Just 16 days from now the Xbox 360 launches in the U.S.. I currently have no plans to buy one any time soon, so why am I so excited? I’ve already got a big backlog of games waiting to be beat, so why should I care? Well part of it is that I tend to take a dim sum approach to gaming, eating a little here and tasting a bit there. So in a year’s time I may have a 360, but my main excitement is in watching the battle between Microsoft and Sony for the hearts and minds (and money) of gamers all over the world.
I really want to see the 360 succeed and snatch 1st place from Sony because in the end it will mean better games for everyone and I’d love to see an American company snatch back what Atari fumbled away so many years ago. That said though, I’m not a big nationalist by any means. Heck, I’m listening to J-Pop tunes while typing this. But I guess it is very American to root for the underdog, even if it is the often reviled Microsoft. I’d especially love to see the 360 make it big in Japan. Many believe that a gaijin (foreign) console could never make it in Japan. But I believe that the Japanese gamer is bigger than that and will be happy to buy a 360 if it has games he/she wants to play. 1up.com has an interesting article right now that draws comparisons between the Dreamcast and the 360 that in light of the DC’s failure are a little chilling. But they also point out some important and compelling reasons that Xbox 360 may succeed where the DC failed.
Dreamcast 2.0: Is Xbox 360 the second coming of the Sega Dreamcast?