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Xbox: A Nostalgia Thread

Mononoke

Banned
This thread kind of depresses me, because I can literally see where I stopped liking Xbox 360 as I go down the timeline in the OP.

But it also reminds me why I loved Xbox and parts of the 360 so much.
 

bidguy

Banned
ninja_gaiden_black_frontcover_large_hHkrHrjVvRYphtB.jpg


best action/adventure game of all time
 
thanks to the Op.

you reminded me what an awesome journey we've been on,

I was there at the UK Xbox launch... Have owned a lot of the games on the list.


its been an amazing, amazing ride.

I'm kindve surprised how many people have so easily forgotten how much Ms got right over the life of Xbox and how to this day Sony doesn't have feature parity for online gaming with live.

the 21st is going to be super interesting no matter what. Good or bad
 
I remember when I was jealous of my friends who got Xbox back in the day but all was fun when it was time to do some Halo/Halo 2 co-op. 360 was fuckin incredible console at the start of the generation and daily I regret for getting Wii instead of 360 as my first next gen console but the pay to play online was too much for my poor old self. PS3 looked like a total joke for the first few years.

Such a shame how 360 just seemed to lack the aggressiveness of the first years when it came to latter part of generation and really let PS3 make a comeback. I fear for Xbox 3 for many reasons. While RROD is inexcuseable at least they provided a friggin beast of a console and if the rumours of the new box are true it just doesn't sound like a ''real'' Xbox in the way the first two were. Xbox and 360 had this image for me that they were the console of choice for the friggin hard-core audience while PS2 was more casual and PS3 while certainly a technological beast was a total clusterfuck. PS4 sounds like what I could have imagined Xbox 3 to be and I am still surprised if MS let Sony take the technological crown and still release at the same time.

I hope we see the hungry Microsoft again in 10 days and at E3 and that they will keep the attitude the whole generation through. If they were more aggressive I believe they could have easily stomped PS3.

Edit: Oh and beside Halo CE the one game I really admired Xbox for was Knights of the Old Republic. Indeed when I later got it for PC it became one of my favourite games.
 
It's no surprise that MS lost their aggressive edge, the people who gave them that edge left and those who were left, while not completely out of touch, weren't able to bring same level of enthusiasm and excitement to their roles.

We'll see what happens in 10 days, but that's the reason to be worried. MS might not be as aggressive as they were with the OG and 360. Signing exclusives is great, but that's relatively easy, they need that intensity back that they had during the previous launches and we've yet to see any sign it's there.
 

Rebel Leader

THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
RDg2HBP.jpg


This was the game that made me fall in love with the Wolfenstein series. It's also a GREAT port of the PC version. It's also dirt cheap now too. You can pick up a copy on Amazon for around $4-5 shipped.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000087L4G/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1368258606&sr=8-1&keywords=wolfenstein+tides+of+war&condition=used


one of the best MP on xbox... ever


loved how you can show a different name than your gamertag


---

Was there when XBL launched.... and It bring to a point of sadness that back then... We had decent conversations, no one had to mute anyone (regardless of age) no one talked shit
 
It's no surprise that MS lost their aggressive edge, the people who gave them that edge left and those who were left, while not completely out of touch, weren't able to bring same level of enthusiasm and excitement to their roles.

We'll see what happens in 10 days, but that's the reason to be worried. MS might not be as aggressive as they were with the OG and 360. Signing exclusives is great, but that's relatively easy, they need that intensity back that they had during the previous launches and we've yet to see any sign it's there.

That's a common misconception, Microsoft stopped being aggressive in pursuing exclusives because they didn't have to do that anymore. They will have to at the start of the next generation, and then they'll step aside for third parties again. We haven't seen a major shift in their strategy, that was their strategy all along, as outlined by Robbie Bach way back in 2005.
 

Aguirre

Member
my first play of jet set radio:future will forever be my favorite xbox moment. jet set, jet set, jet.set.radiooooooo
 
That's a common misconception, Microsoft stopped being aggressive in pursuing exclusives because they didn't have to do that anymore. They will have to at the start of the next generation, and then they'll step aside for third parties again. We haven't seen a major shift in their strategy, that was their strategy all along, as outlined by Robbie Bach way back in 2005.

Interesting, thanks for the link.

Let's hope they don't follow that strategy too closely next generation though, they need to be aggressive throughout the generation and not simply fall back on third parties once they've established a lead.
 
While 2007 was my favorite year of gaming, it was undoubtedly the best year of the Xbox 360:

1. Halo 3
2. BioShock
3. Mass Effect
4. Crackdown
5. The Orange Box
6. Call of Duty 4

*faints*
 

KAL2006

Banned
Nice thread. I admit I never owned the original Xbox. However I have played it at a friends house,, and played Halo. Straight away I knew this was something special. However I still stuck with the PS2, due to all the great exclusives that system had. I always planned to buy a PS3 next. That changed when Sony made Sony fuck ups. I understood Live was popular and wanted to get into online gaming. XBLA also appealed to me. Finally around the year Gear sof War launched, 360 getting many exclusives announced such as Tale of Vesperia, Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey and etc. I decided to take the plung and get a 360 instead of a PS3. My first games for the system were Oblivion, Rainbow Six Vegas and Gears of War. I enjoyed the 360 for a while and its exclusive library was better than PS3 as well as multiplats being superior than PS3 and finally XBLA having much more games than PSN. 360 was the definite console this gen. However things quickly changed. Sony started to pick up some slack and started gaining more exclusives, while MS stopped releasing exclusives. Sony also improved their terrible online infrastucture though it is still not comparable to Live, but it was free and pretty much functional. When my 360 RRoD, getting annoyed my Play and Charge kit stopped working, and realised I can sell overpriced Wireless WiFi adapter for a lot and dont have to pay for online, I finally decided to switch to PS3. Also around that time PS3 Slim launched and it was much cheaper than when PS3 originally launched. Looking back I made a great decision witching, things like Kinect did not appeal to me, where as Sony improving PSN with titles like Journey, improving their exclusive library with titles like Uncharted, and having free online as well as PSN+, Sony came back to reclaim their position of being the definite console to own for me.

So for next gen it is looking like PS4 will be superior, however I will never doubt competitors, things can easily change, something can go wrong for SOny, or MS can deliver something special. Lucky for me I am not desperate to buy a nextgen console come launch, I am gonna wait it out and see which appeals more to me. I have a backlog of games to finish in the meantime.
 
That's a common misconception, Microsoft stopped being aggressive in pursuing exclusives because they didn't have to do that anymore. They will have to at the start of the next generation, and then they'll step aside for third parties again. We haven't seen a major shift in their strategy, that was their strategy all along, as outlined by Robbie Bach way back in 2005.

No doubt but it is annoying they stop it after the agressive start. Sony shits out more exclusives on PS3 than people even care for (tons of people being salty for GT6 PS3). I think this is the way it should be. Sony could have left PS3 for 3rd parties but they didn't. To be fair 360 is not a total catastrophe in this regard but they should have expanded or something to really give an identity for 360 in the later years too.

I think one big reason of Wii U failing that people don't talk about is that Wii was left for dead. That kills a ton of goodwill for the next console cause you know they didn't have your back all the way through. Sony had the worst start of the three but the best finish and I give credit for that. Makes me more exited for PS4 cause I know they will have my back all the way trough regardless if they have to or not.
 

KAL2006

Banned
No doubt but it is annoying they stop it after the agressive start. Sony shits out more exclusives on PS3 than people even care for (tons of people being salty for GT6 PS3). I think this is the way it should be. Sony could have left PS3 for 3rd parties but they didn't. To be fair 360 is not a total catastrophe in this regard but they should have expanded or something to really give an identity for 360 in the later years too.

I think one big reason of Wii U failing that people don't talk about is that Wii was left for dead. That kills a ton of goodwill for the next console cause you know they didn't have your back all the way through. Sony had the worst start of the three but the best finish and I give credit for that. Makes me more exited for PS4 cause I know they will have my back all the way trough regardless if they have to or not.

Pretty much.

I expect Durango to have a great first few years. With 1st party exclusives like PGR5, Ryse, Rare game, Fabloe MMO and Alan Wake 2. And to top it up great 3rd party exclusives like Titan, Epic's new game and other megaton 3rdparty exclusives. However later down the line I think MS will once again drop exclusives. Of course we will get internally developed games from 343, Black Tusk and etc. However I expect Titan 2 to be multiplatform, and other 3rd party exclusives ending up being either timed exclusives or sequels releasing as multiplatform. Just look at this gen. 360 was very appealing, with exclusives like Mass Effect, Oblivion and Bioshock, which ended up on PS3. MS starting out as getting exclusives with Tales of Vesperia, Lost Odyssey, Crackdown to not even not bothering anymore. The difference this time is Sony isn't LTTP, and they are more than ready from the get go with thweir console launching close to Durango as well as having a lot of internal studios working on the PS4 for a while.
 
Sony shits out more exclusives on PS3 than people even care for

And that's your answer right there.


I think this is the way it should be.

I don't, both approaches are fine, and both companies have their pleased audience. I appreciate what Sony is doing, but I don't really care about 70% of games that they publish. The fact that there's a shitload of retail games carrying the Sony Computer Entertainment label out there doesn't mean squat to me, and it would be the same if that label read Microsoft Studios. It would be different if third party support was lacking, in that case any game would be welcome, but both PS3 and Xbox 360 owners get more interesting games every year than they can realistically chew through.

That said, I'm very happy that there are games like Puppeteer and The Last of Us still coming out on PS3, this looks to be a good year for the platform.


To be fair 360 is not a total catastrophe in this regard but they should have expanded or something to really give an identity for 360 in the later years too.

They did, they expanded with Kinect. Many people dislike it, yet millions obviously don't. Meanwhile, XBLA is still very strong (and the perceived quality distinction between retail and downloadable titles will be completely erased in a few years), and games in their most popular franchises (ie. franchises that make the largest percentage of their user base happy) still get regular releases.


I think one big reason of Wii U failing that people don't talk about is that Wii was left for dead. That kills a ton of goodwill for the next console cause you know they didn't have your back all the way through.

I don't, it didn't really hurt Xbox 360 all that much (although it's definitely a factor with some people, just not a significant one overall), and Microsoft dropped the original Xbox like a hot rock. Wii U failed for completely different reasons.
 
I don't, it didn't really hurt Xbox 360 all that much (although it's definitely a factor with some people, just not a significant one overall), and Microsoft dropped the original Xbox like a hot rock. Wii U failed for completely different reasons.
It certainly doesn't hurt 360 that much thanks to 3rd parties but I think it is a big factor on Wii. I don't think it is the biggest reason or anything but basically anyone who is a console gamer couldn't satisfy their hobby on Wii on the last years. That is a window when previously Wii gamers might look at alternatives on PS3 and 360 that have insane amount of games instead of waiting for Wii U. I don't think the hardcore audience was big on Wii anyway but they certainly did everything they could to totally kill them off and show the way to the competitors. If I could only own 1 console like some kids probably I certainly wouldn't even look at Wii U if I was stuck with Wii.

As for the Kinect part, well yes obviously, but I think it would have done them tons of good if they had their hardcore base covered with few more great exclusives in 2013. Really show that they can end in a high note before the next gen starts.

I can certainly see how it is a non issue to some especially when 3rd party offerings are quite nice but especially for later adopters it makes 360 look much less appealing compared to PS3 and that might infulence the decision on what next gen console they choose to get later on.
 
I used to have good fun with this game online, it's a good case of gameplay over visuals to me.

I couldn't stand it :lol. I don't remember much but basically going from PC to Xbox with this was just terrible. IIRC the recoil for weapons was babbys first fps level to compensate for analogue controls.

It kinda was a case of why play this when you can play Halo. Also I think there was some excellent Rainbow Six game that was pretty ace if you wanted a realistic tactical shooter.
 

ThankeeSai

Member
RDg2HBP.jpg


This was the game that made me fall in love with the Wolfenstein series. It's also a GREAT port of the PC version. It's also dirt cheap now too. You can pick up a copy on Amazon for around $4-5 shipped.

First of all, excellent work OP.

This game, for me was and still is the greatest multiplayer FPS I've ever played. I was very much in the Playstation camp and only got my original Xbox a fair few months after it came out. Live had launched and I had started posting in the official Xbox forums and got chatting to a few guys on there.

They were all constantly talking about this game and how great it was so I eventually folded, got myself some fibre optic broadband (a mighty 1MB connection) and went out and bought one along with an Xbox Live subscription.

I can still remember being absolutely astounded that I could actually communicate with people using the headset. I invited a friend of mine around the next day to see it and I had it on when he got there. I can still remember his face when I put the headset on.

"What's that?"

"Headset....Hang on...*me talking on headset* They're coming up the short way! They've got the docs!"

"You can speak to your team on that?!"

"Yeah"

"That's it, I'm getting one tomorrow!"

My friends from the Xbox forums were added to my friends list and we all spent months playing this. Shooters have come and gone and evolved since then, but nothing compares to this when it came to team work, communication and all out fun.

Good times :)
 
It certainly doesn't hurt 360 that much thanks to 3rd parties but I think it is a big factor on Wii. I don't think it is the biggest reason or anything but basically anyone who is a console gamer couldn't satisfy their hobby on Wii on the last years. That is a window when previously Wii gamers might look at alternatives on PS3 and 360 that have insane amount of games instead of waiting for Wii U. I don't think the hardcore audience was big on Wii anyway but they certainly did everything they could to totally kill them off and show the way to the competitors. If I could only own 1 console like some kids probably I certainly wouldn't even look at Wii U if I was stuck with Wii.

I think Wii was primarily a console for Nintendo's traditional audience who stick with them no matter what (if you look at GameCube's LTD, I think you can get a good idea of the size of that group) and for new people who were brought to gaming thanks to Wii's approachable control scheme. The first group is extremely likely to get Wii U eventually anyway, and the second one has dissipated, but not because Nintendo dropped the ball with Wii exclusives. Those more casual people are far more fickle and they simply moved onto the next popular thing, be it Kinect, tablets or mobile phones. Meanwhile, new people weren't attracted because, unlike the Wii which was cheap and had simplified controls, Wii U is rather expensive and its standard controller has every feature a traditional controller does and then some - and then there are all the Wii peripherals which are also supported. It's a complete u turn in simplicity and approachability, which I believe was a terrible mistake on Nintendo's part.

As for why Wii failed to attract more core and mainstream gamers (thus causing Wii's third party support to collapse prematurely), I see three main reasons. First, Wii's hardware was a whole generation behind its direct competitors; second, a fully-featured traditional gamepad was an optional peripheral; and third, Nintendo's online system was incredibly archaic and unfit for needs of a modern connected gamer.


As for the Kinect part, well yes obviously, but I think it would have done them tons of good if they had their hardcore base covered with few more great exclusives in 2013. Really show that they can end in a high note before the next gen starts.

Perhaps, but wouldn't potential early adopters of Microsoft's next system prefer if those resources were poured into Durango games? I think that's of more direct benefit to them than some abstract goodwill Microsoft might've fostered with a few more great retail Xbox 360 exclusives.

That said, we can't tell for sure whether Microsoft still has something planned for Xbox 360 this year (at retail; they do have quite a few interesting XBLA exclusives coming), especially if the rumors of another slimmed down model turn out to be true. Microsoft is known for revealing a major chunk of their current year line-up only at E3.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Tune in to E3 when Microsoft shows off the Anniversary edition for NeXtBox.

He said "exactly as it was." Halo 4: 2 grafted onto 4's engine isn't "exactly as it was." Just like Halo Reach: Combat Evolved grafted on wasn't exactly the same either.
 
I bought my PlayStation and PS2 at launch, to be honest PS1 lured me away from from Quake 2 and the PC. I remember when the first Xbox came out, I thought that thing is rubbish, nothing will get me away from my PS2. Then in 05 I bought an Xbox and was really impressed by how much better the graphics were vs. the PS2. Then there were the exclusives that were so good. I bought a 360 years before thinking of a PS3, because of how impressed the Xbox made me.

I hope the PS4 is freaking powerful and awesome and I hope MS feels that it is serious competition, because that will only mean greater things for gamers.
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
I jumped in in early 2007, right around when GRAW and Dead Rising came out. I remember I had to plug it into my old CRT monitor with a VGA cable because I didn't have an HDTV at the time. The 360 was beastly for those first few years. GRAW was absolutely astonishing at the time. Then R6:Vegas came out which was also awesome.

I never much liked Gears but damn if my eyeballs didn't melt the first time I booted it up.
 

Ramblin

Banned
I jumped in in early 2007, right around when GRAW and Dead Rising came out. I remember I had to plug it into my old CRT monitor with a VGA cable because I didn't have an HDTV at the time. The 360 was beastly for those first few years. GRAW was absolutely astonishing at the time. Then R6:Vegas came out which was also awesome.

I never much liked Gears but damn if my eyeballs didn't melt the first time I booted it up.

I think you mean 2006. Or else those games where out for awhile. Not trying to be a butthead, but that's when I jumped in shortly after the shortages ended.
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
I think you mean 2006. Or else those games where out for awhile. Not trying to be a butthead, but that's when I jumped in shortly after the shortages ended.
Oh, yeah 2006 then. It was before Vegas was out because I remember finishing GRAW and clamouring for more. Vegas scratched that itch nicely.
 
Well done. The 360 reveal makes me nostalgic. I remember picking mine up after E3 2006... I bought it I think on May 20, 2006... I had just gotten my first full time job out of college, hadn't had a pay check yet, but went out and bought it with GRAW and maybe one other game. I remember the whole thing ringing up at Best Buy at like $650... and I was like "oh... shit..."

Great first boot.
 

IrishNinja

Member
this might be the retro thread i was looking for, for OG Xbox...nice work shinobi!

i slept on that console entirely; after 360 got me on WRPGs i worked back through the older bioware stuff, still finding gems (so many early sega titles that hold up beautifully) to this day. i really underestimated that thing by assuming it was the halobox so many people i knew made it out to be.
 

Izick

Member
Thread made me inspired to create an OG Xbox avatar.

--------------------------------

this might be the retro thread i was looking for, for OG Xbox...nice work shinobi!

i slept on that console entirely; after 360 got me on WRPGs i worked back through the older bioware stuff, still finding gems (so many early sega titles that hold up beautifully) to this day. i really underestimated that thing by assuming it was the halobox so many people i knew made it out to be.

Hell yes!

The Xbox basically shaped my interests in gaming. Before it, I really never had the chance to play WRPG's (never had a gaming PC) so I was completely enamored with KOTOR, and then all of the other WRPG's that I played after. That single game basically had me completely hooked on the genre.

I'm also really happy about how the Xbox 360 turned out in terms of WRPG's as well. Oblivion, while inferior to Skyrim, was my first TES game an one of the games I've put the most time into ever. Mass Effect was just game-changing; it had that amazing Bioware storytelling and choice stuff, but also a pretty good layer of shooter combat on top of it. There are dozens more, so I'll leave it at that.

Just two amazing consoles for WRPG fans.
 

Izick

Member
I hope the MVP games make a return. Haven't had as much fun with a baseball game since MVP 2005. The 2K gamse are awful.

0001463314890_500X500.jpg
 

maus

Member
3OLKkoq.jpg


This game got a lot of shit for it's graphics including the old "lol looks like N64", but look at this video, all the physics, lighting, and effects going on nothing else came close.

Wreckless Gameplay

Wait, what? Wreckless was praised as having some of the best graphics on the xbox. I guess the environments look no better than crazy taxi on the dreamcast, but those car models and lighting...

Neat game, super fucking repetitive tho.
 
Man, the 360 was so good for the first few years. Also, I day one'd the Xbox. Can't explain the feeling of taking out that big black box for the first time, turning it on, and putting in Halo. Halo 2 was the greatest multiplayer experience I've ever had outside of Warhawk and Counter Strike Source. Shit was pure addiction.
 

ecurbj

Member
RainbowSix3Xbox.jpg


I remember I use to direct my crew via the headset. It was so hilarious. I believe that was the first game to make use of the headset to voice commands to your squad. I was so excited that day, lol.
 

Draconian

Member
I hope the MVP games make a return. Haven't had as much fun with a baseball game since MVP 2005. The 2K gamse are awful.

0001463314890_500X500.jpg

The same for me except I was hooked on MVP Baseball 2004. I popped it in the 360 a couple of years ago and played it for a few weeks. Outside of a few graphical bugs, it played just fine.
 
I remember playing the weird Counter Strike port for OG Xbox. Damn it was bad in my opinion :lol.


gaTxRWE.jpg

Whaaa? Yeah, it wasn't as good as 1.6, but it was easily the best competitive shooter on Xbox Live for a time. Halo: CE wasn't on Live, so I got my online shooter fix from CSX and Jedi Academy.

Me likey this nostalgia thread.
 

Daingurse

Member
Mad_Dash_Racing_Coverart.png


Anyone else play this? Apparently it was trash, but I remember renting it ALL THE TIME when I was younger. I was a fan of Sonic R, so that might be it. We will ever see another anthropomorphic foot racer? No, lol.


Also I remember when Blinx looked like next level shit, goddamn.

 
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