Kasuto's Ramblings

Don't Be a Pawn of Bill Gates! Say NO to X-box!
X-box is Overhyped and Overrated

    You didn't think I was going to write an editorial about PS2 and leave X-box out, did you? Well, think again buddy. X-box is yet another example of Microsoft trying to take over part of the market where they don't belong. Why does X-box suck? I'll give my reasons below.
    First of all, Microsoft is trying to budge its way into an already established gaming world. Honestly, I don't think it's gonna work. Microsoft makes operating systems (very unstable ones, Windows sucks), and computer software. That's great, they make computer software. They should stick to software. Why do you think the Justice Department is trying to break up Microsoft? Because they're too big. Microsoft is a monopoly and they have almost complete control of the software market. Do you want them to have control of the gaming market? Do you want to have to bow to Bill Gates's wishes? When he says "jump", do you say "how high"? I certainly hope not. Microsoft is a sleazy company that just wants more money. Bill Gates is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, why would he possibly want more? He's trying to get into the gaming console market, and he doesn't belong there. I could get into a huge philosophical discussion of why Bill Gates and Microsoft suck, but I have other things to do. Let's just agree that Microsoft is hell and Bill Gates is Satan.
    Now it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty. If you want a detailed comparison of X-box to Game Cube, click here. It will tell you all the little hardware differences. Basically, all it says is that X-box's hardware specifications are overrated at best. Microsoft has touted their too-good-to-be-true polygon rates as one of their selling points. Well, I got news for you. The polygon rates they give (125 million/sec) are totally unrealistic. These rates only hold up under experimental conditions with no special effects or graphics. In real life, it'll probably go down to 6-10 million. So when Microsoft says you'll get 125 million polygons, they're lying. That's right, they are lying to you! Do you trust a company that has to use lies to try to get you to buy their product? Nintendo is being truthful when they say you'll get 6-12 million polygons during a game. They are giving you estimates that are factual, based on real game conditions. Nintendo tells you exactly what you're going to get, while Microsoft has to lie by giving you big pretty numbers. And of course, the big difference is the processors. Don't let those megahertz numbers fool you, megahertz is not a measure of processing power. It is simply a measurement of how many clock cycles a processor can complete in one second. What really matters is how many operations the processor can perform in one second. Everybody is hyping the fact that X-box will have a Pentium III processor in it. Big deal. I'll admit, a PIII is great for personal computers. The Pentium is designed for computers, it is designed to do different tasks that one would normally do with a PC. But the Pentium III is not designed for game play. Did you ever wonder why computers have graphics cards? That's because a graphics processor is designed to, get this, process graphics! The PIII is designed for general use, it is not specifically designed for graphics. Microsoft is trying to turn an all-use processor into a specific-use processor. I'll tell you right now that it's not gonna work. Microsoft wants to model the X-box after a PC, and that won't work for games. PCs are made for all-purpose uses. A game console is designed for games. Remember that they're supposedly making a game console, not a cheap knock-off of a PC. But research shows otherwise. The X-box reeks of being a bad imitation of a PC. I won't go into specifics, just read the comparison. All I'm trying to say is that ripping off a PC won't work. Game Cube is better because it uses brand-new technology specifically designed for playing games. They went through all the trouble of making a really good processor just for you. What did Microsoft do? They just took some chip off the shelf and said "this'll do." It just goes to show you how resourceful they are. And what about memory? Once again, Microsoft is using memory that is designed for personal computers. It might work good for PCs, but it sucks when you try to plug it into a game console. Once again, Nintendo is using special high-speed RAM that is perfect for the demands of a game console. Microsoft is just grabbing stuff off the shelf again. I personally think the X-box was designed by some kind of genetically-engineered monkey (who may or may not be Al Gore, my people are looking into that) that was designed to make a game system. Well, I guess that genetic engineering backfired, because the monkey did it all wrong. They should just stick to substandard humans, who designed the oh-so-wonderful Windows ME (which is in Kasuto's Book of Records for "worst operating system ever"). I'll tell you the truth. I have Windows 98 Second Edition, and it crashes at least twice a day. The Blue Screen of Death is permanently etched into my retinas. Do you trust a company that crashes your computer everyday to make a game console? An operating system is the core of the computer, and nothing can work without it. If they suck at this very basic aspect of computing, then chances are they'll suck at making a game console. I don't like the idea of my game system crashing in the middle of the game. But that happens all the time with Windows. I guess we're all just used to settling for something crappy. And what about Microsoft's "official" specs for the X-box? Their list gave all sorts of little features, comparing them to PS2 and Game Cube. But in half the features they put an "N/A" for Game Cube, meaning "not applicable." Well, that's just wrong. All of the features they listed are applicable. They just don't want to admit that Game Cube is going to one-up them. And now I'll complain about DVD compatibility. I've said it before, if you want to play DVDs, get a DVD player! Don't try to cram it into a game console. That'll just raise the price of the console because they have to pay fifty bucks just for licensing fees. Did you know that Microsoft isn't even designing their own controller? That's right! They're getting some third party to make it for them. That just sounds like laziness to me. At least Nintendo took the initiative by creating a wonderful new controller on their own.
    Now it's time for that philosophical discussion. You didn't think I would actually skip that, did you? Well, the gist of it is that Microsoft is a huge, blood-sucking monster that only wants to take your hard-earned money (or your parents' hard-earned money). You all know what Windows ME is the supposed "upgrade" to Windows 98. The truth is, it's just the same thing with a couple pretty bells and whistles added. So how does this relate to X-box? The X-box is just a PC with a couple pretty bells and whistles added. Frankly, I have about as much faith in Microsoft as I have faith in Al Gore being a stand-up comedian. That is to say, none whatsoever. Microsoft is just a money grubbing super-corporation. They don't care about your gaming pleasure, or creating a good game system. They just want your money. So they're "inventing" this new game console (which consists of a crack team of engineers playing with legos that represent computer parts) that is supposedly going to usher in the future of gaming. If Microsoft is going to be the future of gaming, then it'll be a pretty bleak future (the book 1984 rings a bell). In reality, Microsoft is not creating a new game console. THey are just taking off-the-shelf parts and gluing them onto a motherboard and making you think it's a new game console. They don't have any fantastic new technology, it's all stuff that you can find in any PC. But Nintendo (and the companies involved in Game Cube's development) has developed radically new components for their system. They have revolutionary processor and memory design that is for the sole purpose of running games. I'll tell you right now, I'm an old-school Nintendo fan. I've been with them since the beginning, and I'll be there till the end. Why do I like Nintendo? Because they were there first. They invented all these radicaly new ideas first, and the other companies just copied off them. Nintendo has been making great games and great consoles for as long as I can remember, and they will continue to do so for years to come. Mcrosoft and Sony only think of the short-term profits. They don't care what will become of their consoles in two years, because they'll come out with a "new" one by then. But Nintendo is in it for the long haul. When they build a system or a game, they make sure it will be around for a long time. Look at Zelda as an example. I'm talking about the original Legend of Zelda for the NES. It came out in 1986 and people are still playing it. And physically, they built games and systems that will last. I still have my original NES and it still works. I'd like to see an X-box or a Playstation 2 sill working in fourteen years. Nintendo is the grandfather of the gaming industry. They've been there forever, and they know what to do. They have experience that tells them what people what want and what people don't want. So I'm staying with them. One last thing, what I hate the most is hearing people say "PS2 rocks!" or "X-box is gonna kick Nintendo's ass!" Don't say that to me. PS2 sucks and so will X-box. Sony and Microsoft have just brainwashed you into thinking that they're stuff is better. Well, it's not. Don't become a mindless zombie to them. Stay with Nintendo, because they don't need to brainwash you. Nintendo tells the truth, while the other companies have to use deceptive advertising. And I don't trust a company that uses deceptive advertising. So next time you get the urge to buy a Playstation or preorder the X-box, think of this: Sony and Microsoft will never make another Zelda.

Kasuto of Kataan

Sections

Ramblings