XBox 2 Information, specialy about online play

well, just go and read
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/09/news_6120034.html

just a little thing:

Micro-transactions: Breaking down barriers of small-ticket online commerce, micro-transactions will allow developers and the gaming community to charge as little as they like for content they create and publish on Marketplace. Imagine players slapping down $.99 to buy a one-of-a-kind, fully tricked-out racing car to be the envy of their buddies.

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If you must pay to get an extra in the game then that s Microsoft, all right

edit:
there is a complete report on the XBox2 conference. Nothing too fancy to be seen except the slides.
http://watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20050309/msdev.htm

i love it! i can't wait till this xmas if it comes out.

i just hope they have a killer app for launch, since there will be no Halo this time.

Just keep on giving me quality 2D fighters online plz.

I just hope those morrons don't forget the offline games...

DashK said:

i love it! i can't wait till this xmas if it comes out.

i just hope they have a killer app for launch, since there will be no Halo this time.

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Sorry, its gonna come out in 2006. Don't hold your breath for an X-mas release.

I'll be sticking with Sony. And Big Shady are you sure that its not coming out this Christmas? Microsoft's entire next generation plan seems to be based on the fact that they launch before PS3 and get a whole bunch of early adopters so Sony can't catch up. And Nintendo's is simply launch when the PS3 launches.

Big Shady said:

Sorry, its gonna come out in 2006. Don't hold your breath for an X-mas release.

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i've been seeing reports that both sony and msft will launch this xmas. if they dont it's gonna be a slow xmas, neither company has many bigname games left this round. i think at least one new system will hit this xmas, even if it's nintendo.

DashK said:

i've been seeing reports that both sony and msft will launch this xmas. if they dont it's gonna be a slow xmas, neither company has many bigname games left this round. i think at least one new system will hit this xmas, even if it's nintendo.

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Usually, we'd be seeing more press and demos and whatnot by this time, if XBOX 2 were to be released this christmas. Though, anything could happen...look how fast DS went from unvieling to release.

If anything, if XBOX 2 does launch this year, expect the rumoured Halo 2.5 to come along with it.

honestly, let the developers catch up with the system capabilities before forcing a new system down everyone's throats.

Yeah, you can make something more powerful, but who can make games that will take advantage of that power?

I mean, how many games have really maxed out the potential of the x-box so far?

back when we all saw MotW on the neo, we saw a game push a system to the very limits. After that we kind of grudgingly accepted that anything better would need to be put on another system. I don't see that with the x-box yet.

wasabi said:

I mean, how many games have really maxed out the potential of the x-box so far?

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Halo 2
Riddick

but, there could be more impressive stuff in the future, who knows

DashK said:

i've been seeing reports that both sony and msft will launch this xmas.

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Sony can't because they don't have enough Cell's yet.

More info over @ Gamespy:

CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.


GPU - Xenon's GPU is a generation beyond the ATI X800. Its clock speed is 500 MHz and it supports Shader 3.0. Developers are currently working with an alpha 2 GPU. Beta GPU units are expected by May and the final GPU is slated for a summer release. The final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today; in game terms, it would handle a game like Half-Life 2 with ease.


System Memory - Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. Keep in mind that this number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.


Optical Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Games will come on dual-layer DVD-9 discs. While the media is the same as that of the current Xbox, the usable space on each disc is up to 7 GB. The drive is slated to run at 12X.


Memory Units - Xenon will use 64 MB to 1,024 MB memory cards. 8 MB is reserved for system use, leaving a 56 MB to 1,016 MB for user data.


Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined.


Camera - Xenon will have a USB 2.0 camera. It's capable of 1.2 megapixel still shots and VGA video. Photos can be used in-game and for gamer profiles. The camera can also be used for video chat. It's unknown if the Xenon camera will allow for EyeToy-like gameplay. Developers are currently using a simulated camera driver.


Sound Chip - Xenon does not have an audio chip in the traditional sense. Decompression is handled by hardware, while the rest of the chores are handled by software. DirectSound3D has been dropped in favor of X3DAudio. The former was deemed too inflexible.

And


Microsoft is requiring developers to make all Xenon titles Live enabled. One of the key reasons for this will be revealed in the second part of this story.

Developers are being instructed to plan their games for high-definition. The baseline is 720p at 1280x720 for gameplay and video clips, 16:9 aspect ratio, 5.1 Surround Sound, and anti-aliasing. These features are the current minimum requirement.

All Xenon games can be played using custom soundtracks. Owners can also play their own music directly. Supported formats are MP3 and WMA. Files can be encoded up to 320Kbps CBR or VBR stereo. The system is branded a Music Player Service.

For gameplay movies, Xenon uses Xenon Motion Video (XMV). XMV is based on Windows Media 9 and uses the mandatory codec for HD-DVD. The goal for video is 720p running at 30 frames per second with 5.1 Surround Sound.


Looks interesting to me. Kinda surprised that they made the HD optional. I thought it would either be included standard or totally no option for it. With the exception of the Ram (and since its a console, it ain't a far comparison anyways), the machine looks totally stacked. High end CPU, GPU, healthy amount of ram (for a console) and the flexibility of DirectX. Add in HD support, Live awareness and custom soundtracks for ALL games, and I am going to be buying one on launch day.


Talk shit if you want to (and I know the Sony and Nintendo fanboys will), but it looks like MS is simply giving gamers what they want.

Backwards compatible with all my old xbox games (I only have outrun2)????

I have had my Xbox since launch and I am amazed at how long it has lasted, especially with a modchip. However I do not have XB live and I have a couple of wories about the future on online gaming.

1. The rank system, not everyone is good/great at games. Now awards, points, ranks, thats all fun but if they take it too far in any direction it will not be fun. Use your imagination here, I'm not explaining.

2. The *little* things you can buy. Sure, buying some custom skins here and a custom thingy there is a great idea but... I just don't want this to get out of hand. I remember all the hate XB got when it was coming out. People would start rumors about how MS was going to SELL PATCHES to unfinished games. Now I know that won't happen but if I pay the extra money for next gen games (rumors?), I have better get alot of good stuff and not just rush a game out leaving bare bone to run but wanna charge my ass to add stuff.

Personally I am tired of stressing and arguing for months with system fanboys over power and features, I had enough of that in the last generation. I just wanna play some new games and enjoy some new features.

TrailerTrash said:

1. The rank system, not everyone is good/great at games. Now awards, points, ranks, thats all fun but if they take it too far in any direction it will not be fun. Use your imagination here, I'm not explaining.

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Even if you suck at the games, they are still fun to play. I mean, I play Halo 2, The Rainbow Six 3 series online and I suck at them. Yet I still have massive fun. The key is to playing with a group of peeps you know and like. Unless you are super competive and stress over clan like stuff, online gameplay is just like showing up to play against some random dude in the arcade. Many times you will get your ass handed to you, other times you will be the one doing the owning.

2. The *little* things you can buy. Sure, buying some custom skins here and a custom thingy there is a great idea but... I just don't want this to get out of hand. I remember all the hate XB got when it was coming out. People would start rumors about how MS was going to SELL PATCHES to unfinished games. Now I know that won't happen but if I pay the extra money for next gen games (rumors?), I have better get alot of good stuff and not just rush a game out leaving bare bone to run but wanna charge my ass to add stuff.

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This has yet to happen to current XB Live games (for the most part) and I doubt thats going to change. But it does give developers the chance to fix stuff that might have slipped through Q&A and the testers. Or just add on free content.


I mean, shit, XB live is only about $50 a year or like $6 a month. Why stress over such a little amount of money? For about the cost of one trip to Wendys or McDonalds, you can enjoy online game play all month long. Anytime, all the time. Try that at the Arcade.

I'm excited about all of the next gen systems...

I'd like to see more...

I hear that the PS3 is gonna blow the Xbox 2 out of the water in terms of raw power...

let's hope the games are as good as the specs