chapter bring it on!books.mhprofessional.com/downloads/osborne/products/... · 2002-09-10 · 2 the...

CHAPTER1Bring It On!Bring It On!

Blow the Lid Off! / Xbox: Blow the Lid Off! / Underdahl / 222607-2 / Chapter 1Blind Folio 1

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The Microsoft Xbox is just about the coolest thing out there. This slick lit-tle black and green box not only plays the latest games but also plays

your favorite DVD movies, records music from your audio CDs, and a whole lot more.If you can’t have fun with an Xbox, you’d better get someone to check your pulse!

By the way, don’t worry if you haven’t got your Xbox yet—in a few pages I’m goingto help you find your best deal so you can join the fun, too. We wouldn’t want toleave you behind simply because you’re still looking, would we? In the meantime,follow along and you’ll get a better idea of what to expect once you do bring homeyour own Xbox. Of course, if you already have your Xbox, be sure to read all of thegreat stuff in this chapter so you don’t miss anything important. I’m going to tell youabout a bunch of cool stuff you never knew. You won’t want to take the chance ofmissing anything, so let’s go!

BUSTING OUT YOUR XBOXOkay, okay—I know you can’t wait to get started, so let’s get on with it. You’ve justbrought your Xbox home, and you want to get right into playing with it. That’s cool,but let’s take a minute to figure out where you’re going to put it.

� You’ll want to put your Xbox close to your TV, of course. Your Xbox playsthrough the TV, so it has to be pretty close.

� You can connect your Xbox directly to your TV, but you’ll probably wantto connect it to your VCR instead so you don’t have to keep switching cablesevery time someone insists on watching the news or some other boring stuff.Of course, if you’ve got one of those fancy TVs with a bunch of differentinputs, you can connect to one of them and skip the VCR.

� You’ll need a space that’s about 14 inches wide, 5 inches tall, and at least14 inches deep for your Xbox. You could cram it into a slightly smallerspace, but your Xbox needs to breath to stay cool during hot game play,so leaving open space around it is a good idea.

� Any game controllers you use will plug into the front of your Xbox, but acouple of cords come out the back, too. One of these is the cable to your TVor VCR, and it can comfortably stretch four to five feet. Keep this distancein mind in choosing a location for your Xbox.

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Speaking of cords sticking out the back, don’t forget that you’ll need apower outlet, too. Fortunately, the Xbox only uses about as much power

as a 100 watt lamp, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble (unless you’ve already filled up all of theoutlets on several plug strips, of course).

Enough with the details, already. Let’s open the box and hook it up.

The first thing you should notice about the box that the Xbox comes in is that oneend says “open this side.” I suggest you follow that instruction since everything insideis packed so it will come out easiest that way. Of course, if you’re the kind who likesa challenge, do it your way. Once you’ve got everything out, let’s see what you’ve got.

WHAT YOU DO, AND DON’T, GET

You may be a little surprised at how few things you find in the box. There’s that bigpiece, which is the Xbox console, of course. Then there are two cables, a controller,and a packet of information (rather loosely defined as the “instruction manual”).

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Did it come as a surprise that there aren’t any games in the box?Unless you got a package deal or remembered to pick up a game or

two when you were shopping for your Xbox, you’ve got another trip to the store before you canactually start playing with it. If you’ve moved up to the Xbox from another game console, you’reprobably used to this, since none of those other game consoles include any of the games theyshow on the box, either. Still, if you’re shopping for your first game console, this is somethingyou’ll want to remember.




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ff! So just what do you get and what don’t you get in the Xbox box?

Cables—They Make a Difference

There are two cables in the box. One of them is pretty obvious—it’s the power cord.(Incidentally, the Xbox power cord is not one of those annoying ones that can only beplugged in one direction—you’ll really appreciate this if you end up needing to use anextension cord to run power to your Xbox!)

The other cord has a big blocky end that plugs into the back of your Xbox, andthree little plugs on the other end. These little plugs connect to the audio and videojacks on your TV or VCR—assuming your TV or VCR has these jacks, of course.(We’ll get to that in a minute.) The three little plugs are yellow, red, and white, andthey plug into the same color jacks on your TV or VCR. If your TV or VCR has morethan one set of these jacks, you’ll need to plug into the ones labeled “In,” not oneslabeled “Out.”

For those of you interested in the technical details, the connectors on the XboxA/V cable are known as RCA connectors. The yellow one is the video connector,

the red one is the right channel audio, and the white one is the left channel audio.

You might find that your TV or VCR only has two input jacks instead of three. Ifso, make sure you plug the yellow plug into the yellow jack, and either the red or thewhite plug into the other jack. If you use this arrangement, you’ll be stuck with monorather than stereo sound, but at least you’ll be able to get going.

Discover that you only have one audio input jack? Make sure you set your Xbox formono sound. I’ll show you how to do this in Chapter 2.

Discover that your TV or VCR doesn’t have any jacks matchingthe ones on the cable that came with your Xbox? Well, guess what?

This means you’ll need to buy a different type of cable. There are several different options, soyou’ll need one that works with your TV setup. If you’re in that boat, hang in there a bit longeruntil I tell you about the different cable options in Chapter 2. Who knows, you may discovera few more things you need before this chapter is over, so you might as well start making a list.



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On!One Big and Bulky Controller

The other piece of hardware you’ll find in the box is the Xbox controller. This is thatbig thing with a whole bunch of buttons and a greenish cable sticking out.

The Xbox controller is really a cool piece of work that packs a lot of functionalityinto a single unit. You’ve got three different joystick-type controls, a whole bunch ofbuttons, and two analog (proportional) triggers (under the front). Not only that, butthis thing rumbles and vibrates as you’re playing to give you an even more realisticexperience in many games. (They officially call this force feedback, but I just call itcool!) By the way, a lot of rabid gamers think the Xbox controller is far superior tothe controllers that come with any other game consoles—both in layout and in thequality of the controls.

As great as the Xbox controller is, it has a few drawbacks you’ll want to consider:

� It’s big. In fact, the Xbox controller is too big for people with small hands—that’s why Microsoft created a smaller version for the Japanese market.Children and some adults may need something smaller, but I personallyfind that it fits my large hands quite well. If necessary, you might want tocheck out the Xbox Controller S—a smaller version of the standard Xboxcontroller. It’s similar (but not identical) to the Japanese Xbox controller.

� Your Xbox comes with a single controller. You may have noticed that thereare four controller jacks on the front of your Xbox. If you want to have morethan one person playing at the same time, they all need their own controller.

� Finally, the standard Xbox controller is not the best way to control certaintypes of games. For example, in this scene from Project Gotham Racing, I’ve



once again smashed into the guardrail. Somehow, steering a race car with athumb-operated joystick just doesn’t feel quite right! Of course, not everyoneagrees with my opinion, so you may actually enjoy steering with a thumbstick.

Fortunately, the standard Xbox controller isn’t your only option. If you’re at all likeme, you’ll want to have several different ones to choose from so that you’ll have the

best one for whatever game you want to play. I’ll tell you about some additional controller options inChapter 3.

Before we move on, I want to point out one more really neat feature about theXbox controller. About six inches from the end of the cable that plugs the controllerinto your Xbox, you’ll find a quick-disconnect within the Xbox controller’s cable. Ifyou have ever played an exciting game of Halo or Blood Wake, you can certainly ap-preciate that feature, since it helps keep your Xbox from being smashed onto thefloor when you jump from your seat in the heat of battle (or when your dog trips overthe controller cable). By the way, your Xbox knows when the controller becomes dis-connected—many games will pause until you reconnect the cable.

Want something else you can brag about to your buddies who have a PS2? Just tellthem that yours is longer—your controller cable, that is. The Xbox controller’s

cable is just about 18 inches longer than the PS2 controller’s cable. This extra length makes it justa bit easier to sit back on your sofa while you’re playing.


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One Skinny Little Manual

Except for a couple pieces of packing material, the only other thing you’ll find in theXbox box is the documentation packet. Go ahead and take a look at it, but don’t ex-pect too much. You want some good information about your Xbox—that’s whyyou’re reading this book!

Well, there is one pretty useful thing in that packet—a card that entitles you to afree trial issue of the Official Xbox Magazine. Go ahead and check it out. You’ll get

a chance to try out some playable games on the demo disc that comes with each issue.

I Wonder Why the Box Looks Like a PC?

You’ve probably noticed that your Xbox looks a little like a PC. It’s about the size ofone, and it does play games, after all. What’s the real truth there? Is it or isn’t it justa PC in disguise?

Well, I won’t lie to you—a lot of people think that the Xbox is just a PC. Although youshouldn’t open up your Xbox (doing so will void your warranty), if you should do so, thecomponents inside would look fairly similar to a garden variety PC. In fact, your Xboxhas a lot of the same pieces you might find in a PC. But that doesn’t make it one.

For example, here are some important reasons why you shouldn’t think of yourXbox as an undercover PC:

� The Xbox has a 733 MHz Intel processor that is similar to a Celeron, butwith a slightly different configuration.

� Your Xbox has a hard drive, but it’s not compatible with PC hard drives.

� Your Xbox has a 233 MHz custom-designed graphics processor developedby Microsoft and nVidia. This graphics processor is specially designed forgames and is not compatible with PCs.

� Although the Xbox controllers are technically USB devices, they use a specialconnector that is very different from the PC’s USB connector. And unlike a PC,the Xbox can only recognize special Xbox-compatible controllers—there’sno way to add support for anything else.

� Finally, your Xbox can only play those games that were specifically designedfor the Xbox. At this time, there simply is no way to run any PC programson your Xbox.

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WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT WHAT YOU GET!

In case you missed it earlier, your basic Xbox does not include the dozen games that areshown on the box. If you look just below the sample images, you’ll see the small printthat reads “games sold separately.” Before you get too disappointed, though, remem-ber that your Xbox is simply the vehicle, and you need to supply the destination.

Think of it this way. When you want to go on vacation, you might decide to driveto the beach or the mountains. Your car has the ability to get you to those places, butyou have to decide where you want to go. If your car came with a bunch of prepaidhotel reservations, you’d be locked into going to specific places at specific times (andyou’d pay a lot more, too).

The same thing is true for your Xbox. Rather than including a bunch of games youmight not enjoy, Microsoft lets you decide which ones sound good to you.

But rather than focus on what isn’t there, let’s take a look at some of the otherways you can use your Xbox. You might even find a couple of extra arguments forwhy buying an Xbox is such a cool idea.

Beyond Gaming: Tweaking Your Xbox

There is more to your Xbox than simply games. In fact, it has some extra capabilitiesyou may not have realized were there when you bought it. Let’s take a quick look atwhat else your talented Xbox has up its sleeve.

Playing DVDs

Did you know that all Xbox games actually come on DVDs? If so, it might not sur-prise you to learn that your Xbox is also a full-featured DVD movie player, too. Sobuying an Xbox saved you the extra expense—not to mention the extra space—of a sep-arate DVD player. Pretty smart, huh?


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Surprise, surprise—playing DVD movies on your Xbox is notquite so easy as simply popping a DVD into the tray. You guessed it,

it’s back to the store for one more Xbox accessory. This time you need the Xbox DVD MoviePlayback Kit. This kit consists of a remote control and a small receiver that slips into one of thecontroller ports on the front of your Xbox. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up two AAA batteries—they’re not included in the kit.



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If you’re thinking you’ll skip the DVD Movie Playback Kit and just use that fancylearning remote you’ve got sitting there next to the couch, think again. An essentialpart of the kit is the receiver dongle that plugs into the front of your Xbox, and youwon’t find it available separately no matter how hard you look.

Playing Music CDs

Your Xbox is also a great audio CD player, and unlike playing DVD movies, youwon’t have to buy any add-ons to get great music playback. All you need to do is popin an audio CD, and your Xbox will begin playing the music.

You can also record music onto your Xbox’s hard drive from audio CDs. Yourrecorded music can then be used as a game soundtrack or even as background

music when you aren’t playing a game. I’ll show you how to do this in Chapter 4.

You may have a little trouble playing audio CDs that you have recorded ontoCD-R discs. Officially the Xbox does not support CD-R discs, but I’ve found that itcan actually play some of them. In some cases CD-Rs don’t play as well as pressedCDs, however. You may need to experiment with different brands of CD-R discs tofind ones your Xbox will play reliably. Or you could just record the audio tracks youwant to play onto your Xbox’s hard drive and play them from there, skipping theCD-R completely.

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HOW NOT TO GET RIPPED OFFThere’s no question that the Xbox is a hot product. Just finding one to buy can some-times be a real ordeal, can’t it? And when you do find an Xbox you can buy, how canyou tell if it’s really a good deal or if you’re getting ripped off?

No one wants to get ripped off or pay too much, so let’s take a look at how you canget your best deal on an Xbox system.

Places to Look for a Deal

Believe it or not, it’s really hard to find a reputable dealer who will sell you an Xboxfor very much less than the list price of $199.99. The reasons are pretty simple—everyone wants an Xbox, and dealers want as much profit as possible. That’s alsowhy many dealers will only sell you an Xbox as part of a package deal, and that pack-age may contain a bunch of expensive stuff you don’t really want.

Still I have found a few places, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and even CompUSA,that usually will sell you the Xbox you want without requiring you to buy a bunch ofextras you don’t want or need. You may need to watch your local newspaper to findthe latest specials.

Bundles: Are They Worth It?

Okay, so not all bundles are just a ploy to increase the dealer’s profit by sticking you witha bunch of junk. Unfortunately, though, a lot of bundles aren’t much of a deal. Sure, apackage deal may include an extra controller and three games, but you have to ask your-self if you really want that particular controller, and if those games really appeal to you.If the answer is yes, add up the prices of all the pieces if you purchased them separately,and figure out if the bundle is really a good deal or if you’re getting ripped off.

There are a lot of accessories you can get to soup up your Xbox. In fact, there areso many that it will take me several chapters to tell you about all of them. At the

very least, though, you’ll definitely want to check out Chapter 3 to learn about the controller options,Chapter 4 to see if memory modules are worth it, and Chapter 5 for info on buying games. In thosechapters, I’ll also try to give you an idea of how much you should pay for all the good stuff.

Here are some things to watch for:

� If the bundle price is more than the cost of the individual items, you’re gettingripped off.

� If the package includes several very similar games, you probably aren’t goingto play all of them, and the bundle is probably not worth it (unless, of course,you do want to play a bunch of similar games).



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� If you have small hands and the package includes an extra standard Xboxcontroller, you probably will need to buy some additional controllers thatfit your hands. If so, the bundle probably isn’t worth it for you.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Remember that there are no “official” Xboxbundles, so whatever package deal a dealer is offering is one they’ve assembled. Youmay be able to talk the dealer into substituting the items you want and make yourown package deal.

Buyer Beware: Online Deals

What about buying online? Isn’t that a sure way to get a good deal? In a word—no.The real problem with buying your Xbox console, accessories, and games online is

that you have to be very careful about who you’re dealing with, as well as how thewhole deal is put together. For example, be sure to ask yourself these questions aboutany online deal before you commit to a purchase:

� Is the seller someone you can trust? Remember that anyone can set up a website that makes it look like you’re dealing with a big, reputable company. Lookfor independent ratings, such as those from Gomez or BizRate, to see whatexperiences other buyers have had.

� Is the seller advertising a lowball price that turns out to be highly inflated byexcess shipping charges or required add-ons you don’t want? I’ve seen sellersoffer an Xbox console for $150, but when I checked out the deal, they wantedanother $200 for shipping. When you run into someone like this, just keeprunning and don’t let them get a hold of your credit card!

� Is the merchandise they’re offering new in a sealed box with a full warrantyand all of the manuals? Used equipment might be a good deal, but often it is“refurbished” or downright defective. Make sure the seller guarantees thateverything is complete and in good working order.

Major Online Retailers

Okay, so you’ve decided you want to try out some online shopping to see if you canget a deal. Where should you go? Here’s a list of places you might want to try:

� Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) It seems like Amazon.com sells justabout everything these days, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that theysell video game consoles, accessories, and games, too. One problem you’lllikely encounter with Amazon.com is they seem to offer the Xbox only aspart of a package deal. You might find that you have to buy things you don’twant to get the console you do want, so watch carefully.

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� GameStop.com (www.gamestop.com) GameStop is one of the lesser knownvideo game retailers to most people, but they also seem to be one of the bestplaces to get good prices, good selection of in-stock merchandise, and greatshipping rates. At GameStop you can buy exactly what you want (althoughthey do offer bundles if you really want one).

� EBGames.com (www.ebgames.com) If you want to look for a deal on abundle, EBGames may be your choice. This is the online version of ElectronicsBoutique, so you know you’ll find a lot here.

� Wal-Mart.com (www.walmart.com) This is the online edition of the hugeretailer, so you know you can trust them. The online store seems to leanfairly heavily on bundles, however, so you may get a better deal by drivingdown to your local store.

Online Auction Houses

If you really want an adventure buying your Xbox, you may want to try the onlineauctions. Some people find the auctions exciting, but then some people think runningwith the bulls is fun, too.

By far, the auction site with the largest number of people selling an Xbox is eBay(www.ebay.com). Quite a bit further down the scale you’ll find the occasional Xboxoffered at the Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) auctions, but you’ll probably have to bepretty lucky to find one there or at any of the other online auction sites.

The online auctions seem to be flooded with people attemptingto sell “wholesale lists” or “wholesale CDs” for anywhere from

$7.95 to $19.95. In reality, these jokers aren’t selling anything of value—they’re just out to takeyour money. Face it, you simply aren’t going to find anyone who will sell you a brand new Xboxfor pennies on the dollar unless they don’t really own it. Steer well clear of these people unlessyou enjoy getting cheated.



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tween online merchants and online auctions. At Half.com you’ll find a lot of Xboxconsoles for sale in a variety of conditions, from new through junk. This may be theone place where you can actually get a discounted price, but you’ll need to exerciseextreme caution and make certain you understand exactly what you’re buying.

If you shop at Half.com, make certain you click on the Total Price columnwhen you start browsing. Many of the Half.com sellers advertise super

lowball prices, but then jack up their profit with huge shipping charges. By clicking on the Total Pricecolumn, you’ll see the items sorted by the total price including shipping, and you’ll be able to makea far better choice.

BEING NICE TO YOUR XBOX

Once you’ve gone to all the trouble to get yourself an Xbox, you’ll want to be nice toit so that it lasts a long time and provides lots of fun. To help you make certain thathappens, I’ve come up with a list of tips on taking care of your Xbox.

� Like any electronic equipment, your Xbox can be damaged by electricalspikes and surges that come in on the power lines. You can protect yourXbox by plugging it into a surge suppressor rather than directly into thewall outlet. A simple surge suppressor should cost less than 20 bucks atthe store where you bought your Xbox or at a home improvement center.

� Make sure you leave at least a couple of inches of free space around all sidesof your Xbox so that air can circulate, and don’t place it in direct sunlight.There’s a lot crammed into the case, and you don’t want it to overheat.

� A lot of game players get pretty animated in the heat of an exciting game.Make sure your Xbox isn’t going to get jerked off the shelf during violentmoves, and never tape or glue the quick-disconnect in the controller cableto prevent it from coming apart.

� If your Xbox gets dirty, use a soft cloth to wipe it off. Never spray any liquiddirectly onto the case, and if someone spills a soda (or some other liquid) ontothe Xbox, wipe it off immediately. Be sure to unplug the Xbox if it does getwet, and try not to do too much physical damage to the person who wasso careless.



� Never try to open the case on your Xbox. Doing so will void your warrantyand can expose you to some really nasty high voltages. Besides, I’ll satisfyyour curiosity in Chapter 10 by doing exactly what I’m telling you not to do,and then showing you the pictures.

� Don’t try to use any accessories unless they have the official Xbox logo.They won’t work, and they might damage your Xbox.

� Finally, remember that your Xbox really isn’t out to humiliate you. Don’tget upset if it takes a while to master a game, and never throw your Xboxacross the room.

Okay, so there you have the basics of the Xbox. Next, I’ll tell you a lot more abouthow to get the most out of it by hooking it up right the first time. I’m also going to tellyou about some connection options that may make your picture and sound come outa whole lot better than they would if you used the standard cables.


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