So the New Xbox Experience, or NXE, has arrived... and I have to say I'm not exactly overwhelmed by it.
I wasn't expecting much out of it, so I can't really say I'm underwhelmed by it. I'm just not really whelmed at all.
The biggest feature is the avatars. First of all, why do these things not have names? Maybe I'll call them "Personal Avatars for the New Xbox Experience" or PANXEs (pansies). I guess that's my name for them since Microsoft didn't seem to bother naming them. How did they pass up a chance to trademark a new word? Someone's getting fired when Bill Gates eventually learns of this.
My biggest gripe with the Panxes is the limited options. No rearranging of features, no custom color options, and everybody stands in the exact same just-got-off-a-horse pose.
Microsoft, please let the Panxes have a chance to stand out; in the very least, take a page from Rock Band and let us select an "attitude."
I'm not sure letting a British company design the virtual likeness of American gamers was the best choice to begin with, but my experience has been that not a great deal of the gaming population is cutesy and adorably shy. We need some over-the-top moods to choose from, something not unheard of in this land of internet. Let me be nervous, angry, cheery, tipsy, confused, dopey, achy, or even rude.
Apart from that, the clothes could use much more of a selection. As my friend Ric inquired as he was dressing his Panxe, "Where are the grown up pants?" Not every gamer is a minor; we could use a lot more adult options. And that goes for the look of the panxes as well. Not only does everybody stand the same way, they all look the same age. Apparently they're preparing us for a euthanasia society.
And how about some layering options? Maybe I have seven moles on my face, why can't I speckle on more than one? Why can't I wear my xbox t-shirt over my long sleeve shirt? It is cold outside you know. But perhaps the long sleeve shirt would been fine... if I could change the color and add a logo!
Customization technology has been around quite a while, I don't know why they choose to ignore most of it. Perhaps Microsoft should have kept their Panxes to themselves until they were ready to give us an entire sandwich as opposed to just crumbs.
Showing posts with label Xbox 360. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xbox 360. Show all posts
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Exclusitiviness
I fear for the future of the Xbox.
As it stands now, they are, in my eyes, the top of the gaming mountain. Yes, the Wii is surpassing their sale numbers, but the Microsoft Machine has a slew of great games available and a bunch of them are exclusives. And therein lies the problem: their Exclusive franchises appear to have dried up.
For the past few months, there have been endless whining from Sony lovers about many of their games jumping ship to release simultaneously on the 360 (Devil May Cry, Resident Evil & Grand Theft Auto being the most discussed), but while the Xbox will be sharing many of these lucrative properties, there are few titles coming out that require anyone to own the 360.
Halo has ended (Halo Wars is coming, but with the genre switch, it will see a fraction of the hype and sales). Saints Row, Mercenaries & Lost Planet will have dual consoles sequels. And with Bioware being sucked up by EA, their RPGs will likely be spread around to any and every system that will have them.
Sony, despite the fanboy whinings, still has a closet full of personal properties. Ratchet & Clank, Metal Gear Solid, Grand Turismo, Tekken & Final Fantasy... as well as promising upcoming titles such as Littlebigplanet and Infamous.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has a wazoo-full of exclusives, but mostly out of necessity. 85% of the third-party Wii games just wouldn't work without the gimmicky controls.
Ninja Gaiden 2 may be the last chance for Microsoft to demand an audience. And that's if a PS3 port hasn't been announced by the time of the game's release. With Ninja Gaiden Sigma already on the PS3, it's hard to imagine the sequel not following eventually.
But perhaps a little reverse psychology might help out. If only Microsoft could convince Sony to take Fuzion Frenzy 3 as an exclusive, that would even the playing field.
As it stands now, they are, in my eyes, the top of the gaming mountain. Yes, the Wii is surpassing their sale numbers, but the Microsoft Machine has a slew of great games available and a bunch of them are exclusives. And therein lies the problem: their Exclusive franchises appear to have dried up.
For the past few months, there have been endless whining from Sony lovers about many of their games jumping ship to release simultaneously on the 360 (Devil May Cry, Resident Evil & Grand Theft Auto being the most discussed), but while the Xbox will be sharing many of these lucrative properties, there are few titles coming out that require anyone to own the 360.
Halo has ended (Halo Wars is coming, but with the genre switch, it will see a fraction of the hype and sales). Saints Row, Mercenaries & Lost Planet will have dual consoles sequels. And with Bioware being sucked up by EA, their RPGs will likely be spread around to any and every system that will have them.
Sony, despite the fanboy whinings, still has a closet full of personal properties. Ratchet & Clank, Metal Gear Solid, Grand Turismo, Tekken & Final Fantasy... as well as promising upcoming titles such as Littlebigplanet and Infamous.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has a wazoo-full of exclusives, but mostly out of necessity. 85% of the third-party Wii games just wouldn't work without the gimmicky controls.
Ninja Gaiden 2 may be the last chance for Microsoft to demand an audience. And that's if a PS3 port hasn't been announced by the time of the game's release. With Ninja Gaiden Sigma already on the PS3, it's hard to imagine the sequel not following eventually.
But perhaps a little reverse psychology might help out. If only Microsoft could convince Sony to take Fuzion Frenzy 3 as an exclusive, that would even the playing field.
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