XBOX-Disappointed
Discussion
Patch lead - £1 
The dreamcast service had real costs associated with it too but it was launched in the days where ISPs were competing fiercely to win subscribers (pre dotcom crash) and profit margins for ISP services were also much better than today so they would invest in value add services to attract subbscribers. Lets be clear - Sega didn't pay for the server infrastructure, the ISPs did because they made their money off the dial-up subscription usage. In today's world there is virtually no margin left in the ISP business - whether broadband or dial-up - so that model doesn't fly any more.
How much were you paying for Internet back then.... typically that would have been about £30 a month with call charges at 1p/minute which wouldn't take long to add up to more than £40 for time spent gaming. Xbox live is a better service run on better infrastructure which many people find to be great value for money.
Keep it or ditch it - your choice. I'm not sure now whether you're really looking for help here or venting about a negative experience that IMO you haven't really tried that hard to resolve (controller) or evaluate (Live).
The dreamcast service had real costs associated with it too but it was launched in the days where ISPs were competing fiercely to win subscribers (pre dotcom crash) and profit margins for ISP services were also much better than today so they would invest in value add services to attract subbscribers. Lets be clear - Sega didn't pay for the server infrastructure, the ISPs did because they made their money off the dial-up subscription usage. In today's world there is virtually no margin left in the ISP business - whether broadband or dial-up - so that model doesn't fly any more.
How much were you paying for Internet back then.... typically that would have been about £30 a month with call charges at 1p/minute which wouldn't take long to add up to more than £40 for time spent gaming. Xbox live is a better service run on better infrastructure which many people find to be great value for money.
Keep it or ditch it - your choice. I'm not sure now whether you're really looking for help here or venting about a negative experience that IMO you haven't really tried that hard to resolve (controller) or evaluate (Live).
Halo is a fantastic game. It goes further than just another shoot-em up and is very absorbing. Multiplayer is bloody good also.
PGR2 is OK, a good game just to pick up and play, but i agree with above comments - its just the same as any other racing game.
Rainbow 6 - if you are prepared to invest time in a game (this will require it) this is the one to have. Have a look on the net for some reviews, its highly rated
PGR2 is OK, a good game just to pick up and play, but i agree with above comments - its just the same as any other racing game.
Rainbow 6 - if you are prepared to invest time in a game (this will require it) this is the one to have. Have a look on the net for some reviews, its highly rated
Patch leads are more than £1 if you look in any mail-order catalogue, especially for the length of cable i'd be looking at. I could make it though so it's not an issue.
Don't get me wrong, i'm not just coming on here to insult the XBOX. I bought one because i wanted one and i heard they were better quality than the PS2 because i've heard stories of PS2's crashing,blue disk problems,running the PS2 upside down so it works and a load of other stories. It's just i bought my XBOX on friday, and this is already my second controller and it's already starting to show its weaknesses. The buzzing noise i complained about it appears that i'm not the only person to suffer this as can be seen from the link i posted previously. I can't believe that Microsoft overlooked this fact and released a controller like this.
As for GTA coming out in January, that is a fact. But it's been on the PS2 for the last two years what's the big deal?
Don't get me wrong, i'm not just coming on here to insult the XBOX. I bought one because i wanted one and i heard they were better quality than the PS2 because i've heard stories of PS2's crashing,blue disk problems,running the PS2 upside down so it works and a load of other stories. It's just i bought my XBOX on friday, and this is already my second controller and it's already starting to show its weaknesses. The buzzing noise i complained about it appears that i'm not the only person to suffer this as can be seen from the link i posted previously. I can't believe that Microsoft overlooked this fact and released a controller like this.
As for GTA coming out in January, that is a fact. But it's been on the PS2 for the last two years what's the big deal?
www.scan.co.uk/products/Products.ASP?CatID=30&Category=Networking
Scroll down to Network Cables - two for £1 or £1.05 for a 5m one, though you might have to order a few of 'em to get free postage.
Hope you get things worked out anyway. If you're disappointed with the XBox then you'll be disappointed with all consoles IMHO.
Scroll down to Network Cables - two for £1 or £1.05 for a 5m one, though you might have to order a few of 'em to get free postage
. Hope you get things worked out anyway. If you're disappointed with the XBox then you'll be disappointed with all consoles IMHO.
I have owned all the current consoles from launch, and can honestly say, XBOX RULES.
I love my PS2 and GameCube but the graphics, sound and loading times are far better on Microsoft's machine. And the quality of the pad is excellent too - though i own the original controllers, not the newer smaller versions.
Halo is undoubtedly the best game ever. Play it on Legendary for full effect - it is incredibly hard. Everytime you play it, the computer AI will react differently. Not like some games where the enemies always start from the same location and do the same thing.
And finally, as for XBOX graphics being not much better than Dreamcast. All i can say is, do be daft!
I love my PS2 and GameCube but the graphics, sound and loading times are far better on Microsoft's machine. And the quality of the pad is excellent too - though i own the original controllers, not the newer smaller versions.
Halo is undoubtedly the best game ever. Play it on Legendary for full effect - it is incredibly hard. Everytime you play it, the computer AI will react differently. Not like some games where the enemies always start from the same location and do the same thing.
And finally, as for XBOX graphics being not much better than Dreamcast. All i can say is, do be daft!
Ffirg 005 said:
<a href="http://www.scan.co.uk/products/Products.ASP?CatID=30&Category=Networking">www.scan.co.uk/products/Products.ASP?CatID=30&Category=Networking</a>
Scroll down to Network Cables - two for £1 or £1.05 for a 5m one, though you might have to order a few of 'em to get free postage
Hope you get things worked out anyway. If you're disappointed with the XBox then you'll be disappointed with all consoles IMHO.
I'm going to decide by Wednesday whether or not i take the whole thing back or just get a new controller.
You're probably right that if i'm disappointed with an XBOX i'd be disappointed with anything else. On reflection, looking at the console market it seems very un-original and cash-in. Everything is just sequels. What is the difference between FIFA 2003 and FIFA 2004, updated physics and new teams all for only £40. What is the difference between Colin Mcrae rally 2.0 on my playstation (a very good game) and Colin Mcrae 4 it's just improved graphics and a few new modes. It just shouts cash-in and lets exploit the customer as much as possible.
>> Edited by g4ry13 on Tuesday 23 December 13:15
All true - seems there's not much that's original in this world. Occasionally something truly amazing comes along and then gets copied to death. Remember the first time you played Doom or Castle Wolfenstein on a network - unbelieveably entertaining then but just another first person multiplayer shooter now.
For originality I would suggest Splinter Cell - not a unique concept but beautifully made and takes some mental effort and subtlety to get through, and it has a pretty good story line. It's been around for a while so you can probably pick it up second hand quite easily. There are three extra levels that are free downloads from Xbox live (yes - completely free).
For originality I would suggest Splinter Cell - not a unique concept but beautifully made and takes some mental effort and subtlety to get through, and it has a pretty good story line. It's been around for a while so you can probably pick it up second hand quite easily. There are three extra levels that are free downloads from Xbox live (yes - completely free
).g4ry13 said:
Don't judge Live until you've tried it. I worked for an ISP who provided Dreamcast gaming services back in about '96/'97 and it was good for its time, but the experience on XBox Live is at a different level with the richness of the environment, virtually no lag, headset chat, etc.
Surely not expensive at £40 for a whole year - just over £3 a month? This includes the headset and software which all just works out of the box with the same interface, buddies list, etc across all the different games and it is a managed service with a help line you can call (haven't had to do that myself after a year of using it). If you break the cost down into a cost per hour of gaming it is not at all expensive IMO.
IMO it's still £40 too much, the headset may be worth about £10. What do you get for your money? You have to pay your £30 odd a month for broadband, you have to buy a patch lead or wireless adaptor so you can use the internet. Sega had a helpline that can be called as well, so i don't think Microsoft's promise is that great. So what happens to the other £30 paid for live, it's merely the industry just exploiting customers again.
I'll first have to decide whether or not to keep my XBOX due to quality issues before investing in Live.
I have been playing online games for over 10 years now in some form. I can honestly say that PGR2 online is the most accessible and fun and probably the best racing game I have ever played. And that includes GPL ( I played it for years, and I loved it, but times move on!!)
£40 to play it online is nothing.
I had MSR on the dreamcast, and it is not a patch on PGR2 online. I also have a PS2. I havent touched it since I got the Xbox.
Top spin tennis is also awesome online BTW
Ive had a Xbox for a while got live inclueded for 3 months and 3 games 2 microsoft controlers for 180.
and it has not let me down yet, Its been chipped to play all Games US and UK and DVD'd with out the DVD playpack addon, Also had a RF output put in for Douly Dig as the Advanced scart is a waste of space.
If you are complaining about a 130 quid xbox what would you do if you got a Normal PC and wanted to pay 3D games, you would be complaining like anything.
If your unhappy with a XBox you will have the same opinion about the game cube and PS2.
Gamecube for under tens
PS2 end of shelf life
and it has not let me down yet, Its been chipped to play all Games US and UK and DVD'd with out the DVD playpack addon, Also had a RF output put in for Douly Dig as the Advanced scart is a waste of space.
If you are complaining about a 130 quid xbox what would you do if you got a Normal PC and wanted to pay 3D games, you would be complaining like anything.
If your unhappy with a XBox you will have the same opinion about the game cube and PS2.
Gamecube for under tens
PS2 end of shelf life
I think i'm going to keep it and change the controller today. If the next controlller lets me down i think i'll be very disappointed. With PGR2 it said i had a free 2 month trial. Is this completely free? Or do i get these 2 free months when i subscrive? The small print said something about subscription and was slightly confusing.
peterpeter said:
no, as far as I know, its free.
There isn't a catch like i have to give some credit card details or not?
Does mean that i can use it for other games other than PGR2?
I decided to keep my XBOX and i spoke to the guy in the shop about my control pad and he said it needs to be broken in etc. and some other BS. So i'll give it a few days and see.
One thing that does puzzle me with PGR2 is, they have sports coupé series, and in it there is jaguar xkr coupe, porsche 996 (that's fine) then TVR tamora, morgan aero 8 (they're convertibles not coupés) and there is an Audi RS6 Estate, what's that all about?
I have an xbox and I msut say, I was very impressed when I first "picked it up". I own a fairly powerful PC with top of the market graphics (almost) and had resorted to playing games on my PC.
After getting The XboX with PGR2 and Halo I have to say it IS the best consol you can buy and Halo is the best game ever! Halo is not a game, It's a religion
Next thing to do is connect the box up to my PC so I can sit on msn n stuff with monitor and a window for the xbox... it can, and will be done.. mwoohahahaha
After getting The XboX with PGR2 and Halo I have to say it IS the best consol you can buy and Halo is the best game ever! Halo is not a game, It's a religion
Next thing to do is connect the box up to my PC so I can sit on msn n stuff with monitor and a window for the xbox... it can, and will be done.. mwoohahahaha
I don't know what that's all about.It was tthe best bundle i've seen. I didn't want the extra controller because sometimes third party stuuf isn't that good. I'm still trying to do the cone challenges on platinum on the first level, it's so hard. My controller makes weird creaking noises, i wish i hadn't swapped it. I'm thinking of buying a scart cable for the XBOX to improve the quality.
It's all fun and games.
I've spent almost the whole day blattering around the arcade bit and geting almost every gold there is to get!
You have to wait till youve completed PGR before picking up HALO because after you start up Halo, you will be camped by your T.V. for a fair wee while.
I've spent almost the whole day blattering around the arcade bit and geting almost every gold there is to get!
You have to wait till youve completed PGR before picking up HALO because after you start up Halo, you will be camped by your T.V. for a fair wee while.
I'm going for platinums, just completed the cone challenge on the first series at platinum level, took me a few goes. I also decided to treat myself to an Enzo even though i'm not quite at that stage. I've started Halo, i've done about the first level and a half but am mainly concentrating on PGR2. At the moment i'm finding PGR2 more enjoyable, although i admit i haven't played very much of Halo.
even though i'm not quite at that stage. I've started Halo, i've done about the first level and a half but am mainly concentrating on PGR2. At the moment i'm finding PGR2 more enjoyable, although i admit i haven't played very much of Halo.
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