Xbox 360 hits hard

Michael Gartenberg | November 21, 2005, 09:32 AM

No doubt the next few days belong to Microsft as they launch xbox 360 with their big launch in the desert (i decided to skip that one) with all sorts of contradictory news stories about the console. There seem to be two schools of thought, oddly opposed to each other. On one hand, most sources talk about the scarcity of finding a console tomorrow if you haven't pre-ordered. On the other, lots of folks are talking about consumer lack of interest. Well, which is it? It's also been fun reading "reviews" by folks making recommendations, even though they haven't actually played one.

So what's the scoop? Launch, barring some unseen snafu, will be really huge. MSFT will sell every one of these things they can make for the holidays. After that, normal rules apply. Some folks will wait to see what Sony and Nintendo will offer, some will wait for price drops and others for the titles that interest them.

As for my review? I'm going to break it down into parts over the next several days and take a look at the core game function, Xbox Live Arcade and the media centric stuff. Of course, the whole buy decision is about the integration of all those parts.

My first impression is very favorable. Games are fluid and look really good on an HD TV, even at 480p. Gameplay is subjective, but I think there's enough out there to satisfy most gamers in terms of launch titles. UI experience is mixed bag for me. This is no, "pop in the cartridge, turn on the unit and hit play" system. The different "blades" in the UI are logical but add comeplexity to the experience (again hinting at the fact that this is more than just another game console). More on each part coming soon.