Favorite Xbox 360 announcement

[GiantApe]

well if you read on the web or watch g4, microsoft had some big announcements at its press conference. so whats you guys favorite. my had to be the new dashboard and avators.

[matthewpaulster]

AVATARS?
I HOPE NINTENDO HAS LAWYERS WORKING ON THIS NOW.
this really makes me mad.
and i dont think people will like the new interface.
how will gears of war 2 look in that cutesy new dashboard? not as bretty as "lego batman", i betcha!
anything else your mad at them about now?

[Blue Cup]

If I were Nintendo, I'd be flattered. When you're in a location as good as Nintendo and all your competitors that were once out-running you in a former race begin copying one of your objects of success, you have no reason to to be mad.

[Jaden]

that was about the exact opposite of mine....i dont really like the direction they are heading with the xbox...they are trying way to hard to make it more "family" friendly, so much that they would completely steal and idea from nintendo. the first time i saw the avatars i though it was a mii. i know their is more money in a broader audience but now im going to fell like an idiot while i run around with a little version of myself playing ridiculous games..

about the only things that caught my eyes were the announcement of FFXIII and the netflix support. i am happy about those and some what about GOW2 even though it crashed somewhat during the demo... that made me laugh.

[Nintend()\/\/|\|312]

The entire press conference basically felt like Microsoft was just repeatedly kicking Nintendo and Sony in the balls. Avatars, channel system, all the casual talk, the Eye-Toy Thing etc. They even stole the exclusivity of FFXIII from Sony and then rubbed the fact that Sony is losing the exclusivity of all its major titles in at the end.

Not that I'm saying that is a bad thing. I think it is hilarious. I'm always a little bummed when everyone tries to emulate Nintendo's good ideas but I'm used to that by now. However, when Mr. Square-Enix came back and showed the FFXIII demo I laughed my ass off. Reminds me of a time about six Final Fantasy's ago when Nintendo got owned by SE and lost the FF's to Sony.

I personally don't think the 360's casual push will amount to much, and although I loved the first half hour of the show that showed Fallout 3, Gears, RE5 and Fable 2, I have to give it to SE as their FFXIII announcement was the best of the press conference.

[TYFIGHTER]

My favorite part was the announcement of online co-op for RE5. I almost wet myself I was so excited. Hahah, but as cool as FFXIII being on the 360 is... Im not a huge fan of the series so my reaction was just to laugh at the Playslaves crying at that moment.

Oh, and does anyone else think the new interface is really ugly? I like the current one way better... plus the whole Mii rip-off is ridiculous. My favorite quote of the press confrence was one of the Rare employees talking about the avatars. He says, "No other console are you able to play with avatars of yourself in games." My brother and I about fell over in laughter at how pathetic that was.

[cortjezter]

as always, all the talk about shooters was a total bore for this gamer.

however, i came out of seeing the conference pleasantly surprised and excited about some of the things planned for the platform--i may just get some use out of my 360 yet!

i liked the new dashboard design; well it's simplicity anyway. i've always felt the current blade design was too cluttered and hard to navigate and find things. the new design is a clear ripoff of apple aesthetics, looking like something from one of their keynote presentations, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. when it comes to UI, simple is best. one thing i'm wondering is where they put all the ads?

i also liked some of the new community and entertainment options and integration, including the netflix partnership, and being able to watch/share movies on demand with friends at different locations? that's brilliant. i like the concept of avatars and their extensibility, but i'm rather disappointed that their designs are so.... generic. they look like any random 3d characters found in: high school art classes, saturday morning cartoon station identifiers, wii sports clones, etc. seeing Rare behind the creation of them, i expected a lot more in the style department.

the most ridiculous moment for me had to be when the Don Mattrick made the announcement: "i'm so confident that i'm willing to declare here today that the xbox360 will sell more units this generation than.... pause .... ps3". massive damage.

[Jaden]

haha!! That statement about the 360 selling more units was pretty funny. I am just going to laugh real hard when that doesn't come true. Then they are going to feel like real jackasses!!

[Golbez]

My least favorite announcement had to be FFXIII for the 360. That's one less reason to own a PS3, and it makes me wonder exactly why I shelled out $500+ for my MGS4 version a few weeks ago.

RE5 looks pretty awesome, though. Fallout 3 looks like crap, just as I expected. The Avatars and Channels are MS barking up the wrong tree, I think.

[cortjezter]

My least favorite announcement had to be FFXIII for the 360. That's one less reason to own a PS3, and it makes me wonder exactly why I shelled out $500+ for my MGS4 version a few weeks ago.

i don't know about you, but if i were going to buy ffxiii, i'd still get the ps3 version.

it makes perfect sense that a publisher would release such a massive title on both equally capable platforms. but as healthy as the 360 was made to sound in the keynote, the ps3 is certainly not out for the count. it has and will have plenty more content to come, catering to a wider range of interests than where the 360 has been living all of its life.

i don't seriously believe the xbox will be able to capture any substantial share of the expanded market, but i'm glad they're trying to do more than dwell on the narrow focus they've always had.

[Ranis]

haha!! That statement about the 360 selling more units was pretty funny. I am just going to laugh real hard when that doesn't come true. Then they are going to feel like real jackasses!!

Uh...er...it already has. And I'm under the impression that PS3 sales stagnated a week after MGS4 came out.

[DappaDizzle]

Final Fantasy 13 without a doubt , if portal : still alive was portal 2. then that would be very close call for me.

[RPG Master]

My number one favorite announcement is Portal: Still Alive

But I am glad that I don't have to get PS3 to play FF13.
But I still want a PS3.

[DappaDizzle]

DUDE little big planet is the reason to own the PS3

[GiantApe]

DUDE little big planet is the reason to own the PS3

the is about the 360 not the crappy ps3

[Luke Wallace]

My favorite quote of the press confrence was one of the Rare employees talking about the avatars. He says, "No other console are you able to play with avatars of yourself in games." My brother and I about fell over in laughter at how pathetic that was.

That's actually not what he said, although that's how most people heard it. What he said was that no where else can you have avatars, and immediately have a community of 10 million avatars.

It would be like Nintendo saying that when they added the Nintendo channel that no where else can you have downloadable demos to 20 million (or however many they have) portable systems. People would complain that downloadable demos are on the Xbox, and Sony has a portable, but they wouldn't technically be lying because they made the claim specific enough to be accurate.

Giving a new feature to existing users, and then saying you have a huge install base of that feature is kinda bending the rules. And now that Microsoft is saying Avatars are optional, the original claim may not even be true, unless everybody makes an avatar just to have one.

[Ranis]

DUDE little big planet is the reason to own the PS3

One game isn't enough reason to own a console.

[t27duck]

DUDE little big planet is the reason to own the PS3

One game isn't enough reason to own a console.

Speak for yourself...

: hugs Mario Kart Wii :

[cortjezter]

DUDE little big planet is the reason to own the PS3

One game isn't enough reason to own a console.

heh.. Halo diehards may beg to differ

[Jaden]

he is true.... really one game cannot sell a console...i know people can point out halo, but the console itself does have to some what self it self to the consumer in the first place. its just what ever you choose.

[Golbez]

If the game is badass enough, one game can definitely be a great reason to own a console. See Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy 7, etc. You'll almost certainly buy MORE games for a platform as time goes by, but that one blockbuster game can be a great starting point. You know, where you buy a console and a game, and the game is so damn good that you say "I don't care if this is the only game I ever play on this thing, it was worth it."

[cortjezter]

actually, perhaps the distinction should be made that one game can be the impetus for BUYING a console, but no console is worth owning for just one game, unless you're absurdly wealthy... or have below average mental faculties

[Golbez]

actually, perhaps the distinction should be made that one game can be the impetus for BUYING a console, but no console is worth owning for just one game, unless you're absurdly wealthy... or have below average mental faculties

Good point. Currently MGS4 is the only reason I own a PS3, however. I'm not absurdly wealthy, so I must be mentally defective.

[alisdaa12321]

"Blu-ray is the future"

[Ranis]

"Blu-ray is the future"

Yes, well, my cousin owns a PS3 for MGS4 and for the sole fact that it's the strongest Blu-Ray player on the market, with the ability to firmware update over the internet to improve the player in ways that normal Blu-Ray players can't, so I can see the merit in owning a PS3 for that reason if you're into paying $30 for a movie with gas prices as high as they are and the economy the way it is nowadays.

However, speaking in a purely console standpoint, one game doesn't justify a $250+ purchase to me.