Just add the expansion slot, and developers will use it.

Yeah, just look at all those network-ready games on other consoles! Ehhh. Put it in the box, provide easy to implement APIs, and developers will use it. Nobody understands this better than Microsoft.

FWIW not a single currently shipping game supports Broadband play, just LAN (and I know a number of people using it that way). That is why playing over the Internet requires software on a PC. Essentially a VPN is being used to fool the X-Boxen into thinking they are on the same physical network segment. It's a neat hack while we wait for Microsoft to launch their online service and monetize that $3 worth of hardware they added to each box.

DVD playback? Who cares, I want games! DVD playback in firmware licenses at like $20/unit, Ethernet seems like a much more prudent investment.

Controllers? Hard-core PC FPS people aren't the target audience (I like Halo's controls, my computer is for computing, surfing, and MP3 encoding). Size isn't a problem. What gets me after a long session is that the buttons are curved: the tip of my right thumb gets sore from the uneven pressure. Hopefully a third-party will get this right before I develop some sort of permanent injury.

The hardware platform itself? Everyone seems to overlook a very significant feature from the development perspective: Unified Memory Architecture. Forget the PC connotations of crappy unified chipsets from Intel, think more like SGI. This is a closed architecture with a kick-ass graphics sub-system and an optimized API. Developers don't have to worry about limited memory available for textures, polygons, sprites, whatever. System memory and bandwidth are the only limitations that developers have to worry about, meaning that they can concentrate more on making great games. This is the most important factor in the graphics superiority of the X-Box's release titles compared to the PS2 and GC.

Of course, to each their own. I'm convinced that the X-Box will have the most games that I will enjoy (I picked up three games at the same time as my X-Box, I can't think of three PS2 or GC games that entice me). I like that the X-Box breaks away from the legacy platform titles -- I got bored of Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and FF long ago. I like that the majority of X-Box games are aimed squarely at adults with big hands.

Most of all I like the X-Box's odds of survival. Since the modern console boom began with the original NES, the market has only been willing to support two consoles (with one heavily dominant). NEC's TurboGrafx variations. Various fringe platforms like CD-I, 3DO, Pippin. Sega's numerous CD attempts. I predict that Nintendo or Sony will be out of the console hardware business within three years, and whichever remains will have Microsoft on top.

-Bryce