10 7 Things the Xbox 360 does wrong
My expectations were not met with gameplayer's list of 360 problems. 10-lists are usually highly controversial, but my assumptions that all 10 would be at least semi-legit were wrong.
Let's Take a look at all 10:
#1 Hard Drive not standard: I agree %100. The core was a dumb idea. Originally, they were concerned that consumers wouldn't want to pay $400 in the beginning. They were wrong hands-down. Console launches generally sell out, and people will pay whatever it takes to get what they want.
#2 RRoD: I agree that this was unacceptable. My launch console RRoD'd a year later, and my room mate's 6 month old console did the same. Our replacements have been fine ever since, although my Elite HDD was bad out of the box. Still, I've had more problems with DRE PS2's in my life-time than Xbox 360's. And I've played the 360 way more than I ever played any of those PS2's.
#3 Noise: I can understand why those who don't use a home theater system would be annoyed by this. I never notice the noise unless it is dead silent in the room. I run a cheap 500 watt RCA system, so I don't notice it. Point taken.
#4 Controller Sign-in: This point is misaligned here. Signing in with controllers makes sense if you have multiple players with their own accounts. This allows them to get their own achievements and statistics. My profile is stored on a memory card for this very reason; I play on other 360's all the time.
The true problem: developers not allowing "guest" sign-ins. Some games allow this, others don't. Halo 3 is an example of a game that does. Rock Band when not quick-playing does not. -1 from the 10-list
#5 Bad UI/faceplates are dumb: I like the interface; it's fast and effective compared to the PS3 Store's interface. The XMB doesn't always tell you what buttons you need to press and the location of core actions aren't always obvious (updates for example, changing accounts, passwords, etc).
Faceplates are fine, and their existence doesn't negatively affect the gamer. I find the PS3 to be an ugly taco looking device that needs the aesthetic customization much more. -1 from the 10-list
#6 Wifi separate and is expensive: This does suck for those who use it. Wired is ALWAYS preferred (more reliable connection, and a faster connection to your router), but it's not an option for everyone. I wouldn't mind having the adapter, but I won't pay $100 for it. I'll just use my original Xbox adapter.
#7 Multiple SKU's: This relates to #1. Really, the only thing they shouldn't have done is the Core. Nothing is wrong with the Premium or Elite in my opinion. The hard drive should have been standard, and it would have eliminated this point.
#8 OS Locked: It's obvious why MS would want you to use MS encoding for video streaming/etc. Vanilla XP does work with .wma, which is fine with me. It can be inconvenient, but the issue isn't that big of a deal unless you are a media whore.
#9 Xbox Live Costs Money: Yes it does, but not the $80 a year they claim in the article. I pay $50 or even less if I find a deal on ebay. It's been worth it so far. PSN and Wii Connect have been awful experiences in comparison, and they are free. They are prettier, but they are slower and take more time to browse the content. The Wii doesn't even have online game support for the most part. I can't discount this complaint, but it's not a reason to avoid an xbox 360.
#10 Rare complaints: This is just reaching for something to add to the list. It's relevance to this 10-list is highly questionable. -1 from the 10-list
Within reason, this has become a 7-list. While some argument could be thrown around on the remaining points, they are valid for the most part.
Let's Take a look at all 10:
#1 Hard Drive not standard: I agree %100. The core was a dumb idea. Originally, they were concerned that consumers wouldn't want to pay $400 in the beginning. They were wrong hands-down. Console launches generally sell out, and people will pay whatever it takes to get what they want.
#2 RRoD: I agree that this was unacceptable. My launch console RRoD'd a year later, and my room mate's 6 month old console did the same. Our replacements have been fine ever since, although my Elite HDD was bad out of the box. Still, I've had more problems with DRE PS2's in my life-time than Xbox 360's. And I've played the 360 way more than I ever played any of those PS2's.
#3 Noise: I can understand why those who don't use a home theater system would be annoyed by this. I never notice the noise unless it is dead silent in the room. I run a cheap 500 watt RCA system, so I don't notice it. Point taken.
#4 Controller Sign-in: This point is misaligned here. Signing in with controllers makes sense if you have multiple players with their own accounts. This allows them to get their own achievements and statistics. My profile is stored on a memory card for this very reason; I play on other 360's all the time.
The true problem: developers not allowing "guest" sign-ins. Some games allow this, others don't. Halo 3 is an example of a game that does. Rock Band when not quick-playing does not. -1 from the 10-list
#5 Bad UI/faceplates are dumb: I like the interface; it's fast and effective compared to the PS3 Store's interface. The XMB doesn't always tell you what buttons you need to press and the location of core actions aren't always obvious (updates for example, changing accounts, passwords, etc).
Faceplates are fine, and their existence doesn't negatively affect the gamer. I find the PS3 to be an ugly taco looking device that needs the aesthetic customization much more. -1 from the 10-list
#6 Wifi separate and is expensive: This does suck for those who use it. Wired is ALWAYS preferred (more reliable connection, and a faster connection to your router), but it's not an option for everyone. I wouldn't mind having the adapter, but I won't pay $100 for it. I'll just use my original Xbox adapter.
#7 Multiple SKU's: This relates to #1. Really, the only thing they shouldn't have done is the Core. Nothing is wrong with the Premium or Elite in my opinion. The hard drive should have been standard, and it would have eliminated this point.
#8 OS Locked: It's obvious why MS would want you to use MS encoding for video streaming/etc. Vanilla XP does work with .wma, which is fine with me. It can be inconvenient, but the issue isn't that big of a deal unless you are a media whore.
#9 Xbox Live Costs Money: Yes it does, but not the $80 a year they claim in the article. I pay $50 or even less if I find a deal on ebay. It's been worth it so far. PSN and Wii Connect have been awful experiences in comparison, and they are free. They are prettier, but they are slower and take more time to browse the content. The Wii doesn't even have online game support for the most part. I can't discount this complaint, but it's not a reason to avoid an xbox 360.
#10 Rare complaints: This is just reaching for something to add to the list. It's relevance to this 10-list is highly questionable. -1 from the 10-list
Within reason, this has become a 7-list. While some argument could be thrown around on the remaining points, they are valid for the most part.
posted by SuicideNinja at 11:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home