Why is there a clock for the XBOX?
 

I've never had a PS2 or Dreamcast, but these things have a clock (or so I was told).
Now that I've got an XBOX, I've got to set the timer everytime I turn it back on. I won't leave it plugged into the outlet. I don't think that's a good thing to do.

Two questions:

1) What are these internal clocks used for in the PS2, DC, and XBOX?

2) For those of you that leave your consoles plugged in, does the console ever feel warm at the back of the unit where the power supply is located?

Certain games use the clock. The Saturn used it with Christmas Knights. Playing it at certain times of the year would change the game.

On the Game Cube, some levels of Star Wars are different if you play at night.

Most games don't use it, but it shouldn't be a problem leaving your system plugged in. All of my consoles have been left plugged in for years and they all work fine.

Centurion, if you're that concerned about it, buy a good surge supressor(not just a power tap. Look on the back label to make sure it's a surge) and leave it plugged it. If you're not gonna be playing for a few days, just unplug the surge. However, darkside is right, you don't need to unplug your console as a way to "make it last". I've still got an old Atari 2400(yes you read that right 2400) that we left plugged in all the time and it still works, and I'm pretty sure it's older than I am :)

Yeah if you are truly concerned pick up a nice APC plugin. I have one for my computer, and one for my systems. When I worked at funcoland we would leave systems on all day(and night when I was to lazy to turn them off), and the only reason we would replace the systems is the cd based ones would eventually fail.

hmmm.....the Gamecube's clock is free running... set it once,and forget it...until daylight savings I bet.... I unplug mine each time. That's strange MS didn't include a battery for the xbox...

It is the amount of time you have left before being assimilated into the Bill Gates collective.

I don't know about the XBox, but the GameCube has the power pack in the middle of the cord to keep it away from the system (so the Cube can be relatively small), and to make the plug at the end of the cord standard-sized. Any heat produced by the pack is normal and won't hurt the rest of the system. If you're going away for a few weeks, you might want to unplug it, but other than that, it's fine to leave it plugged in. I think that would apply to XBox as well but I don't know. Does the XBox's clock really have to be reset when the system is unplugged?

The clock is potentially a nice addition to a game console. In addition to synchronizing games to seasons (try setting the Cube's clock to Thanksgiving day and playing Madden) and the time of day, it could be used to timestamp saved games just as computers timestamp your files. I have a feeling it will be utilized for internet components of games as consoles go online more.

BTW, I doubt that the clock will need to be changed for DST. Windows has been doing that for years, and even my VCR (of course it's only for occasional taping of TV shows, my fellow DVD people ;)) does it.

What does this do? I don;t have Madden so I can't check.... how about for other games? Like ROgue Leader???

We had a major power surge years ago (a cherry picker truck touched a high voltage line to the standard lines nearby) and it fried a bunch of stuff in my house (ceiling fans, tv, vcr, etc.). It blew right through my (cheap) surge surpressors. My N64 power cord was toast but the console was fine, I would think the Cubes power cord would be equally as successful.

Well, what I read was that Madden and Summerall would mention Thanksgiving in the game commentary, but I only heard James Brown (the broadcaster, not the Godfather of Soul) mention it at the beginning of the game.

I just got RL, but it's supposed to have missions that take place during day or night depending on the clock. Also, certain hidden things can be unlocked depending on when the game is played.

Yeah, I know about that stuff...but I wonder if I changed the date to...lets say....the middle of May next year.... maybe there'll be another ship type?

This is something I like about Nintendo. If you get a bad surge all you have to replace is the AC adaptor. With the PS2 you will have to send in the whole console for repairs.

It's still best to use a surge protector.

I'm a FedEx kind of guy myself but that's just my preference. ;)

Oh, if it only was the godfather of soul doing announcing on a game...I only could wish for that. Hell, I'd hope they'd get him to do color commentary- "HEY! WATCH YOSELF! GOOD GOD YA'LL"

I'd own the game on general principle...

I'm waiting for a package and I just have UPS on the brain. :)