Hello again, everyone; I apologize for the delay, but with my recent loss, I had a lot of personal things that needed to be taken care of. I also had to deal with a recent break-in that cost my a laptop, a PS2 and all my Playstation games. Fun was not had by all.
It has not all been bad news: as I had alluded to a couple months back, I was one of the fortunate winners of the Mountain Dew/ Xbox 360 promotion. I had my console a few days before launch. With everything that was going on, I really didn't have time to play it until December. However, I did venture out a couple times in the middle of the night when the local Best Buy received new shipments. One particular night was below freezing with a wind chill of ten below – even for Detroit, this was unseasonably cold. Yet these brave souls were still camped out, trying to get the hottest item of the holiday. Sadder still was the fact that this store was only to receive about 35 units, and there were over 50 people in line. I talked to a few of them, but most wanted to get the night over with and not be bothered by someone they weren't sure was just trying to trick them out of the spot. (Yes, the idea of fucking with them did cross my mind, but even I'm not so evil as to taunt the half-frozen.)
I'll be honest: I wasn't planning on getting a 360 anytime soon; I did the whole PS2 launch thing and snagged a console pretty early, and then waited for decent games to slowly trickle in. My launch PS2 lasted about a year before I had to open it up and repair it myself, so now I just wait for new systems to be out a while before I get one. (I also like price drops, too.) Winning the contest was the only thing that would ensure I'd be enjoying Next Gen consoles anytime soon.
(I could do a review, but let's face it: everyone and their brother has already done that. Instead, I'd like to discuss Microsoft's angle.)
I'm not sure what Microsoft's marketing budget was this time around, but I do recall that for the original Xbox's launch, it was $500 million – yes, half a billion dollars. Mountain Dew's Every10Minutes campaign gave out over 9000 systems, plus a similar promotion in Canada gave out one a day. Add in the cost of the free game (which became two free games, as the EA title was delayed, so everyone also received Kameo as a bonus), and you're looking at $5 million right there alone. Did it work? Unless you have electricity under the fucking stone you call your home, that should be a rhetorical question. Now that I have had time to, figuratively, digest the system, I have to say that Microsoft may have really suckered me in on this one.
The premium system comes with a wireless controller, so I had to run right out and buy the plug and charge kit. Of course, I needed some games. Perfect Dark Zero reminds me of two things: 1. How much I liked the first one on the Nintendo64, and 2. how much I suck at first person shooters.
Realizing it comes with a free trial of Xbox Live, their online service/ gaming experience, I had to give it a try. Longtime readers may recall that I do not like playing games online; I generally like to play solo at my own pace. That crunching sound you may hear (if you listen hard enough) is me enjoying the taste of statements past. I am totally hooked on playing PDZ in Infection mode. Although, there are still assholes out there: like the guy that would shoot up the rest of his team at the beginning of a match – I took special delight when we all ganged up and shot his ass up (and, of course, the guy left negative feedback that we were all being unsportsman-like); overall, that has been the exception, though.
I picked up DOA4, and have been mostly ambivalent towards it. It is a VERY pretty game, but doesn't hold my interest the way the Mortal Kombat series does. Since I am more into adventure games and RPGs, which are somewhat lacking at the moment, I turned to Xbox Live Arcade; Live's online “store” you can download all types of game demos and then “buy” them with points. (You use real money to buy the points, which can be used on other things too; it reminded me of the tickets one uses at local carnivals, without the weirdoes eyeing the 14-year-old girls.) My beloved Zuma is there, but it just doesn't feel right with a controller instead of a mouse. Joust (yes, the classic Joust) is a must-have, and the lemonade tycoon one, Outpost Kaloki, is far more addicting than I thought possible. My one-month trial of Live has quickly been extended into a year's membership.
Now, I am seeing the genius of Microsoft's marketing. So far, my free system has set me back over $200. Now, I know there are many who bought their system and have shelled out far more than I have, but Microsoft has managed to separate money from someone who was planning to put it towards replacing his PS2 games. Clever, indeed. They have successfully bought my allegiance (so far) in this next generation of consoles.
To keep things simple, my Xbox Live gamer tag is PlumeNoir (just like my blog), so feel free to point and laugh at my ranking, I can take it.
Your friend, Tanz
Email: darktanz@excite.com
AIM: DanielAtDP
Daniel's Blog
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