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Xbox 360 Showcase Revs Up Hype As Console War Looms

Digital Journal — “We’re looking forward to competition.” That could be the motto for November’s monumental rivalry between the next-gen video game consoles. Competition will indeed be fierce when Sony PlayStation 3 and Ninendo Wii launch next month, but for now Xbox 360 is looking poised and relaxed. The speaker of that let’s-get-ready-to-rumble statement is Jason Anderson, head of marketing for Xbox Canada, and at a Toronto showcase, Microsoft made every attempt to turn the media’s head towards their holiday offerings.

It wasn’t difficult. Just power up dozens of Xbox 360 consoles with the latest games (and games yet to be released) and let journalists careen through fantastical worlds, wild first-person shooters and graphically rich sports bouts. As a veteran gamer, I didn’t have to look far to find Xbox Canada’s most-hyped game: Gears of War took advantage of the spacious Brant House with more than 12 screens displaying its strafe-tastic gameplay. After a quick whirl through the game (mainly involving dying more times than expected), Gears of War has the making of a hot seller for Xbox 360 this holiday season. It’s due in mid-November.

Sampling other intriguing games also made me think Xbox 360 had the innovation down pat in time for the console war. The new NHL 07 uses the right toggle stick to control shooting and stickhandling, as opposed to the usual A-B-X-Y buttons. The game felt smooth, albeit difficult to master, and the close-up visuals were stunning. Even the Sportsnet broadcaster I was playing with looked impressed.

The gaming buffet was only part of the event, though. I was able to learn more about new accessories that most Xbox 360 fans have yet to see. The wireless steering wheel — available in mid-November — may cost a cool $160 but true racing aficionados couldn’t go back to the regular controller after buying this beaut for PGR3. With a range of 38 feet and a 270-degree rotation, the steering wheel looked to be the ideal gaming sidekick available for the 360.

Also worth mentioning is the wireless audio headset for Xbox Live users, also with a range of 38 feet but costing a respectable $70. And for the video chatter, the Xbox Vision Camera was on display, with a price of $50. What makes the camera multifunctional is its ability to capture a gamer’s face that can then be plastered on a character in certain video games. Now that’s getting in the game!

But it would be remiss to mention Xbox 360 accessories without highlighting the console’s pride and joy, the HD-DVD player. Available separately for $200, the player works perfectly with high-def sets, and plays both standard and HD DVDs. A demonstration displayed a film in crisp stunning quality, and a tour through interactive features was equally impressive: when a car gets smashed in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, a graphic can be accessed to show how much it would cost to repair the damage. As well, in the Extras section, you can customize a roadster that will appear in a scene in the film.

By Christmas, more than 160 Xbox 360 games will be available in high-definition, an obvious push to amaze more eyeballs amidst the DVD format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. But Jason Anderson offers a curious footnote: Only 35 per cent of Xbox 360 owners have a high-def TV set. He mentions this number as a dig against the PS3, which comes with a bundled Blu-ray player and thus pushing the console price higher than the 360’s $400.

His partner in marketing hype, product manger Craig Tullett, throws a barb Sony’s way as well. He tactfully starts, “The other guy wants you to pay $600 for a console with a Blu-ray player embedded, but we provide the best flexibility because we give the customer choice.” He then decides to actually name “the other guy,” a sign that Xbox is finally acknowledging the market leader. “PlayStation 3 doesn’t let people choose what they want,” he declares.

Choice is also at the heart of what I like to call Xbox’s difference-maker. Sure, Nintendo Wii uses a unique motion-sensor remote, and the PS3 can double as a home-theatre centre, but it’s solely the Xbox franchise that seeks to build community with its Live service. Allowing gamers to battle one another, while also providing a marketplace to buy anything from retro games to third jerseys for sports games, Xbox Live powers the console past the competition. For now.

Xbox 360 Live is being used by four million members globally, compared to 2.5 million for the first-gen Xbox, says Anderson. “And the only thing holding us back to greater numbers is broadband penetration,” he points out.

Tullett offers another benefit of Live: “Say it’s Christmas morning and you get your Xbox 360 as a present, with only a couple games. All the stores are closed so you can’t buy anything right away. But by going on Live, you can play more than 30 game demos so you can start building your library in your head.”

And what about that all-important game certain to be the trophy of every game library? Yes, I’m talking about Halo 3, about which Xbox Canada is still cagey. “It will be out some time in 2007,” Tullett mentions, before quickly changing the subject.

What stands out from the Xbox 360 showcase today, though, is not necessarily the games or HD-DVD specs. Instead, I’m intrigued by a little-known facet of the Xbox project called the XNA Game Studio Express. This set of programming tools allows amateur game developers to create games for Windows and Xbox 360. And when I say anyone, I mean anyone, because the toolbox even provides drag-and-drop settings for the truly code-less developer.

A beta version has been available since August, and a full version will be launched in the next few weeks, according to Mark Relph, vice-president of Xbox Canada’s platform group. “This is about creating a community and allowing developers to unlock their creativity,” he says. Conceivably, a game-maker can create first-person shooters, quest games, or puzzle games that take advantage of Xbox’s stunning graphics base. Plus, the XNA wins further points by allowing those same developers to sell their games on Xbox Live.

Leaving the Xbox 360 showcase, the outside world feels a bit more analog than before. I realize it won’t be long until digital entertainment starts to flood the media gates once again when Xbox’s rivals start marketing their newbies. It’s just as well. As impressive as Xbox 360 is, it can’t be the only game in town.

www.xbox.com

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