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Xbox 360: Best Launch Ever?

S

sol5377

Member
When I say "best launch ever?" I mean, from the looks of things, it might be possible that the Xbox 360 could have the best selling launch period (2-3 months) of any console before it and it's lineup of planned games could very well be the best (in terms of overall quality and sheer number of 8.0 or better games) ever--we're talking sales that would make even sonycowboy change uniforms for a while.

1st, Microsoft is expected to have 2.5 to 3 million 360 units available for worldwide release by around November of this year. I'd estimate about 400k in Japan, 1.3 million in NA, and .9 million in Europe for launch backed by the biggest ad campaign ever seen for a console launch. The potential launch "window" lineup:

Madden '06
Ghost Recon 3
Perfect Dark Zero
Kameo
Project Gotham Racing 3
Burnout: Revenge
NBA Live '06
NBA 2K6
Elder Scrolls IV
NFS: Most Wanted
Godfather
Fifa '06
Tony Hawk: American Wasteland
Full Auto
Condemned
Call of Duty 2
Dead or Alive 4
Tomb Raider: Legend
NHL 2K6
...and more
 
Could be.

I'm not yet convinced tho. Just keep out the Nightcasters, Azuriks, Dark Summits. etc. Man was there a sea of crap in the XB launch.
 
sol5377 said:
When I say "best launch ever?" I mean, from the looks of things, it might be possible that the Xbox 360 could have the best selling launch period (2-3 months) of any console before it and it's lineup of planned games could very well be the best (in terms of overall quality and sheer number of 8.0 or better games) ever--we're talking sales that would make even sonycowboy change uniforms for a while.

1st, Microsoft is expected to have 2.5 to 3 million 360 units available for worldwide release by around November of this year. I'd estimate about 400k in Japan, 1.3 million in NA, and .9 million in Europe for launch backed by the biggest ad campaign ever seen for a console launch. The potential launch "window" lineup:

Madden '06
Perfect Dark Zero
Kameo
Project Gotham Racing 3
Burnout: Revenge
NBA Live '06
NBA 2K6
Elder Scrolls IV
NFS: Most Wanted
Godfather
Fifa '06
Tony Hawk: American Wasteland
Full Auto
Condemned
Call of Duty 2
Dead or Alive 4
Tomb Raider: Legend
NHL 2K6
...and more
Click to expand...

The success of the launch is going to be affected by what Sony shows at TGS in September. If there are further megaton announcements/unveilings at that time, I suspect a significant percentage of the early adopters will wait until 2006. This will certainly be the case in Japan.
 
open_mouth_ called, he wants his thread back.

Seriously, that's a pretty nice launch "window". But how many of them will be pushed back?

Best ever? Wait for PS3's :)
 
Think they said 10-14 games at launch so you have a few too many. Not sure which ones.


And no i dont think it'll be the best launch ever, they will definitely come out running though, a lot of games due...the quality of the games is what worries me.
 
NintendosBooger said:
I don't see PD0 coming out at launch. Holiday title.

I still think Dreamcast had the best.
Click to expand...
I think EA titles give the 360 the advantage over that. My hats off to MS for getting developers going early in the process.
 
IF MS can make it out on time... I'm still not confident they can get it finished and OTD for a November launch.

They are still working the BC issues out, developers are still using Alpha kits, and they still have to give Xbox their full support. I will be suprised as hell if they make the November 15th deadline, and if they do, expect shortages of epic proportions. I'm guessing worse than PS2 launch.

edit: the launch line-up is solid though.
 
sol5377 said:
Madden '06
Perfect Dark Zero
Kameo
Project Gotham Racing 3
Burnout: Revenge
NBA Live '06
NBA 2K6
Elder Scrolls IV
NFS: Most Wanted
Godfather
Fifa '06
Tony Hawk: American Wasteland
Full Auto
Condemned
Call of Duty 2
Dead or Alive 4
Tomb Raider: Legend
NHL 2K6
...and more
Click to expand...

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol good list otherwise...
 
Is Burnout Revenge really scheduled for launch? Seems like EA would have to be pretty cocky (or pretty stupid) to launch two racing games against each other.
 
"Tony Hawk: American Wasteland"

Out of everything I've seen this is without a doubt the worst looking game. It's like they are using Dreamcasts as dev. kits to develop the game.
 
MassiveAttack said:
The success of the launch is going to be affected by what Sony shows at TGS in September. If there are further megaton announcements/unveilings at that time, I suspect a significant percentage of the early adopters will wait until 2006. This will certainly be the case in Japan.
Click to expand...
That want really effect American and European launches if they deliver a next gen Madden and soccer game. You seriously underestimate the number of early adopters. They're only releasing 2 million units and those should sell.
 
jimbo said:
"Tony Hawk: American Wasteland"

Out of everything I've seen this is without a doubt the worst looking game. It's like they are using Dreamcasts as dev. kits to develop the game.
Click to expand...

It doesn't look great by any means, but that's kinda unfair. The recent THUG games at 720p look MUCH better than either of the DC THPS titles. Heck, even THPS3 looked far superior...

THAW looks like an original XBOX title, more than anything else.
 
In some interview, Allard said they were looking for 15 or so launch titles Day 1, with up to 40 in the "launch window"

I think publishers have realized that this might yield better sales when there is limited hardware. I think it's a pretty good idea. You buy a system day 1 with 2 titles and then a month or so later, you want another game. Sure you could buy a launch title, but here's a "big" game that just came out this week.
 
Well if MS is good at one thing, it'd have to be learning from their mistakes and adaptability.

With that said, you will probably see 5-6 of those titles on launch, I'm sure the rest will be delayed or held to space between christmas.
 
Madden '06
Perfect Dark Zero
Project Gotham Racing 3
Fifa '06

As it stands right now those are the titles I will be picking up at launch........(tho I'm sure PD0 will be delayed)
 
border said:
Is Burnout Revenge really scheduled for launch? Seems like EA would have to be pretty cocky (or pretty stupid) to launch two racing games against each other.
Click to expand...

true. One of those will probably be pushed back a month or two, but still that's close to the launch "window" of 2-3 months post-launch. Keep in mind that most (if not all) of these games are going to look pretty damn nice visually and in terms of gameplay and will attract a ton of hardcore and casuals alike. Lots of those early PS2 adopters will be looking to upgrade to the next-gen.
 
SKluck said:
Well if MS is good at one thing, it'd have to be learning from their mistakes and adaptability.

With that said, you will probably see 5-6 of those titles on launch, I'm sure the rest will be delayed or held to space between christmas.
Click to expand...
I believe he mentioned launch window.
 
sol5377 said:
Madden '06
Perfect Dark Zero
Kameo
Project Gotham Racing 3
Burnout: Revenge
NBA Live '06
NBA 2K6
Elder Scrolls IV
NFS: Most Wanted
Godfather
Fifa '06
Tony Hawk: American Wasteland
Full Auto
Condemned
Call of Duty 2
Dead or Alive 4
Tomb Raider: Legend
NHL 2K6
...and more
Click to expand...

I count myself down for a dozen of those, give or take one or two. I guess the "launch window" lineup isn't as uninspiring as I thought. But if all these come out at $60, you can change my 12 into 2 or 3.
 
I don't mean to be a dick, but the only game on that entire lineup that almost kinda appeals to me is Kameo, and I havent been a Rare fan since the original Killer Instinct. Maybe I'm not American enough.
 
I'm sure some of these "launch window" games include January, Febuary, and March 2006.

The real system seller will be Madden 2006 methinks. Although I will question its selling power since nearly 4 million of current gen version will be sold by the time the 360 version comes out. Which means many madden players may just hold out until next year.
 
"IF MS can make it out on time... I'm still not confident they can get it finished and OTD for a November launch.

They are still working the BC issues out, developers are still using Alpha kits, and they still have to give Xbox their full support. I will be suprised as hell if they make the November 15th deadline, and if they do, expect shortages of epic proportions. I'm guessing worse than PS2 launch."

This has been stated over and over again. This is the EXACT same thing that happened with the first Xbox. This is more of a normal nowadays. If you want to have some of the best hardware at launch time, you don't want to have the system already done a year ahead of its launch date. Oh and Xbox developers didn't get their final dev kit until August/September.
 
The Euro and Japanese launch lineups will differ slightly, of course. For example, I imagine for Europe, Microsoft will push hard to have Fifa and Winning Eleven there (both online) and possibly even Rallisport Challenge if possible. NBA Live, PGR3, NFS: Most Wanted, Kameo and PD0 will just sweeten the pie over there. Euros love their soccer and racing games :D

For Japan, I see Microsoft pushing DOA4, eM, Kameo, Fifa/W11, PGR3, and probably a Q title to wet appetites. Sonic 360 would be awesome for launch, too.
 
Mrbob said:
I'm sure some of these "launch window" games include January, Febuary, and March 2006.

The real system seller will be Madden 2006 methinks. Although I will question its selling power since nearly 4 million of current gen version will be sold by the time the 360 version comes out. Which means many madden players may just hold out until next year.
Click to expand...
Madden will indeed be the system seller (granted that EA can make it look beyond what it is now on XB/PS2). As for selling power, I dont remember many having a problem slurping up PS2 Madden 2001. This despite the PS1 version having all of the bells and whistles not found in the PS2 version.
 
I don't see any game on that list appealing to me...So for me it's a NO. Perhaps PGR3...but never liked the series since MSR...
 
I expect the sport fanatics and those into racers and fighting games to be satisfied (well that's really a lot of the casual gamer crowd).

Otherwise, the list is so-so.

I'll probably pick up Elder Scrolls IV and maybe condemned though I hope that there's a killer game sometime between launch and christmas (though Elder Scrolls might be it). Not too sure about condemned yet.

Kameo probably for the kiddies.

PD0...I'll believe this when I see it. Otherwise, I'm thinking next spring.

M$ does need a killer game in their to draw a crowd though. Last time it was Halo. If they can't find something else, they need to get PD0 up to speed graphically and otherwise in a hurry before the Sony hypemaster kicks into gear next spring.

To be fair though, that launch would still be miles ahead of the PS2 launch [aka. worst launch lineup ever]. I'm sure Sony won't do the same again (well in Japan they can probably sell gold colored feces in disk form and they'd buy it, but over here things are a bit more competitive). And for the next year the lineup was pure, utter crap IMO. They did turn things around after that though. I'm sure M$ will make great strides in Europe as I'm sure they've learned from their mistakes.

Next year though, should be an excellent year for gaming. We should see some great stuff from both M$ and Sony...and the eNigma.
 
"Microsoft will push hard to have Fifa and Winning Eleven there (both online) and possibly even Rallisport Challenge if possible."

Wait was Winning Eleven announced for the 360? If so....scratch Fifa off my list.
 
jimbo said:
"Microsoft will push hard to have Fifa and Winning Eleven there (both online) and possibly even Rallisport Challenge if possible."

Wait was Winning Eleven announced for the 360? If so....scratch Fifa off my list.
Click to expand...

Not officially, but there've been several hints of it and Konami already puts out W11 on Xbox, so....
 
Edler Scrolls!! what other system launched with a RPG?
 
"Not officially, but there've been several hints of it and Konami already puts out W11 on Xbox, so...."

What hints? Because then it's just speculation. I'm sure it will eventually come to the 360, but I wanna know if it will be there close to launch.
 
blackadde said:
No fighting game fans give a shit about DOA.
Click to expand...

Mainstream will.

Tekken still sells and well that baffles me to no end. The games gets graphical upgrades every release but the point is it's still pure utter crap. If that crap can sell (to casual gamers), why not others (I love SC from Namco but I still think Tekken ~ poop on a stick). As much as I'm not really into DOA, I think it's a much better game than tekken.

How well did DOA3 sell on Xbox?
 
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