I Was Wrong About You, Xbox

When Microsoft first announced that it would compete with Sony and Nintendo, I couldn't have rolled my eyes with more disgust. I mean, here was "Big Brother", the monopoly that can be sooo easy to hate, daring to tread on the sacred ground of Yamauchi, Miyamoto, and Kutaragi. At every step of the Xbox's unveiling, I got a sick kind of glee scoffing at it. First the gigantism of the system and controllers, then the PC-port jokes, the lack of major franchises, the utter hopelessness in the Japanese market... Bill Gates simply had no business in OUR business.

Man, what a few years can change.

I've got to hand it to those guys; despite a million insurmountable challenges, they've not only stuck around, but have begun to thrive. Yes, they still don't have many major exclusive franchises; yes, they're still dead as 3DO in Japan; yes, the Xbox is still THAT ridiculously huge. But, they've also got the better-looking versions of most third-party games, they have an online service that makes Sony just look lame, and they've got the most momentum going into the next generation. Xbox seems to be where most of the buzz is these days — at least, among the hardcore.

And now, after all of the crap I gave Microsoft in the past, I have to give credit where credit is due. When it's all said and done, they’ll have lost boatloads of money on Xbox, but they did what they set out to do — they forced themselves into the market and into gamers' mindshare. Microsoft representatives have always said that this first console was just to get their foot in the door, and you really get the sense that, with Xbox 360, they're about to kick things off for real.

So much about the next Xbox is known at this point that you have to wonder whether the leaks were on purpose. It would be a fitting addition to the company's unconventional marketing approach, one that has included fake websites, internet puzzles, and placemats with Bill Gates holding an S Controller and a hamburger — not to mention the radical May 12th official unveiling of Xbox 360 on MTV.

I respect Microsoft because they've (usually) done what they said they'd do. For example, they talked big about building an online community, and they got it done — while Sony looked lost. Not bad for the new guy.

So now, after I've overanalyzed every Xbox 360 pic and scrap of info along with everyone else on the 'net, I am seriously hyped for this machine. Of course, I'm hyped for PS3 and Revolution as well, but I always knew I would be. Microsoft has won me over the hard way, and I'm just so damn ready to kick off the next generation with them. I'll be glued to my TV on May 12th, and I'll be ready to believe at the Xbox pre-E3 conference the week after.

There are still plenty of challenges facing Microsoft, and in many ways round two is going to be even tougher. But I just had to take a moment to recognize what "Big Brother" has accomplished so far, and at long last, say this:

Welcome to the club.