fitbabits
11-22-2005, 02:20 PM
November 21, 2005
The scene – Outside Best Buy at New Hope Commons, NC. About 40 or 50 people are standing in line hoping to pick up an Xbox 360 tomorrow morning when Best Buy open their doors at 9am. I approach the crown and ask if anyone would like to be interviewed for a piece I'm doing for Evil Avatar. At first, people think I'm trying to lure them out of line so that someone else can take their place, but I'm eventually able to convince a group of 5 people and we move away from the line to conduct the interview.
Me – Thanks for agreeing to partake in this interview. How long have you been waiting in line?
Jaz – About 5 hours now. [NOTE – it's a little after 9pm]
Dave – Same as Jaz
Todd – Probably about 3 hours or so.
Me - What do you think your chances are of getting an Xbox 360 come 9am tomorrow?
Todd – Dude, if I don't get one I'm going to go nuts. I've been waiting for this moment for years.
Me - Then why didn't you pre-order back in May when the console was first announced? Seems to me that if you've been waiting as long as you say, you'd be one of the first ones to pre-order?
Todd – I dunno, man. School and stuff got in the way. And I had no idea that there would be such a shortage.
Dave – I tried to pre-order from GameStop and was told I had no chance of getting one. Fuck them.
Me (to Dave) – When did you try to pre-order?
Dave – Back in October. Almost six fucking weeks ago, man. I mean, what the fuck?
Me - Have any of you guys heard the rumors about Microsoft allegedly creating an artificial demand by holding back quantities to give off the appearance of the Xbox 360 selling out?
Jace – Yeah, I read about that. In fact, I even posted on a forum about it.
Me (to Jace) – So what do you think? Do you think there's any truth to the rumor?
Jace - Nah, man. There's no way that Microsoft would do this – especially since Sony has such a lead right now.
Me - You have to admit though, it would be a good strategy.
Todd – What's so good about sitting on a fucking huge amount of Xbox 360s when there's such demand? Seriously, they'd have to be fucking retarded to do something so crazy.
Me - Point taken. Assuming you are successful in getting an Xbox 360, which games are you looking to pick up at the same time?
Jace – Madden. That game looks sick. And probably a shooting game for my bro.
Annie – I'll probably pick up Criminal Origins [sic]. I love games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill from Sony [sic].
Todd – Yeah, Madden for me as well. Maybe Project Gotham, too. That game looks awesome.
Dave – I hate sports games so I'm hoping to pick up the WWII game and Perfect Dark.
Me (to Dave) – Do you think Perfect Dark Zero will live up to the expectations?
Dave – I was a big fan of the 64 version, plus Rare are awesome and have yet to release a poor game.
Me (to Dave) – What about Grabbed by the Ghoulies?
Dave – Right, I forgot about that. That was the one with the cat and the vacuum cleaner, right?
Me (to Dave) – No, the one with the blond-haired kid. The cat game was Blinx.
Dave - Man, I remember now. I rented that when it came out and I hated it.
Me (to Dave) – Blinx or Ghoulies?
Dave – Grabbed by the Ghoulies. It would have worked so much better on the Game Cube.
At this point, a security guard approaches me and asks me if I'm from the local paper. I tell him who I am and why I'm here and he asks me to “give a shout out to his moms”. Job done.
Me – Anyway, are any of you planning on getting on Xbox Live and playing with your buddies?
Jace – My buddy lives in Seattle so yeah, I hope so.
Annie – Yeah, Jace, you only have one buddy.
-laughs-
Me – Anyone else?
-silence-
Me – So what do you think about the dual SKUs? Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea?
Todd – What do you mean, dual SKUs?
Me – The two different versions. You know, one with the hard drive and one without.
Todd – Right, I know what you mean. It fucking sucks, man. They should have changed the names, though, and called the one with the hard drive the Core version.
Me – Why?
Todd – 'Cos it's for hardcore gamers.
-collective groans-
Me – Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
Annie – Yeah, I think it's a cool idea. Like if I wanted to buy my bro an Xbox 360 for Christmas and couldn't afford the one with the hard drive, I could get him the other one and someone else could get him the rest of the stuff. Like a buddy or someone could buy him the hard drive separately, you know?
Me – Yeah, I see how that would work. Do you think Microsoft will eventually stop producing the version without the hard drive?
Anthony – Yeah, I think they'll stop making it when the new PlayStation comes out – especially if it ships with a hard drive as standard.
Me – On the topic of the PS3, are any of you planning on buying one?
Anthony – I will, but that's because I've nothing better to do than play games all day. I didn't plan on buying an Xbox 360, but the launch lineup is really good.
Me – What do you like so much about the launch lineup?
Anthony – It's really varied and it seems like Microsoft is really serious this time.
Me – Saying that, do you think that Microsoft weren't serious enough about the original Xbox?
Anthony – I think they thought it would be easier going against Sony with a more powerful machine in the Xbox, even with the delay. History has shown that they were wrong in thinking that. And that's why they're launching early with the Xbox 360.
Me – Right, and how do you think they'll fare this go-round?
Anthony – It depends, I think, on how many machines they can get into people's homes between now and Spring 2006.
Me – Who do you think Microsoft is going after most this generation – Sony, Nintendo or both?
Anthony – I think that Microsoft would love to bring Sony to their knees, or at least bring them down a notch.
Me – Anyone here planning on getting a Revolution?
Jace – It depends on if they [Nintendo] release a proper controller. I'm not about to use the one they are showing off now.
Anthony – I dunno, I think it has potential. I'm on the fence till I try one out.
Me – Okay, finishing up – who do you think will win the war? I'd like each of you to answer and explain your answer.
Dave – Microsoft. They're first, they have the most money, they have a lot of developer support, and they know what they are doing this time.
Annie – Sony. They rule the videogame business and I can't see them letting go so easily. Plus, with Sony have Grand Theft Auto [sic] and Killzone.
Jaz – Microsoft. Because they rule.
Anthony – Ultimately I think we as gamers will win. I like what Microsoft are doing. I dig their aggression and I think J. Allard is determined enough to make it happen for Microsoft this time. I'm not sure about Sony, though – they seem to be stuck right now on what they want the PS3 to do. And Nintendo is Nintendo. They'll be there till the very end, putting out consistently great games and relying on their hardcore fan base to keep them in the black.
Todd – Microsoft. I just feel it.
Me – Okay, thanks to everyone for agreeing to talk with me. You can see the results of this interview by logging on to Evil Avatar some time tomorrow. Good luck tomorrow and hopefully I'll see you on Live.
Anthony – Thanks. It's been cool.
Interview conducted by James A. 'fitbabits' Young
The scene – Outside Best Buy at New Hope Commons, NC. About 40 or 50 people are standing in line hoping to pick up an Xbox 360 tomorrow morning when Best Buy open their doors at 9am. I approach the crown and ask if anyone would like to be interviewed for a piece I'm doing for Evil Avatar. At first, people think I'm trying to lure them out of line so that someone else can take their place, but I'm eventually able to convince a group of 5 people and we move away from the line to conduct the interview.
Me – Thanks for agreeing to partake in this interview. How long have you been waiting in line?
Jaz – About 5 hours now. [NOTE – it's a little after 9pm]
Dave – Same as Jaz
Todd – Probably about 3 hours or so.
Me - What do you think your chances are of getting an Xbox 360 come 9am tomorrow?
Todd – Dude, if I don't get one I'm going to go nuts. I've been waiting for this moment for years.
Me - Then why didn't you pre-order back in May when the console was first announced? Seems to me that if you've been waiting as long as you say, you'd be one of the first ones to pre-order?
Todd – I dunno, man. School and stuff got in the way. And I had no idea that there would be such a shortage.
Dave – I tried to pre-order from GameStop and was told I had no chance of getting one. Fuck them.
Me (to Dave) – When did you try to pre-order?
Dave – Back in October. Almost six fucking weeks ago, man. I mean, what the fuck?
Me - Have any of you guys heard the rumors about Microsoft allegedly creating an artificial demand by holding back quantities to give off the appearance of the Xbox 360 selling out?
Jace – Yeah, I read about that. In fact, I even posted on a forum about it.
Me (to Jace) – So what do you think? Do you think there's any truth to the rumor?
Jace - Nah, man. There's no way that Microsoft would do this – especially since Sony has such a lead right now.
Me - You have to admit though, it would be a good strategy.
Todd – What's so good about sitting on a fucking huge amount of Xbox 360s when there's such demand? Seriously, they'd have to be fucking retarded to do something so crazy.
Me - Point taken. Assuming you are successful in getting an Xbox 360, which games are you looking to pick up at the same time?
Jace – Madden. That game looks sick. And probably a shooting game for my bro.
Annie – I'll probably pick up Criminal Origins [sic]. I love games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill from Sony [sic].
Todd – Yeah, Madden for me as well. Maybe Project Gotham, too. That game looks awesome.
Dave – I hate sports games so I'm hoping to pick up the WWII game and Perfect Dark.
Me (to Dave) – Do you think Perfect Dark Zero will live up to the expectations?
Dave – I was a big fan of the 64 version, plus Rare are awesome and have yet to release a poor game.
Me (to Dave) – What about Grabbed by the Ghoulies?
Dave – Right, I forgot about that. That was the one with the cat and the vacuum cleaner, right?
Me (to Dave) – No, the one with the blond-haired kid. The cat game was Blinx.
Dave - Man, I remember now. I rented that when it came out and I hated it.
Me (to Dave) – Blinx or Ghoulies?
Dave – Grabbed by the Ghoulies. It would have worked so much better on the Game Cube.
At this point, a security guard approaches me and asks me if I'm from the local paper. I tell him who I am and why I'm here and he asks me to “give a shout out to his moms”. Job done.
Me – Anyway, are any of you planning on getting on Xbox Live and playing with your buddies?
Jace – My buddy lives in Seattle so yeah, I hope so.
Annie – Yeah, Jace, you only have one buddy.
-laughs-
Me – Anyone else?
-silence-
Me – So what do you think about the dual SKUs? Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea?
Todd – What do you mean, dual SKUs?
Me – The two different versions. You know, one with the hard drive and one without.
Todd – Right, I know what you mean. It fucking sucks, man. They should have changed the names, though, and called the one with the hard drive the Core version.
Me – Why?
Todd – 'Cos it's for hardcore gamers.
-collective groans-
Me – Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
Annie – Yeah, I think it's a cool idea. Like if I wanted to buy my bro an Xbox 360 for Christmas and couldn't afford the one with the hard drive, I could get him the other one and someone else could get him the rest of the stuff. Like a buddy or someone could buy him the hard drive separately, you know?
Me – Yeah, I see how that would work. Do you think Microsoft will eventually stop producing the version without the hard drive?
Anthony – Yeah, I think they'll stop making it when the new PlayStation comes out – especially if it ships with a hard drive as standard.
Me – On the topic of the PS3, are any of you planning on buying one?
Anthony – I will, but that's because I've nothing better to do than play games all day. I didn't plan on buying an Xbox 360, but the launch lineup is really good.
Me – What do you like so much about the launch lineup?
Anthony – It's really varied and it seems like Microsoft is really serious this time.
Me – Saying that, do you think that Microsoft weren't serious enough about the original Xbox?
Anthony – I think they thought it would be easier going against Sony with a more powerful machine in the Xbox, even with the delay. History has shown that they were wrong in thinking that. And that's why they're launching early with the Xbox 360.
Me – Right, and how do you think they'll fare this go-round?
Anthony – It depends, I think, on how many machines they can get into people's homes between now and Spring 2006.
Me – Who do you think Microsoft is going after most this generation – Sony, Nintendo or both?
Anthony – I think that Microsoft would love to bring Sony to their knees, or at least bring them down a notch.
Me – Anyone here planning on getting a Revolution?
Jace – It depends on if they [Nintendo] release a proper controller. I'm not about to use the one they are showing off now.
Anthony – I dunno, I think it has potential. I'm on the fence till I try one out.
Me – Okay, finishing up – who do you think will win the war? I'd like each of you to answer and explain your answer.
Dave – Microsoft. They're first, they have the most money, they have a lot of developer support, and they know what they are doing this time.
Annie – Sony. They rule the videogame business and I can't see them letting go so easily. Plus, with Sony have Grand Theft Auto [sic] and Killzone.
Jaz – Microsoft. Because they rule.
Anthony – Ultimately I think we as gamers will win. I like what Microsoft are doing. I dig their aggression and I think J. Allard is determined enough to make it happen for Microsoft this time. I'm not sure about Sony, though – they seem to be stuck right now on what they want the PS3 to do. And Nintendo is Nintendo. They'll be there till the very end, putting out consistently great games and relying on their hardcore fan base to keep them in the black.
Todd – Microsoft. I just feel it.
Me – Okay, thanks to everyone for agreeing to talk with me. You can see the results of this interview by logging on to Evil Avatar some time tomorrow. Good luck tomorrow and hopefully I'll see you on Live.
Anthony – Thanks. It's been cool.
Interview conducted by James A. 'fitbabits' Young