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We're days away from the launch of the Xbox 360...but are things shaping up to be as Microsoft planned? We take a look at how the 360 will take a nose dive into destruction.

Origen

Annoying Marketing Campaigns

ilovebees.com and ourcolony.net struck advertising gold by drawing in the hardcore gamers and the casual folks with word-of-mouth interest. But too much of a good thing can certainly turn bad...not unlike that annoying friend of yours who always uses the same damn move over and over again in fighting games. Microsoft is beating the viral marketing horse like it's going out of style and we're the ones left to suffer. origenxbox360.com was probably the final nail in the coffin. After much speculation and rumor mongering, Microsoft's cryptic site turned out to be a European-only contest page--weak! To make things even more embarrassing, Microsoft is throwing an "exclusive" launch party in the middle of the damned desert. Personally, there's not much that's mysterious or "underground" about a console that I can take for a test drive at my local Wal-mart.

Halo

No Killer-Ap

We want Halo 3. And like the spoiled children we are, we're not going to be happy until we get it. Kameo: Elements of Power and Perfect Dark Zero don't equal Halo 3. In fact, it just equals two crappy games that aren't going to go far in terms of satisfying hungry console launch enthusiasts. While the launch line-up of third party titles is pretty impressive, just imagine what the launch of the Xbox 360 could have been if Bungie's flagship series had been there, ready for purchase.

The Big S

Though it might sound pessimistic, it's an undeniable fact that Microsoft, no matter how much marketing and wrangling they can pull off, will always play second fiddle to Sony. You just can't compete with their numbers. So instead of the Xbox 360 becoming a contender, it'll just end up fighting it out with Nintendo and their Revolution console for second or third place. Microsoft may have deep pockets, but it's going to take more than money for it to vault the Xbox 360 into the number one spot.

Backwards Compatibility

For quite some time now Microsoft has touted the Xbox 360's ability to play old Xbox games. But what they actually said was "top-selling" titles. I guess that's why such classics as Toxic Grind, Drake of the 99 Dragons, and Kabuki Warriors are currently going to be supported at launch, as opposed to actual hits like games from the Burnout or Splinter Cell franchises. Just think of all the fun you're going to have once you get your Xbox 360, too. What could be more fun than sitting down with your immense collection, popping each game into your console, and then having to download a patch for each one? How about just setting up your old Xbox and playing your catalog of titles the old-fashioned way?

Japanese Schoolgirls

Japanese People

The entire Japanese populace is sort of like that hot girl from high school that you always wanted to ask out, but never could figure out the right way to do it. Microsoft wants a piece of the Japanese market, but like any other bumbling American company, it doesn't know how to sweep them off their feet. It doesn't help that their answer so far has been to buy up Japanese developers so that they can put out more "Japanese-friendly" titles. Like that hot girl, the Japanese consumers aren't dumb, only picky. Enter Sony, a company founded in Japan with fully-staked interests in the Japanese consumer electronics market, and you're left with a winning combination that consumers can get behind. Sort of like that guy who actually went out with that hot girl back in high school.

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