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General Gaming / RE:The TRUTH about the XBOX - Microsoft taint in the video game industry

« on: August 20, 2003, 04:38:30 PM »

Yes, there should be some differentiation from a PC to a dedicated console, period. In keeping with MS's 'parts off the shelf' and 'lets just buy something that's already been made' attitude with all of their products, what I'm merely stating is fact. The Xbox is nothing more than a stripped down PC with a run-time direct X core to play games that could easily be moved to a Windows PC. As for the high failure rate, true PS/2 have more repairs but as I said, they outsell the Xbox 4 to 1. I'm not exaggerating one bit when I tell you that 1 of 4 new Xbox's are returned defective (drive doors that don't close, crashed hard disks mostly) and 2 of 4 factory refurbs are returned for mostly the same issues. If you'd like, I'd be happy to post pix of my defective heap. It's another one of MS's marketing manuevers that the whole world seems to be falling for.  So, what other console required a toll-free repair line (1-800-FIX-XBOX)? What other console systematically locks up during gameplay? True, they all will from time to time but given the fact that the XBox GDI is by design bloated and unstable, (directX), XBox lock ups win hands down.

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General Gaming / The TRUTH about the XBOX - Microsoft taint in the video game industry

« on: August 19, 2003, 07:38:31 PM »

Agreed, there is NO convincing the Xboxphiles of the inherent inferior design of their 'gaming system', but know this.... As a retail manager for a large, franchised mass retailer of video game systems, games and accessories, I can an will attest to the fact that the MS Xbox is nothing more than an over-hyped, over-rated Celeron PC sans keyboard, mouse and monitor. While the PS/2 system outsells the Xbox 4 to 1, on average, 1 out of every 4 new Xbox systems and (as high as) 3 out of 4 (75%) of factory refurbished XBoxes are returned to my store and end up on the defective heap. No other 'video game system' demands the after-the-sale technical support and follow up (system crashes, lock-up's and the like) as the Xbox.  Like everything Microsoft has done so far, the Xbox is another late entry in a market Microsoft was loathed to be a part of (look at the internet browser market, and what they spent to destroy the competition) and have half-heartedly and half-assedly became a part of.
More to come....