The next step in gaming evolution is close at hand. On Nov. 22, Microsoft is starting the next round of console releases with its Xbox 360.
“It’s going to be a hot item,” said Andrew Harper, 20, an employee at Game Crazy in Springfield. “There’s a lot of demand for this system.”
He said the new console has three times the power of the first Xbox. It also has 512 megabytes of memory and can accommodate seven controllers: four wireless and three wired.
The 360 is being sold in two different packages: the $300 core system and the $400 deluxe system. According to Xbox.com, the core package includes an Xbox 360 console, a wired controller, a standard audio-video cable, and a one-month subscription to Xbox Live (the online gaming program). The $400 version includes a console, a wireless controller, a high definition video cable, a headset, an Ethernet cable, a one-month subscription to Xbox Live and a removable hard drive. The 20-gigabyte hard drive, sold alone for $100, makes it a value for gamers to buy the deluxe version over the core system, Harper said.
Local retailers are also preparing for the release. Big City Gamin’, located at West 13th Avenue and Willamette Street, plans to add eight systems to its “stay and play” stadium set-up. Inside the store are four large TVs hooked up to gaming systems that can be rented for in-store play. Normally rentals of the screens cost $4 per hour, but for the release of the Xbox 360, the store plans to let people play for free during the first several days, according to Pat Cochran, 21. Cochran, who works at the store, is also an accounting major at the University.
“We try to set ourselves apart,” he said. “We try to cater to our customers.”
On Dec. 3, Big City Gamin’ is hosting an NFL Madden tournament for EA Sports. The event is free for anyone who wants to participate. “We provide the venue,” Cochran said, “and the University’s campus rep runs tournaments here.”
Xbox 360 comes as the latest phase in gaming development to a generation that has grown up with the video game industry.
Elena Fort, 20, a history major at the University, has been gaming since she was 4. She has owned several different systems, starting with an original Nintendo NES, but has played on just about all of the them.
She remembered coming home from a friend’s house at age 9 with blisters on her hands. “What happened?” her mother asked. “Sonic the Hedgehog,” Fort said.
Now, Fort enjoys playing life simulation games such as “Harvest Moon” and “Animal Crossing.” She also likes fighting games such as “Street Fighter” and “Soul Caliber.” She also plays first person shooters such as “Halo,” “Halo 2” and “Timesplitters.” “Tales of Symphonia” and “Final Fantasy” are a few of the roll playing games she plays.
Fort said people are often surprised when she tells them she’s a gamer.
“When it comes to guys finding out,” she said, “it’s really cool until I own them at Halo. They think it’s either really hot that I kicked their ass or intimidating, and they hate me.”
But Fort has established herself in the gamer community. “Guys I have acquaintances with accept me as a gamer and admit I know my stuff,” she said.
As far as the next generation of gaming goes, Fort said it’s a good thing.
“A (gaming) company’s obvious prerogative is to make money,” she said. “So why not grow with your market?”
Nevertheless, she’s less excited about the Xbox 360 than most. She is looking forward to Nintendo’s next big release, the Nintendo Revolution.
“Nintendo Revolution is infinitely cooler,” she said. “It’s a lot more innovative.”
Fort said many gamers are loyal to one company over another, and her fidelity is to Nintendo.
“They have the ability to defy logic,” she said. “I have my allegiances to Nintendo.” She said Nintendo is more creative, and doesn’t re-hash the same game ideas over and over. “With Xbox, its like they’re inbreeding their games. I’d play GameCube over Xbox any day.”
The Nintendo Revolution is expected to be released in late spring or summer of 2006, Fort said. On Sept. 16, at the Tokyo Game Show 2006, Nintendo released the new controller for the Revolution, according to a news article at Nintendo.com.
The controller is wireless and looks more like a DVD remote than a game controller. It contains what is called a “direct-pointing device” which allows the gamer to move the controller in real space and manipulate objects in the game. In other words, the gamer can make a character in the game swing a sword around by swinging the controller around. It can also be held sideways and used as a conventional control.
Sony’s next generation system, the PS3, is expected to be released in 2006, but Sony has not pinned down a month or specific date, according to PlayStation.com.