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`The first of the next-generation consoles have arrived, although they're hard ...
`
`BEN KUCHE A 11/.
`
`Introduction
`
`Xbox 360
`Manufacturer: Microsoft
`Price: US$299 (Core), US$399 (Premium) — shop for this item
`
`The 360 launch, of course, has been crazy. From people waiting in line, to the Ebay
`scalpers, to questions about backwards compatibility, I don't think there has been
`another console with as much speculation, hand wringing, and forum fodder. This is
`high drama folks! Aren't you glad for the next generation of gaming?
`
`Microsoft is making some pretty major bets here. The system is powerful, and the
`inclusion of HD gaming as a standard for all titles is something that needed to happen
`for console gaming to move forward. The Marketplace and improved Xbox Live are
`both proof that Microsoft has designs for every part of your living room. For a Trojan
`horse to work though, you're going to have to want to drag the damn thing into your
`city walls, and it's games that are going to make or break this unit.
`
`Remember when games were the one and only thing we would judge systems on?
`That time is long since past. Now we look at things such as hard drive space, online
`options, connectivity, DRM, file types, wireless vs. wired. These are the new
`battlefields of gaming, in a console generation where features seem to be more
`important than games. I've seen more questions online about whether you'll be able
`to stream your episodes of Scrubs from your computer than about the games
`themselves.
`
`Well, we have a unit. While it's nearly impossible to find one now, we braved the lines
`and came back with a Core system and the major accessories needed to match the
`functionality of the Premier system. With this much hype I felt almost weighed down
`carrying the thing home; the moderately sized green box seems very unassumingfor
`all the hubbub around it.
`
`So let's go back a step and forget about everything we've read and all the rumors.
`Let's hook up a game system and see what it can do.
`
`Apple-y
`
`The system itself seems much smaller than the first-generation Xbox, and the matte
`white finish of the stock faceplate makes the unit seem almost plain. The hard drive
`slides right into the left hand side of the unit and sticks out about an inch. The
`aesthetics are much more pleasing than the bulging, house sized black brick that was
`the Xbox. Microsoft did some homework, and that homework was mostly "let's make
`it look like something Apple made."
`
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`It's white
`
`And yes, that power brick really is as large as you've heard. The thing is a monster,
`weighing in at 6 pounds and hanging behind your entertainment center. You better
`plan for this thing when you're setting up space for the unit. Even the cable is wide
`with a giant connection to the back of the 360.
`
`There's a reason the power supply is external
`
`No big surprises with the cabling, as the HD cables still don't come with an optical
`cable so you'll have to buy one separately. Once you have it, the optical cable plugs
`into the wires where they meet the back of the system. The connection also has a
`switch where you can toggle between HD and regular TV since the cables also come
`with the standard resolution yellow video input. The component connections run in
`4:3 480i mode when the cable is in regular TV mode.
`
`The hard drive isn't very noticeable when plugged in, and installing it is as simple as
`removing a small piece of grating from the side of the unit, snapping in the drive, and
`letting the unit restart.
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`The system also has two memory card slots in the front in case you don't feel like
`springing for the hard drive, and two USB ports hiding behind a spring-loaded door to
`the right of the faceplate. There's also another USB port in the rear of the system
`right below the Ethernet adaptor.
`
`The Xbox 360 Core System. Note how Microsoft helpfully includes
`pictures of all the stuff that keeps the Core System from being worth buying
`
`When powering on the system is certainly louder than current-gen systems, but not
`so loud as to be distractingwhen you're playing a game. The fans run loudest when
`the GPU and CPU go into game mode. The unit does heat up fairly quickly though,
`and there have been reports online about systems overheating and glitching up. I
`haven't seen that happen on my unit, but you'll still want to be sure you keep it in a
`well-ventilated area where the heat can escape, or failingthat, raise the power supply
`off the ground a bit.
`
`Overall the system aesthetics are functional and not veryflashy. You can buy different
`faceplates but they all seemed to be a little to XTREM E for my taste; the white cover is
`fine by me. The system looks plain, and to be honest I find it rather refreshing. The
`inward curves of the unit make it seem much smaller than it actually is.
`
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`The first of the next-generation consoles have arrived, although they're hard ...
`
`BEN KUCHE A - 11.'3:: .
`
`If it's only kind of broke, what do you need to
`fix?
`
`The controller isn't anything new or different for console gaming. There are a few
`improvements of this over the first gen Xbox controllers though. For one, the
`controllers are nice and small; they feel incredibly comfortable in your hand.
`Microsoft must have learned from its mistakes in that area with the disaster of its
`original Xbox controller. They've also moved the awkward white and black buttons to
`the top of the controller, much like the double button design of the Dual Shock.
`
`They still kept the triggers from the Type S controller, and while they're not quite as
`deep as they used to be they're still very responsive. This is pretty much the best of
`both worlds: the buttons are easy to hit and don't feel as bad as the white and black
`buttons did, and the triggers feel great in racing games and anything else that
`requires fine control. Another cool feature is that you can turn the 360 off and on via
`the controller. No more arduous trips from couch to console!
`
`The controllers come in wired or wireless flavors, and the wireless controllers have to
`be synced to the system by holding a connect button down on both the system and
`the controller. The lights on the face of the controller then match up to the lights
`around the power switch and you're good to go. A little bit more complicated than
`maybe it needed to be, but still easy to set up and get working. The wireless
`controllers use two AA batteries to start, but you can also buy battery packs for
`US$11.99 each and then the play and charge kit for US$19.99. The Play and Charge Kit
`includes a battery and a charge cable.
`
`The all-new Xbox 360 controller
`
`An interesting note is that the wired controllers have a standard USB end to them,
`and you can hook them straight into your PC to use as a gamepad for your PC games.
`That's cool. However, the wireless controllers do not work with a PC when the play
`and change kit is connected. The USB connection appears only to be for power and to
`charge the units.
`
`For the Luddites (just kidding)
`
`The big question is whether or not the 360 is going to be worth it for the people out
`there who don't have high definition televisions. It's a tough call, as the system is
`
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`
`clearly designed almost from the ground up to take advantage of widescreen, HD
`displays. Even if you have a large television, if it isn't HD you're probably better off
`hooking the system up to your computer's monitor.
`
`So many of the graphical improvements are tied into how smoothly the games run in
`high resolution. Without that, most of the games will look pretty close to a regular
`Xbox game. You'll notice a lot of graphical tweaks, but it's not nearly the jump that
`you'd get if you were playing the game in HDTV.
`
`When you look at the cost of this system, and the PS3 as well, you may also want to
`add up the cost of upgrading your home theater to accommodate all the features
`these systems are going to throw at you. The games look pretty good anyway, but in
`full 1080i with the 5.1 speakers thumping they come alive. Luckily in the past few
`years both of these pieces of technology have really dropped in price, making a really
`good home theater set up economically feasible for most people. At least for most
`people who don't mind dropping US$400 on a game console.
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`Xbox 360: the Ars Technica Review
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`The first of the next-generation consoles have arrived, although they're hard ...
`
`BEN KUCHE A 11/.
`
`Right, but again, can you game on it?
`
`Like most systems nowadays when you first power the unit on you'll have to do some
`setting up. From the dashboard you can create a user name, set up your resolution,
`and make sure everything is running properly. The profile system is actually kind of
`interesting, it keeps track of each game you've played and how far you've gotten in
`each title. Each game has little challenges you can attempt called Achievements, and
`the more of these you complete the higher your Gamerscore gets. What a high
`Gamerscore means, I have no clue other than simple bragging rights.
`
`The system comes packed with themes, high definition videos, and if you have the
`hard drive, the Pajitnov-created Hexic puzzle game. I spent about a half an hour when
`I first hooked up the unit exploring all the little odds and ends of the interface, and
`there's a lot there. Do you want to listen to a CD with some visualization? Do you want
`to stream some music from your portable mp3 player? Would you like to sign up for
`Xbox Live?
`
`No, let's play some games and save all the doo-dads for later.
`
`It's apparent at once when you put in your first game how much you've missed high
`def gaming without even knowing it. Even the text onscreen looks brighter and
`crisper, and the surround sound always has punch. Now that EVERY game runs in at
`least 720p and supports 5.1 surround your home theaterwill get the workout it's
`been waiting for.
`
`The games, overall, look very much like PC games. It's almost jarring. The smoother
`frame rates, the hyper-detailed environments, the high resolution everything, we've
`seen all these things before. It's just that then we were huddled at our computers
`peering at a small monitor. Seeing this sort of thing on a 56-inch television is
`incredible. If you have a high end gaming PC though, there is very little here that's
`new to you.
`
`Einvigi, is that you?
`
`Many of the effects are subtle. At first a lot of the detail in the launch games doesn't
`reach out and scream next generation, but from the buttery smooth frame rates to
`the ability to see further due to the high resolutions to how alive some of the game
`worlds look with much more background detail the effect can be very convincing. It'll
`
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`
`sneak upon you, suddenly you'll be in a room and the graphics are almost photo
`realistic. The stylized graphics in Kameo come to life with the ability to place
`thousands of characters on screen at once.
`
`Right now there are not a lot of games that instantly scream next generation, but
`there is enough little delightful details and improvement that it'll become hard very
`quickly to go back to current generation games. You become spoiled by 10801
`incredibly quickly.
`
`We'll go over the graphics in more detail when we review some titles in the launch
`lineup. Overall, it feels like you're playing on a very stable, very expensive gaming PC.
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`Xbox 360: the Ars Technica Review
`
`The first of the next-generation consoles have arrived, although they're hard ...
`
`BENKUCHE A -11f.
`
`Let's go shopping!
`
`The Xbox was a system that only really came to life when you connected it to your
`home network, but the 360 makes the Xbox's great online implementation feel
`positively stone aged. This is a system that requires an Internet connection almost as
`much as it requires a controller.
`
`First, all of the games are Live aware, so you can send and respond to messages and
`invitations from every game. The older system had that though, but the fact that this
`feature is now universal is a nice touch. The real draw here though, is the
`Marketplace.
`
`In theory the Marketplace is a shopping area you get to through the dashboard that
`allows you to access all sorts of content. Right now the pickings are kind of slim: a lot
`of high-definition movie trailers for films like Aeon Flux and Narnia, and a Red vs. Blue
`cartoon. You also have some gamer pictures that allow you to change your avatar
`online. Pretty basic stuff.
`
`The fun begins when you realize you can now download demos and videos from
`games directly from Xbox Live. If this feature takes off you'll be able to sample a ton
`of different games before you buy right from the console. Right now there are just a
`handful of demos available, but as long as this feature is kept up with it'll make
`buying magazines just for game demos a thing of the past. Free demos and content,
`which PC gamers take for granted, are now something that console gamers can now
`enjoy.
`
`The Dashboard
`
`My favorite part of the Marketplace though is Live Arcade. This service lets you
`purchase and download games from around US$5 to US$15. The games range from
`futuristic shooters to puzzle games. You can also find throwbacks like Gauntlet and
`joust with slight graphical facelifts. The best part? You can play Gauntlet on Xbox Live
`with up to 4 players. I can't believe I just dropped almost a grand on a system,
`accessories, and games only to be excited about playing Gauntlet online.
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`/me kicks your eggs into the lava
`
`The games are almost all great, addicting, and look awesome in high-def. The
`shooters Geometry Wars and Mutant Storm are a great way to spend some time, and
`the best part is that you can download trial versions of every game to try before you
`buy it. Even without spending any money you can blow a few hours playing through
`all the neat little demos of the Arcade games offered.
`
`The importance of the Arcade can't be overstated. Similar to Valve with Steam,
`Microsoft now has a way to publish and release smaller niche titles and sell them
`directly to consumers for low prices. Independent and smaller game developers have
`a place to make a modest game and turn a profit selling it. The initial offering of
`games is pretty impressive, and Geometry Wars is pretty much a must buy, but I'm
`hoping this is something that will see a lot of support and some varied and genre-
`straddling games.
`
`The dashboard is rock solid, and easy to customize
`
`The free content is good, from music videos and movie trailers, and I was surprised to
`see a new music video from Franz Ferdinand pop up today. My girlfriend got excited
`since she's a fan, and now she's asking me to show her how to check what new videos
`are being released. This ability to draw in nongamers with content and get them
`comfortable with a controller and the system is something that the 360 may be able
`to do betterthan any other console. Microsoft now has a direct window into your
`living room, and not only that, they have a way to sell you any kind of content they
`want. Songs? Videos? Movies? It's all possible.
`
`The main beef I have with this set up is that the interface could use a little work.
`Finding content to download and then finding it on my hard drive takes a few more
`steps than it should. Also, why can't I do anything else while I download? Are you
`honestly telling me this hardware can't let me play Zuma while I'm downloading some
`videos? Lame. Allowing me full use of the dashboard while downloading is something
`they need to start offering yesterday. At least I can hook up a USB keyboard and use
`that for inputting credit card numbers and the like.
`
`All in all though, you can't help but think that the Marketplace is the future of gaming.
`You can get content for your games, try your hand at some old-school shooters, or
`demo the latest game before you plunk down your US$60 at the store for it. It's all
`here, and it's easy to get into and use. This is the real power of Xbox Live, and it
`shows that Microsoft isn't messing around with integrating the 360 into your
`entertainment center.
`
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`Again, my girlfriend hates consoles and she loves the fact that she can download and
`watch movie trailers, music videos, and games like Zuma onto our big screen
`television. I love the fact that if I get bored I can download a demo or a full version of
`a game for a few bucks without having to get up off my lazy butt. Well done.
`
`Say it with me: Zuma is worth the $10 so your girlfriend has a
`reason to let you keep your system
`
`When it comes to gaming, Live Integration is a blessing and a curse. Games KICK YOU
`OUT when Live disconnects, even if the game's not a multiplayer title. Condemned
`did this to another Ars staffer several times due to an unruly 2.4Ghz phone in the
`house, and the same thing happened to me. Any time the phone rang, the wireless
`connections in the house all went down, taking his Live connection with it and booting
`him back to Condemned's starting screen. Keep in mind that Condemned is a one-
`person game. Why it should pee down its pants leg when Live goes down is anyone's
`guess. The simple solution is to sign out of Live when playing it, but you shouldn't
`have to do that.
`
`Of course, the darker side to all this is that with a constant Internet connection and a
`ton of stats and achievements being tracked, Microsoft is going to know everything
`about playing history. How long do you play each game? When do you play your
`games? Against whom? Are you renting them (easy to tell if you play a game for two
`days intensely and then never again) or buying them? How often are you using voice
`chat?
`
`Your gaming habits are going to be watched, commented on, and tabulated by
`Microsoft over the long term. While a lot of this is good for the gamer, as it allows for
`things like Microsoft being able to update servers in certain areas or during peak
`hours, a lot of it is just creepy. Microsoft is going to be able to aim content at you with
`laser-like precision once it realizes you only like playing FPS shooters games past
`three in the morning, or that you really love playing puzzle games before you go to
`work.
`
`While I'm not hiding my gaming habits, it does kind of concern me to think of all the
`things that are being tracked online about me and my buying and playing schedules.
`You can even go to Xbox.com, look up people on your friends list, and see what
`games they've been playing or when. This may make it hard to avoid that Internet
`stalkerwho keeps inviting you to be his friend and then whines when he loses, and
`the whole thing is more than a little creepy. Microsoft is watching us, we're watching
`each other, and it's all very spooky.
`
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`Xbox 360: the Ars Technica Review
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`The first of the next-generation consoles have arrived, although they're hard ...
`
`BENKUCHE A -11f.
`
`Will this replace your components?
`
`One of the big draws of the P52 when it first came out was the fact it was also a pretty
`competent DVD player. At that time DVD players were pretty expensive, so this was a
`large selling point for the system. Since that time prices have dropped to the point
`you can buy an entry-level player for around US$40 and a good progressive scan
`player can be found pretty easily for under US$100. The prices have fallen and the
`number of things we expect from a DVD player have gone up. Is the DVD player in the
`360 something that will work in your home theater instead of buying a stand-alone
`player?
`
`Well, first off, the player is decent. The system played all my discs and even some
`burned DVDs. Using the menus and options with a wireless controller was pretty
`straightforward, and of course you lucky premium pack buyers will have the media
`remote to further help things along. The player is functional; I'll give it that.
`
`On the other hand, this is something that is designed to be hooked into people's
`home theaters, and frankly on a large high definition screen the 360's DVD player
`simply doesn't keep up. The colors are murky, and in many scenes it's easy to notice
`dithering and artifacts in the deep black areas of the picture. Considering the picture
`the system cranks out for games is so sharp and clear, a DVD player this mediocre is a
`head scratcher. Did Microsoft just not care enough to put the time and money into
`making sure the DVD player had a great picture? It seems as if they were more
`interested in a bullet point on the back of a box than having something that people
`would actually want to use on a day to day basis.
`
`I was going to pick up a good standalone DVD player after my last one died, but I was
`hoping to avoid some clutter and cabling issues by simply using the 360 as my
`progressive scan player. While I'm on the low end of video-phile geekiness this
`doesn't come close to delivering the picture I'm used to seeing out of even middle-
`level players.
`
`Boo-urns.
`
`The slicleshow feature for pictures needs some work as well. There's only one
`mode—a zoom up/zoom down panning from picture to picture. You can't sort by date
`of creation, only by filename, and your images must be stored in a folder. If you're
`looking for a background slideshow for your TV, this won't cut it since you can't adjust
`the interval or the cut/pans to the next picture.
`
`So, how defective are the launch units?
`
`This is a hard one to call, since of course other than people talking on the Internet
`there are no hard numbers to go on when we're talking about defective systems.
`Anecdotally damn near every interactive I've seen at retail has been frozen, turned
`off, or otherwise broken down. While I haven't had any issues with my unit yet, I think
`this is partly bad design, and partly people not realizing how to take care of their
`systems.
`
`The 360 pumps out an extreme amount of heat. A lot. So much that you could heat a
`<insert absurdly large structure here> with it. After an hour or so you can put your
`
`https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2005/ 11/xbox360/5/
`
`8/9/2017
`AM D 1318_0154167
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`ATI Ex. 2134
`IPR2023-00922
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`Xbox 360: the Ars Technica Review I Ars Technica
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`Page 2 of 3
`
`hand anywhere near the unit and feel just how hot it can get inside your
`entertainment center. I've seen a unit in an enclosed kiosk that had been on for most
`of the day, and the sides of the plastic case where almost painful to touch. If you
`cover a vent, or don't have adequate ventilation, or even just high carpeting, I have no
`problems imagining your system dying.
`
`A shot of perspective: a classic game and 6 lbs of power brick
`
`Overheating is going to be a big problem with these things, and you have to set up
`your system and home theater with heat dispersion in mind. You've got five or six
`feet of cable between the brick and the console. Use that to ensure the power brick is
`a good ways away from the system, make sure air can move freely, and that the vents
`aren't blocked in the slightest. While this sort of thing is second nature to PC gamers,
`console people may not realize just how much of an issue heat is with the 360 and kill
`their system before they even know what hit them.
`
`Of course, without a huge warning on the box or the instructions this is going to be a
`problem. Microsoft isn't being very upfront about how to properly set up the system,
`and they should have taken steps from the design phase on to make sure the system
`has no problem pumping out all the heat the innards generate. The 360 runs hotter
`than any other console I've ever seen, hotter than my computer, and a touch hotter
`than the space heater I'm using to keep my feet warm right now. Why Microsoft isn't
`being more aggressive with educating consumers of this problem is beyond me.
`Telling people to make sure to keep the unit cool is a lot less of a headache than
`forum post after forum post complaining about glitched up systems.
`
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`tive 1/2/14) and Privacy Policy (effective 1/2/14), and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 5/17/2012) . Your California Privacy Rights. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or othen
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`Xbox 360: the Ars Technica Review
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`The first of the next-generation consoles have arrived, although they're hard ...
`
`BEN KUCl'HE A 11/.
`
`A look at the launch library
`
`If you ask me, there hasn't been a really good launch lineup in a few generations. No
`one seems to be able to get a truly great game out at launch. The PS2 had Madden
`going for it, and of course SSX was a pretty good game, but past that there w