Weak Backwards Compatibility for the 360

[dave4shmups]

I don't know about the XBOX 360 having more problems then a regular XBOX

There's no way of knowing which type of drive you're getting when you get a new XBOX-you could get lucky and get the best drive; the Samsung one, or you could get stuck with one of the lousier drives, like a Thompson drive, and end up not being able to play some XBOX games at all, or end up with loading times that make the Sega CD look fast. Again you would have no way of knowing this in a video game store; you'd have to get the thing home and take it apart to find out which drive you have, and if it's one of the bad ones, you're SOL, unless Microsoft will return it for one with the Samsung drive.

This is certainly a lot more hassle, IMO, then just saving up for an XBOX 360, or waiting until it drops in price. It will most likely eventually be compatible with all XBOX games, and it's probably a lot better built.

And as far as the $20 XBOX games go, I haven't seen any of the big hits, like Ninja Gaiden Black, or Doom 3 Collector's edition drop that low yet.

[Specineff]

You can check by the shape of the drive tray if it's a thompson, samsung of Philips.

[Neo Rasa]

Heh, most of my favorite XBox games aren't "big hits" by any definition. Several of my favorite games on the system though, like Phantom Dust and the Guilty Gear XX# Reload port, came out at a $20 MSRP to begin with and are even cheaper now. Street Fighter Anniversary Collection dropped down to $20 half a month ago, the point and click adventure game ports are all under $20 new now as well like Syberia and Still Life if you're into that sort of game.

[FatCobra]

Wouldn't the Forza bundle have a Samsung drive? Since that's the one I want to buy. (Can't beat a good free game, Forza's way better than GT4)

[Neo Rasa]

Wouldn't the Forza bundle have a Samsung drive? Since that's the one I want to buy. (Can't beat a good free game, Forza's way better than GT4)

I think they stopped using the Thompson drives two years ago anyway.

[dave4shmups]

Wouldn't the Forza bundle have a Samsung drive? Since that's the one I want to buy. (Can't beat a good free game, Forza's way better than GT4)

I think they stopped using the Thompson drives two years ago anyway.

Yeah, but stores may still have Thompson drive-XBOX systems. All I know is that the one I got this fall all of a sudden started having major issues with Serious Sam-the game would stutter, and the loading times were absolutely absurd0 and the disc was in fine condition. I called the store where I got it, and the manager told me that my XBOX wasn't dying; that it was just the drive. I think there may have been bad drives inbetween the Thompson and the arrival of the Samsung drives; I'm not sure, though.

And as far as telling by the tray, I don't think most game stores would allow you to open up an XBOX package, power it up, and check out the tray!

I still say wait for the 360-that's what I intend to do. OK, OK, I know I trashed both it and the regular XBOX in an earlier post in this thread, but I was having a bad day and was just in a pissy mood when I wrote that. Fact is, I'm stoked for it big time, along with the other 2 consoles coming out next year as well. (And all American versions as well.) I guess shmups just don't excite me like they used to; I still like classics collections, and retro consoles, but even on those, shmups just aren't my favorites anymore, in most cases. I'm mainstream, and I like it!

[dave4shmups]

BTW, where would you find an HD CRT tv?? I only came up with 2 when I searched on Circuit City's website:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.d ... =15&go.y=9

[sethsez]

The difference between a standard res RGB TV and a HD set is pretty minimal really

Not really. With stuff that takes advantage of the added resolution, the difference is huge, and certain genres benefit a great deal from the added clarity it provides.

[judesalmon]

The difference between a standard res RGB TV and a HD set is pretty minimal really

Not really. With stuff that takes advantage of the added resolution, the difference is huge, and certain genres benefit a great deal from the added clarity it provides.

True that.

[dave4shmups]

Good points guys, plus a lot of people do have more then one TV. I just wish I could find an HD CRT tv set; I was in Radio Shack the other night, and talked to a guy there who said that they are hard to track down because the technology is older.

EDIT: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-TOSHIBA-57HC85- ... dZViewItem

Ohh, if I only had the money!

[SAM]

Would the new console support VGA graphic?

[Specineff]

Dave, Radio Shack may not have HD CRTs, but Circuit City and Best Buy do have them. Usually Sony, Panasonic and Samsung brands.

[system11]

Would the new console support VGA graphic?

I was adding up the cost of extras yesterday (I may get a core system and add the HD/headset). While looking, I noticed a VGA cable was listed.

[D]

Without reading through the entire thread.
I'm absolutly positive patches will be downloadable.
At least for all the fighting games and shmups.

And if they're not supplied by microsoft, there's allways the dev. scene

Rest assured, but yes it is typical of Microsoft to not have it all sorted.

Then again there are loads of PS1 games that do not function on the PS2.

I say "Toaplan Shooting Battle vol. 1".

[The n00b]

Looks like MS are having problems with DOA harddrives in a lot of xbox 360s. Sony pos2 part 2 anyone?

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=461074

[Accutron]

Last night somebody on GAF who won a unit in the Mountain Dew raffle reported their unit overheating on the first day.

[Ghegs]

Then again there are loads of PS1 games that do not function on the PS2.

I say "Toaplan Shooting Battle vol. 1".

I wouldn't say loads, maybe a dozen or two. Unfortunately for us, quite a few of them are shmups.

And it's odd how many of them work to a certain extent, but not 100% properly. For example, in TSB, Tiger Heli works just fine even on a PS2. In Gradius Deluxe Pack the first Gradius works without problems. In Gradius Gaiden it's just Stage 7 that has issues. And so on.

I'm absolutly positive patches will be downloadable.
At least for all the fighting games and shmups.

I seriously doubt MS cares much at all whether or not the three JPN-only XBox shmups work on 360. Fighting games are a different matter, since I understand they're fairly popular on Live.

[dave4shmups]

Then again there are loads of PS1 games that do not function on the PS2.

I say "Toaplan Shooting Battle vol. 1".

I wouldn't say loads, maybe a dozen or two. Unfortunately for us, quite a few of them are shmups.

And it's odd how many of them work to a certain extent, but not 100% properly. For example, in TSB, Tiger Heli works just fine even on a PS2. In Gradius Deluxe Pack the first Gradius works without problems. In Gradius Gaiden it's just Stage 7 that has issues. And so on.

I'm absolutly positive patches will be downloadable.
At least for all the fighting games and shmups.

I seriously doubt MS cares much at all whether or not the three JPN-only XBox shmups work on 360. Fighting games are a different matter, since I understand they're fairly popular on Live.

Good points Ghegs. And as far as regular XBOX games go, Microsoft will probably eventually make the vast majority backwards-compatible with the 360. It's just a matter of time, and above the list of games posted in that link, Microsoft stated that they are still at work to get more games backwards compatible.

IMO, it's irresponsible for Sony and Microsoft to release consoles that are optimized for HDTV when HDTV is still far from mainstream in this country-although I do agree that it looks better then ANY type of display that I've seen yet. Supposedly the 360 and the PS3 will look better then their predcessors on "regular" composite TV's, but I'll believe that when I see it. Even small HDTV's are around $300-tack on the premium 360 package, and you've already dropped $700, without even having purchased a single game. That's ridiculous.

As cool as I think the 360 is and the PS3 will be, as far as TV display goes, IMO, Nintendo is being the most level-headed by not trying to ram-rod HD down everyone's throats.

[The n00b]

Then again there are loads of PS1 games that do not function on the PS2.

I say "Toaplan Shooting Battle vol. 1".

I wouldn't say loads, maybe a dozen or two. Unfortunately for us, quite a few of them are shmups.

And it's odd how many of them work to a certain extent, but not 100% properly. For example, in TSB, Tiger Heli works just fine even on a PS2. In Gradius Deluxe Pack the first Gradius works without problems. In Gradius Gaiden it's just Stage 7 that has issues. And so on.

I'm absolutly positive patches will be downloadable.
At least for all the fighting games and shmups.

I seriously doubt MS cares much at all whether or not the three JPN-only XBox shmups work on 360. Fighting games are a different matter, since I understand they're fairly popular on Live.

Good points Ghegs. And as far as regular XBOX games go, Microsoft will probably eventually make the vast majority backwards-compatible with the 360. It's just a matter of time, and above the list of games posted in that link, Microsoft stated that they are still at work to get more games backwards compatible.

IMO, it's irresponsible for Sony and Microsoft to release consoles that are optimized for HDTV when HDTV is still far from mainstream in this country-although I do agree that it looks better then ANY type of display that I've seen yet. Supposedly the 360 and the PS3 will look better then their predcessors on "regular" composite TV's, but I'll believe that when I see it. Even small HDTV's are around $300-tack on the premium 360 package, and you've already dropped $700, without even having purchased a single game. That's ridiculous.

As cool as I think the 360 is and the PS3 will be, as far as TV display goes, IMO, Nintendo is being the most level-headed by not trying to ram-rod HD down everyone's throats.

Have you seen how many lcd HD tvs are sold in America these days? They might be the future but they are rabidly becoming the "present." There's even a strong chance that your local McDonald's worker owns one or knows someone who does. They are really becoming that common. BTW Nintendo missed the boat with online features with the gamecube, are you sure they want to miss the boat with HD tv too?

When did 300 bucks become too much to pay for an HDTV? The xbox 360 itself is 400 dollars and many people don't have a problem with that either.

[dave4shmups]

I wouldn't say loads, maybe a dozen or two. Unfortunately for us, quite a few of them are shmups.

And it's odd how many of them work to a certain extent, but not 100% properly. For example, in TSB, Tiger Heli works just fine even on a PS2. In Gradius Deluxe Pack the first Gradius works without problems. In Gradius Gaiden it's just Stage 7 that has issues. And so on.
I seriously doubt MS cares much at all whether or not the three JPN-only XBox shmups work on 360. Fighting games are a different matter, since I understand they're fairly popular on Live.

Good points Ghegs. And as far as regular XBOX games go, Microsoft will probably eventually make the vast majority backwards-compatible with the 360. It's just a matter of time, and above the list of games posted in that link, Microsoft stated that they are still at work to get more games backwards compatible.

IMO, it's irresponsible for Sony and Microsoft to release consoles that are optimized for HDTV when HDTV is still far from mainstream in this country-although I do agree that it looks better then ANY type of display that I've seen yet. Supposedly the 360 and the PS3 will look better then their predcessors on "regular" composite TV's, but I'll believe that when I see it. Even small HDTV's are around $300-tack on the premium 360 package, and you've already dropped $700, without even having purchased a single game. That's ridiculous.

As cool as I think the 360 is and the PS3 will be, as far as TV display goes, IMO, Nintendo is being the most level-headed by not trying to ram-rod HD down everyone's throats.

Have you seen how many lcd HD tvs are sold in America these days? They might be the future but they are rabidly becoming the "present." There's even a strong chance that your local McDonald's worker owns one or knows someone who does. They are really becoming that common. BTW Nintendo missed the boat with online features with the gamecube, are you sure they want to miss the boat with HD tv too?

When did 300 bucks become too much to pay for an HDTV? The xbox 360 itself is 400 dollars and many people don't have a problem with that either.

It's not too much to pay for an HDTV by itself-throw in a 360 and some 360 games, and you're coming close to a grand. And that $300 HDTV at Game Crazy had a pretty narrow screen-making the 360 games look rather squished. I've since been on both Samsung and Circuit City's websites, and haven't been able to find a similar-priced more square shaped HDTV at all.

I don't see Nintendo having missed the boat with online features; since neither they or Sony can touch the popularity of XBOX Live anyway.

[sethsez]

It's not too much to pay for an HDTV by itself-throw in a 360 and some 360 games, and you're coming close to a grand. And that $300 HDTV at Game Crazy had a pretty narrow screen-making the 360 games look rather squished. I've since been on both Samsung and Circuit City's websites, and haven't been able to find a similar-priced more square shaped HDTV at all.

I don't see Nintendo having missed the boat with online features; since neither they or Sony can touch the popularity of XBOX Live anyway.

Um... HDTV is supposed to be 16:9, not 4:3. Widescreen is where most everything is going these days. TV shows are being filmed in widescreen and then cropped for normal broadcast. All 360 games are widescreen natively. Why would you get a square HDTV?

And Microsoft is doing the right thing by making a machine that won't be obsolete in five years. HDTV is gaining success very, very quickly, prices have been falling steadily, and both MS and Sony have made machines that will work fine now, and work fine when widescreen HDTV becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Also, why are you talking about HDTV as solely a 360 thing? Use it for movies, HDTV broadcasts, etc. It's like people who complain about spending a thousand dollars just to play Half-Life 2, when they forget that their computer is more than just a Half-Life 2 box.

[FatCobra]

Rest assured that Halo and Halo 2 will be the first games to be backwards-compatable with the 360. After all, how will those who sold their Xboxes be able to play M$'s flagship game?

[dave4shmups]

It's not too much to pay for an HDTV by itself-throw in a 360 and some 360 games, and you're coming close to a grand. And that $300 HDTV at Game Crazy had a pretty narrow screen-making the 360 games look rather squished. I've since been on both Samsung and Circuit City's websites, and haven't been able to find a similar-priced more square shaped HDTV at all.

I don't see Nintendo having missed the boat with online features; since neither they or Sony can touch the popularity of XBOX Live anyway.

Um... HDTV is supposed to be 16:9, not 4:3. Widescreen is where most everything is going these days. TV shows are being filmed in widescreen and then cropped for normal broadcast. All 360 games are widescreen natively. Why would you get a square HDTV?

And Microsoft is doing the right thing by making a machine that won't be obsolete in five years. HDTV is gaining success very, very quickly, prices have been falling steadily, and both MS and Sony have made machines that will work fine now, and work fine when widescreen HDTV becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Also, why are you talking about HDTV as solely a 360 thing? Use it for movies, HDTV broadcasts, etc. It's like people who complain about spending a thousand dollars just to play Half-Life 2, when they forget that their computer is more than just a Half-Life 2 box.

Because I only own one DVD, and could care less about 99% of the crap that's on TV these days, whether it's available in HD or not. When I doget one of these it'll be for the same reason I got the TV I currently own-to play games. That's why my concern has been to find an HDTV or monitor, that's small and cheap. There's no way I'm going to get one of the huge-arse expensive models.

I hear what you're saying about wide-screen these days, but I'm just telling you that the HDTV I saw today made things look a lot more compressed-perhaps it was more narrow then what you're talking about; I don't know.