animation, facial animation or any other complex movement. Furthermore, bump-mapping (DOT3) is also possible, offering exceptional visual quality without depleting the console’s other resources. The two units make it possible to produce more complex animations, or to produce them more quickly. The first available titles don’t use the vertex shaders very much, since this technique makes the development of a new 3D engine necessary.

Playstation 2 offers less powerful hardware and is far less equipped with 3D functions. As far as the geometry is concerned, the Emotion Engine and its 294 MHz RISC core does not have a T&L coprocessor, even if it does offer sufficient polygon rendering. Therefore, it is mainly the Graphics Synthesizer (GS) that remains below the capacity of the NV2A. One wonders what the developers are doing with the sixteen-pixel pipeline that this 147 MHz chip offers! Actually, the strength of the GS is mainly in its capacity for parallel computations, and not in its functions. That is why the PS2 is clearly more complex to program than the Xbox, because in order to produce certain effects on the PS2, one has to create them from beginning to end by distributing the calculations among different processors. Another important aspect that has often been disparaged since the Playstation’s introduction pertains to the four MB of memory dedicated to video. This is much too weak to be able to produce good quality textures.

The Xbox graphics are not just based on good architecture – above all, the hardware is associated with a very powerful and widely used development library (DirectX 8), which offers designers an unprecedented ease of use. Remember Dreamcast and its PowerVR processor, which, even if it didn’t realize the hoped-for commercial success, did offer an effective combination hardware/programming library. Considering the ease of programming, the 3D capacity of the NV2A and the freedom offered by the vertex shaders, it is clear that the Xbox has reached a new milestone for console graphics. But the Xbox will also be able to defend itself against the PC for a long time because the architecture is stable enough without having to evolve upwards or worry about downward-compatibility. Hence, the developers will be able to really optimize the games.

APU: The First Audio 3D Chip In A Console

The sound on the MCP 420-D Media and Communication Processor for the nForce platform is now called MCPX. Even though an Intel processor is used, the IGP and MCPX are interconnected with the HyperTransport bus from AMD, which offers a bandwidth of 800 Mb/s. This high speed channel opens communication for the MCP to the 64 Mb of memory without slowing down the system and gives optimum use of MCPX functionalities (sound, network, hard disk controller).

Sound capacities of MCPX:

• 64 audio channels (up to 256 stereo channels)
• Support for DSL2 libraries
• Real time AC3 encoding

As a comparison, Playstation 2 offers:

• 48 audio channels plus the software channels
• 2 MB of memory

The technology used for 3D positioning in the Xbox is offered by Sensaura. It offers many algorithms for reverberation, reflections, environment, etc. Remember that Sensaura is the big competitor of Sound Blaster’s EAX technology. The APU (audio processor unit) in the Xbox can compute all the effects offered by the Sensaura library in real time (http://www.sensauradeveloper.com/). Thanks to the DirectSound 3D compatibility, most of the available audio tools can be used.

However, the most interesting aspect of the APU in the Xbox is its capacity to do 5.1 encoding in real time. So, once the audio positional effects have been computed within the APU, the unit encodes them in AC3 format for the best positioning. However, without the external Dolby Digital decoder, the APU downsamples to stereo on two channels. During our audio tests, we noticed that the quality was nowhere near the quality offered by the EAX library for Live or Audigy cards (which often goes unexploited anyway). The CPU usage is very low. And the use of one or another audio 3D positioning library will have to change as the algorithms change.

In comparison, the sound on a PC is a lot more flexible because 3D positioning can happen with 4.1 speaker system kits, and without the use of an external Dolby Digital. In the Xbox, as opposed to the stereo, the only output available is in optical AC3. That’s too bad, but it would have been difficult to place outputs for 6 speakers. Remember that the console fits in a TV hi-fi environment, and the explosion of home cinema already allows an installed system of audio-video amplifiers. Of course, it is easier to connect four speakers and a bass-box with the cable mess surrounding the PC than on the Xbox, which is ideally for the living room. Dolby Digital output was a must with the DVD playback allowed on the Xbox.

The Xbox is the first console that really uses sound positioning and integrates all the 3D effects. The audio processor in the Xbox is so interesting that there are rumors that a similar PCI audio card will be released. In the first games using the 3D sound of the Xbox, such as Halo, Max Payne, Project Gotham or Amped, the sound immersion is amazing and gives console gaming a new dimension.

A Hard Disk – Hurrah!

Having a hard disk in the standard version is big news. Here, Microsoft competes directly in the very lucrative market of memory cards. Yes, you can still use those memory cards to save data and use on your neighbor’s console, but that is their only function. Having a hard disk in the Xbox is a great idea. You can save as many games as you want. Just think about the cost of saving games on PS2 with titles such as Gran Turismo 3, for example. You would easily need $130 worth of memory cards to be safe on PS2. And with different people playing different games on one console, the savings are really big. The hard disk also serves as buffer storage for game data extracted out of a DVD, which considerably diminishes waiting time.

You’re likely to find either a Seagate U series 5 with 10 GB, where apparently only eight get used, or a Western Digital WD80EB with 8 GB. Both are 5400 rpm drives with single-platter designs. Not only does this save on costs, but both drives run more quietly and stay cooler, as well. The Seagate is better because it’s a bit faster, but the difference is very small. You could complain that this disk is very poor compared to PC standards. But with console architecture, who cares? Don’t worry when it comes to saving and to the buffer. The game will save data during dead times, which will have no negative consequences on games being played at the same time. You’re not playing the game from the hard disk, you’re saving data on it to speed up the uploading process. A 7200 rpm disk would have been able to gain a second or two during uploading, but frankly, when you think of the costs and constraints, it doesn’t matter. The size is good enough since, for the most part, we’re talking about temporary storage. And access time really is not that big a deal. Lastly, you must consider that, compared to a PS2, games will upload much faster (as much as 4 times faster) between missions or tables if they’re programmed correctly, and that you can save what you want. If it weren’t for the slow hard disk and the 64 MB of memory instead of 128 MB, the waiting time of up to three seconds between two tables for options could have been eliminated, but that would have raised the console’s price considerably. Honestly, can’t we wait just a second, or what? Don’t think of replacing the hard disk. It is IDE standard but the firmware is proprietary. You could do it but it would be complicated, and it wouldn’t be worth it.

Storage Space On DVDs

The games are stored on DVD, probably DVD-9 exclusively. These will be single-sided, double-layered DVDs with a capacity of 9 GB. Games seem to be written from the outside of the disk to the inside, which is very uncommon. Probably, the main reason is to prevent pirating. But it also allows the DVD drive to use a Constant Angular Velocity (CAV) to read most data on the outermost tracks in a much faster way.

The DVD player is a 5x CAV, which reduces the speed to 2x for data on the most inner tracks. For games, the drive will mostly be reading at 5x, or 6250 Kb/s, which is great. The PS2 DVD player is a 4x CAV with an inner track speed of 1-2x. Apart from the connections, the player built by Thomson is a standard DVD-ROM which also reads audio CDs, just like video DVDs. But we’ll come back to this later. The power cable is proprietary. The Xbox has a good data transfer rate. There is plenty of room for storage before the disks can be full. The console is not limiting for developers, especially if they want to include MPEG-2 movies, which would help in achieving beautiful cinematic effects.

Resolution Problems

We already mentioned resolution in the context of bandwidth. Current Xbox games are processed in 640×480, which is perfect if you want to display them later on PAL or NTSC TV modes. On the NTSC version (the one we tested), the analog output conversion is processed by a Connexant chip, and it does a good job. Since the decoder can handle all world standards, it is highly probable that the same will be used in the European version for PAL mode. There is just one problem on the NTSC version: the output is a little dark. You’ll have to increase brightness on your TV, and even more so with an overhead-projector or video-projector. For the European PAL version, we’ll have to wait for the final console to see.

The Xbox is ready for HDTV, which is much talked about in the USA. Not only can the chip output in NTSC and PAL, but also in 720 and 1080, the standards used for HDTV which correspond to 1280×720 and 1980×1080 in 16/9. The first resolution is non-interlaced and the second is interlaced, with half as many images. HDTV generally uses interlaced 1080. You have to understand the difference between the current situation and what will happen in the future. Currently in 640×480, games plugged in through the YUV adapter on a 1080 HDTV will have a much better display because they are non-interlaced compared to NTSC. The picture is also more stable. The conversion made by the Connexant chip doesn’t change quality. In the future, the Xbox will be able to process internally in 1024x768x32, which seems to be reasonable for the memory bandwidth. A game of the type mentioned above would go into non-interlaced 720 and would then be converted into interlaced 1080, which would give a really impressive picture, and anti-aliasing wouldn’t be needed.

But, in view of the rate of homes equipped with HDTV in the world, games will continue to be developed in 640 with intense use of NVIDIA anti-aliasing. In current titles, if anti-aliasing is not used much, it could be better, there are just a few tricks to find for text display.

Network Gaming

As a next generation console, Xbox offers multiplayer games, not only for playing on just one console but also between different consoles connected to each other, and even through the Internet. The Xbox is therefore equipped with an Ethernet type network port, identical to those used for local networks and PCs. NVIDIA’s MCPX performs the network processing in 10/100 Mbits/s. To connect two consoles, a Link cable is all you need to get and you can get it anywhere Xbox accessories are sold, included directly by Microsoft. This is a RJ45 cross-over cable, just like the one used to connect two PCs. When the number of players is such that you need to add a third, and even a fourth console, all you will need is a standard Ethernet hub. At the moment, only three System link games are available for online gaming. Those are Nascar Heat 2002, Tony Hawk 2x and Halo. Halo allows sixteen players to compete online or on a local network. You will need to connect four consoles to each other and to have four players per console.

Connected To The World

Even before the official release of Internet servers by Microsoft for direct play, you can play via the Web. At the moment, the only way to play with other people via Internet is through the Gamespy Arcade Tunnel utility. You have to go through a PC connected to the same network than the Xbox. Then, you have to install Gamespy Arcade and then Gamespy Arcade Tunnel. Both can be downloaded off of the Gamespy website (http://www.gamespy.com). At the moment, the only way is to access via cable or DSL. Bandwidth requirements are such that regular dial-up is insufficient. A game like Halo requires an ultra-fast connection. So, an ADSL subscription for the general public with a bandwidth of 512 KB/s downstream and 128 Kb/s upstream might still not be enough. If you want to play a game with four players on the console and join an online game, you will need a rate of 256 KB/s minimum for upstream. Of course, this might not necessarily apply to all future games.

Different configurations are available with access to the Internet via cable or DSL:

• With a hub or switch directly connected to the Internet
  
  This is the easiest configuration. If you have just one machine, connect it via network to the Internet. All you need to do is plug your Xbox to a hub or a switch placed between your network card and the Internet connection.

  

  

• Without a hub and with a PC
  
  If you don’t want to use a hub or a switch, you can choose to have two network cards on one PC. The first card is connected to your Internet connection, whereas the second one is connected to the console via a cross-over cable.

  

  

• With a cable or DSL router with or without hub
  
  If you are already sharing your Internet connection with different computers via a router, adding the Xbox will be as simple as the above configuration. You will only need to connect the Xbox to the router. In you do not have enough ports available on the router, you will have to add a hub or a switch. In this case, use a cross-over cable to connect the hub (or the switch) to your router. Next, connect all the different network elements (PC, Xbox, printer, etc.)

  

Officially On The Internet

Microsoft will release online gaming servers next summer. Those will let you play via the internet on dedicated servers. You will be able to connect directly to a cable or DSL modem with an Ethernet connection. If the modem is USB, you will have to convert. Dedicated modems will probably come out. Furthermore, all Xbox owners will be able to communicate with each other with a headset and microphone similar to Game Voice, the communication module for the PC. It should be called Game Commander or Xbox Communicator. It includes headphones (mono sound) and an adjustable microphone connected to a box. It plugs into one of both controller ports. You will be able to use voice recognition software so that you can give commands during certain games. More a gadget than anything, you will also have voice masking capabilities.

The Practical Aspect

The fact that this is a PC in a box makes the Xbox quite large. In comparison to the PS2, one could almost call it obese. It should have been possible to make things smaller-one needs only to consider laptops and the new mini-PC solutions by VIA and National Semiconductor. Anyway, I think that Microsoft would have been better served to entrust the technological realization to a company like NS, which would certainly have produced a console with the same specifications, but much smaller, more integrated, and certainly less expensive. Nevertheless, since Microsoft chose to remain on a physical PC platform, miniaturization would have been too expensive. This being so, it’s not tragic, and at the size of a mini system, the Xbox doesn’t spoil the looks of the living room. The logo design, the black color and its round shape fit in any environment, making it look quite classy.

On the other hand, the Microsoft designers are behind the times; for more than a year, angular designs have been back in fashion. As far as its robustness is concerned, clearly one must anticipate somewhat reduced durability. There are fans and a hard disk. Given the heat generation and the MTBF of the disk, it is probable that the average life cycle will be shorter than that of a PS2. As far as shock resistance is concerned, it’s enough not to shoot into it when it is on, since that would certainly damage the disk. On the other hand, it would survive a three-foot fall onto concrete without a problem if it’s turned off (as tested). For the time being, returns are limited to the US, but we’ll see if this continues.

Lock The Connections Yourself

As far as the connectors are concerned, Microsoft was very cheap. On the back of the console, in addition to the power supply there are only two jacks, and that’s it. We’ve already mentioned the standard network jack that connects the machine to the Internet. This is an excellent attempt to bet on the network of consoles with a standard cross-over cable to link two Xboxes. This jack also opens up the way to fast connections on the Internet. The other jack is supposed to group together all the console outputs, however it received poor marketing.

Originally delivered with an RCA audio/video cinch cable, you can forget about the 5.1 sound and the S-video quality. For HDTV in the United States, you can buy the Hi Definition AV Pack for the paltry sum of $20. For the others, you need the Advanced AV Pack, which offers an S-Video outlet and an optical 5.1 outlet, again for $20. However, even then you still need an optical cable to connect the Xbox to your audio/video system. That’s a bit steep!

You’ll Have To Pay Extra For DVD Playback

In the chapter of things that annoy us, let’s continue with the remote control without which it is impossible to watch DVDs. Pompously called the DVD Playback Movie Kit, this vulgar remote is delivered with a receiver in order to make quite certain that you don’t teach your universal remote control how to pilot the Xbox. You connect the receiver to an Xbox game port, and it’s on. The remote control does what it’s supposed to do. It is functional and ergonomically sound, even if there are some functions missing, such as disc ejection. The navigation of the settings menus is intuitive and simple. The display quality of the DVDs is good. It is approximately comparable to an entry level DVD video player and shows itself to be quite a bit better than that of the PS2. The flexibility is always exemplary. There are neither decompression problems nor jerks on the panoramic shots. As far as sound is concerned, the optical output is compatible with Dolby Digital and DTS. Even if the remote control is basic and it will not satisfy the home cinema fan, the Xbox will function as a respectable DVD player. You won’t have to buy a separate one.

The Controller

Let’s talk about the input. There too, Microsoft could not refrain itself to foolishly locking up the system. While the PS2 has standard USB connections, the Xbox uses a proprietary connector and a different voltage, while the rest is USB.

Things being what they are, the electrical charges are explained by the vibration motors that need to be powered. Be that as it may, the port is proprietary and that’s that.

But it is well conceived. There is a second mini-DIN type jack at about 8 inches from the jack. It’s a brilliant stroke of inspiration. If you are irritated because you have just lost for the 328th time, you pull brusquely on the controller, and the jack disconnects itself. At the same time, you avoid messing up the jack of the console and knocking over the console, a situation that would not be appreciated at all by the disk. Moreover, you have four original controller ports (two on the PS2).

The original controller has been a subject of controversy. The typical comment is that it’s ugly and way too big. We let you be the judge of aesthetics!

On the other hand, the ergonomics is absolutely perfect, if you don’t have small hands. First of all, the location of the two analog joysticks is well thought out. They can be easily operated with the two thumbs, and their excellent progressiveness proved to be better than on the PS2 pad. The digital direction pad with its cavities and its bumps is as good. The two triggers are also analog, which will be a plus for all the automotive games. There too, the superiority over the PS2 pad is obvious. The four color buttons are perfectly identifiable and accessible. As for the other two, like the Start and the Back buttons, they are less identifiable and accessible. All in all, this controller is a real success and is very suitable for the piloting and for the First Person Shooter. Moreover, the vibration system is much better than the PS2 Dual Shock. The vibrations are powerful and subtle at the same time, and they can recreate surfaces and shocks. We get closer to the true comeback on PC: excellent. Finally, the cable is for once very long (about 9.8 feet) which allows you to play comfortably on the sofa.

Xbox Interface

When you turn on the console for the first time, or if you have not inserted a game, the console displays an interface. This allows you to configure the language of the menus, the date, and the time. Likewise, you can manage your backups. You can move them or copy them between the hard drive and the memory cards and, of course, delete them.

The graphic design reflects the Xbox’s color chart. So, green is always present, but the general design is remarkable. The navigation is ultra easy. You only need to browse through the Help menus using the directional arrows, then confirm with one of the buttons. If several actions are possible, text at the bottom of the screen reminds you which functions are assigned to each button. Switching between the different menus is animated, in the style of DVD menus. It’s rather pretty and definitely successful.

In addition to the console’s configuration and the management of backups, the Xbox contains a CD player. Even with very classic functionality, it nevertheless offers an interesting option: extracting audio tracks! Essentially, if you like a segment of music on one of your audio CDs, you only have to point to the copy menu and the extraction will initiate. It’s in a proprietary, compressed format. You don’t know the codec used, but Microsoft has its own system, the WMA, so… You can rename the track at your leisure. Where it becomes interesting is, if the game allows, you can replace the game’s audio track with the segment you’ve bootlegged! On the other hand, for obvious copyright reasons, it is not possible to copy the segments onto a memory card.

The Console’s Capacities

Based on all of these technological observations, we are going to try to show the Xbox’s capacities against the PC and the PS2.

On the graphics side, the PS2 really does not measure up, as you will see in comparative tests. Microsoft was right in speaking of an advanced generation. Already the games in Day One are more attractive than on the PS2. Every direct comparison of a title is in Xbox’s favor, and this is only the launch. A resolution of 640x480x32 in PAL on a good TV is more than enough to produce splendid images, and this isn’t even HDTV. By prodigiously using the shaders (pixel and vertex), the games benefit from a level of realism as far as shapes and lighting are concerned that PS2 can only dream about. Today, it’s enough to look at Amped and to say that they are using 10% of the potential. Then we get to the anti-aliasing. That is perhaps the most important point. When it has been perfectly mastered by the programmers, there will no longer be a stair-step effect anywhere. Imagine Grand Tourismo with perfect lines: goodbye, PS2! Finally, the T&L and the vertex shaders will allow the programmers to use and animate thousands and thousands of polygons and thus produce, for example, forests with trees and leaves in 3D. With the PC, this would be much trickier. In two years, technology will have advanced enormously, but the Xbox developers will have learned to perfectly master what already exists: it will be a tight match.

As far as sound is concerned, ecstasy reigns. Even today, games such as Halo, Amped, Max Payne, Gotham use the 5.1 as well as 3D sound on the PC. Tomorrow, the games will be able to do everything and will be able to use sound positioning on four channels and a central voice without many programming constraints. Certainly, the capacity for occlusion culling and environment development can’t really rival Advanced HD of Audigy, but there is some room before the games exploit it on the PC. Place the Xbox in your living room, connect it to your 5.1 system, and the gaming console enters into a new dimension. You are in the center of the action. When the flashes crackle all around you to greet your last snowboard figure in Amped, you believe in it. The PS2 is evidently all at sea, since in its interactive sound, it makes do with stereo.

As far as the practical side is concerned, the presence of a hard disk and the ease of development of the XDK give the clear advantage to the Xbox. It is easy to back up whatever you want, the uploading is accelerated, and the developers have easily mastered tools available. On the other hand, with its proximity to PC programming, don’t let yourself be tempted by the adaptation because the gaming console must remain, above all, an original gaming console. The approach is not the same. Therefore, the capacities are evident. Now everything is going to depend on the competence of the developers, as well as Microsoft’s publishing aptitude and ability to convince third-party publishers.

The XDK: The Modularity Of A PC On A Console

The development platform

The XDK’s role is to provide developers with all the tools they need to make the most of the console. The core of the Xbox’s operating system is a version derived from Windows 2000 from which numerous functions were removed that are useless on the console. Important feature of the Xbox’s programming: all of the applications (games and others) run in real time (kernel mode) contrary to Windows 2000 on PC, which, as you know, has all applications and services running in protected mode. In sum, if a game crashes, the entire console crashes, and you must completely reboot the system. However, real time offers better performance than protected mode.

The system is divided into three parts:

• The Xbox’s ROM
• The dashboard
• The different programming libraries.

The ROM on the mother board offers all the functionalities you find on the latest generation OS: HAL, hard drive recognition, DVD, a FAT 32 UDFS file system, an encoding system to protect against copies, a memory and application management system.

The dashboard, the Xbox’s office is the first application installed on the hard drive and allows you to operate the console’s basic functions: CD and DVD player, video configuration utility, network, interfacing, and backup management.

Another important feature of the Xbox: its modular architecture regarding function libraries (Titles Libraries), which allow you to both increase the machine’s capacity by using new libraries originating from third parties (whether they are development tools or shaders for the graphics portion, for instance) and to simplify tasks for the developer, who now only has to go choose the functions, in that catalogue, that he/she finds appropriate. For that matter, Microsoft was not mistaken in proposing that numerous players in the PC world port their tools to Xbox (http://dev.Xbox.com/tools/default.htm) thereby offering an unrivaled wealth of tools and solutions for a console.

These services allow you to access all of the Xbox’s functions: video, 3D, audio, network, input peripherals with the tools in each field that the developer can use at his or her leisure.

Particularly regarding the 3D tools, the SDK from NVIDIA and the one from DirectX 8.0 offer an excellent glimpse of the machine’s capacities for those who are interested in it. You can find all of the functionalities managed by the NV2A with code samples that can be directly incorporate into the games. Let’s imagine an animated skeleton with vertex shaders. You will find in the XDK numerous examples of predefined shaders that facilitate rapid development. The XDK has like a multitude of bricks, and each person can use this or that brick as he pleases to build his wall.

To sum up: contrary to the PS2, the Xbox’s XDK is Microsoft’s veritable war machine. Not only does it actually use an extremely expansive architecture, moreover it is an open architecture and the possibility of adding this or that developer library from the PC world (following an agreement with Microsoft obviously) becomes a major trump card over the PS2. Upon launching the PS2, its SDK was in its infancy, and it would appear that all of the libraries are still not available.

Conversation With A Development Specialist

We asked Julien Merceron, Technical Director of Ubi Soft, a few questions in order to find out a developer’s point of view.

THG: Is the XDK development kit similar to the PC development kit?

Julien Merceron: This is a system that is more similar to the console philosophy. You develop on the PC, and you are connected to the development kit within a network. The latter makes the application work in order to verify the function and proceed to the debugging. This technique is similar to console development. The PC developers who are now developing for the Xbox and who did network development are favored, but overall, the console developers will be more comfortable. The difference with the PC essentially comes from the remote, the machine which runs the program is not the one where one does the programming.

THG: How close are they to the Direct X 8 libraries?

J.M.: Very close. The functions and the structures bring to mind the Direct X universe. On the other hand, the philosophy changes because the hardware is stable. There are no longer any questions of material compatibility. You inherit the development quality with stable tools that are running well and where all the problems have been ironed out. The libraries have already been used and tested. Furthermore, one benefits from the stability of the console. The PC hardware is variable, and one must make sure of the compatibility, but this is not the case on the Xbox. Thus, one has won on all fronts. At the development level, that’s very pleasant.

THG: When comparing the XDK to the PS2 kit, what could be said?

J.M.: PS2 is a different console because there are no graphics libraries. Sony doesn’t provide any. The “middleware” works well because the developers are deprived. One must write a code to display the polygons. On the Xbox, all the libraries are there and even a beginner can do impressive things. On the PS2, there is a steep learning curve before one can obtain a correct result.

THG: What about translating titles to or from the PC?

J.M.: Porting from the PC to the Xbox is not given great importance because on the console, there is a specific code for managing controller, backups, etc. “Soft rules” are imposed in order to make things easier for the user. Therefore, it’s better to start with a gaming console moving from a less powerful platform, but with a similar philosophy, toward a more powerful platform rather than the contrary. The gaming PC has not been optimized and its code will function in a chaotic way. One could easily port from the PC, but it is necessary to redo the architecture in order to have a quality game. The danger is if the developer says: “All right, it works on the Xbox, the code is fine and I’m not touching it.” At any rate, the game will doubtlessly not draw on all of Xbox’s possibilities.

THG: How do you see the graphics potential offered by NVIDIA’s NV2A architecture?

J.M.: One can go very far on the Xbox. With unified memory, one can make a clear choice for the title on how to allocate the sound, the image and the IA. The other consoles don’t have that. The first games already have anti-aliasing, mip-mapping, and filtering, something not found on the PS2. The GameCube has small problems with its anti-aliasing only working at 16 bits. This affects the transparencies in particular. Volumetric fog is ruled out at 16 bits. Since on the Xbox the majority of the graphics problems have been resolved at the source, the developer can devote himself to the gaming universe.

THG: What is the importance of anti-aliasing and vertex shaders?

J.M. Anti-aliasing can be adjusted on the PS2 with the motion blur option, but as soon as the camera moves too quickly, there are problems. We choose the technologies for their impact on the player’s immersion. If the motion blur is an annoyance, we’ll not use it. With anti-aliasing, the Xbox image is always clear and keeps the player’s immersion intact. It doesn’t use much memory either. The vertex shaders take care of the “Transform” and the pixel shaders take care of the “Lightening”. To do an animation, you traditionally do your calculations on the CPU. On the Xbox, these calculations are executed by the graphics chip by means of the shader. Therefore, the CPU is more available to manage the IA, for example. Furthermore, you can interact with elements such as music. You can synchronize. With the pixel shaders, the rendering can be executed flexibly, combining textures, lighting, transparencies, and you can apply different rules for each pixel. The shaders are not difficult to use, but you have to apply yourself. They have programming languages. The Vertex language is more complex and not necessarily intuitive. But once you understand it, there is lots of freedom. The shaders first came out on N64, therefore on the console, they were used on the PC, and are back even more powerful on the Xbox. Let us schematize it with a PC reference: the PS2 would be at the level of the DirectX 6 (you’ll have to manage on your own), the GameCube at the level of the DirectX 7 (it is good, but there are few possibilities), and the Xbox is at the level of the DirectX 8.

THG: What do you think of the evolutionary potential compared to the launch games?

J.M.: The Xbox is meant to evolve and offers a lot of possibilities. Today, everybody is working on a good immersion for gamers, which means the details of the setting, the quality of the animation, and the interaction. In the future, developers will focus on these points (geometry, animation, IA). This will take time because it is complex. One will have games that are more and more expensive to produce. With costs in mind, games will have to be shorter in order to improve the quality. Games will last between ten and twenty hours, with more immersion, and on-line modes to make up for the length. The console must therefore support better graphics and the CPU must manage more IA. The Xbox has those qualities necessary for immersion and it is on-line. Therefore, it is perfectly placed in the continuity of the video game and its probable evolution.

Eleven Recommended Games

Never before has a console had so many good quality titles since its inception. We haven’t had any difficulty selecting eleven games that are worth a try. For that matter, we should note that there are already more than twenty-five titles currently for sale and almost 250 are being developed. Even better, since its launch, the Xbox can draw on several hits that alone justify the purchase, like Halo, Amped, Dead or Alive 3, and even Max Payne.

HALO

Promoted by Microsoft for almost two years, the flagship title in the first series of games for the Xbox is without a doubt HALO, developed by Bungie Software. An audacious bet for the creator, because it deals with a heart-racing, first person shooter game, a genre very connotative of the PC and difficult to adapt to a console. For that matter, the game was originally planned for a microcomputer. The first test to pass will therefore be the mastery of the character that you play through the controller. Frequent console users will likely have few problems; at worst, they’ll have to give up a few reflexes acquired on other platforms. If on the other hand, you are a PC addict, you will probably have a little more difficulty getting the hang of it…

The first shock Halo has in store for you will probably be the quality of its graphics. The images are perfectly smooth, the backgrounds are as varied as they are beautiful, the special effects are superb, and the fluidity is incredible. Halo is a true technological showcase for Xbox. The bump mapping and the dynamic lighting effects are perfectly mastered and the console’s anti-aliasing is a marvel. In the bargain, the game’s sound quality in version 5.1 challenges the graphics quality for first place. Result: your will get an eyeful and an earful!

The adventure begins in a vast spaceship, where your character, a cyborg officer is dragged out of his hibernation chamber by a nonchalant engineer. You don’t have enough time to get your feet on the ground before you are urgently ordered to the bridge and the deafening sound of an explosion resonates through the gangways… You are going to have to fight a crowd of vindictive aliens: the Covenants. Your first objective will be to find a way to prevent their ship from landing on Halo, a ring-shaped planet that seems to be at the core of the Covenants’ interests.

HALO, Continued

Your first steps on Halo act as a tutorial, thereby allowing you to familiarize your self with the game. And you must admit that, even for a PC game fanatic, the handling of its character is much more complicated than you might think. In less than ten minutes, you begin to juggle with the different joysticks and controller buttons, and then rather quickly you manage in concert direction, bearing, and simultaneous movements, a little like with a keyboard and mouse. Not completely as well, certainly, but the firing cross hairs also don’t have the same precision.

Following these first minutes of play, Halo’s second major surprise element rests in the exceptional quality of its game play. The story and the various events fall into place in a linear storyline that immerses you into the action without waiting. This scenario is played out by a remarkable artificial intelligence, as much at the level of your allies as that of your enemies. You can rely on your soldiers, without hesitating, to hold their position the time it takes to skirt around the enemy. As for the Covenants, they don’t content themselves to playing the role of cannon fodder and redouble their shrewdness, going so far as to set ambushes for you near supply points…

Munitions management counts among the other strong points of the game. In essence, contrary to what is generally done in FPS, your character can only carry two weapons at a time. The humans have an arsenal of seven different weapons ranging from the grenade to the rocket launcher. But you can also pick up those belonging to the aliens that you have pulverized. There is a total of five. So you constantly have to choose between your needs for heavy weapons as much as for precision weapons. Especially since each of them is more or less effective depending on the target in front of you. At a certain point in the game, you can also use military vehicles, which adds yet another dimension to the game play.

The multi-player mode is the last key feature about Halo. If the adventure can be played in cooperative mode with two players on the same screen, four players can confront each other in Death Match or in Capture The Flag. However the absence of bots and the size of multi-player cards reserve this mode for a greater number of players. In sum, by linking four consoles with a network connection, you could play with as many as sixteen people.

Max Payne

Max Payne is one of the biggest hits of the year on PC. This title from Remedy Entertainment, violent, tasteless, and very much inspired by John Woo’s films, had barely been released on PS2, when it also came out on Xbox in the United States. Entirely in 3D and benefiting from advanced graphics quality, Max Payne is the ideal game to make a comparison test between the PC, PS2 and Xbox, especially in terms of graphics quality.

Released six months ago on PC, Max Payne offers exceptional game play by plunging the player into the heart of a heinous whodunit, in the skin of a disillusioned cop obsessed with the death of his wife and son. Scripted like a real film production, Max Payne is a small gem that immerses you into the middle of an intense and terribly fascinating story. To reach this goal, the developers split the story into chapters, punctuated with film scenes, Matrix-style special effects, and very BD screens that remind you of Miller’s Sin City.

Therefore, the game’s graphic features take on a very unique importance. On PC, with a robust system and a good graphics card, the game is absolutely superb. On PS2, Max Payne has more difficulty displaying with such a high level of quality. The FPS level is weaker and the console doesn’t possess anti-aliasing functions. To resolve this problem and avoid too blatant concerns over stair stepping, you can opt for a filter that renders the image slightly blurry (motion blur), but then the bullet time slowdowns are very ugly. The textures are also blurry with clipping effects. Across from it, Xbox had no difficulty surpassing PS2, with exemplary fluidity and a very smooth image that, even on a simple television screen, left no wish for a PC screen. Frankly, it’s difficult to tell the two versions apart.

For its part, Xbox greatly surpasses the other platforms. Hooked up to an amplifier and a speaker system in 5.1, Max Payne’s band sound is truly impressive. Even if the central soundtrack is still a bit weak, the 3D effects distributed between the peripheral speakers are truly impressive. You only need to turn around in place while firing to convince yourself. The effects, distributed across 360° based on the characters position, make one really feel like they are in the heart of the action.

However one small black mark remains tied to the conveyance of any action game on a PC versus a console: the character’s handling. Training to familiarize yourself with the character, a little painful, is all the more so for one who plays on the PC. And even with much training, one doesn’t manage to reach the same ease with a controller as with a keyboard and mouse. That being said, we felt the Xbox controller seemed easier to use than the PS2’s.

Amped Freestyle Snowboarding & SSX Tricky

Extreme sports simulations have been a big part of Sony PlayStation popularity. Snowboard holds a special place in the history of the PS1, especially with the popular series Coolboarders published by SCE (four versions released). Knowing the attraction Americans have for these sports, and the definite “hardcore gamer” positioning that Microsoft wants for its console, it was inevitable to see games strongly using this sector.

Amped is one of the games developed directly by Microsoft. Right away, you will be amazed at the graphics quality and technical results. It is by far the most beautiful Snowboard game ever released on a console. SSX Tricky falls short to Amped in graphics. This title shows the console’s advanced capacities in graphics and animation.

The player modeling is perfect and the environment adds to the realism. Be aware of the quality of textures used for the settings and other elements of the game, all without clippings. The snow particles are very convincing, with photo-realistic quality. Amped offers a surprising amount of depth, like never seen before on a console game. The playing environment is also different from other simulations published before. Downhill racing no longer has boundaries. Instead, it takes place on whole mountain sides, modeled after real american slopes. The result is: you feel a real sense of freedom when you’re racing downhill and most of all, the possibilities are endless. Each track can be played many different ways. The sound is just as convincing with great surround effects in 5.1 like the camera flashes going on around you.

Amped takes advantage of a fabulous gameplay. You can do lots of tricks and the game lasts a long time, especially since it is always fun to go back to a trick that has been mastered before, just to raise the points…As the game evolves, you can unlock new levels, you get skill points, new gear and clothes. That lets you personalize your boarder and his game style.

However, unlike SSX Tricky or Coolboarder, accessible to any new gamer, Amped requires a minimum of practice time before you can play the game fully, with all the subtleties. The first run-throughs are really disappointing, and the novices among virtual gamers are sure to do many faceplants in the snow before doing their first tricks. In this sense, Microsoft’s title is closer to the simulation spirit than to an arcade game, requiring for example a good sense of balance, during take-off and landing, and a perfect synchronization in order to do the tricks. But when you start mastering the game, it becomes difficult to stop…

SSX Tricky

Next to Amped’s Freestyle Snowboard simulation, EA Sport Big offers SSX Tricky. It certainly is not anything new, as it appears to be a sequel of a popular game released last November for Playstation on PS2. The game involves staggering races through gigantic tracks where anything or almost anything is allowed between competitors. This game being a reference on PS2, it is therefore logical that the title be made for Xbox as well.

The idea behind SSX Tricky is simple. You start by choosing a rider among those offered. At the beginning of the game, only four are available. But as you keep playing, you will have twelve in total. Each one has, of course, its own characteristics and evolves according to its ranking in the world circuit. Once you have a character, you are ready to jump in the race.

There are two types of tracks: stunts or downhill. In the first case, you try all kinds of impossible jumps, rotations, ramps, etc. You will need a Freestyle board, which is different than the downhill board for downhill racing. Downhill racing takes you on wild races where you also have to show your acrobatic skills in order to obtain bonuses that look like adrenaline levels displayed on the right of the screen.

Even though you can play one track, the most interesting playing is on career mode. You must race and win each course three times before you can move unto the next track which is a standard system for this type of game. As added bonus, and depending on how many points you scored and which place you won, you can change boards and clothes and improve your skills.

Graphics are impressive and have improved since the last PS2 version, thanks to the bump mapping on snowy landscapes and self-shadowing effects on characters being added. Unfortunately, this drops the FPS rate at times on certain very detailed tracks and it ruins the fast pace gameplay. As far as sound, SSX Tricky hardly uses the Xbox potential with a limited number of effects.

SSX Tricky offers an amazing gameplay. Every circuit seems gigantic and is crammed with hidden or alternative passages. As far as riders, the number of available characters is impressing, even though less than in the PS2 version of the game. Indeed, developers at EA Big have had to adapt the game to the buttons of the controller on the Xbox. Let us add too that it is possible to shove your competitors during downhill racing. But watch out, they will probably try to take revenge during the next event…

Dead Or Alive 3 & Project Gotham Racing

Any self-respecting console should have in its game library a combat killing game (figuratively). In its time, Capcom caused its little revolution by adapting the famous Streetfighter for Super Nintendo. This time, it’s the creator Tecmo who is offering the first game of this nature on Xbox. This is version 3 of the game that’s already wreaking havoc on Dreamcast: Dead or Alive.

As compared to previous versions, but also as compared to its competitors, Dead or Alive 3 doesn’t introduce a lot of new features, even if it does offer various play modes. In addition to Story Mode, which is also somewhat limited, you have these modes:

• Time Attack: you fight seven adversaries in a limited amount of time
• Survival: you fight as many enemies as you can
• Team Battle: two to five players per team face off one after the other.
• And finally, we mustn’t forget the most interesting mode: the Versus. This allows two players to face off against each other. On the other hand, four players could combat and, like in catch matches, each one can take turns playing. That would also allow you to create very effective attack combinations.

Combat games should be a console’s spearhead. Dead or Alive 3 doesn’t depart from this rule. It’s even a real technological showcase for Xbox. In this way, Tecmo knew how to take complete advantage of DirectX and graphical power to create characters composed of numerous polygons. The backgrounds are also fabulous. There are more than sixteen environments crammed with animations. Some of them even have several stages. That way one can fall from a building after having gone through a window following a returned kick! The reflective and refractive effects are very well orchestrated. In the cavern, you can see the combatants’ distorted reflections on the lake. Snow falls from the tree after bumping into it. For the sound portion, the Dolby Digital technology isn’t really taken advantage of. There are certainly some environmental sounds on the Surround sound speakers, but nothing really explosive. On the other hand, the speakers are at the fore in fully filling the loudspeakers, as well as the subwoofer, which perfectly reproduces the muffled sounds. The synthesized image sequences, which punctuate the game, are extremely beautiful with an impressively realistic animation. The sound of 5.1 becomes a little fuller only during these phases.

In sum, like usual, the playability makes the combat game interesting. Familiarization is virtually immediate and very intuitive. Nevertheless, you can always discover new combinations to become more… powerful, shall we say! The combats are smooth and captivating. You begin playing alone against the computer or against a partner and strangely, you’re still there an hour later. On the other had, the artificial intelligence is a little too predictable and the game doesn’t pose enough of a challenge for the digital martial arts specialist.

Project Gotham Racing

If the PS2 has finally known success, it’s doubtless due in part to the game Gran Turismo 3. As often happens, a flagship title is often necessary to really help a new console get off the ground. And so, since its launch, Xbox has offered a title that shouldn’t be ashamed next to GT3: Project Gotham. The philosophy of this racing game is relatively the opposite, however. It’s a pure arcade game, but one that flirts with a touch of simulation to produce the pleasure of precision driving.

It all has to do with navigating a series of diverse and varied cars in competition. There’s the Mini Cooper, the BMW Boxter, and even a Ford Focus WRC, in no particular order. Each car has distinctive features that are clearly present while driving. The BM skids in every direction, while the Focus holds tight to its four driving wheels. For the background, you maneuver in famous cities like London, San Francisco, and Tokyo. The courses are generally short and twisty with bends and especially right angles, and frankly even hairpin turns. The game developed by Bizarre Creations doesn’t deny its close connections to MCR on Dreamcast. The system of Kudos, reward money, gives an original touch to the game because there are several ways of advancing in the competition. You must occasionally beat your adversaries, but you also make stylistic devices or take care in driving so that you earn these famous Kudos. The difficulty is frankly well proportioned, and you are pleased to advance into adventure mode.

The graphic design inspires varied commentary, but for a launch game, there’s nothing to say. The cars are sumptuous, more beautiful than in GT3 and the depiction of damages is especially realistic. Likewise, the surroundings are reflected on the car with a hallucinatory realism. However, the backgrounds are more moderate. The field depth is excellent, and the ambiance is replete with objects. It’s regrettable that there are too many textures and not enough polygons, but overall it’s rather pretty. Without anti-aliasing really being used, the lines are even straighter than in GT3. Especially, the timer is vaguely round, which is not the case in GT3. The rain, fog, and sunshine are rendered well, no doubt thanks to the use of shaders. The smoothness remains continuously exemplary. The sound is nice with very thick muffler noises for lack of being realistic. Finally, in 5.1, the sound proves to be well spatialized. You hear cars arriving from behind you and you can perfectly locate numerous minor accidents.

Familiarization is immediate, and for lack of being realistic, the somewhat awkward handling of the cars is really pleasant. Moreover, in this type of game, it’s the fun that counts more than anything else. You want to play, you want to advance, and you want to win the races. The layouts are beautifully vicious with, for example, banked and sloped right angle turns in San Francisco, and nothing but that. The multi-player mode allows four people to play on the same screen, while still maintaining the views and smoothness, which is a true demonstration of the console’s capabilities. Of course, you must have a large television for a four-player game, but it’s great fun. The vibrations are excellent, and I liked them better than GT3’s force feedback.

In summary, Gotham is a very fun video game, but also one that requires finesse in navigating. The game is captivating, and you always want to continue, which is a good sign. If you like car games, don’t hesitate.

Nascar Thunder 2002 & NBA Live 2002

For this game, I’m only addressing American readers of THG, for others Nascar is too mysterious of a topic. In this new 2002 release for Xbox, you will obviously find the American championship with all its ovals and two windy racetracks. I recall that it’s about reinforced sedans (stock cars) that are specially prepared to reach maximum speeds while ensuring an optimal stability for the shifting turns. The challenge consists of preparing the car perfectly, which is reproduced in the game by the numerous adjustment possibilities. Then, once on the track, it’s about precision driving in an attempt to clear a path between 40 bitter rivals flying along just as fast as you. The slightest error in trajectory and it’s all over. You can drive on any track, participate in a weekend of racing with trials, make a season or a career of it.

Electronic Arts wanted to make a game more than a simulation. Nevertheless, the car behaves realistically; there are only a few points that were modified in the interests of the race like catching up to 40 competitors if you are behind. The navigation is delicate, but you get used to it. You have to navigate by the thousandth of a millimeter on the pad, and a steering wheel would be welcome. For beginners, there are numerous helpful features like repairs without returning to the pit and an automatic stabilizer during the race. The playability is excellent because, once the difficulty level is set, you can really enjoy polishing off the trajectory needed to pass your neighbor, and even to physically eliminate him…

The graphic design isn’t anything to write home about. The background is rather pretty, but there’s not much to see. The cars are correctly modeled, but they are far from what is possible to achieve. On the other hand, the depiction of damages is satisfactory. Frankly, the interior view is ugly, and in any case, it’s a view of the hood where it could be more precise. This being said, the game is even better than on PS2. More seriously, the game slows down, and it’s hard to see why in light of the graphic details. Frankly, the sound is nice; the music, which opens with Sweet Home Alabama, is just as nice. There are even commentators like on the television, and during the race your pit crew gives you advice and your position. In 5.1, the 3D rendering of the sound is also carefully prepared, you hear your competitor arrive behind you on the right or the left, which can be critical in Nascar.

And we haven’t discussed the AI, which is remarkable. The computer adversaries are cheating perfectly. In conclusion, Nascar Thunder isn’t astounding from a graphics perspective, but it is efficient. It’s easy to play and not too centered on simulation, which could disgust the occasional driver.

NBA Live 2002

The basketball played in the United States has a quasi-religious status. Less evolved in Europe, Jordan-mania has carried its promotion far from its land of origin. For basketball is at the same time a team sport made of tactics and underhanded tricks and a duel between masters of the ball. Electronic Arts offers you the opportunity to replay the NBA championship with mythical teams like the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers.

From the moment you step on the court, you will be surprised at the quality of the graphic design. It’s not so much the stadium itself, which doesn’t have much to show in any case, as the floor with its reflection and the baskets that are truer than life. This impression is only reinforced when the players arrive. They are well modeled, and their limbs are quite round, like their joints for that matter. The sound fills its duty, squeaking in support but that’s all. The spatialization is only applied at the spectator level. Following this praise, it’s appropriate to recall that the PS2 version is practically identical. There is hardly anything besides the animations, which have increased somewhat in smoothness since its adaptation. But work could still be done to improve the players’ movements, which still seem a little artificial.

The playability poses a serious problem at least with the default configuration. Since you have to use the buttons on the pad, there are combinations made with the little buttons, and specifically the white one, which are difficult to implement. It takes practice and finger gymnastics to master this well. In defense, overall all goes well, and, after a half hour of play, you have mastered the player and the transition from one to the other. On the other hand, in attack, the combinations are far from being intuitive, and you need at least an hour before you can efficiently face off against your adversary. In addition, basketball specialists say that the NBA 2002 doesn’t consider the latest regulations regarding defense zones, which damages the realism. For entertaining yourself, on the other hand, it’s not a crisis.

On the list of criticisms, we could also mention the players’ lack of personality. The differences between tactics and techniques are not sufficiently indicated. On the other hand, the artificial intelligence managing the team works rather well. The placements are efficient, and the tactics are varied. If you love basketball, NBA 2002 will appeal to you. The graphic design and the animations are magnificent. Just be forewarned about the several hours of playing time needed to memorize the number of buttons, and exercise your fingers regularly. Once you have integrated the logic, the playability is good, and you will regain the feeling of playing basketball.

Silent Hill 2 Restless Dreams & Oddworld, the Munch Odyssey

After a well noticed release on PlayStation 2, the sequel of Silent Hill is weakened on Xbox in a special edition that is noticeably different from its original version. The principal novelty of this special edition consists of the contribution of an original episode featuring a secondary character of the game (Maria). With a limited life span (about two hours), this mode is above all a bonus intended to seduce the fans of the series, who won’t be able to resist the idea of incarnating one of the most troubling character of the Silent Hill universe.

In adapting the game itself, Konami preferred to count on a direct but efficient porting of its original PlayStation 2 title. Silent Hill 2 on Xbox resembles a lot to the previously released version, which already tells quite a lot on its intrinsic qualities. We will underline all the same an optional cosmetic alteration, with the possibility to modify the graphic rendering of the game, by measuring out the effect of the grain, very present (voluntarily) on the PS2 version. This is a secondary option, because at the end, it has no major repercussion on the game and it contributes paradoxically to diminish the impact of the very special atmosphere of Silent Hill 2. However, even without turning on the option, this version of Xbox offers a sharper graphic rendering, and a modeling of the characters that is more optimized than in the PS2 version. One piece of advice: do not touch the grain of the picture when you play!

As for the course of the game, this version Xbox reuses the ingredients of the series which are immutable since the release of the first opus in 1999 on PS one. Reusing the principle of the horror adventure game made popular by the series of the Resident Evil of Capcom (specially the alternating between action scenes and enigmas), Konami was able to make the universe of Silent Hill stand out by creating a much more mature, even disturbing environment: ambiguous characters, a graphic charter worthy of the best horror movies and a hypnotic soundtrack (the original soundtrack of the game is by the way available separately). On the other hand, the game does not use the positioning 3D of the sound.

After the misadventures of Harry Manson who searched for his daughter in the first opus, Silent Hill 2 features James Sunderland, a man who got lost in the foggy city while looking for his wife, who died three years before. A letter from her invited him to come to join her in Silent Hill, where the main character is going to be confronted with the diabolical local creatures (zombies, deformed monsters, mutant nurses…). This new version is aimed in particular at the players who do not have the PS 2 version, and who will not be able to provide their Xbox game library with one of the best title of “survival horror” on the market, which is the only title of this kind on Xbox anyway. Only the enthusiasts will purchase a supplementary version that differs only by small details, and yet the collectors won’t be able to resist (like the consumers of DVD Collector). Nevertheless, Silent Hill2 remains a unforgettable video game experience, to enjoy alone in the dark.

Oddworld, The Munch Odyssey

The world of Oddworld has from now on become a myth for the playstation action games. The 2D versions were at the same time combat, platform and adventure / reflection games. With the Munch Odyssey, the series switches to the Xbox in 3D while keeping the coherence of the world and the spirit of the game. May be Microsoft did well when it snatched this icon game from PS2.

The heroes are anti-heroes ! Munch the Gabbit has an unenviable life in the swamps of Oddworld. Worst then, the Vikkers, extraterrestrial fishermen supporters of slavery, capture the Gabbits. Munch, a small two-legged goblin, with a head twice the size of his body, is not really equipped for the fight. His companion in misfortune, Abe, a kind of degenerate humanoid and a little clumsy, is the only one to be able to help him in his quest. Luckily, he has the power to hypnotize the Mudokons and to use them, among others, to lead them to their death. Stop talking about the plot, in order for you to be able to discover the rest.

You play one of the two characters, where you need solve several problems simultaneously. These are not too complex: managing your troops, rushing into some fights and displaying some skills for what remains from the start an action game. As ever, you will need some time to adapt, because the manipulation of the characters in a full 3D universe is not as intuitive as in 2D. Having said that, a well-made tutorial quickly teaches you the basics, and with humor. The playability is perfectly measured out and one cannot stop to be willing to go further. It’s this subtle mixture of action and reflection combined with the magic of this universe that makes this game so captivating. It is however necessary to temper one’s enthusiasm because of the repetitive nature of the actions. The commands are not really natural, but on top of that, it is necessary to repeat many times operations that have no other challenge than to string at meticulously the good actions on the pad. The other problem is related to the disjointed aspect of the action that plunges you less in this universe than previously.

The graphics are simply sumptuous. The only criticism that we can make, is that they are a little dark, especially in the interiors. In some scenes, you really need to maximize the brightness of your TV screen in order to distinguish the details. The lighting, the reflections, the transparencies, the explosions really represent a great job. This universe is magic, and perfectly rendered, all in rounded forms, without any straight lines. The animation is not outdone with an exemplary fluidity. From time to time, the movements are even too fast. The levels lack a little bit of variety at the end. The graphic pearls remain nonetheless the kinematics, always as fabulous. The sound is exceptional for the voices and the sound effects; the musical background is on the other hand tedious. Regarding the 3D, the sound is well rendered on the four satellites and we can locate perfectly the geographical origin of the explosions.

In summary, this action / reflection game in the most crazy universe of the video game should seduce the game lovers. Indeed, the controls and the actions are sometimes repetitive and painful, but on the overall, the pleasure is there and the magic of the universe pushes you to go see what lies beyond.

Air Force Delta Storm

Under the guise of a flight simulator, Air Force Delta Storm hides an arcade game in the purest tradition of terminals filling cafes and game rooms. You take command of the jets to carry out combat missions during a supposed conflict unfolding in the near future. However, don’t look for any realism, much less any historic background whatsoever. This is just an excuse to fire randomly on anything that moves, because it’s frankly amusing when you have some ten minutes of time to waste.

Air Force Delta Storm benefits from advanced graphics quality. Whatever the situation, the game operates at a constant level of 60 fps. Result, lighting effects, countryside, explosions, etc. are superb. As for planes, these are quite simply the most beautiful ones ever seen on a game console. In short, it’s quite impressive, to the extent that while watching the video replay of the mission you just finished, you really get the impression of watching a film in the tradition of Top Gun!

Familiarizing yourself with the game is especially simple. You need less than a minute to create your profile and launch a fight. You could opt for an external view of the plane, like in a third-person game or a more classic HUD view, but the latter is significantly less practical. During all the missions, you must fight air targets with the help of missiles and destroy ground or naval forces using your cannons and your missiles. Be careful however, the latter are only available in a limited quantity based on the type of aircraft you have chosen.

Based on the number of enemy targets destroyed, you earn a bonus for each mission, which allows you to buy new aircraft. There are about fifteen in the game. Some are existing planes, while others are completely fictitious. Each one has its own features and a variable arms-bearing capacity. Some of the aircraft are more or less well adapted to certain missions more than others, so you should find your bearings in order to come out on top.

Overall, even if Air Force Delta Storm isn’t a masterpiece, it’s still a good game for letting off steam. However, you would let yourself be seduced that much easier if it included a rather successful Dolby digital soundtrack, excellent rendering, and very good positioning of the 3D effects.

The Accessories

The Xbox will be an accessorizable console for one very simple reason: USB compatibility. Even if the connectors are proprietary, porting PC peripherals over to the Xbox is simple. Clearly, if the peripherals manufacturers can master PC technology, they can easily create Xbox accessories. We are going to introduce you to some of the indispensable accessories. For cables and memory cards, here’s just a rough idea of the various possibilities. It’s up to you to choose the manufacturer.

Because of the unique output jack, the optional cables are very important.

Normally, you hook an RCA cinch cable to a video jack and two audio jacks. To take advantage of the 5.1’s sound through a home theater system, you’ll, therefore, need an adapter.

The Advanced audio-video Adapter from Microsoft ($20) offers you an S-video output jack, which improves the image quality and offers an optical jack for 5.1 AC3 sound. Other manufacturers provide similar cables.

If you have HD TV or a video-projector equipped with a YUV input jack, you’ll need the High Definition audio-video adapter ($20). This also includes an optical output jack, but the video comes out on YUV. It’s the best quality available.

In Europe, there are SCART adapters with or without 5.1 optical jacks, but we don’t have confirmation on this matter from Microsoft. In return, the accessory manufacturers offer RGB scart cables, the best quality available for European televisions. Saпtek already has them in its catalog!

Thrustmaster offers the High definition S-video Cable with RCA video output jacks and sound, and even an S-video connector.

Memory and Link

In order to trade your game backups with friends, who also own Xboxes, you’ll need a memory card. All of the accessory manufacturers make them. The prices range from $25 for Interact to $35 for Thrustmaster by Microsoft.

The capacity is always 8MB. That leaves the link cable, which, with a word to the wise, is in fact a stupid, twisted-pair, PC network cable… Gamester offers a nice package.

For $35, the Cortex contains a 8MB memory card and a link cable, all in all a user-friendly kit.

Steering Wheels

Saitek Adrenalin Wheel

With its graphics capacity, the Xbox will certainly be a console with many car games. Already games like Project Gotham and Nascar Thunder justify the purchase of a steering wheel for, I can’t say it enough, a car is driven with a steering wheel and not with a control pad. Saitek offers two steering wheels. The Adrenalin Wheel for $45 and the Adrenalin Free Pedals for $35. Forget the Free whatchamacallit thing. It’s the same as the other without pedals. Since the speed shifting throttles are digital and take over the acceleration and braking functions, you won’t have any sensitivity or inferior feeling to that felt with the controller’s triggers! The other steering wheel is an exact copy of the PC version. It looks rather strange, and the steering wheel’s long arms result in a weird position. The steering wheel can be placed on your knees or affixed to a table with the accessory provided. The anchor proves to be stable. The pedal board is also weird with pedals that are fastened like on a real car.

In practice, the position is a little tiring for the feet. Also, by default, the pedals are reversed, which means that in Nascar you have to accelerate with the left foot. The sensitivity and movement are well made. The steering wheel feels good in the hands, and it’s precise. The drawback spring is still a little spongy, however. As with the controller, the steering wheel is supposed to transmit the collisions using vibrations, but these are too weak. On the other hand, the steering wheel recaptures the Xbox’s directional cross and buttons for easy navigation between the races. In summary, this steering wheel correctly meets its function, even if some ergonomic problems remain.

Gamester Pro Racer

I am also compelled to talk to you about a little accessory that is frankly too funny. It’s a mini steering wheel that you hold in your hand and is intended for car games. You’ll find the cross and buttons for easy navigation through the menus. To turn, the left part of the steering wheel pivots on its axis. The clearance is a little limited, and it takes some time to be precise in the games. All in all, I’m not sure what one gains from this as compared to a classical pad. The acceleration is handled through two classic triggers. The efficiency isn’t perhaps optimal, but the Pro Racer is really too cute. $30 is a tidy sum, however, for an accessory that’s a little trivial.

Thrustmaster 360 Modena or Nascar Pro Victory

Thrustmaster offers undeniable expertise when it comes to steering wheels for the PC. The Xbox steering wheel recaptures the Ferrari style in Europe and the Nascar style in the United States. It’s small, so it stores easily. It’s easily anchored to the table using a lever system that holds it firmly in place. An accessory provided allows you to secure it under your knees on the couch, and, for once, the system was well thought out.

The pedal board resembles a real one, but you can pass on it because two more levers, in addition to those used for shifting, can control acceleration and braking analogically. Of course, the reproduction is better with the pedals, which are ergonomic and precise with a clearance that’s steady enough and long enough. The steering wheel is not equipped with a very pleasant covering, but the handholds are good, with one exception. The placement for your thumbs is too narrow, and it’s painful to use. So you have to hold in another way. It’s shocking that the designers let that slide. The steering wheel, on the other hand, has exemplary precision with the correct drawback spring. The pad’s buttons and cross will be recaptured to facilitate navigation of the menus. You have the option of adjusting the steering wheel’s sensitivity and changing the buttons or the axes based on the games. The vibrations are reproduced well, but, as with all non-supplied steering wheels, they are a little weak. In summary, this steering wheel is precise and well designed, if you overlook the materials and the thumb’s ergonomic problem. However, the $60 price tag is still rather high.

Mad Katz MC2 Racing Wheel

You could say that the look is ravaging. The steering wheel simply sits on the table and is held with suction cups. Its significant size assures acceptable stability. The pedal board is rather small with pedals that go straight down, but, upon using it, it proves to be comfortable, with a range of motion that is a little short, however. The steering wheel is slanted on too much of a horizontal axis, so suddenly, you get the impression of driving a truck. It’s obvious that the designers’ idea was to adapt to low coffee tables. The chosen solution is only justifiable under those circumstances. But it doesn’t prevent the player from still sitting in an odd position. The steering wheel picks up the pad’s functions and provides a double system for shifting speeds.

In addition to the traditional levers behind the steering wheel, you have an independent controller on the right. The steering wheel’s precision is proves barely correct. A monstrous on-axis game doesn’t help much, and the drawback spring is too spongy. As for the vibrations, they are acceptable. But I saved the best for last: there is a digital lap counter with colored, lighted bars coupled to the accelerator’s fader. Maximal tuning, man! For $60, you’d expect to have some more, higher-end, finishing touches.

Pads & Joysticks

Saitek Adrenalin Pad

The good news is that the Saitek pad is a better fit for small hands. The bad news is that, as a consequence, the tiny buttons which are really close to one another are really difficult to identify. You are always pushing on the wrong button. Nothing like it to make you lose at Dead or Alive 3. The joysticks are fine and put together well but the direction pad does not identify all eigh directions, which makes it imprecise. Even though the sticks are analog, their movements are a little short. The vibrations turn out to be less powerful than on the original pad. Two different slots are provided for the memory card and the wire is as long as on the original pad, which is a good thing. This pad has a pleasant shape that is perfect for little hands, even if the buttons and the cross are annoying. The price of $30 is very decent.

Thrustmaster Firestorm programmable pad

Thrustmaster pads are already well-known and the manufacturer took the same design for the Xbox pad. The general ergonomics is excellent, it is easy to hold and so, it will be popular with the people who think Microsoft’s pad is too big. The buttons are spaced and big enough and they seem to naturally fall under the thumb. The directional pad with its bumps and holes makes the eight directions easy to identify. The joysticks are placed well, ergonomic and precise; same thing for the two analog sticks. There is only one slot for the memory card. The wire is very long. The special feature here is a small transparent Program pad. Anytime you want to change the configuration of a button, all you need to do is press on the transparent pad and then on the button to be changed. When you are done, you then press on the next button to be changed. You have to go through the same procedure for every button you want to change. For those who want an additional pad, the Firestorm is an excellent choice. The price of $25 makes it even more of a good choice.

Interact PowerPad

This pad looks a lot like the standard Xbox one, which is a good thing. It is even a little wider and so more comfortable for adult hands that are slightly larger. The grip is excellent, maybe even better than on the Microsoft pad, thanks to much more ergonomic handles. The analog sticks and the joysticks are as precise as the ones on the standard pad. However, the click is a little less sensitive. The direction pad is fine and the directions are easy to locate. The buttons are borrowing from the ones found on the standard pad as far as their positioning. That works but it is not always easy to reach the black and white buttons. The vibrations are strong, you get maximum vibration feedback. There is a small button on the controller that lets you turn the rumble on and off, which is great. The materials are cheap and the feel is less pleasant than the standard pad, but it is not a big deal and the smaller price of $25 makes it all OK. For those who like it better, the pad also comes in translucent blue and green.

Mad Katz Control Pad Pro

First of all, it has a nice look. It comes in translucent green, yellow, red or blue with two side rubber grips and a joystick that cannot be missed. The pad has two memory slots and a very long wire (almost three meters long). The shape borrows from the standard pad. The grip is excellent, better than on the standard one. Both joysticks are easy to handle, accurate and well placed. The D-pad borrows from Nintendo which, I think, has the best system. The analog sticks are just as ergonomic and accurate. The only problem here is the spacing between the A and White buttons. There is a good vibration feedback, even though not as strong as on the standard controller. And as an added feature, you can configure your buttons differently with a macro, just like on the Thrustmaster. At $35, this pad is not cheap, but it’s also the one everyone likes best.

Joystick Thrustmaster Top Gun Fox 2 Pro

Obviously, games that justify buying a joystick don’t abound at this time with Xbox. There is hardly anything but Delta Storm which applies. But that will probably come soon. Some people will prefer this joystick for action games or car racing. But the fact remains, for those interested, it is here: the Top Gun Fox 2 Pro. This joystick looks great, is ergonomic and precise. It has everything: the twisting handle rudder control, the 8-way hat-switch, the throttle! The ergonomics is great for right handed people. The clearance of the handle is long enough and the resistance can be adjusted via a small knob located under the base. A programming utility even lets you assign buttons freely. If you need a joystick, this one will be perfect. Even the price of $39 is reasonable for the quality you’re getting.

Interview With Jay Allard

To wrap it up, we have asked Jay Allard, General Director of the Xbox platform at Microsoft, some questions.

THG: How are Xbox sales doing?

Jay Allard: Sales are way above what we could foresee. We thought we would sell one million consoles before the end of the year and we have reached 1.5 million units. Most of all, we have sold more than 4.5 million games, that is three per console, which is remarkable. The third-party publishers who develop titles for Xbox and also for GameCube, have better sales on the Xbox. We think that we are going to sell one million copies of Halo before its official release in Europe. As far as Europe is concerned, pre-sale numbers look particularly good. To provide a regular supply to this market of 16 countries, we built a plant in Hungary with a production capacity of 15,000 consoles per day, that is 100,000 per week. The Xbox should therefore get a really good start in Europe.

THG: What is happening with the development of future games?

J.A.: There are more than twenty titles for sale in the United States. For Europe, fifteen games are available on March 14 or Day One, in 16 different countries. That includes bestsellers like Halo, as well as new titles. At the moment, half of available titles are games developed exclusively for the Xbox. Some of those offered by third-party publishers will include a special bonus, like Electronic Arts’ F1 which will come with an exclusive version of the 2002 season. At the moment, 250 games are being developed for the Xbox. Most titles are being developed in four to seven languages. As soon as Christmas 2002, we are hoping to be able to release every game simultaneously in all languages and countries. You can expect to see really incredible titles, because we are still far from having reaching the console’s full potential. Halo only uses 50% of its possibilities…

THG: What is your strategy for online gaming?

J.A.: Online gaming is going to be as big as when 3D started in the video games industry. This will change the way developers create games and the way players approach them. We want to develop the games market by reaching people who are not playing yet. At present, 50% of people don’t play video games. In terms of commercial competition, we are not looking at Sony or Nintendo, but instead we consider our competitors to be cinema, television, music, radio, books because that is what those 50% of people do during their free time. With Xbox, you can play sport games where every player of a team will be connected with a real player online. Players will have a single indentity that spans all the games and all the publishers. The goal is to create a community and even a world ranking. Moreover, we are going to develop a voice communication system that will let everyone communicate live, no matter which game. All this should develop rapidly thanks to the fast connections.

Conclusion

The Xbox is definitely a generation ahead, compared to the Playstation 2 at least. It paves the way for new milestones in video gaming. For the first time, a system of this type lets you play in 3D 5.1 sound. It fools you and clearly changes the games’ dimension by immersing you, like it’s never been done before. Already with the first games, the graphics are stunning. The possibilities offered by NVIDIA’s processor, with vertex shaders, anti-aliasing and a library of efficient programming show you games with extraordinary graphics.

Finally, the hard disk lets you save correctly and makes the waiting shorter. Even the pads are excellent. Indeed, as far as the technology is concerned, there is nothing wrong with the Xbox. It is certainly a little too bulky and brittle. But honestly, this is not a big worry.

As far as the games, things look good as well. As of now, the choice is enormous and there is no lack of good titles. With Microsoft being who they are, their own developments and hundreds of titles being announced, there is nothing to worry about. There will be plenty of popular games and Microsoft knows how to convince developers to invest in this machine. Even the price is reasonable, at least in the United States, where it costs $300. Compared to the PS2, with the hard disk added, the price is a good deal! On the other hand, the announced european price of € 480 is way too much. Microsoft has a strange way of computing the exchange rate between dollars and euros… Games with a maximum price of $50, or € 65 in Europe, are expensive, but those prices are the same ones PS2 uses, at least in the United States. In Europe, PS2 games are cheaper and Microsoft should bring its prices into alignment.

Now, let us answer THE big question: “Should I buy or not?” For young children, the GameCube would certainly be a better fit. If only for the catalogue of games announced. For all those who already have a PS2, the decision is not clear. Personally, in this case, I would try to switch to the Xbox. For those who like consoles, who are older and who do not already have a PS2, they must have the Xbox. Those who already have a PC can easily be convinced to get the Xbox. The integration in a home cinema system and the different types of games, make it good reasons to have both a PC and an Xbox…if you can afford it.