Microsoft allowed a handful of journalists a glimpse at the upcoming Xbox 360 console this past Monday and the early reviews are amazing. News.com has an article entitled “Xbox 360 in a league of its own”. Here’s a blurb from the article:

After four hours of this, I left the event. I’d tried about five or six games, and have no trouble reporting that the Xbox 360 was the best console experience I’ve ever had. The graphics were nearly perfect, the sounds were melodic, the interfaces mostly intuitive and I even have to say that the launch titles Microsoft has lined up, while not huge, covers the right range to please the hard-core gamers that will be the target market: basketball and football, several racing titles, a first-person shooter or two and some fantasy.

PC Magazine had their own writeup called “Hands-On Preview: Xbox 360″. The main comment here is:

Microsoft has not only gone from the office to the living room with Xbox, but now, with the Xbox 360, combines the two to present a compelling multi-media solution.

Judging from these early looks, the Xbox360 appears to be a real winner for Microsoft. Of course, it all still comes down to content but if the graphics are as jaw dropping as they say they are, then it’s hard to not declare a winner in the Xbox 360. One thing is for sure. If you don’t own an HDTV, you better start saving up money for a display.

Despite all the graphics and new goodies coming from the Xbox 360, I felt that one line from the News.com article said it best:

Yet in the end, I came back once again to wondering if it’s all really necessary. When it comes to enjoying a video game basketball experience, just how real does the sweat have to be?

I think most people would answer – “as real as possible”.

[News.com]
[PC Magazine]

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