Why do many retro gamers hate on the Xbox?

[Warmsignal]

Xbox is not so much ignored, as neglected. We haven't yet reached the age where the younger crowd are nostalgic for it. It was not my console of choice that generation, so I'll never feel much nostalgia for it myself. But I like the fact that it's a powerhouse, custom soundtracks and no memory cards are a thing on it, and that a lot of the shovel-ware stayed away from the console. Less shovel-ware overall, compared to the "massive" PS2 library. Sometime being the console that's best at certain things *cough* N64, is better than being the jack of many trades.... 

[stealthrush]

The North American marketing & software developers did not appeal to me. I remember vividly deciding to buy a PS2 over XBOX. The only game I was interested in was Gunvalkyrie - but looking through the overall initial launch line-up it was clear the system wasn't for me.

Personally I am not (was not) a fan of Western developed games, First-Person shooters, "realistic" story-driven games, I rather play Japanese arcade-oriented games. It wasn't until years later I discovered SEGA developed games for the system, and the handful of imports that were worthwhile.

[sworddude]

Xbox is not so much ignored, as neglected. We haven't yet reached the age where the younger crowd are nostalgic for it. It was not my console of choice that generation, so I'll never feel much nostalgia for it myself. But I like the fact that it's a powerhouse, custom soundtracks and no memory cards are a thing on it, and that a lot of the shovel-ware stayed away from the console. Less shovel-ware overall, compared to the "massive" PS2 library. Sometime being the console that's best at certain things *cough* N64, is better than being the jack of many trades.... 

shovelware should not be a concern at all if there is plenty of good stuff to be had. For ps2 I would estimate that for my personal taste there are around 400 450 good games imports included, to others 600 + if we include some genre's that I don't  like including survival horror for ps2. I can't say the same for other consoles.

for rpg's I think many would consider the ps2 a master aside from being a jack of all trades, I will agree that N64 has some very strong points for party games and masters that very well aside from 3d platforming adventure collect a ton games.

[kraussndhouse]

Games for Xbox worth owning:
Halo
Halo 2
...
...
...

I'm exaggerating, but only a little. The Xbox had almost no unique library to speak of outside of Halo, Microsoft really needs to get on their knees and pray to Bungie every day for the existence of their brand. I don't think anyone really hates it, but it affords so much fewer options for collecting than the PS2 or Gamecube.

There's some fantastic exclusive games on original XBox not named Halo. Here's a list off the top of my head.

-Arx Fatalis
-Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
-Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes
-Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (worth owning the system for this game alone, forget Halo)
-Fable
-Far Cry: Instinct
-Forza Motorsport
-Jade Empire (such an underrated and unique action-RPG)
-Oddworld: Munch's Odyssey
-Outrun II
-MechAssault 1 & 2
-Shenmue II
-Panzer Dragoon: Orta
-Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2
-Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
-Yager

Yager is incredible. It reminds of a more badass Snoopy vs The Red Baron. Stubbs is also amazing. Voodoo Vince (which was recently ported for the Xbox One, complete with Achievements) is game you could add to this list.

I like collecting for the OG Xbox because the games are affordable and it's a highly achievable collection to complete. I agree with the OP, it's an undervalued console and I also don't get the hate.

[Warmsignal]

Xbox is not so much ignored, as neglected. We haven't yet reached the age where the younger crowd are nostalgic for it. It was not my console of choice that generation, so I'll never feel much nostalgia for it myself. But I like the fact that it's a powerhouse, custom soundtracks and no memory cards are a thing on it, and that a lot of the shovel-ware stayed away from the console. Less shovel-ware overall, compared to the "massive" PS2 library. Sometime being the console that's best at certain things *cough* N64, is better than being the jack of many trades.... 

shovelware should not be a concern at all if there is plenty of good stuff to be had. For ps2 I would estimate that for my personal taste there are around 400 450 good games imports included, to others 600 + if we include some genre's that I don't  like including survival horror for ps2. I can't say the same for other consoles.

for rpg's I think many would consider the ps2 a master aside from being a jack of all trades, I will agree that N64 has some very strong points for party games and masters that very well aside from 3d platforming adventure collect a ton games.

600 worthwhile games on the PS2? That sounds like a stretch. I wouldn't know about imports, because I just don't import. The language barrier isn't worth it to me, and that's where I would roll out the argument that with all of the native releases I do have, why should I bide my time on imports that I can't really understand?

I've never found any console to have more than 200 games that really appeal to me and when I do, it's including titles of questionable quality. With certain genres excluded of course, like fighting, strategy, sports, and others that I don't really get into. I have just over 200 on PS2, and within the genres I do like there may be a dozen more I still feel are worth getting out of over 2,000 titles. There may be some I'm overlooking, but doubt that it's hundreds more.

Shovel-ware isn't really a concern so much but the more there is on a console, the more it obscures worthwhile titles. When I walk into my local game store, there is an entire room dedicated to PS2, but a lot of it is crap (and 10 copies each) and not necessarily the good titles everyone is after, because PS2 was very mainstream and many people bought crappy stuff on it. They have a separate glass case for the worthwhile PS2 games. The Xbox and GameCube selections are about 1/4th the size, but also with much less crap to filter through.

Wii is the same way. Wii library is massive, but most of it is crappy. Plenty of good ones if you dig, and do your homework. But there's something to said for consoles that don't have a bounty of shovel-ware on them at all.

[sworddude]

Xbox is not so much ignored, as neglected. We haven't yet reached the age where the younger crowd are nostalgic for it. It was not my console of choice that generation, so I'll never feel much nostalgia for it myself. But I like the fact that it's a powerhouse, custom soundtracks and no memory cards are a thing on it, and that a lot of the shovel-ware stayed away from the console. Less shovel-ware overall, compared to the "massive" PS2 library. Sometime being the console that's best at certain things *cough* N64, is better than being the jack of many trades.... 

shovelware should not be a concern at all if there is plenty of good stuff to be had. For ps2 I would estimate that for my personal taste there are around 400 450 good games imports included, to others 600 + if we include some genre's that I don't  like including survival horror for ps2. I can't say the same for other consoles.

for rpg's I think many would consider the ps2 a master aside from being a jack of all trades, I will agree that N64 has some very strong points for party games and masters that very well aside from 3d platforming adventure collect a ton games.

600 worthwhile games on the PS2? That sounds like a stretch. I wouldn't know about imports, because I just don't import. The language barrier isn't worth it to me, and that's where I would roll out the argument that with all of the native releases I do have, why should I bide my time on imports that I can't really understand?

I've never found any console to have more than 200 games that really appeal to me and when I do, it's including titles of questionable quality. With certain genres excluded of course, like fighting, strategy, sports, and others that I don't really get into. I have just over 200 on PS2, and within the genres I do like there may be a dozen more I still feel are worth getting out of over 2,000 titles. There may be some I'm overlooking, but doubt that it's hundreds more.

Shovel-ware isn't really a concern so much but the more there is on a console, the more it obscures worthwhile titles. When I walk into my local game store, there is an entire room dedicated to PS2, but a lot of it is crap (and 10 copies each) and not necessarily the good titles everyone is after, because PS2 was very mainstream and many people bought crappy stuff on it. They have a separate glass case for the worthwhile PS2 games. The Xbox and GameCube selections are about 1/4th the size, but also with much less crap to filter through.

Wii is the same way. Wii library is massive, but most of it is crappy. Plenty of good ones if you dig, and do your homework. But there's something to said for consoles that don't have a bounty of shovel-ware on them at all.

600 maybe 700 worthwile for most I dislike many genre's personally I'd say 400 450 imports included. not a stretch really tons of good games on the ps2 that are worthwhile and also many imports if your going deeper in the ps2 library. I'd say 50 japan imports for me.

I pretty much own 300 ps2 titles and i only collect what I like I lack pretty much all ps2 usa exclusive rpg's wich are ton also allot of unique non rpg usa exclusive games not to mention the many arcade like japanese exclusive games for the ps2. I do not even own all the good european ps2 games that I like  and still lack many of the good games wich aren't super hard to find but can be pricy or cheap like the huge dynasty warrior set or the armored core games and many many more. I'm pretty sure I can get 50 to maybe 100 + more titles of europe alone that I still need without the imports there are so many interesting games that I still lack for ps2.

Don't forget I also ignored all survival horror games wich there are a tons of on ps2 those are not my kinda games.

i'm pretty sure 400 - 450 (maybe 500) great titles is not out of reach for me. if you would included survival horror GTA like games  and many other genre's and classics that I dislike 600 easy if not way more.

As far as language barrier goes I only include titles as 2d fighting games shoot em ups beat em ups arcade ports you name it wich usually have fully english menu's etc or are pretty much free of text. Many game series like wonderboy or super bc kid have 3d remakes on the ps2 same gameplay but in 3d very interesting to me.

barely more than 200 titles for ps2 that's pretty impossible in my eyes but everyone has their opinion. i will say though that many ps2 games are pretty hard to find so many collectors will not even see 75% or more of the entire ps2 library to actually find the more obsecure interesting games.

Still though If I ever  would own 500 ps2 games that would basicly mean that I have every game that I ever wanted or have discovered for the ps2. Will most definitly never happen since I will most likely not find everything for cheap especially japan imports. Not an issue for me though but that's just a scenario if I would have 500 ps2 games that I like.

[blackarachnid41]

Personally, I actually love the original Xbox, and I wouldn't understand any hate for it either. I will admit, I do largely prefer playing my Nintendo and PlayStation consoles, but that doesn't take away from what is available on the Xbox. In fact, I would argue that the original Xbox has a very unique library compared to both the Gamecube and PlayStation 2 (in fact, all three 6th gen consoles had very unique libraries).

Compared to the Gamecube and PS2, the Xbox had way more western RPGs and more ports of PC games (in fact, both seem to near non-existent on the other two platforms outside of a few exceptions). Plus, as blasphemous as it may sound, some consider the Xbox as the Dreamcast 2.0 because of how much support it received from SEGA after they dropped out of the console race. Many of those SEGA games were actually exclusive to the Xbox (including, but not limited to, Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and, in the U.S., Shenmue II). Plus, the original Xbox served as the console debut for many developers who primarily only worked on PC games prior, including companies such as Bethesda and Bioware.

The original Xbox has plenty of amazing gems, and I certainly recommend giving it a chance.

[wartoy]

I love the original X-BOX many great games were available on it.Also loved the ps2 and gamecube dont understand why people can't enjoy them all.

[scraph4ppy]

I think the main issue the Xbox has in holding up against its competition is that its main selling points (greater power and PC ports/interface) don't matter so much to retro gamers anymore. For example, back on page one someone said an Xbox was worth owning for Morrowind alone. But nowadays the PC version of that game runs on a toaster, and with the ability to unstick yourself from walls and install mods, to boot. You could say the same with the system's back in the day much touted multi-media capabilities as well.

[kamikazekeeg]

Xbox was mostly a Halo machine for me when it came out, as that LAN action was pure gaming delight.  It was nothing compared to the PS2 (Outside of Halo being one of the best shooter for consoles, as Playstation didn't have anything comparable in the same regard), but it had a few gems.  Aside from there just not being a large selection of games that are a must have, it's also in a weird place in console history that skews it, unfairly or not. 

The Gamecube didn't do well, but it was Nintendo, it has history and a deep fan backing.  Same for Dreamcast because of Sega and for its significance in gaming culture in being Sega's last console and being considered underrated by people.  High above all is the Playstation 2 sitting there as some titanic juggernaut with all the games and sales.  And then there's the fatboy Xbox newbie, no pedigree, nothing significantly major about it, it's alright with some good stuff, but it's not exceptionally stand out...other than maybe beginning the better online service network, but that's not a factor for retro collectors.

There's no reason to hate the Xbox, but I fully understand collectors not really leaping at the system. 

I mean, just look at this behemoth of a controller! Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea?!

[hoshichiri]

I mean, just look at this behemoth of a controller! Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea?!

Now, to be fair, they did replace the Duke with the Controller S pretty early on, and that's an excellent controller.

[burningdoom]

I was already used to the Dreamcast controller, which I had right before my Xbox. So the controller never was a big deal for me. Even then, the smaller controller came out pretty quickly. So it's not like it's deal breaker, like the N64's controllers.

[kamikazekeeg]

I was just having abit of fun with that, as I know the S controller came out not too long after, I just find it funny how much of a 180 they did with that controller for the far superior S controller.  The S controller lead to the 360 controller which I think is the best controller ever IMO.  I'm still using a wired 360 controller on PC that I got years ago.

[oldgamerz]

I was already used to the Dreamcast controller, which I had right before my Xbox. So the controller never was a big deal for me. Even then, the smaller controller came out pretty quickly. So it's not like it's deal breaker, like the N64's controllers.

LOL this reminds me one of my bought used N64 controllers I had was green and had a crack on the bottom almost if it was used for more then playing video games

I prefer the Xbox Duke controller compared to the N64 controller at least the Xbox's Duke controller was well built and has an analog stick that nice in smooth unlike the awful N64's design

[adamilius]

I never had an X-Box, but remember others who did. It was great for getting together for Halo. I never really considered buying one, I remember at the time thinking it was a "specialized" console. Don't even know what that means now, but I was into PS2 and only played Halo. Now though, I am actually happy that I never gave it two thoughts because I can go back and collect/play the games for it and they will be like new.