extremetech.com — "I never thought I'd actually write those three words. However, I'm not talking about operating systems or Windows Media. I'm talking about games—and not just about the Xbox 360, but let's begin there, anyway."
May 15, 2006 View in Crawl 4
machineMay 15, 2006
Sometimes you don't have someone else to play card games with in person... you insensitive clod!(I'm old-school)
thebradyMay 15, 2006
None of these comments really cleared up what sony is doing with their online strategy... so here is my try.Sony is creating what they say is a Free Xbox Live...Ok Sony has created a system where everyone can create a gamertag for free. The only thing this enables you to do is send messages... whether it be text, voice, or video messages is up to you. My guess is mostly text as the system is not coming with a headset or video camera.The rest of their online set up is in the hands of the developers. The developers of the games are in charge of creating their own online play system, just as they were for the playstation 2. The only thing different this time around is they will allow you to log in using your Sony gamertag.This means the online implementation will be drastically different in each games. I'm sure some developers will do an amazing job of implementing an online gaming system... However there will also be those times where they developer just doesnt have the extra manpower or experience to create a system thats even worth using.So the system is certainly not an Xbox Live killer... Some developers could pull off a great online experience. Just remember, if you didn't like the online set up of the playstation 2, it won't be all that different on the ps3.
lupingladeMay 15, 2006
xbox live is great, but its reliability sucks.
rileyjtMay 15, 2006
Unless you are looking for the PSP version of GTA and the lego version of Star Wars, I doubt you will need more than one console. Of course, Halo3 is a first party title and is more like Zelda and Gran Turismo. For 3rd party games though, I think we will see a lot more ports this generation as the market overall gets bigger and no one console will be able to dominate in the way the PS2 has.
rileyjtMay 15, 2006
XBL and Windows are completely different beasts. What works for XBL will never work for Windows, and vice versa. Now hopefully they can improve on Windows and fix some of their mistakes, but it is pretty naive to think that you could just move a different OS team in there and "fix" everything.The fact that Microsoft actually came up with XBL on their own and developed it from scratch though is promising for the company. Especially in light of the other mediocre OS attempts for platforms like handhelds and phones that were really just Windows ports. Dropping the entire Window UI concept and starting from scratch and being successful with it will hopefully give the company some perspective when they think about redesigning some of their other products.
stevemurMay 15, 2006
>> Supposedly, in '96, just after Microsoft had purchased an online web based gaming service, Gates sat down with some of his senior people to review the purchase and consider the future return on investment. He asked when they could expect to start making a profit on the service, which they had paid a princely sum for. His people replied it would take, say, about five or six years to see any return. And yet, unlike most corporate suits out there, who look for returns the nanosecond after they purchase a company, Bill sat back on his chair, nodded and left the matter at that.I can verify that things actually went as the PCWorld.ca article says in its opener, because I *was* the person who replied to Bill, saying it'd take 5-6 years, and Bill nodded and approved. One of the terrific things about working for Microsoft is that it does have the appetite for long-term bets, and sure, also the financial coffers to make them. More trivia: After the meeting adjourned, I headed to the restroom. A few minutes later, I was leaving just as Bill was entering. His one comment was "great purchase; seems inexpensive for what we want to do". I agreed, thanked him, and left. XBox Live is pretty cool, isn't it?<a class="user" href="http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/250507a00a01040800577d95286ed829/pg0.htm">http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/250507a00a01040800577d95286ed829/pg0.htm</a> <a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Zone">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Zone</a>
helspawnMay 16, 2006
for people who want to Stream media to the 360.. there is a program called Connect360 which does just that. It's supposed to hook up with your iTunes and iPhotoI haven't actually tried it. It's a free trial and 15$ to purchase<a class="user" href="http://www.nullriver.com/index/products/connect360">http://www.nullriver.com/index/products/connect360</a>
Closed AccountMay 31, 2006
Actually, I'm British and we are not thinking about playing Halo 3 on our mobile phones!!