Rated 
best console currently
Started Apr 11, 2006
Strengths: great graphics for a great price
Weaknesses: it's a console, playstation 3 will be better, for a computer person, the console's "next gen" is nothing revolutionary
The xbox 360 was my first console, and from reading a lot about it, I think the system completely met my expectations. I certainly wouldn't be saying this if I bought it earlier than Ghost Recon and Oblivion, but the wait was worth it.
I have heard that the graphics compare with the radeon x1800 and that's probably pretty accurate, as people have gotten pc versions of these games to run on comparable systems. It's true that the top sli system from nvidia (7900 xt) is a factor of 1.8 times the processing power, but only the graphics cards will cost you three times the console. Although the powerpc is not new like the cell, it is good technology (core duo's not as much faster as apple would like), and this was actually the most drastic change from the original xbox, according to Microsoft it's speed is a factor of 52, and programmers probably have not fully utilized it yet.
The games were really amazing. I was a bit alienated by using a controller, but it gives you a lot of magnetism (you don't have to aim right at enemies) even in hard mode, and was much nicer than I expected. However I still prefer the mouse, and ghost recon would be pointless without the magnetism, and slightly unrealistic enemy response times. Also it's extremely annoying not to be able to move at variable speeds with any sort of scope. I haven't played Oblivion as much but what I have seen is amazing. The outdoors slow down a bit (20-30 fps) simply because there's so much, which is evidence that the xbox 360's graphics power is indeed limited, but it was still a nice experience.
The built in antialiasing and procedural texture functions add nice effects, but there are obvious sampling problems, and ghost recon and oblivion's shadowing really was not outstanding. If sony can offer anything close to the trailers for metal gear and the supposedly fake killzone trailer, they will certainly win in terms of graphics, and I'm sure sony's games will be good as well.
The xbox live is obviously Microsoft's way to make money for those not buying accessories. The price isn't bad but it is rather limited. I really was least impressed with the windows media playback. Microsoft was going to have wmvhd playback, and indeed it can play high resolution files but the player is awful - it can only pause and stop, and there is no support for any of the dvds that are out (most of which are imax now). Obviously the xbox 360 wasn't really intended to beat sony's new high definition battle, and though video games are often a better enterprise than videos, especially at $60 a game, but the disc royalties would have been profitable.
I suppose for previous console gamers will appreciate "hd" but it is nothing new for me. Windows Vista's DirectX 10 will bring standardized occlusion testing and point sprite acceleration, and something called "geometry shaders". They're a good idea (being able to edit vertices and save with only the card) but still limited to built in triangle rasterizing. Microsoft says for now that the directx 9 sdk is similar to xbox development kit, therefore I think it will again end up loosing to the computer, especially when advanced shaders come out utilizing this important new feature.
worst of all is the fact there is no linux yet or any time soon. I am not ripping apart my console to help a development effort (http://www.free60.org) that will probably take a very long time. Microsoft is afraid that the xbox will hurt its windows sales according to some articles I have read. They also mention the connectivity and stand alone playback is again an attempt to defend Windows sales. I think if the Sony Playstation 3 turns out to be at least close to what it has promised, Microsoft will again be fighting as the secondary manufacturer, and probably disrupting its rather integrated interface to try and compete with Sony's features.
Other notes - "multiple dvds" is pretty unrealistic because of procedural texture generation. The ability to interrupt games I believe is pretty new for a console, and certainly very useful. The controller is shaped well, and the system doesn't look outlandish (a very good thing). It's nice to get a bundle instead of buying rip off accessories. You will need an optical connection if you want 5.1 sound. The console will get noisy after a few minutes, but this is expected. The optical drive is relatively fast. The system will take 7 gb from your hard drive so don't expect to store movies. You cannot do anything while you download.
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