As a predominate Xbox user, I do not consider myself a "lemming", as Xbox fans are called in the System Wars forums. While I prefer my Xbox over other current generation systems, I do not fail to see the merits of the competition. I do not blindly rule out every system that is not my own. With that said, I also believe that technologically speaking, Xbox is by far superior to PS2 or Gamecube. That is a fact, regardless of what "cows" and "sheep" like to believe. Maybe not to a PC, though I would probably consider it to be better than MY PC. But for the sake of this entry, I'm going to leave the PC out of the picture, because my point is to discuss the home consoles, and specifically, their power in relation to one another.

As it stands, most multiplatform games are developed initially for the PS2, the lowest common denominator, i.e., the least powerful of the 3 consoles. The subsequent Xbox and occasionally Gamecube versions (considering that there IS a Gamecube version) are usually nothing more than slightly enhanced PS2 versions. This seems a bit contrived to me. If a company is developing a game to play to PS2's strengths, it's not exactly making the best use of Gamecube or Xbox hardware, is it? Sure it makes for a good looking game by PS2 standards, but Xbox standards are different. Xbox users expect higher quality and have higher standards for Xbox games than the average PS2 owner. My proposal then is this: why not develop multiplatform games using the Xbox hardware and then suit the other versions to the strengths of their respective consoles? Would that not, in the long run, make for better looking games across the board? Even though PS2 and Gamecube versions would not look as good as the Xbox version, they would still be top tier games graphically on their respective systems. This would benefit every console. Rather than have a good looking PS2 game, a good looking Gamecube game and only an OK looking Xbox game, would it not make more sense to have them all looking great?

There are some games that use my proposed model. The Splinter Cell series makes a perfect example. Developed for Xbox and PC at first, they are great looking games on Xbox and PC. The versions that follow essentially use the same basic engine, but are scaled down to fit the parameters of the PS2 and Gamecube. What results is a game that generally looks much better than most of the other games on those systems. Another perfect example is Starcraft: Ghost, which is being developed with the Xbox in mind and is a great looking game because of it. The PS2 and Gamecube versions both look great as well because they sport a graphics engine that was essentially made for Xbox. This way of thinking makes perfect sense to me. Better looking games on every system. Does anybody agree with me on this?