Xbox v GameCube

[nutter]

Hello

Am thinking of getting a new console, don't want a ps2, played it enough at mates, want either the Xbox or Gamecube. Is there anyone who has tried both and found which is best? Any links with a comparison and winner of the two? I've never been a huge Nintendo fan, but I have heard for GC they are going to make games for the older generation, not just Mario Brother style games for 10 yolds.

What would people recommend?

[sofu]

Gamecube! or something.. :\

[ipggi]

Depends on the software I guess in the end. You know the types of games Nintendo make, if they are for you then you know what to get. Xbox seems to be targeting a more mature market and the software reflects that. If you are going on technical metrits alone though the Xbox is better, and the built in hard drive means you never have to deal with memory cards again. Plus Nintendo usually trys and aims for more family, less violent games for their machine, but at the same time some of those unique games totally rock :>

[Caliber]

GameCube is definately getting a few more "mature" titles this time round plus you can always guarantee Nintendo will have big hitters with the likes of the new Mario, Zelda, StarFox, Metroid slated for release this year/early next (and all look awesome). its a powerful little beastie of a machine, not quite up to Xbox specs but way ahead of PS2. and Nintendo are arguably the best game makers in the world, so thats always a nice incentive. also, GC also cant play DVDs at all, if thats an issue to ya.

as for Xbox, its predominantly aimed at the playstation market of older gamers. the games are as least as good as any other system out there, but thats all subjective anyway. the modchips are cheap and can play any and all backups. this is something you just dont get (and probably wont for a long time) with GC.. but then again if you dont mind paying $90-100 a pop for a game then that isnt an issue O_o

the main thing is that any platform you choose seems to be heavily supported - there wont be any shortage of games on any console by the looks of things. both the GC/XB will age well over the next 2-3 years as well and youve yet to see the best shit for either of them

if i was making the choice, it would come down to:

1) what are the games currently available? making special note of exclusive games.
2) can you modchip the console?
2) what does the future game lineup look like?

imo, these are the cream of games for each system right now:

GameCube: Rogue Leader, Smash Bros Melee, Resident Evil remake, Super Monkey Ball.

Xbox: Halo, Project Gotham, Rallisport Challenge, Hunter: The Reckoning, Morrowind.

oh yeah.. try before you buy! :) go down to your local Electronics Boutique store or something.. they should have a GC and XB booth setup and you can see some of whats on offer.

hope this helps.

[marcus]

On pure technical stats, the Xbox is much stronger than the Gamecube. The amount of polygons the Xbox can process is substantially more than Gamecube.

[xtoss]

actually the difference iin graphics is neglible the upcoming metroid prime and already out rogue leader attest to that.


u dont buy a console for the graphics u buy it for the games and nintendo has the best games coming in the future

[Caliber]

actually, if you ever see Xbox through progressive scan the difference is like night and day.

[xtoss]

yeah maybe overseas but im in australia and im quoting Hyper Magazine here

"...news has come to light that not only does the pal xbox not supportprogressive scan in DVD playback or games, but there is no actual High Definition TV support here at all..."

so yes the difference is neglible and rogue leader in progressive scan would look amazing as well but it just isnt supported...sorry


EDIT: nutter the statement that the will be making games for an older generation is very true.

Nintendo have the rights to the next proper resident evil games, they have Eternal Darkness which is just being released in the states and is supposed to be a gretand they have many other games as well including metroid prime. Heres some pics of games that are definately coming out this year

Metroid Prime
http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/e3_metroidprime_gcn_ss03.jpg

Eternal Darkness
http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/eternaldarknessnew_ngc_ss1.jpg

Resident Evil
http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/sharks001.jpg

[Caliber]

heh thanks for the update, but im running mine through a vga adapter at 480p. so i can actually qualify in saying 480p looks shitloads better than that blurry mess you get on a standard telly. the adapter apparently has the potential to supoprt up to 780p too, but no games are out that support it yet.

http://www.digital-x.de/knowhow/xbox/xbox_dx_vga_box/xbox_dx_vga_box.htm#9999

.. so progerssive is actually supported, sorry.

edit: just to give you an idea, this is how clear the image is and how vibrant the colors look through a true vga convertor:

http://www.bungie.net/images/site/halo/desktops/other_wallpaper/gulch2_1024.jpg

[xtoss]

you can get vga boxes for the game cube as well but seriosly what the point in paying € 89 when TV's are fine.....i had a vga box for my dreamcast but it didnt do much for me .... i prefer to sit in front of the TV

but for the casual gamer who wants to go out and buy a console they arent going to go round the net searching for a vga box for a marginal difference.

its the gameplay that matters the most...ive played halo on a normal TV and enjoyed it just fine. I just think that the cube is better in terms of overall games.

[Caliber]

my point being is that it does in fact output in progressive mode.
if you had actually seen it with your own eyes you would not be saying the difference is "marginal". for me, a $150 vga adapter that gives image quality as good as a $2000 digital TV is a pretty nice investment.

but hey, if you're happy with tv res then this dicussion is moot anyway :)

[xtoss]

im sorry but what do u plug the vga convertor in

cause for 150 dollars i will pay for somethign that lets me view my games as well

my point being everybody already has a tv and a monitor

so it does in fact lead to paying more for the same

[Caliber]

im not quite sure what you mean..

go and look at that previous link, the picture shows you clearly how the adapter is setup. monitor->adapter->xbox

progressive vs interlaced image = no contest. plus the coloring is so much more vivid that conventional RCA/s-video/component/whatever tv connections.

you said you had a vga adapter for the dreamcast - are you sure it was the true vga adapter and not a transcoder/line doubler? personally after playing dreamcast through vga i never wanted to hook it up to the tv again

[DJ Fusion]

I have an NTSC Xbox which also does true progressive scan and it looks amazing hooked up to an XGA projector and running in Dolby Digital 5.1

Also, there realy is no comparison between the GC and the Xbox graphics. The GC has some great games, but Rogue Leader is a chugfest and Metroid prime doesn't look as sharp or have textures as clean as something like Halo.

[xtoss]

i have rogue leader and 1 freakin level there is some slowdown......everywhere else no problems...... and dont forget this game was in development for just 9 months

not the 3 years or so that Halo was

and as far as halo's textures vs metroid...you cant fully compare till the game comes out but EVERY impression i have read of the game says that metroid runs in 60 fps while pulling off better graphics and view distance than halo. And lets not forget that halo uses the same textures over and over again and are nowhere near as varied as metroid prime promises to have.

progressive scan is a non issue for me and the casual gamers who wish to buy a system

the simple fact of the matter is that Australian Xbox's canNOT run progressive scan through a TV and dont bring in the vga adapter because im sure 95% bought will be played through a TV.

[Caliber]

Halo has proved its brilliance. Metroid has not.

Halo has beautiful texturing, bumpmapping, specular mapping, 30 or more enemy on screen at once, HUGE expansive outdoor areas, a physics engine never before seen in a game.. all at a solid 30fps. from what ive seen so far Metroid's action is predominantly indoors with 3, maybe 4 enemy on screen at once that seems to run very smoothly and with some really nice effects. Metroid looks beautiful in its own right, but there is no way in high hell its doing more on screen at once than Halo.

even if PAL boxes *did* support our HDTVs I would still buy the VGA adapter because i quite simply cannot afford a HDTV. you and the "95%" of people are irrelevant - you make it sound if every second person has a digital tv and is therefore missing out on all the fun. no matter which way you spin it, the fact remains our PAL units do indeed output progressive images (as proven by the VGA adapter) - they just dont conform to PAL HDTV standards. a small technicality, but an important one. your Hyper Magazine actually has it wrong.

[xtoss]

what part of cant compare the game till it come sout didnt you understand

[DJ Fusion]

Well it doesn't seem to stop you does it?

You can pimp it, so why can't we fault it?

[Caliber]

the part where you said:

you cant fully compare till the game comes out -> but <- EVERY impression i have read of the game says that metroid runs in 60 fps while pulling off better graphics and view distance than halo. And lets not forget that halo uses the same textures over and over again and are nowhere near as varied as metroid prime promises to have.


see a small contradiction here?

[xtoss]

fine we will compare it but as cube.ign.com shows

metroid isnt some retarded game that has no enemies so the engine rins smooth

and by the way im not saying halo is crap because i think it is a brilliant game but metroid will one up it

ign

Technically speaking, the game is an amazing triumph. Unparalleled art design comes together with one of the best 3D engines we've seen for a first-person adventure experience that books and looks beautiful. The level starts in space, with background debris, and then moves into the ship. Each doorway morphs open revealing a different, technology-filled area beyond. Holograms stretch outward, lights blink on and off, textures and geometry accurately show pipes and particles spray steam -- it looks fantastic. Retro's choice in colors thankfully clash with the Nintendo norm as they are gritty and dark. Lighting effects illuminate hallways as Samus blasts her gun at disgusting enemies that slither around. In once case, a swarm of what looks to be 100 parasitic entities swarm the flooring of a tunnel and Samus must roll into a ball and escape. The engine never falters. In another area, Samus scans a data panel and players learn that she's enabling gravity -- as soon as the process is complete, various polygon objects floating in the level take weight and crash to the ground. It's awesome. The attention to detail in Metroid Prime is just breathtaking, and this baby zooms at 60 frames per second.

[Caliber]

thats nice. call my a cynical gamer but ill reserve my judgement for when i actually play the thing first hand, rather than placing blind faith in an IGN preview. it could very well be an awesome display of eye candy but i have yet to see anything that truly makes it the "next level" in graphics.

[xtoss]

it doesnt need to be the next level in graphics it just needs to be awesome gameplay and a faithful rendition of what metroid is about

and so far reports off people who have played HANDS ON have said that it is awesome in both regards.