The Forza Box Project

[Kent]

Hello,
Today I got tired of playing Playstation2 and GT4.
My response was to finally give-in to my curiousity and buy a Used Xbox and Used copies of Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing1 (they didn't have PGR2).

This thread is here to discuss my experience with the new purchase.
The total cost was under 150 dollars. With 300 dollar base-unit X360s on the market and "prices I will not speak of" PS3s around the corner, I end up thinking this could be the real challenge for Next Gen Consoles- Is The Price Warranted?

Let me know what you all think about anything I've said...
Buying an X and the Games on a whimm?
Price of Next Gen Units?
The Next Gen Market relative to ALL 3 Systems?

Will the next generation of prices and less than stellar improvements has normal people saying "Wii" all the way home?

Thanks for the feedback regarding this discussion of my Forza Box Project.

 

[DuckRacer]

"Less than stellar improvements"? My butt.

The 360 on a normal non-HD capable TV, the graphic improvements are minimal, but if you put it on an HD-capable TV and play it on 720p or 1080i, it is phenomenal. I can't comprehend the PS3 playing at 1080p. On the 360, the online is awesome, graphics are great and detailed, I'm completely satisfied dishing out $600 for it (premium system + several games + accessories). With the PS3, there is a Blu-ray drive that can play movies in HD. If those aren't stellar improvements, then I don't know what is.

About the Wii, it's a great deal too, the Wii-mote looks really fun, and the game line-up is really interesting (Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Smash Bros Brawl, Metroid, etc).

I think the only people who will only purchase a Wii will be the ones getting their feet wet with gaming, since blowing $400 or $600 on a console isn't on their priority list. What will the average gamer do? They'll buy a Wii and a 360, or they'll buy a PS3. Only the absolute hardcore gamers, or the game obsessed rich, will buy all 3 consoles, unless they all substantially go down in price.

 

[Kent]

The "less than substantial" comment was relative to my demo of PGR on the 360 at the game store and since I don't have HD it's not much of a priority.

My concerns for the next gen are how well they can improve games for the at home single player experience w/o high tech support like HD.

Plus, I was saying all of that relative to the idea of how high-end the current console gen actually is. 👍

Btw, get this...
The local game shop gave me a third party controller with the used system, I mentioned something and they traded it out.
The traded out controller didn't work at all!
I brought that back and because of the trouble they gave me a Halo edition green controller.

Thanks EB games!

 

[DuckRacer]

The "less than substantial" comment was relative to my demo of PGR on the 360 at the game store and since I don't have HD it's not much of a priority.

In 2008, all TV channels will be going digital, with a lot of the in HD. The convertor box that'll let you view digital channels on your analog TV will be $180. By then, HDTVs, even a 30" widescreen tube tv, should be about $300-$400. You (the average person) should be able to afford an HDTV by then, and when you finally have one, what would you rather do? Play the Wii with slightly better graphics than the original Xbox, in 480p, or would you rather play the 360, with a lot better graphics, and more raw power, in 720p? I'd choose the latter.

My concerns for the next gen are how well they can improve games for the at home single player experience w/o high tech support like HD.

There'll only be a year of playing time for the Wii and the PS3, before TV will be required to go digital, and most people will buy a cheap HDTV. For you, right now, the Wii is the best answer for your gaming years, but in a year or two, when you'll probably have an HDTV, the 360 will be looking a lot more attractive than before.

In answer to your original question...

Will the next generation of prices and less than stellar improvements has normal people saying "Wii" all the way home?

Only the people with regular TVs, and for only a year. And in a year, most of the people will ditch their old TVs and get an HDTV.

I stand by my original statement:

I think the only people who will only purchase a Wii will be the ones getting their feet wet with gaming, since blowing $400 or $600 on a console isn't on their priority list.

Duck

 

[Kent]

Interesting take on the subject but I think your views on HD may be a bit optimistic.

None the less, should I decide to run games on the HD level, it will surely be down the road a good ways (I didn't buy a PS2 until 6 months before I joined the gtp).

Also, when the time does come for HD gaming (for me) the PS3's pricing may have changed and as is I am already considering the purchase (although I plan to wait for a price drop).

My point is that HD and high prices for the immediate future are a concern of mine and at this point (as an owner of a gc, ps2, xbox) I am confident that a solid nintendo library and reasonable prices may lead to a larger "second-system" market for Nintendo (compared to either of the others).

PS3 and Xbox360 fight over fanboys only to have Nintendo thrive on the left-overs.
Just might work for me... I already love the idea of having the entire Nintendo library availible using one system.

 

[Kent]

Double post.
Sorry about that but I thought it was time for an update.

First off, I've bought some new games since the last time I posted (I think it was since then).

Half Life 2
DOA Ultimate
PGR 2

I've managed to spend a great deal of time playing the Xbox with most of that time going towards Half Life 2.
Half Life 2 makes the Xbox worth the purchase.
Everything about the game is amazing. 👍

That said, I've also spent a great deal of time with Forza, PGR2, and DOA.
Those games don't exactly get the same praise from me.

Forza is horrible and whoever would say it is better than GT4 is a blatant fanboy or idiot (aren't they the same thing ). just kidding.

PGR2 is an awesome arcade racer with great value, better than the Need For Speed games in my opinion. 👍

DOA, an interesting fighting game to say the least. It doesn't have the depth of VF4 by even a long shot, and it doesn't have the kick-butt fun of Soul Calibur 2 or 3.
However, it does have a great system of combat making strategy a very important part of the game. Plus, it's a great game for a 2-minute fighting fix.
DOA looks amazing and serves as a nice game to have as an exclusive to the Xbox library (sorta exclusive I suppose).

That said, Half Life 2 is what amazes me.

After all of that, and all of the "testing" I've done with these games and the system I've come to a have a few new opinions.

1) The Xbox is a good system and worthy of the fanboy praise.
2) Forza is not a good game and shouldn't have been praised as it was.

3) Most importantly,
The Xbox seems to be a complimentary system to the other consoles. They tackled different markets.

If you want to stress FPS, arcade racing, and big-breasted fighters, then the Xbox is perfect for you.

However, if you want some types of games you must have a PS2 as well. Ace Combat 5 and GT4 make the PS2 a must by for me.

To address the next gen of gaming I've got to wait longer. As of now I'm hesitant to say the X360 is worthy of a purchase. The HD capabilities aren't important to me (since HD tv is too expensive right now) and the HD doesn't translate well to normal tv.

Also, the gaming value of these "cheap" systems is amazing. The PS2 with GT4 is awesome and could keep me gaming for another year pretty easily (as long as I get breaks from it).
Xbox1 is also an amazingly valuable system thanks to its awesome FPS ports.

Bottom line:
If you're not a new-age, high-tech, true online gamer, wait for all of the new systems to come out, then consider allowing a price drop, then consider which one to buy. 👍

Committing to a 360 this early is a mistake in my opinion and buying a $600 PS3 right when it is released is a major mistake.
Maybe Nintendo will get my money but that will not be for some time because in the end the PS2, GC, and Xbox still have powerful, long lives to live-out before the next gen can force me into moving on.

 

[DuckRacer]

It depends who you are.

If you're someone like me, with an HDTV, an ethernet cord to your consoles, and there's some games for the 360 you like, get the 360. I have a no-name Ilo 26" LCD. I have PGR3, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Battlefield 2, NFS Most Wanted, Madden 06, NBA Live 06, and Burnout Revenge. They all look friggin' sweet, and all are really fun too (except maybe NBA Live). I hooked up my 360 with the RCB cables, instead of the component ones, and started up the 360 in 480i. Guess what...

It looked horrible.

The graphics looked SLIGHTLY better than the original Xbox. It was just plain horrible.

Then, I hooked up my 360 again with component cables, and started it up in 720p. Then I just realized why my PS2 has a lot of dust on it. You can't beat great graphics, that are sharp and clear.

Now, if I were you, Kent, and I didn't have an HDTV and online play, well... the 360 would be returned long ago.