Hardware Behind the Consoles - Part I: Microsoft's Xbox

Final Words: On to Part II…

Overall we've been extremely impressed with the Xbox from a hardware standpoint but as any gamer would understand, it's not the hardware that makes the console, it's the games that do.  The hardware behind this console has the ability to give developers more than any other manufacturer has in the past; the real question is whether developers will catch on. 

The first wave of Xbox titles have been met with overwhelmingly positive response.  Titles such as Tecmo's Dead or Alive 3 even outshine the best looking PC games despite its 640 x 480 native resolution.  Microsoft's first party FPS, Halo has also been the center of attention as it brings gamers back to the feeling we all had after playing through games that actually involved you like Half-Life.  The trend must continue in order for the platform to succeed, but what if developers don't support the Xbox? What other option do they have? 

It's that other option that we'll be looking at in Part II of this series as we focus on Nintendo's GameCube.