How Halo killed the 360.

[PS34EVER]

http://www.gamerevolver.com/articlenav-52-page-1.html

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been on the market for two full years now and has created the a gaming experience for millions that has been memorable, unique, and damn fun. There is no question that the 360 is a powerful machine and can create some terrific games. However, with the launch of Halo 3, Microsoft’s own brainchild from Bungie, and the last of a great series, comes a time of sorrow. Although most gamers won’t notice this effect for about another year, it is happening. Let me explain.
The shear fact that Halo 3 was arguably the most anticipated sequel of all time, including all gaming platforms gives Microsoft a very high standard to live up to. Now that it has been released, a new question has been raised. Is the 360 past its prime and now working on the back nine?
Halo 3 has suffered some serious ridicule from a short campaign mode, to the disk actually corrupting the hard drive. Now, I’m not saying that the game is killing consoles, as this topic comes up with every major release and the forums tend to pack with “_____ bricked my 360”, but I am saying this, Halo 3’s graphics were not up to par for what they should have been, the games packaging showed signs of being rushed as thousands of gamers reported scratched disks right out of the box, and the fact that hundreds of reports keep flying in that the game locks up. So, with these things in mind, let’s focus on one, graphics. If Microsoft themselves can not surpass the technology of games like Bioshock or Heavenly Sword on their own console, with a completely in house development, that has been in the works for well over 3 years, how can one expect to see an increase in quality in games to come? The theory here, is that the Xbox has prematurely reached its potential. Instead of continuing to improve on games graphics and play over the course of the consoles life, they have hit a barrier on the limitations of the system. Graphically, Bioshock is as good as it gets at this point and the truth is, there are a lot of games that look very similar to it, graphically speaking, and they have been releasing them avidly over the last 6 months as the console war amplifies between the 360 and the Playstation 3.

Here is my thoughts, Microsoft, in an effort to stay on top of this console generation has pulled out all the stops, and has released many, if not most of their AAA titles at once, leaving them no where to go. This has worked to a point, as it has left a big gap between the two giants game wise. Microsoft has paid out millions of dollars to big name developers to gain exclusive first release rights as well as extra content, in other words, they have paid off the big guns to fight on their side. Sony, unwilling to do the same, will now see these titles 6 months to a year later in most cases and will suffer because of it. Now that all of this has happened, the real dilemma here is….why? If Microsoft’s machine can still muster up some great titles that will surpass those we have seen in the last few months, then why would they try so hard to make a title release on their system early and lose even more profit than they already have with the RROD problem? The answer is simple. The gates are closing on the machine and developers have reached its true potential. That is not to say that it will just roll over and die, I’m sure that some more really terrific games will come out and the console will run as much of its life span as possible, but they will not surpass what they have accomplished in the last 6 months.
I know this will come across as if Game Revolver is Sony oriented, and I want to ensure you that this is not the case, but Sony truly has taken a safe approach to gaming this time around. Every developer interview that has mentioned the PS3 at all has stated that they have come no where close to its full potential. It is harder to develop for as they have become adapted to the 360 as the base of their work, and port from there, but now, developers are beginning to look at the PS3 as their foreground, with the 360 as the port.
Bottom line, the 360 is not on its last leg, but it has matured in terms of gaming power and prowess. Let us all be thankful to the many marvels it has given us in the gaming world and hope that they can still make some awesome titles. Here’s to you Microsoft, may you figure out what the hell is going on before the gaming world does it for you.

This is EXACTLY what I have been preaching to a buddy of mine at work. EXACTLY. LOL

The system just doesn't work, and it's potential has been reached. Without Halo, X-box is NOTHING. I will bet any money that there is less than 1 percent of X-box owners that don't own Halo.

I have also been preaching to him to wait until Metal Gear Solid 4 and Grand Turismo 5 come out. PS3=ownage.