Gaming Addict

But I’m sure you already knew that.  Given that the 360 was a system clearly not designed to play videogames, despite it being a home videogame console, as the system has the highest rate of failure probably in the history of home gaming devices.  Come to think of it, I don’t know anybody still using their original Xbox 360, and most of them are beyond their second.  

But now with a little detail that bothers me, Microsoft has screwed Americans again, with it’s new redesign of the Xbox 360’s controller.  Asia, Europe and Latin America will all be recieving new directional pads that are much more functional than the 360’s original awful design.  But no North American releases are planned?

Supposedly the new D-pad will mimic the Sony Playstation’s much more successful execution of the concept.

But I don’t understand this for a few reasons.  One of the reports says that the major reason in those continents/countries is the popularity of the Pro Evolution Soccer series.  What about tactical shooters in which unit tactics are controlled through the d-pad? 

Or how about Xbox Live navigation, because how much do I hate when I’m navigating a menu, using the d-pad so as to not accidentally navigate away from a page with the inaccuracy of a joystick.  Only to suffer for my action to be read incorrectly, and to be switched from a page I was halfway scrolled in to, causing me to lose my place completely.   Which is also a message about how awful the system for purchasing content on Xbox Live is at the moment, thank god for the fall update which should fix the issues.

So I guess I’m just confused as to why Microsoft wouldn’t include a hardware update, that will clearly be beneficial to gameplay, in their largest installed base of customers.  Because let’s face it, Microsoft makes their money in America.  They’ll never beat Sony in Japan, and Europe doesn’t yet have the same market for gaming that the United States does.  

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