11/27/01

Alright folks, Fat's the name, gripin' is my game. It's been a while since you've heard from me, but I'm still here. As for why I having been contributing much to the site lately, the reason is simple: I just haven't had a lot to say. But I do now.

November will go down in history as a milestone month in the industry of gaming. Nintendo has finally retired their old, haggard N64 system in favor of the sleek, well designed Gamecube, and Microsoft, a computer mainstay for many years, has finally thrown their hat into the ring in the form of the X-Box. Both systems have strong launch lineups, and both are doing quite well in their initial sales. Now the gaming battleground has come to three systems, the ones I just mentioned, and of course, Sony's Playstation 2.

Many a games reviewer has already begun to try to predict the future as to which system will "prevail", and most seem to be saying similar things: Sony will continue its' dominance, Nintendo will do fine due to their family market, and Microsoft's system will just die. However, I'm not sure if I'm ready to agree with this prediction just.....yet.

Looking at some websites, some gaming publications, and many, many outcries from fanboys in game forums and polls everywhere, one thing is clear: many people have a huge grudge against Microsoft because of what they are...many people have derogatory terms to describe them, but the word I choose for this is...."successful".

Yeah, yeah, people can harp on the bugs and flaws in various versions of Windows, shady business practices, and the press's scraping and clawing to make Bill Gates look like some kind of Satanic entity all they want, I don't buy it. Every crappy thing Microsoft as a company has done, I could match with the past and present actions of companies like Apple, Sony, even Nintendo....in short, that's how the business world is. As for this inexplicable hatred of Gates, I can only attribute that to some people being envious that they didn't do the right things, in the right place, at the right time like he did, trying to define his actions as "evil" somehow, while many others are just listening to press hype. Take it from me, he's no more evil than you or I, and probably much less evil than I.

Sure, it feels good to some to see someone get their comeuppance when they've been successful for all this time and they decide to make some bad quality, lousy piece of garbage product that they know for sure will sell just because most everything else they make does (never mind that Microsoft already had plenty of failures), and that seems to be how many of these fanboys see the X-Box. Tell ya what....I sure don't.

I've been reading through some of the fanyboys' arguments against the X-Box, and I think that I will use this article as my responses to some of those arguments. Picked among the ramblings I've encountered are as follows:

First off, this argument is incredibly STUPID. Yes, the X-Box uses a standard Pentium III, a modified GeForce 3 Video Card, a standard Hard Drive, and many computer standards....however, before those of you who argue this pat yourselves on the back thinking you proved your point, answer me this....what makes a console a console?

Non-standard hardware? No. Proprietary architecture? No. A SINGULAR architecture? YES. That is the primary difference.

Allow me to explain: Personal Computers have several different components that make up what they are. Motherboards, processors, memory, Sound solutions, Network solutions, Video cards, etcetera, etcetera.... Each PC function has several different manufacturers making several different cards and add-ons that serve that particular function. Many of these have different capabilities, different standards, and different price ranges. Therefore, think about programming a game for the PC....in order for it to sell well, you have to make sure that it's as compatible as possible with every imaginable PC configuration so that more PC players will buy it. This costs a LOT of time and money, and oftentimes makes a game less than it could be, since it has to function on systems with lower specs than what might be the designer's ideal PC. There's also always the possibility that the software STILL won't work with your particular PC as well...

A console system may have different revisions (the Playstation alone has about 10), but they all go by the exact same standard. If you make a game that works on one console, it will work on ALL of them. All the designers and programmers have to worry about is getting their game to work....on a Singular architecture. Also, on average consoles have a longer lifespan than your average computer peripheral. The PC market is very competitive, particularly in the realm of 3D Video cards, so companies are constantly trying to top each other by releasing cards with more memory, more features, more power, etc, every 6 months or so (and PC users should be thankful, as it used to be every 3 months).

With a console system, for the most part, what you see is what you get. Designers and programmers get to work with the system long enough so that in time, they can get more out of it. This is true with Gamecube, the PS2, and.....the X-Box.

Microsoft has seen those gripes about computer comparisons, and in taking steps to further differentiate their console from a PC, they are doing things I don't like. For example, they don't plan on releasing a keyboard, a mouse, a Net browser, or a VGA adaptor for the system, because these are "computer peripherals". Do I blame them for this? No, I blame the ignorant biased asses that make the X-Box/PC comparison in the first place. It sucks that they're actually trying to LISTEN to you...

Okay, sure, whatever. I hear a lot of Nintendo fanboys say this, but mostly Sony ones. Somehow I feel that Nintendo purists have more of a right to voice this concern, because I feel that "muscling in" is EXACTLY what Sony has done. I don't hear a lot of people saying that THEY don't belong now. I won't say that either. I will say that Sony has brought the art of Shovel-ware to a new level, and that the PS2 has some major hardware flaws that I feel are unacceptable (no hardware anti-aliasing, no texture compression, very little texture memory, etc).

It is also of my opinion that you have Sony to thank for Microsoft entering the Console business. With the Playstation, Sony changed the rules of console gaming. They made the money aspect of utmost importance, so that only companies LIKE Microsoft could possibly compete. They did this in order to saturate the market, so that they could reign supreme alone. If they actually did, it wouldn't be good, as with no competition, Sony games would become absolute garbage, much like Atari's did back when they "reigned". Most of us know what happened to Atari...

Microsoft, with comparable money to spend, is true competition to Sony. This way, both makers have to keep their software quality high in order to compete with each other. Sony didn't need to do that with Sega, as they could (and did) just kill the Dreamcast with hype, and Nintendo really wasn't a factor to them (I think they are now with the GC, but according to press statements, Sony still doesn't). Actually, I've heard of statements from Sony's president that they're actually going to release the PS3 about a year earlier than planned, because of Microsoft's X-Box being more powerful than they anticipated. If that's true, I feel sorry for PS2 fans (and for myself too, as I don't wanna buy a PS3 next year...seems like I just GOT the PS2), so I hope it's not.

Anyway, Sony made it so that "belonging" in the console business simply meant being able to afford to be in it. Microsoft definitely can, so, I guess that they belong.

True enough for now, but, uh....who doesn't? Rehashes are what the fanboys want. A sequel to this, a sequel to that...then they turn around and use it to complain about a system that's not "theirs". Nintendo's starting lineup also has a bunch of remakes, and the games that their fans clamor for are sequels to Zelda, Mario, Metroid...Remakes! As for Sony, don't even go there...they get sequels of games that don't even deserve 'em....

Considering their stance of no mouse or keyboard, I kinda doubt it.

This is almost a legitimate concern....almost. Seeing that MS has the likes of Sega, Namco, Konami, Capcom, Tecmo, and Koei signed on, I won't worry about this until I don't see any games coming from them for a long period of time.

I must say, anyone who uses this as a true, legitimate gripe...is a dumbass. This is all a matter of opinion. You know what? I HATE the PS2 pad! Always have. I hate the segmented d-pad, and I thank the lord that Sony patented that so that other controllers can't use it. I also hate the reeeal close together twin L and R buttons on the top. I also hate that there's only main buttons on the face of the controller. I also hate that they use idiotic symbols on the buttons instead of letters or numbers like everyone else...should I go on?

However, all of that is just my opinion, isn't it? It didn't stop the system from selling millions. Lots of people LOVE that controller. As for the X-Box one, yeah, it's too big to me, and I don't like it for Dead or Alive 3 (I don't like ANY pad for fighting games), but you know what? To me, it's GREAT for Project Gotham and Halo! It's like "the controller was MADE for these games!" Probably because it was.

Microsoft SUCKS!

Okay, Sony sucks.

Also, Nintendo sucks.

Do any of the three statements above really mean anything? If one or more does, you'd best get yourself some biased-ass therapy.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons for not wanting an X-Box. Maybe it doesn't have any games you want. Maybe you think it's too expensive. Maybe you already have a PS2 or a Gamecube (or your heart set on getting one), and can't justify having more than one console. The only reasoning I can't stand is to try to say that "it sucks because of who made it" or the other reasons I was arguing above. Unfortunately, these afore-mentioned arguments are the ones I hear most, from insecure, paranoid, overly vocal biased asses.

I suppose that those of you who generalize will now brand me as an X-Box fanboy, since I am mostly arguing in it's defense. The reason that I am doing this though, is because I have heard so much undeserved criticism and bias against this system. I'm not worried about Nintendo. They'll do fine. I'm not worried about Sony. They have the mindshare. What I am saying is that I see a well made system with some good games and a lot of potential in the X-Box, and that there has not been sufficient time to tell whether Microsoft will be a boon to the games industry, or a detriment to it. Give it some time, and give it a chance. That's all I ask....

- Fat

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