1. I do despise the controller quite a bit. Why is there 2 memory card slots on it when the console has a hard drive to save to? Just put one or two slots on the console it's self for the copying to a friend feature. And it is a bit hefty for no real reason.

The slots are for accessories in addition to memory cards. The one that MS keeps mentioning is a headset/mic for when they launch the online service. I suppose they could have put memory card slots in the console itself and left just 1 on the controller but I don't think this is the reason the controller is so hefty. For whatever reason, MS decided that it wanted a controller that large. I think it was a mistake but it's not the end of the world. You get used to it after a while and there are aftermarket controllers to suit different hand sizes. Thrustmaster makes a great XBox controller that has become my primary. I find it hard to believe that this would be the decisive factor in what console you choose.

2. Even with a hard drive, the games load slow. DoA3 is a good example on this one.

Yeah, I hoped the HDD would improve load times. Maybe future games will be designed to use it better. It's no worse than any other console.

3. Halo sucks on that console. Seeing it at E3 2000, then on the XBox at 2001 was disappointing. Even the developers had problems using the controllers better then a keyboard and mouse.

Then I guess you won't be playing FPS games on a console. I like to play my games on a console in my living room so whether or not the PC has a better control scheme is irrelevant to me. It's too bad you're not able to get past learning a new controller and enjoy what is almost universally considered a great game.

4. It really has no exclusive titles worth getting. PS2 has FFX, Gamecube will have Metroid and Zelda, and the PC will have Halo.

Again, I like to play my games in my living room so comparisons to PC gaming are irrelevant to me. I would speculate that the majority of console buyers feel as I do.

Geez, you've got to give the thing a chance on the software catalog. It's only been out a couple of months and it had a stronger launch lineup than the PS2 or Gamecube. Halo is exclusive to the console world. Project Gotham Racing is a fantastic game (my favorite). Wreckless is exclusive and a lot of fun. Jet Set Radio Future and Rallisport Racing are two exclusive games about to be released that look very promising. Right now the XBox is playing catch up to the PS2 but I believe by this point next year the software catalogs won't be a major advantage for either unless you have a strong affinity for a particular game.

5. It forces too much hardware into a box.

I couldn't disagree more. I want all that I can get for my money. Let's look at the hardware advantages:

a) There is no denying that the hard drive is a valuable benefit.

b) The real time Dolby Digital encoding makes an enormous difference in the immersion factor of the games. In PGR I can hear where the other cars are relative to me. And the DD encoding is essentially free for the developer as long as they implement positional audio using the API's. The DD encoding doesn't have to be implemented by the developer and doesn't steal hardware resources.

c) Best graphics engine. Do you not want this?

d) Ethernet. We all know that ethernet adds a negligible cost these days, especially since the XBox is a PC based architecture and ethernet is built into the chipset. Ethernet is absolutely key to MS's XBox strategy. They have stated that they expect online to be the next revolution in console gaming. Yeah, this is marketing hyperbole but it is a significant differentiator for the XBox. I think it'll be successful.

It was critical that the ethernet be in every XBox if MS wanted to get support from the developers. Console add-ons have historically failed. Also, I'm sure the percentage of XBox owners with broadband is much greater than the general population.

If MS had priced the XBox at $400 or 500 than I could understand your sentiment about overloading the hardware. But they priced it competitively. When you factor in not needing memory cards, the XBox is cheaper than the PS2 and not that far from the GC.

And why port the PC to a console?

Why not? They can take advantage of commodity hardware, proven design, sunken R&D cost and pre-existing development tools.

6. It's going to see an influx of buggy games.

This is speculation. I disagree. We'll see how it turns out.

7. Every XBox fan keeps pushing specs at me. They don't matter. [...] If specs matter, the GameBoy would have been long dead, the PSOne would have never taken off, and Atari would have ruled.

And every PS2/GC fan pushes the exclusive titles at me. If pre-existing franchises were all that mattered then Sony would have been stomped by Nintendo and Sega in the 90's.

-Dylan