A new level of gaming - at a price

A gamer tries out Tiger Woods PGA Tour'06 at the "Xbox 360: Zero Hour" launch party in Palmdale, California. Picture / Reuters

You don't have to play for long on Microsoft's new video game console, the Xbox 360, to know gaming has taken a leap forward in more ways than one.

The graphics are more reminiscent of high-end gaming PCs than previous video game consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation 2. Scenes in games are better detailed, the action smoother, the experience more immersive.

Peter Jackson's Xbox 360 version of King Kong is a good example, says Tolan Henderson, Microsoft's Xbox technical guru.

"On the Xbox 360, it looks smoother and it runs smoother."

End of story. The rendering capability of the processors within the Xbox 360 is producing the best graphics ever seen in video gaming.

King Kong is one of dozens of titles being used to launch the next-generation gaming console. Ahead of the Xbox 360's release on March 23, Henderson showed the Herald two others, Fight Night: Round 3 and Call of Duty 2, both of which are old franchises given new life on the Xbox 360.

The titles developed for the platform are proving popular. According to US research company NPD, each console sold in January had 3.7 games sold with it.

But while the games are impressing, the 360 itself is a good-looking device, far more stylish than the previous chunky, black version.

A 20-gigabyte hard drive clings to its side and holds music, video clips and photos, and it can be removed and connected to another console. Henderson sees a scenario emerging where different members of the family carry content on their own individual hard drives, which can be bought separately for $190 in addition to the one supplied as standard.

The 360 also boasts a wireless controller, a welcome feature that reduces the jumble of wires most people find in their living rooms.

Users can also plug in their iPod music players or PlayStation Portable handheld gaming consoles to play songs and display the pictures held on those devices. In fact, the 360 will recognise any camera, mini hard drive or phone that acts as a storage device and has a USB cable connection.

It also plays DVDs and CDs, and everything can be accessed through the supplied multimedia remote control.

But is the Xbox 360 console the ultimate entertainment device - the seamless merger of gaming, computing and consumer electronics we've been waiting for? Not quite.

While pitched as one of the first mass-market consumer devices to support emerging high-definition content, the Xbox 360 does not have a built-in HD DVD drive that will allow users to play the new discs. Instead, an HD drive will be available some time in the future, but no timing or pricing has yet been announced.

Henderson says the real catalyst for HD discs will be the games, which will increasingly come in true high-definition format. A high-definition television will be needed to spot the difference, but the 360 does offer a huge improvement in picture quality even for those with standard-definition TV sets.

To bridge the gap between the computer room and the lounge, the 360 supports wireless networking, but the feature - built into most laptops and even handheld computers - comes as an optional extra and requires a $190 adapter.

Live television broadcasts cannot be recorded directly to the 360's hard drive as there is no TV tuner card installed in the console. The console therefore cannot be used as a personal video recorder, like Sky TV's MySky box. Instead, those who are running Windows Media Centre on their computers can transfer copied material to the 360 via a wireless network.

Eventually, Henderson says, there will be services to lure in the less game-orientated female audience and casual gamers. In terms of Xbox Live content, much of it will be available to Kiwi members. The picture is murkier when it comes to local content - such as music downloads - becoming available.

"It's a tricky one. We've got the ability to do it. It's whether the industry wants to do it," Henderson says.

Access to Xbox Live requires the user to have a high-speed internet connection with download and upload speeds of at least 512 kilobits per second.

Most internet users here are on asynchronous connections that favour faster download speeds than uploads. But online gaming requires a constant, two-way stream of data between the individual user and the gaming servers.

Those wanting a good experience online will therefore have to pay a hefty fee for it. Telecom has only just announced it is raising upload speeds to the minimum, beginning in April. To get that broadband service, users will need to pay at least $79.95 a month.

While basic access to Xbox Live is free, Microsoft also charges an annual premium subscription of $100 to access all the useful features and participate in the gaming community. That means users will have to pay nearly $90 a month to play online.

And while gamers can talk to each other during games using headsets and internet telephony, there are no official Skype-like phone features to the 360 or Xbox Live.

"I think they probably stayed away from that to avoid ruffling feathers," Henderson says.

So when it comes to anything other than gaming, the console has its pros and cons. But Henderson says that when it comes to the 360, Microsoft's first allegiance is with the gamer, not with those who want one box in their living room that will take care of all their entertainment needs.

"It's a vertical marketplace and we need to follow what gamers want to do," he says.

If the overseas reception is anything to go by, stocks of the console will probably sell out within a few days of the launch date, which was delayed three weeks because of a lack of supply.

Microsoft plans to ship between 4.5 and 5 million 360 consoles by June, with New Zealand one of 11 new countries to receive the console by that date.

The software giant is struggling to keep up with demand.