360 Launch: UK & Europe

It' s 7.45 am and I' m eating my cornflakes as I write this. I' m going to be on a bus to Leeds town centre in half an hour to be at my local indie game store at 9pm. When I return home I should be the proud owner of a shiny new Xbox 360 and games. I say should because apparently people have been queuing up overnight for one of the things. I mean check out this story on the BBC Website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4490778.stm

I might be an obsessed gamer but not obsessed enough to camp outside a store over night, not a chance. Not when I' ve got a lovely pre-order slip from my local indy store :) They are getting 12 premium packs and I' m number 1 on their order list. In theory all I have to do is waltz to the counter hand it over as well as the remaining £260 + extra for games and I should be handed a console. It being a small store and not a massive retailer like Game (The equivalent of your Electronics Boutique... Indeed Game actually took over all EB stores in the UK) it shouldn' t have attracted too many people lingering outside waiting for the place to open.

Anyway, if any of your UK / Europe lot what to post about the launch do so, it' ll be interesting to hear from you. I can' t be the only UK-er on these forums though... right?

I used to know Leeds quite well, and lived in Bradford.

Not going to get an X360 unless something major games-wise turns up.

Where about' s are you now Silas? I' ve some relatives who live in Bradford and close by in Shipley.

Anyway, I' m just on the net to try and calm myself down. I did indeed return home a proud new owner of the 360 and now I know where it gets its name. Forget all the marketing you' ve heard about it and consider this. The thing must weight at least 360 pounds. My hands were in extreme pain as I carried the thing home.

I finally decided on PGE3, PDZ and Kameo. Also I got a plug and play charger and an expensive wireless network adaptor. The last piece of kit was a bit of a gamble but is the only way I' ll ever get online. My PC and internet is downstairs. My gaming environment is upstairs. I' ve very vivid memories of trying to connect my Dreamcast to the net via an extremely long phone wire trailing from my room, along a hallway, down stairs and to the phone line... a scene I never want to repeat.

The good news is everything works. The console while heavy is very pretty to look at. Wireless pads are going to take a while to get used to but the fact I can turn the console on and off from the ' 360 Button' amazes me. It also came with about 20 or so random songs from the hard drive... only one I' d ever heard of (Pressure by Skindread)

You might have read the hell I had trying to get my PS2 online. Not so with the 360. The adaptor literally clips onto the back of the 360 and you plug a small wire into the USB port on the back, next to the eathernet adaptor. The homepage screen basically takes you through logging on through Live and to my surprise everything connected. I' ve left it downloading a random trailer I found on the marketplace.

All in all I' m very happy. You' ll notice I' ve not talked much about the games, that’s because I' ve not had much chance to play them. PGR3 is all I' ve had a bash on and I can vouch for its prettiness. Playing Burnout Revenge for practice at a racing game probably wasn' t the best idea I' d ever had. I' m going to have to learn how to race ' properly' .

Anyway, have fun with your 360' s, I' m off to go play.

Good for you whatabout_paul! Good times ahead!

Yeah, I was surprised at how easily mine connected as well. Just plug it in, and BAM! You' re online. I used the original Xbox wireless adapter for mine. Worked like a charm. I want that new one for asthetic purposes, but that doesn' t justify the price (especially since I have to pay $1000 to get my car fixed!!)

Hopefully you' ll see me online in a week and a half, or so.

Im from Leeds. What indy store you talking about? Any left, hehe? I havent pre-ordered so it looks like im waiting till after new year, nooo.

choupolo! A fellow Leeds Lad/Lass (no gender is specified anywhere I can tell). Welcome to the forum. You know the Merrion Centre? A shop called Playtime. They got 12 Premium consoles and 6 core. All of them had been pre ordered I' m afraid. I' d go ask them when they think the next lot will arrive. I' ll keep an eye out for you getting one then possibly see you on Xbox Live.

choupolo=lad (im afraid! )

Ah the Merrion Centre. Yes I know the one. I dont visit Playtime as much as I should, but City Cyber is a regular haunt.

So I' ll probably check ' em out as soon as I' ve got some spare cash. Maybe they' ll have some non-preordered units sooner than next Feb/March which is what every other shop is saying!

im from leeds too,i went to get the new xbox....and all the shops are pulling a right stunt....there packing the 360 off with about 7 games and charging bout £700 bucks for em! i think the cheapest one ive seen is around £400..ill w8 till they drop in price,unless i can sell a kidney
l8rs keiser

oh ye (what about_paul) is it any good? cause the videos ive seen you cant really tell...it just looks like the 1st xbox to me. is there any difference? cheers

Another person from Leeds! Welcome to the forum. Is your name taken from that famous Leeds band per chance ? (And yes, I know your name is one letter off, probably on purpose)

The leap to the next gen is very impressive. Probably made more spectacular by being broadcast in 720p HD but I' m sure the graphics would look awesome on any TV. During some races on PGR3 I' ve crashed due to flinging the camera around my car to get a better look at the track or a backdrop or a building. Perfect Dark has to win a title for being the ' shinyest' game ever while still looking very impressive.. even Kameo looks stunning. Half an hour into the game it does it' s party piece, displaying thousands of orcs on screen at once with no slowdown what so ever.

It' s not just the graphics but always being connected to Live opens up games in new and interesting ways. I' m usually one to just blast through games then move onto the next one when bored. Because some games track how well you' ve done compared to everyone else you feel compelled to go back and try again, to do better and to show that you are the man (or woman).

I am from Ireland! .. which is closer to leeds than america, so you could say i live realtively close to you. Anyway i am not getting a 360, its way overpriced [650 euros for a permerium package with game!? bah! ] But one thing i am learning from this 360 shortage is the obvious ebay profits, now watching what time of the month do the 360 prices peak is very important as i hope to buy some future consoles [pre-order them of course] and sell them on ebay and make a fortune, yes some of you might hate me for that but with the money i get i will probley buy another one.

Just Watching, Watching...

Change is inevitable. Except from a vending machine.

Viva La Revolution! erm, I mean Viva La Wii!

Gosh I really hope I get one before christmas, I sold my xbox way too early in order to get a 360. And I didn' t pre-order one. If I don' t get one by christmas I really hope I can get it by jan 4th...by B-day! with PDZ!

hahah ye its actually spelt keisar but i was tired and mashed,anyway its diff aint it.wheres this indie store you all keep pipin on about? and is it any good?

Silentbomber if I were a rational gamer I would have waited for a price drop. As it is I' ve got a bit of an obsession and would have felt empty without a 360. I' m actually very happy with it and have yet to receive my credit card bill so it' s all gain at the moment.

Gaius IV, apparently some Game stores have 360' s in but all in bundles. I was in town today and overheard them trying to sell one for £600+ with a few games, perifirals, carry case and some other bits. Your best bet is going to be checking with shops near you. Rumours are stores will be getting deliveries on Fridays.

keiser, I think there may be a way to change your name. Bug Adam enough and he might be able to do something for you. It' s the Kaiser Chiefs anyway... I' m currently searching e-bay for tickets to their gig in Millennium Square in April. I' ve sent you a message as I don' t think people would appreciate me openly advertising for a shop :) (That and I' ve mentioned it on the last page).

Not meaning to start a riot or anything, but it might be best to wait a while for Xbox 360s anyway. According to many sources, there have been a lot of crashes reported. Here is one by someone in some completely random site: http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EEFkZkkkyEHasmrPqu.php

Anywhooo, I still look forward to eventually getting my hands on an Xbox 360 as well. Y' know, when Microsoft sort these things out.

PS. I live in Oakham. Somewhere in Rutland.

It' s always like that.

First generation consumer electronics always have growing pains/glitches. Can' t see why so many people are suprised. With practically every console launch to date the first generation stuff isn' t usually the best. My first generation PS2 was a piece of shit that crapped out after 2 months of use. My first generation Xbox wasn' t that much different either - it' s DVD drive decided to die after 12 months.

The actual percentage of people having problems is consistent with previous console launches (only a couple of %). I can definitely see the same thing happening with the PS3 and Revolution.

edit: and considering how advanced these things are starting to become - these problems aren' t easy to avoid.

ye that gig is gunna rock man,my mate has just booked loadsa tickets for it :)
im gunna get in his ribs and see if i can scab one of him lol....no wonder i couldnt find any of their music online i cant spell there fookin name :p

im gunna just w8 untill april and see the outcome of sony`s little consumer whore
then decide which 1 im gunna get...but ive always been an xbox fan...even when every one else thought it was gunna flop :p
if i didnt have kids..i would have cancelled chrimbo and bought one off e-bay
(sigh) the joys of fatherhood

peace out

I dont think you should be waiting for PS3, atleast if you do, its a longer wait than april for sure

See if your mate can score me a ticket too. Cheapest I can find is £40 off e-bay...

I' ve had my 360 a week and it' s crashed once. That was only because I was watching Gotham TV, playing a burned CD on my hard drive, trying to see some random racers gamer tag and then exit the dashboard all at once.

Is Gotham TV all its cracked up to be? Source TV was never really that much of a hit on Counter Strike...

i heard the xbox360 sucks there are glitches it pauses for min.please dont get one save up for the ps3 now that will kick some fucking ass

I' ve had my 360 for over a week and have had no major problems with it. It runs fine, I' ve never had it crash major or randomly from a game, it' s not scratched any of my game, music or DVD discs and even more amazingly, my wireless pad hasn' t needed charging once.

Gotham TV is quite fun when you just want to check ' the best' in online action. You can change the camera mid race, focus on different drivers even pull up their gamer cards and compare them to your own. Alternatively you could just set it up and watch the race as if you were watching one of your own replays. I have noticed some minor slowdown in places but not often enough to really show or disappoint.

Sounds cool. I suppose if they eventually start advertising league races or special events like races with Bill Gates or something (!), people will tune in to watch the action. The problem with Source TV was that nothing exciting was ever on or advertised. I guess CS isnt as suited as racing is for TV, especially as your TV is a small PC monitor with no sofa!

I asked Gamestation if they had any 360s in the other day, and they tried to sell me this core system on its own for £400, that they' d bought off someone else! What' s worse is their demo setup in the shop, which was running PGR at the time, crashed twice while I was trying it out! Made me chuckle.

right ive finnally got an xbox 360,not impressed to say the least,the graphic power aint much diff to first xbox its hardly next gen more like an update,i got perfect dark with it its a good game but the graphics are just as good as halo on the first xbox,i was expecting to be amazed but was let down, it could be because the developers aint had time to unleash the full power of the little white box,but i think m$ have well rushed it,mine keeps crashing cause of the big black fucking power brick keeps getting too warm,i should have spent my £300 on a big piss up instead,but ah you win some ya lose some.
i might just give it another go so if it warms on me a little

ORIGINAL: keiser

right ive finnally got an xbox 360,not impressed to say the least,the graphic power aint much diff to first xbox its hardly next gen more like an update,i got perfect dark with it its a good game but the graphics are just as good as halo on the first xbox,i was expecting to be amazed but was let down, it could be because the developers aint had time to unleash the full power of the little white box,but i think m$ have well rushed it,mine keeps crashing cause of the big black fucking power brick keeps getting too warm,i should have spent my £300 on a big piss up instead,but ah you win some ya lose some.
i might just give it another go so if it warms on me a little

Punk!

Perhaps you should take it back and let someone who will appreciate it have it.

An update? A f*ckin update? Are you bloody blind mate? As good as Halo? F*ck off!

Perhaps you should have bought a good game rather than PDZ (which was overhyped and was a complete letdown!) like Call of Duty 2 or Dead or Alive 4 or even Project Gotham 3 and Condemned.

You' re an emperor are you? Pah!

Perhaps you should have bought a good game rather than PDZ (which was overhyped and was a complete letdown!)

...damm....

...i just hate being right all the time....

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Out of all the launch titles PDZ has impressed me the least. The others I' ve got have impressed me offline and on with gameplay and outstanding graphics. My newest purchase DOA4 is especially good looking.

My power ' brick' is on my floor out of sight and out of mind. My 360 has never crashed since Christmas, the wireless pads last ages when charged, XBL is as perfect as ever and I really can' t see how Sony can top this. If they can I' ll be happy but graphics alone don' t a good console make.

i went for pdz cause i was a fan of the first on n64,i dont know i might be fucking blind...i do wank a lot,that could be it....all im saying is its not an awsome power machine that i expected,it didnt wow me....it satisfied me but didnt wow me...maybe its cause im getting older and seen a lot of shit im my time,or maybe it is the fact that i am blind,and im actually looking at the microwave.or that xbox graphics was good and its hard to make much difference with a next gen console,i guess i just want some to reasure me that ive spent £300 wisley and not wasted my money,but i am hard to please

LOL!

Yeah it' s been spent wisely. Call of Duty 2 is unbelievable and so is Dead or Alive 4 (screenshots don' t do them justice).

Depending on what kind of game you go for will depend on what to get from it in this next few months. I mean we' ve got; Dead Rising, Gears of War, Ghost Recon 3, Saints Row, Burnout Revenge, Top Spin 2, Oblivion, Test Drive Unlimited, Fight Night Round 3, Scarface, Prey, The Outfit, Tomb Raider Legend..and a whole sh1tload of other promising titles.

Since all of the 360 games on release so far (except CoD2) are only using 1 of the units 3 cores, it' s safe to say that you' ll see a HUGE increase in the visuals when developers really get some time with the system. Gears of War looks amazing!

[image]http://360-gearsofwar-club.1up.com/media?id=2621379&type=lg[/image]

There are many great titles on the way, and Condemned really looks awesome, so does Kameo most of the time. 360 is powerful, just takes more effort to make things shine now. If you directly compare Halo and PDZ, you can see the difference easily

Listen people.
Pdz was developed for GC then XBOX then rushed to fit the xbox360 release,how can you talk about the graphic then?
Its not like it was developed or taking advantage of the 360 power.

Anyway,i still doesnt have my 360,cost ffs 4000 kr here,+ a game...which means i have to pay up to 600 dollars,and i just have 2000 kronor now :S
Thats the american price for 360 core system,and im not getting that...
As alway MS piss on us Swedish people.


Btw wait for Gears of war/lost odyssey and blue dragon that is supposed to look very cartoonish(cant wait to see it or buy it :P )

Even if you break 2 legs from a crab it still runs!
What you gotta do is find its weak spot and do massive damage at it.

Im not that impressed with my 360 either..

Gameplay:

Im never gona expect much new from 360 or PS3, design is the same as previous consoles just more powerful and the joypads have the same basic structure in which game genres have been ' cained' to the max in gameplay terms.. A FPS is always gona play the same, a racer is always gona play the same and so on..

Graphics:

To be totally honest the HD aspect of 360 is nothing new atall, in fact its a step back from what im used to on my PC with much higher resolutions i run games at.. Ive still yet to see a game on 360 looks anywhere near as good as some of my best PC games - (yes i do have a very powerful PC Rig tho).. Even Quake 4 looks like its running on a next generation system up from the 360 version when running on my PC.. COD2 also maxed out looks (and plays) soo much better than on 360...

Saying that, i know alot of people who are dont own powerful PC rigs who love and are truly impressed with what 360 is producing..

IM actually getting more and more board to death with the state of left-right anologe-control style console gaming.. everything is just the same S^%T but with better graphics.. NINTENDO seem to think the same and thank god for that.. the DS is my saviour titles like WARIO/MK DS/ METEOS have actually give me hope in video games again..

Wait for revolution, thats my advise..

I know what you' re saying. I' ve got an Alienware Area-51 5500 and ,y pc versions of both Quake 4 and Call of Duty 2 look way better than on my 360. But you can' t not be imppressed by the fact that it' s a console running in HD, with no loss of content.

While the resolutions won' t increase from what it can already display, the games will quickly technically surpass what you can do with your pc. And games like Project Gotham 3, Dead or Alive 4, Kameo etc aren' t available on your pc so you can hardly complain.

When Gears of War (i know, pc too), Ghost Recon 3 (i know, i know), Resident Evil 5 (ha!), Too Human etc all make release then you' ll see huge improvements on what we already have with the launch titles.

I' m impressed with the unit, but i still wish they' d release more bloody games for it!

Um, what kind of specs does a PC like that have and how much does it cost?
Is it like Pentium 8 10Ghz Tripple Core, 25GbDDR3ram, 10Tb harddrive, dual-layer blu-ray burner, Geforce9999 4Gbram...
As you might guess I don' t know anything about the standard of todays PC components.

The important parts...

Pentium 4 3.2GHz processor
2GB DDR-RAM running at 533MHz (max capacity is 4GB)
2 NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT' s in SLI (2 cards in parallel)
250GB hard drive with a 7200 rpm spindle speed

It cost me the equilvalent of $1599 when i got it, but you can pick it up now for about $1250 which isn' t a masive difference.

Basically it' s better than my 360 at the moment since all the games bar CoD2 are running on 1 core and were rushed for launch, but it' ll soon be crap compared to my nice shiny white console once developers have gotten to grips with it.

yeahi think thats why im not impresed either,ive been playin on a high spec pc for the last 6 month...thats prob why it didnt wow me,people that are used to playing xbox or playstation 2 probs could see the difference,but when your playing quake 4 on high settings it looks better than the 360 to me,my xbox has been in a dark cupboard for about 12 month collecting dust,cause my pc rocks and i prefer pc gaming,you can download patches for your games,play online without needing fucking credit cards and that,end of the day consoles wont replace pc`s,i mean can you edit maps and skins on the 360? can you get porn? can you stick a new graphics card in the 360 when it starts to get shit? dont get me wrong i am not dissatisfied with the 360 and just not over the moon with it,another thing that bugs me...........£50 a fucking game im used to being a tight arse and waiting untill my local gameshop sells the charting pc games for £20 each...ive never bought a pc game over £29,and my 360 turned itself off last night and all these red lights came on.....i think it was the powerbrick over heating again,but ive solved that now,i used some off my sons lego to raise it off the floor at each end,and i had it plugged into an extension,so i plugged it straight into the wall and its fine now :)
CANT W8 FOR GEARS OF WAR AND TOO HUMAN TO COME OUT.....OH YEAH AND PREY
thanks for reading my rant

...dude...

..is it me... ...or are you toatally off your face on booze & drugs every time you post?....

..anyway.. ...i am still in a state of shock regarding X' s Biggest strength (close ties to PC gaming) and how those dumb@$$es at MS continually fail to take advantage of this HUGE bonus....

...the fact that you have to wait for years to get crap ports of games like Doom 3 and Half Life 2 is utterly retarded....

..and what about the endless list of great PC games that NEVER even make it?....

....stupid...

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who here bought xbox for doom3 or half life2?
ANd who here buy xbox360 for pc ports?
Its nice that pc ports comes,but thats not what im after,its just nice that people have that options to get them to their console.
But dont talk like we all waited for doom3/hl2 to xbox :)
I got those games on pc btw.

Even if you break 2 legs from a crab it still runs!
What you gotta do is find its weak spot and do massive damage at it.

...dude...

..is it me... ...or are you toatally off your face on booze & drugs every time you post?....

no its not you :)
the english slang language might confuse you that tiny bit more though.

i now like my 360.....and ive also started to like kebabs.with all this chicken flu shit knocking about.....who gives a fuck about ecoli

*ive come to the conclusion....my £300 is gone...its payday tomorow...so time to make another idiotic purchase*