Wam, Bam. It's the XBox

If Bill Gates was blessed with something other than his rugged good looks, (ha), it was probably his uncanny ability to predict future trends. We won't give him all the credit in the world but when the XBox came out in November of 2001 it came out amidst more than one critical eye. "What does Microsoft know about games?", "Gates is just on his conquest to rule the world!", "It's so freakin' BIG!" Despite the skepticism, the XBox quickly flourished and is well known in the US as being the "big man's machine". Why did it become so popular? Three reasons, Halo, Xbox Live, and Home Theater support. By the time the XBox came out, the Playstation had already been out for a year, so Team XBox really had an advantage, (in some respects), to study their competition and in turn, what consumers wanted.

With HD well on the rise, and prices for home theater equipment slowly becoming affordable, the XBox was designed with great picture and sound in mind. You can immediately see this focus when you look at the back of the box for 75% of XBox's library. At the bottom you'll see what the game supports whether it be 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i, widescreen, dolby digital in game soundtracks or whatever.

Why can XBox do this and the others can't?
Because unlike any other system previous to it, the Xbox bears resemblance more to a computer than anything else. And it is a powerful beast indeed. It has enough memory and enough power to handle the most demanding games on the market.

The Cords and Screen Resolutions :
XBox offers two other A/V solutions besides the one that comes in the box, (composite). The two come in the form of their Advanced AV Pack and the High Definition AV Pack. Both of these A/V packs have an optical out port for Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The Advanced AV Pack is the lesser quality choice of the two. Besides composite, it has S-Video on it too. If you want an HD picture, you finally have an answer in the form of the High Def AV Pack. It has component outputs and with the technology built into the XBox and it's games, will allow you to you play games in 480p, 480i, 720p and 1080i. FINALLY. (A note though : While the XBox does play DVDs, you can only do it if you buy the DVD remote Microsoft/XBox sells or if you illegally modify your system which we obviously do not advise).



Conclusion :
The original XBox set the standard for high definition gaming. Since a lot of people STILL don't have a 360, (mainly because of it's price tag and small game library), the Xbox is a great fix for your high def cravings. (If you don't believe us, pop in Madden w/ some component cables...you won't be able to go back!) But when you're ready to make the step up and bring some beautiful games to your home, it MIGHT be time for the XBox 360.

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