Random Rant: E3 From Minimum Safe Distance
Price points, smack talk, mac talk, and rip, mod and burn today in a specially-compressed E3 2005 random edition of Narc's Rants. I'm not at E3, so the rose-colored glasses are off.
Death by intelligence.
Random Rants For E3 2005
So much has gone on recently that it's almost impossible to write a complete piece on each one before the news recedes into obscurity. Here are a few items of note and my take on each, then, before things pile up so high I can't get out from under them:
By their prices, you shall know them
From The E3 Floor: Pizza, Beer And Zombies
Mnemesis has posted an update in the HBO forum from the floor of E3: he says Bungie is showing off the next five multiplayer maps, Stubbs the Zombie by Wideload is "gritty, dark, hilarious, and really fun to play" and Major Nelson is a together guy who knows good pizza. Thanks Louis Wu at HBO for the linkage. Wu is on his way to E3 as we speak.
Xbox Games Will Need 'Recompilation' For Xbox 360
GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Microsoft says Xbox games will need to be recompiled to work with Xbox 360. This would seem to indicate-- although it is not yet clear-- that even your old games will have to be repurchased in order to run-- unless the console can recompile it by itself, which seems extremely unlikely. Not good news for those banking on this feature.
I Can See Halo From Here... But What Else?
So, Microsoft lets the bomb drop this week that the Xbox 360 will be backwards compatible-- sort of. That "sort of" should include Halo and Halo 2, according to Newsday via HBO.
Three Steps Forward, Two And A Half Steps Backwards
Much has been written, here and elsewhere, about backwards compatibility for gaming consoles, both with regards to the Xbox's successor, Xbox 360, and to consoles in general.
We asked our readers if backwards compatibility for the new Xbox was important; 43% of you said you wouldn't buy one if it wasn't, and only 17% of you thought it wasn't important or wouldn't affect their purchase decision.
Xbox 360 News Roundup Part Two
- GameSpot has a head-to-head comparison of the announced specificiations for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
- eToyChest points out Xbox 360 preorders available at EBGames. The $59.99 price probably bears no relation to the (as yet unannounced) actual price of the console.
One Secret Of The Xbox's Success
As the world bathes in the offwhite glow of the Xbox 360, take a moment to ponder one of the hidden sources of the Xbox's rise from unknown quantity to major player, as a sometimes-partner, sometimes-rival of Microsoft's gives an unintended boost to the company's fledgling game console.
Unsung Hero Of The Xbox Saga
It didn't take a lot for Microsoft, one of the richest and most powerful companies in the world, to find a market to compete in where they would be widely viewed as the underdog. Just Sony, another of the richest and most powerful companies in the world.
Microsoft Kicks The Dog?
Robert X. Cringely's latest I, Cringely column looks at three major changes, or "inflection points", as he refers to them with all due credit to Intel's Andy Grove, happening in the computer-audio-video-entertainment convergence we've all been waiting for now for nearly a decade. Those changes involve Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo and Google.
Xbox 360 E3 Roundup Part One
News is trickling out of E3 like treacle after an explosion in a molasses factory. So far:
Xbox 360 Will Play 'Most Popular Xbox Games'
Voodoo Extreme is reporting from the Microsoft press conference at E3 that the Xbox 360 console will be able to play the some Xbox titles via emulation. On his blog, Major Nelson also repeats the claim issued by Robbie Bach at E3: that the Xbox 360 will play "the most popular" Xbox titles.
Magic Moments And Friendly Robots In Stubbs The Zombie
Alexander "The Man" Seropian has added screenshots to his 1Up.com blog; it features images from the Stubbs level editor and a screenshot from an unfinished level, where friendly robots are trying to kick his ass.
Hell Freezes Over: FFXI For Xbox
According to Forbes, Final Fantasy XI is indeed coming to the Xbox. The article does not go into any detail on the specifics, so it is unclear whether the original Xbox or Xbox 360 is the intended platform. The Final Fantasy series of RPGs has been a stalwart for Japanese console makers, Sony in specific over the past iterations of the PlayStation.
Id Software Does A 360
Quake 4 has been officially announced for the Xbox 360 at E3, confirming its inclusion on the list of games for the new console released by Microsoft following the MTV launch event for the console.