Microsoft: Fuck Halo

There. I said it. Fuck Halo. Try it for yourself, you might feel better. That quote pretty much sums up how I am feeling right now about the new Xbox 360. I am a video game fiend. I have played it all and gaming is my wasteful leisure time activity of choice. I had my doubts about Microsoft with the first Xbox however I changed my tune quite a bit later on down the line. The original Halo was brilliant and the Xbox has provided a great list of exclusive content that you can't find anywhere else.

I spent countless hours playing Knights of the Old Republic, Chronicles of Riddick, Panzer Dragoon Orta, DoA and enjoying enhanced versions of Grand Theft Auto and Burnout 3. We are still getting some decent games later on this year with Half Life 2 for example. Why am I supposed to buy an Xbox 360 in November?

Microsoft wants to beat Sony to market. They have made that painfully clear. Even though the Xbox should have another great year or two left in it, Microsoft feels it is already time to take it to the next level. I am wracking my brain trying to figure out why Microsoft doesn't want to bide it's time just a little more to really make the next Xbox something to actually brag about.

The tech behind the 360 isn't bad at all. Sure enough, there will be some great games on it. However, I can't figure out when that is going to happen. The stuff that is being shown right now doesn't seem to be too far beyond what we are used to now from the current Xbox. For the first time since the inception of the series I am actually NOT excited for a Dead or Alive fighting game and it kills me.

Many people are making comparisons between the Dreamcast and Xbox 360. While certain aspects may be similar, such as rushing to market, there are some serious differences, which are really important to address.

First of all, Microsoft still has a ton of cash. We're not talking about a financially struggling SEGA who needed the Dreamcast to launch well so they could afford to make more. Microsoft has plenty of money to sink into marketing, tech and, most importantly, exclusive content.

Second, Microsoft still has the mighty Xbox Live. The Live service is simply the best online implementation to date. While Live has had it's fair share of issues, overall the experience is way better overall than the haphazard implementations from the competition. Microsoft really wants to push this as a selling point for the system and they should, however I think a lot of core gamers are balking at Microsoft's shift in focus to casual non-gamers using the service and introducing the idea of micro-payments for adding nick knacks and other useless stuff to the games. People were fine with $5 here and there for a good chunk of cool content, but I'm not sure how this idea is going to fly, especially with this uber casual group which they want to ensnare into the fold.

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