But Turning 360 Takes Us Back to Where We Started!

"We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees."
-A Famous Professional Athlete

When I asked a friend of mine where he thought that quote came from, he made guesses such as Homer Simpson and Chris Griffin from Family Guy. Well it comes straight from the mouth of one of today's professional athletes. Kudos for anyone who can tell me who it is. But apparently this athlete didn't know that 360 degrees is a full circle and takes you back to where you started. Or maybe he knew it and meant it. Who knows?

Anyways today I was given my first glimpse at this...


Toweing ain't it?

I went to Roosevelt Field and apparently all the Electronic Boutiques in there had a promo set up of the Xbox 360 running. It had two playable games, Call of Duty 2, and Peter Jackson's King Kong. Well let me be the first to say....EH....

Suffice it to say I wasn't incredibly impressed. I mean yes the games did look great, but with all the hype surrounding the next gen systems, I was expecting more I guess. Don't get me wrong, the games ran incredibly smooth and looked fantastic, but somehow like I said, I expected more. The new 360 just feels like the old Xbox on steroids...but with a new shiny exterior...And i do have to admit...I DO LIKE shiny things...but still not too impressed...

Now I do have to wonder about Microsoft's choice of naming it the 360. I woulda thought they would've come up with something more interesting. I mean look at Nintendo's new console. The Revolution. That word just inspires a whole plethora of connotations about new things and going against the grain. Sure Sony's new consoles may not have exciting names if you think about it. Giving each new iteration of the Playstation the next positive integer in line may not be exciting, but the reputation of the brand Sony has built up around the Playstation in the past decade gives it all the connotations it needs in the mind of a gamer.

Now 360...Sure it sounds neat at first but if you think about it...Is the new Xbox just going back to where it started? I mean come on can't we name it the 180 to show we're gonna go in a totally different direction? Or how about the Xbox 359 or Xbox 1 just to show we're going in a SLIGHTLY different direction at least? Or is Microsoft sure that where they were headed before is definitely leading them to a bigger share in the console video game market? Or maybe they just didn't realize they've turned around and have turned nowhere at all.

Either way it's time for me to wait for the PS3 to see how it matches up with the new SHINY Xbox 360...