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For the last year or so, web sites and magazines everywhere have been flooding their pages with information on all things Xbox 360. Microsoft made some lofty promises about bringing gaming into the HD era, and creating the most powerful gaming machine ever. Many months, and a few million units sold at launch later, the Xbox 360 is sitting comfortably in many homes, though not as many as Microsoft, or its fanbase hoped.

Hardware shortages really hurt Microsofts image last week. Many eBay scam artists walked away with smiles on their faces, and are racking up cash from desperate consumers online, while many legitimate gamers went home empty handed. This could be partly due to the unfair random draw system many stores are reported to have had in order to be more fair to everyone. Some reports from angry customers state that some gamers that waited in line from as early as 5 in the morning went home with nothing because they were randomly drawed to the back of the lineup. Many horror stories like this are cycling the internet right now, with who knows how many more unspoken by people that dont use message forums.

If the Xbox 360 launch was successful breaks down completely on what perspective youre looking at it from. On the one side, Microsoft sold a hell of a lot of units, created a high demand from customers due to the short supply of units available, and generated a whole lot of hype based solely on how hard it is to get one now. On the flip side, many gamers went home disappointed, many well layed out Christmas gift plans have been thrown out the window, and a large number of the Xbox 360 launch lineup is made up of beefed up current generation games. You have to take the good with the bad, it seems.

Of 18 launch titles available day and date with the system, 4 are available on PS2, Xbox and/or Gamecube, 2 are available for PC, and 5 are sports games that lack features that were made available on older systems last year. This leaves a timid 6 titles left that are suppose to usher in the next generation of gaming. 6 titles out of 18 is a meek number to say the least, especially when were talking about something that Microsoft is pushing on everyone as the most powerful gaming machine on the market. Boasting about your new system to friends seems like it will be hard to do with Gun or Tony Hawks American Wasteland. Yeah, they may play great, but the visual difference is the first thing a prospective buyer sees, and when the new system seemingly doesnt provide much better graphics than the system they have at home already, then youre going to have a hard time selling them on it.

Thats not to bash the 360 launch lineup, because Im not. In fact, in the coming week, youll see that Im actually quite impressed with the quality of most of the titles available for the system. The problem I have is that many of these experiences are available elsewhere. When Xbox launched years back, many people (mostly Sony fanboys) tried to claim Xbox only had one good game at launch: Halo. This was untrue. Halo may have lead the march, but not far behind were quality titles like Dead or Alive 3 and Project Gotham Racing. These games were not available on any other platform. Quake 4 and Call of Duty 2 are both excellent games in their own rights, and Ill be playing them both for some time to come, but theyre both available on PC, so I dont feel that special quality that an exclusive launch game has. Years back, when you loaded up your Xbox to play Halo, you felt like you made the right choice in buying an Xbox because you wouldnt be having that experience on any other platform. Finding that feeling is harder amidst the 360 lineup.

In talking with some of the local EB Games associates, I found that the most popular launch titles for buyers were Perfect Dark Zero (which was nearly unavailable by the end of launch day) and Project Gotham Racing 3. Im speaking, of course, for my area, and cannot testify to the popularity of the games in any other part of the country. The most popular accessories in the area were an extra controller, which was almost guaranteed beforehand, anyway.

So really, was it worth all the fuss? Does the Xbox 360 really usher in the next generation of gaming? The answer, I find, is grey. Theres no yes or no answer. Part of the 360 screams next gen, while another part screams beefed up current gen.

The beefed up current gen side of the coin comes from my above statement of lack of true next generation titles available currently. Too much of the 360s lineup can be enjoyed elsewhere. Its a small issue to some, but it seems like a bigger issue the more I dwell on it. People want to be blown away with their next generation games. Im not sure theres as many of those people right now as there should be.

The true next gen side, however, comes from the hardware itself. As many people will testify, the Xbox 360 is one sleek piece of hardware. This is, of course, if you were lucky enough to get your hands on the premium bundle.

Microsoft has made the contents of the premium bundle very clear by now, but in case you somehow missed out on it, Ill run through it very quickly for you:

The Premium Bundle i.e. True Next Generation Gaming

-         Wireless controller

-         20 gig Hard drive for game saves, custom soundtracks, downloadable content, etc

-         Media remote

-         High definition cables

-         Xbox Live headset

-         1 month free Xbox Live Gold membership

The Core System i.e. Save Your Money Until You Can Afford The Premium Bundle

-         Wired controller

-         Standard AV cables

With the Premium Bundle, thanks to the included HDD, gamers will be able to log onto Xbox Live and download content from the Live Marketplace such as trailers, game demos, music videos, Live Arcade games and more. The HDD is also the source of the systems backwards compatibility, allowing you to update your system to play old Xbox games.

The Core System plays Xbox 360 games, and thats pretty much it.

The argument Microsoft provides for having the two different packages available is that some people cant afford the extra money for the Premium Bundle, so they can buy the Core System and upgrade it as they please. The problem with that is that by the time you fully upgrade your Core System to the same state as a Premium, you will have spent an extra $200 on accessories, instead of paying the extra $100 up front. So, in the end, the Premium Bundle becomes the financially sound investment, thus demeaning Microsofts need for two consoles.

The obvious value of the Premium Bundle is apparent to many gamers, as I personally saw a good chunk of a 360 lineup up and leave when they found out that only Core Systems would be available. The majority of Core System purchases made this season will be made by parents scrambling to obtain the 360 for their kids. Since parents are usually fairly uneducated as far as games go, they wont care about the difference so long as they get one under the Christmas tree. But getting back on track

Once you turn on your 360 for the first time, youre presented with a sleek, yet simple looking interface that is the 360 dashboard. Unlike the original Xbox, the 360 allows you to play music while you browse through your Live account, the Marketplace, and even while you manage your files. The dashboard is divided up into 4 blades (which is a fancy Microsoft word for section). Theres one for Xbox Live, Games, Media and System. The Xbox Live blade is for exactly what you think: Managing your Live profile, messaging friends, adding friends to your list, the Marketplace, etc. The Games blade keeps track of all your achievements, your played games, your downloaded demos and trailers, and finally, the games you have on your Live Arcade. The Media blade allows you to control the music, movies, pictures, and Media Center configurations. As you know by now, you can plug a digital camera into your 360 and view the images on your TV screen, and things of that nature. That is all handled under the Media blade. The System blade is where youll find all the technical configurations of your console, from the Computer connectivity to the language and display settings. This is also the blade used to manage your saved files on your Hard Drive or memory card.

The great thing about the 360 dashboard, aside from its immensely user-friendly interface, is that your Gamer Card is accessible from any of the first 3 blades, making accessing it a snap. You may or may not know by now, but your Gamer Card is an extension of your Xbox Live account that basically acts as your profile for all other Live gamers to see. From here, other players can view what achievements youve unlocked, what games you play, your rating out of 5 stars, etc. From your Gamer Card, other players can even submit reviews about you. This turns into your Rep. A high Rep shows that gamers enjoy playing with you, while a low Rep likely means youve done something that some people found very un-sportsmanlike. Microsoft has really put a lot of work into the new Xbox Live, and it shows.

Theres much more to know about the Xbox 360, but chances are, if youre interested in it, you know most of it by now. If not, Microsoft is never too busy to toot their own horn, and Xbox.com is open for business 24/7. The purpose of this article was to give you a view of the launch and the system through my eyes, and to give you an idea what the final hardware ended up like.

All in all, the Xbox 360 itself is a true next generation system that has a ton of potential to fill. The launch lineup isnt as prime as the system, but most major genres are represented, and even the pickiest gamer would have a hard time finding something they didnt enjoy on the 360. Once the flood gates open on true next generation games like Gears of War and 99 Nights, the 360s real power will be unleashed, and well really be knee deep in next generation goodness. Its off to a good start, but theres way more where this came from. Count on it.  

Check back frequently as we start releasing our reviews for much of the Xbox 360 launch lineup!