Taken from an E3 review:

"There were also indications that the hardware is not entirely stable yet - a crash during Nightcaster revealed a familiar looking PC boot screen, and a Microsoft representative explained that the memory configuration on the floor models was different than that of the final version."

I found it a bit funny...

hahaha when i was waiting in line to play tony hawk 3 online vs other E3ers the system frooze up and we had to do a reboot.

Yeah, right!

it wouldn't be an MS product if it worked on the first try...

yeah- it looks right now a little unstable. hopefully this will get fixed before launch.

of course the more it is like windows the easier to port over to a real windows computer saving everyone $299

Dreamcast works on windows CE and I've never had it crash on me so it's not going to be that big of a deal...also take into account that these games are like at only 50-60% completed and not yet finely tuned.

Granted MS has a HUGE obstacle in overcoming the the crash stigma, but I think they'll be ok (I hope...this system has great potential)

Just as long as it doesn't fuss at me when I have to turn it off without shutting down because it froze up. If there's one thing I hate about my computer it's that. If you want me to shut the stupid thing down then make it so it won't freeze up on me!

~Scheherazade

One note about the Dreamcast; there are only about 10 games for the system that use Windows CE.
If you see a Windows CE logo while the game is booting, they've licensed Windows CE for that game.

Windows CE is slower than the dedicated libraries, so 95% of Dreamcast games are written using SEGA's development kit.

Yeah, thank God people are trusting MS to put a system out..

hey they say that windows 4114 will be both stable and play all games and even feed you pets. I can not wait for that one

Yeah MS has some issues with stability

The only console I am considering right now is the Gamecube. I am going to wait 6-12 months and see how well the Xbox is supported before I spend my money on it. I just sold my PS2 this weekend and won't rebuy it until there is a much better library and a much lower price. With what I got for my PS2 I am all set to buy a GBA and several games.

I think I will wait for at least Service Pack 5.

[Edited by BubbaX on 05-23-01 at 12:35 AM]

No need... with X-Box's broadband Internet access, you can download "critical updates" instantly.

I'm sure the "Xboxs" on the E3 floor were devkits, in fact I'm almost positive. My experience with devkits is that many times they are no more than a PC with specific hardware inside. Given that the xbox is a glorified PC, if it crashed (since many games are only 50-60% complete) I'm sure some windows/os messages would result.

I know that the Gamecube devkit is nothing more than a PC, we haven't got our xbox devkits yet, so I haven't seen them...

so 6 months before launch they still do not have working units to use at E3. kind of troubling if you are right

I thought one of the xbox people said they were working xboxs maybe not.


did anyone hear if the units at E3 were working xbox units or not?

they were dev kits, as were nintendo's...they're not going to gear up for production until about 2 months before launch.

Last rumor I've heard is that they STILL haven't even finalized hardware for Xbox...Nintendo, however, has Matsushita (panasonic) all ready to go...all they need is the green light

if they have not finalized hardware for the xbox then who knows how unstable it might be . are the first users going to beta test the units for them. I mean every version of windows has a whole bunch of bug fixes after launch. how are the software writers making the OS for the Xbox going to have time to test the games stability and hardware stability without being sure of all the hardware.

I hope you are wrong or this might be the saddest launch in history

Why are you trying to spin everything so negatively? You were "troubled" that they didn't have a production unit 6 months ahead of time when the reality is that 2 months is not unheard of. Now a rumor that the hardware might not be finalized at this moment is suddenly the end of world. Relax!