I think you'll see support for xbox drop away quite quickly in 06. MS will not want to divert too much attention away from XB2. Of course it depends what you mean by support. I doubt that you'll see any more Fables, Jade Empires, or Halos, but there might be some decent 3rd party stuff.

Yeah, support for current systems always drops fast when the new one launches. Just a handful of games the year after worth playing and pretty much nothing after that.

I don't see the big deal about this list. Don't all these companies already support MS? Wouldn't it be safe to assume they would develop for the next console?

What I want to see is a launch list.

Depends what you mean by "quickly". There were still new games being released for Playstation well after XBox and GC launched. I distinctly remember looking at the game sales charts and seeing that there were weeks where there were more PS1 titles in the top 20 than XBox or GC titles. Also, the PSOne wasn't released until around the time the PS2 launched and it still sold strongly.

There were a couple reasons for this, I believe. One is that there were close to 70 million units of Playstation units sold at that point, plus all PS2's were backwards compatible. Game publishers aren't going to forget about such a huge market overnight. The other reason is that the PS1/N64 generation was when console gaming really started to break into the mainstream. While the core of the gaming market is always quick to move to the new genration of hardware, the broader market tends to wait for must have titles and price drops. I believe this will only be more true with this next generation. (This is also why I don't think the year head start will help MS as much as they think it will.)

As for a list of 3rd party developer support, the most impressive thing to see in such a list would be mentions of exclusives. As long as there are core 1st party hits, the key differentiator between the consoles are 3rd party exclusives. I'm sure MS is saving those announcements for later.

Xbox360 controller?
http://www.golucky.net/images/free/xbox2controllr.jpg
http://www.golucky.net/images/free/xbox2controllr2.jpg

Yep, that's exactly why we saw PS1 games trickling out longer than usual.

It will probably be the same with the PS2 as well when the PS3 roles out.

I doubt it will be the same for the X-box or GC as they have nowhere near the user base that sony had/has.


Even more so for MS if the rumors are true that the X-box 2 won't be backwards compatible.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...rosoft_xbox_dc

Microsoft to Unveil Next Xbox on MTV May 12

19 minutes ago Entertainment - Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) on Monday said it would unveil the next generation of its Xbox video game console in a May 12 special on cable music and entertainment channel MTV.

The unveiling will be a first, as video game companies usually take the wraps off their new consoles at the industry trade show E3 -- which will be held the following week in Los Angeles.

Microsoft said the special would also air in Japan the morning of May 13 and across Europe that evening. Actor Elijah Wood will host the show.

The special will include footage of next-generation Xbox games and also online play, Microsoft said.

The company has not set a release date for the Xbox successor or even announced a name, but the new hardware is expected to be released later this year.

Market leader Sony Corp. (6758.T) has said little about the timetable for its next-generation PlayStation console, but there is speculation it will offer details at E3 next month.

Last week Sony advised it would hold its E3 press conference a few hours before Microsoft's, a break with tradition that some saw as a sign Sony wanted to steal Microsoft's anticipated thunder.


Chris

So, the clues seem to suggest a white console. Man, the iPod has really made white cool again.

MTV? :lol:rotfl Wow.. just, wow.

I'd prefer Discovery HD for such an announcement, but I'll take what I can get... :D

Disclosure statement: PS2/GC owner, borderline X-box adopter...lurking here for a bit...no axe to grind.

That Vandalay guy obviously has some anger issues, but his original point was valid. MS simply doesn't have the exclusive content to do what it's trying to do right now. It has "survived" this generation solely by being the platform of choice for third party games for the people who had the option...because it was the most powerful, or had the best graphics, or whatever. It presumably won't have *that* advantage this go-round and it has exactly *ONE* bankable franchise.

It all sounds very "Dreamcast" to me. Really, this whole thing just reeks of desperation and does not bode well. An MTV release is about half a step above an infomercial.

Conversely, I will own every console Nintendo ever makes *because* of their exclusives and will probably buy a PS3 a few years after launch because of thier breadth of exclusive titles. X2 will likely be left out again.

Don't blame me. I'm just a consumer.

On the plus side, as long as the reports of Microsoft pulling in more Japanese support aren't bullshit.. they do have my attention. I'm wondering if they had a really good Japanese-styled RPG or adventure game at launch if they'd be able to pull in some gamers that weren't big supporters of the first Xbox. True Fantasy Online was rumored not cancelled but shifted to X2 development; I think this is the kind of game that could pull in some extra support at launch.

On the contrary, I think many Xbox owners have one due to exclusive content of some sort. Halo obviously the big one, Xbox Live as second. I have my Xbox because of the following exclusive titles: Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Otogi 1/2 and Outrun 2.

I agree. I bought an X-box for KOTOR and to a lesser degree Halo.

I don't think many bought one just to get slightly better graphics on multiplatform games.

Online gaming with X-box live was certainly a reason for some to buy one as well.

I agree to an extent. They are going after that teen market indirectly. If they market it to the MTV crowd they can get the hip-hop thugs, atheletes, wannabe pop stars, etc. Then these "stars" show it on every episode of pimp my ride or Cribs, like a $200 game system is some kind of status symbol, then the teens will follow... in droves. "I want what Fiddy's got!"

Sony should pack in a Scarface UMD with the PS3 and they would have this market cornered the next generation as well. :lol:

Having said that there certainly weren't any new final fantasys or metal gear solids for the ps1 once the ps2 came out (excluding the emulated snes final fantasys). I would expect the same this time round.

Most of the ps1 games after that time looked like very dire budget games to me (I certainly didn't buy them).

To be honest if your favourite types of games are nintendos then it doesn't surprise me that the xbox exclusive list leaves you cold.

I bought a GC for mario kart DD and that sucked (compared to the n64 version which was an absolute blast). I've since only bought Tales of Symphonia (great), and Harvest Moon (still getting into). I definitely will be getting RE4, F-zero, new zelda, when I get round to it. Have no interest in cell shaded zelda. Most of the the other nintendo franchises do nothing for me. So obviously the XB has had more to offer me than the GC.

To add to the xbox exclusives - Top Spin, best tennis sim ever, period.

I think MS did reasonably well with their gaming library this time round particularly for a first up console, and I strongly suspect that the XB2 library will be even better.

That's the life cycle of a game, though. I can't remember a system that launched with a full fledged RPG (SNES had FFII-American, I think), because of the enormous amount of time dedicated to designing and then porting it over from Japanese. Plus, new console launches are usually about wow-em graphics that the last generation couldn't touch. I still remember being wowed by Kessen, perhaps one of the worst-playing games of all time. So there'll be a racer, a 3d fighter, maybe an FPS, some unrefined sports games, etc.

I did play FFIX on my PS2, though, but I don't remember when it came out, as my backlog of RPGs means I don't necessarily play them right away (I did eventually finish IX, but just this weekend I started working on FFX again).

Yep, one has to have very BROAD gaming tastes to love the GC exclusives and the X-box exclusives as there pretty much polar opposites.

That's why there's so many arguments. Very few are going to be into both, and couple that with people that are over-sensitive about criticism of their console of choice and flame wars abound.

Yep. I love my xbox, but most of the games I have on it are available on(for the most part) the other systems save for Halo(s), Riddick & Top Spin(Great game, too easy and short though).

My other console is a GCN. It doesn't get as much play... until a first party title shows up then the XBox collects dust for a month at a time. I don't enjoy all the first party ones, but a lot of them. Pikmin, Metroid, Zelda, Mario Kart, F-Zero, etc.

So unless MS pulls a rabbit out of their ass, I will probably go the same route next gen. Nintendo first and an Xbox down the line. PS exclusives have never drawn my eye. Only 3 titles made me consider (GTA, which is moot now since it is on Xbox, the Ghouls & Ghosts series, & Mark of Kri, which looked brilliant)

fawk the ipod

you have to think that the xbox everyone is using now was just a pet project that bill gates gave his blessing too. now if they put everything behind the new xbox the way they do their software products it might be one hell of a console war. everyone knows microsoft doesn't make the best products (software) but when it comes to selling them they do tend to eclipse everyone and everything else just because they can. and yes that Vandalay guy obviously has some anger issues probably due to the fact that he has retarded hands and can't use both analog sticks to control things in games i.e. Halo, Halo 2, etc. people with retarded hands seem to dislike the xbox very much. oh well, life goes on retarded hands or not.

Personally I'd love to see them release an MCE version. A low cost MCE box with XBOX2 hooked into it would be awesome. Of course have a non-MCE version for anyone who doesn't want that.

Put everything behind the xbox like they do with their software products? I don't understand the correlation: Microsoft has an iron grip on the computer industry because of the dominance of it's OS and the name recognition it has. Plus it buys up a lot of it's competitors. Really, this would be the only way that MS would challenge Sony: to buy up Nintendo and team up with them, or buy some major, major exclusives. Stuff like Riddick and Ninja Gaiden are nice, and Halo definitely saved them this last generation, but if they pulled a FFXIII (or the next DragonQuest) as an exclusive, that alone could sway the Japanese market. Getting EA to release something like Madden on the next Xbox a month before other consoles could sway the American market. If they could pull Rockstar away and get some GTA exclusive, that would be huge.

In the end, it's all about the software. Of course, the PS2 got a huge lead on it's primary competitors, outsold them, and had brand recognition from dominating the last generation of consoles, so they had exclusives galore. Hardware-wise, it was third-best, and I'm sure many 3rd party all-platform games suffered by forcing PS2 compatibility on the design team. But it had the largest number of games, the largest number of exclusives, the most diverse genres, etc., etc.

We know that MS can afford the Xbox division to bleed money, since it makes so much more in other areas, and they wanted to establish a foothold to build off of for the next generation of consoles. We'll soon see if that strategy worked.

LOL!! retarded hands. rotfl
"Man when I get my smartjoy K&M adaptor I'm gonna smoke you guys!!"
two months later
"Fuck xbox I've got better things to do with my time than play videogames" {cue Warcraft III sound effects}

The fact of the matter is this system is going to kick mucho ass, I bought the original xbox because of it's raw power and I was blown away by the fact that IMHO the games that were available for other systems were much more enjoyable on my xbox, not to mention the fact that the broad Live support puts this system on a whole new level.

So it's been said that all next generations titles will have live support, HD enabled, insane power, and a hugely growing list of developers...........ummm where do I preorder???