Tip of the iceberg...

[Highlite23]

Does anyone else see how the current 360 offerings, games, Arcade, Marketplace, etc...Is just the tip of the Iceberg, and the possibilities with this piece of hardware are pretty incredible?

I think we have a habbit of just looking at games, and thats it, and while the games up till now have been kind of all over, although the last few additions to the 360 lirary have been pretty solid, this machine is really designed to handle things we probably havn't even thought of.

What functionality do you see that maybe others havn't thought of?

I'm going to give my answer by agreeing with my buddy Salmy, keep an eye out in the next week or so for a special feature form him and an idea I would have never thought of, but sounds like a true likelyhood.

[l Maximus l]

The cool thing about what is next on the 360 are games that are being made with the precise peripherals in mind...many of the current 360 games were being developed while the 360 was still being designed. Now that all of the specs are widely known, many of the games should reflect greatness...

I have high hopes for Team Ninja coming out with a sequel to Ninja Gaiden...and a new FPS that will blow even the first Halo out of the water....I can't wait to see what's next!

[ShadedNine]

Personally, I don't really look to my 360 as anything more than a game's machine. The arcade games are neat, but don't hold any lasting appeal for me with the current offerings (i want to see more multiplayer on that front first), and the media center style functionality doesn't mean much to someone with a dedicated media center pc :). The marketplace is a neat idea, but aside from game demos, which I rarely play through, it's nothing I can't find on the net with my PC.

For those who aren't big into PCs though, the 360 definitely offers some similar content in a much simpler format.

In terms of games, i'm more eagerly awaiting Mass Effect than any other title, save possibly Gears of War.

[CarGuy]

I'm suprised that a lot of the people don't know about all the features.. For example somebody didnt know about the USB functions.. The arcade is a blast and I can't believe nobody here plays Geometry Wars! Losers...

[swivel]

Yeah, my respect for Shaded was also based on how much time he spends playing arcade games on Live. Pooh-pooh on you, Shaded. You non-arcade game playing loser.

Wait. Now that I see that typed out, it seems kinda ridiculous. On second thought, I think I agree with everything you have said.

Here's the new features I'm looking forward to on the XBox 2, that I didn't get on the XBox: A console-style RPG, like Shadow Hearts or FF. I'm loving Oblivion, but that is a PC RPG, I want some of both. And a platformer with unreal fluid graphics. Like the feeling of playing Mario 64 the first time, and then moving up to Jak and Ratchet. I think consoles do platformers best, and hope for a few new franchises to show up on the XBox 2.

I totally agree with the original poster that these new features are exciting, but like Shaded said, only if you don't have a decent PC in the home. I'm arcaded out from playing free arcade games for the past 10 years online. Check out Pogo sometime.

[ShadedNine]

Yeah, my respect for Shaded was also based on how much time he spends playing arcade games on Live. Pooh-pooh on you, Shaded. You non-arcade game playing loser.

Wait. Now that I see that typed out, it seems kinda ridiculous. On second thought, I think I agree with everything you have said.

Here's the new features I'm looking forward to on the XBox 2, that I didn't get on the XBox: A console-style RPG, like Shadow Hearts or FF. I'm loving Oblivion, but that is a PC RPG, I want some of both. And a platformer with unreal fluid graphics. Like the feeling of playing Mario 64 the first time, and then moving up to Jak and Ratchet. I think consoles do platformers best, and hope for a few new franchises to show up on the XBox 2.

I totally agree with the original poster that these new features are exciting, but like Shaded said, only if you don't have a decent PC in the home. I'm arcaded out from playing free arcade games for the past 10 years online. Check out Pogo sometime.

The one thing that would take the arcade feature from being more than just another feature in my mind is if they started putting some old school RPGs and such as arcade titles, or newer titles that just aren't as fluffed up and graphical as the full tilt releases. It'd be a great way for many a game to become a cult-classic hit.

Take for example, a tiny little freeware turn-based strategy game for the PC called 'Battle for Wesnoth'. It's less than 100MB (less than 50 compressed), has full out multiplayer, several single player campaigns...the works. It's a full game in many respects, it's just not fancy 3D graphics and all that. The 360-arcade would be a perfect medium for stuff like that. Hopefully we'll start seeing that.

[l Maximus l]

The one thing that would take the arcade feature from being more than just another feature in my mind is if they started putting some old school RPGs and such as arcade titles, or newer titles that just aren't as fluffed up and graphical as the full tilt releases. It'd be a great way for many a game to become a cult-classic hit.

Take for example, a tiny little freeware turn-based strategy game for the PC called 'Battle for Wesnoth'. It's less than 100MB (less than 50 compressed), has full out multiplayer, several single player campaigns...the works. It's a full game in many respects, it's just not fancy 3D graphics and all that. The 360-arcade would be a perfect medium for stuff like that. Hopefully we'll start seeing that.

I think it would be cool if they added some old school Mortal Kombat and make it Live enabled so people can compete against one another...also, Street Fighter and the such. Now, that would be cool, I think.

[ShadedNine]

Those particular games would be exceedlingly difficult to enable over live. Twitch games require very careful tweaking to ensure fair play when dealing with the small amounts of latency that come with online play. DOA4 was really the first to attempt it (with any success), but that required the entire multiplayer component to be specially designed to handle it.

[BIGHARV]

I'm waiting for a texas holdem' poker game to add to my arcade collection. If they do use the camera for poker it would be aswome. You could see your opponents and call their bluffs.

[greenpyro]

I'm suprised that a lot of the people don't know about all the features.. For example somebody didnt know about the USB functions.. The arcade is a blast and I can't believe nobody here plays Geometry Wars! Losers...

Ceometry Wars is awesome! i bought it a couple days ago and now i play it all the time!

[swivel]

Those particular games would be exceedlingly difficult to enable over live. Twitch games require very careful tweaking to ensure fair play when dealing with the small amounts of latency that come with online play. DOA4 was really the first to attempt it (with any success), but that required the entire multiplayer component to be specially designed to handle it.

A cool way to do an online fighting game would be to have it pseudo-turn-based. Time slowly freezes after the character introductions, and each player enters the combos, blocks, moves, leaps, etc, that they want to start with. Time unfreezes, and the results are played out with some minor extra inputs by the players, this input is buffered, and checked with the player's clocks, to see who blocked or reversed first. At a key moment, the game freezes again, and the players survey the current situation and start setting up their next dozen moves.

With some cinematic camera sweeps, and done correctly, I think this could be really cool. It would be more like chess, and less of a memory test.

[Whisper]

I'm waiting for a texas holdem' poker game to add to my arcade collection. If they do use the camera for poker it would be aswome. You could see your opponents and call their bluffs.

or mans will put their balls on the cam.

[BIGHARV]

Wouldn't it be cool playing agaisn't a celebrity with the camera.

[ReggieGrip]

Personally, I don't really look to my 360 as anything more than a game's machine. The arcade games are neat, but don't hold any lasting appeal for me with the current offerings (i want to see more multiplayer on that front first), and the media center style functionality doesn't mean much to someone with a dedicated media center pc :). The marketplace is a neat idea, but aside from game demos, which I rarely play through, it's nothing I can't find on the net with my PC.

For those who aren't big into PCs though, the 360 definitely offers some similar content in a much simpler format.

In terms of games, i'm more eagerly awaiting Mass Effect than any other title, save possibly Gears of War.

he's right, it is good "eye candy", but in the end, i just use it for gaming. i don't care about the HD-DVD add on or any of that other crap, because i buy external devices for my DVD, media, PC-type stuff, etc, etc...as long as they keep their priorities on gaming, that's all i care about.