Today news broke that the beta version of the Nintendo Wii's internet browser became available, which got us a thinking. Early next year Wii owners will have access to a fully functioning internet browser and the Playstation 3 has had a browser built-in since day one. Our questions is rather simple, do you desire internet surfing capabilities on your Xbox 360? To us it seems a tad odd that out of all the next gen consoles the 360 is the only one that lacks the ability to surf the net. It isn't like Microsoft doesn't have instant access to an internet browser and a bajillion lines of code, but maybe they didn't include it on purpose. Maybe Microsoft has been focusing solely on creating a video game media hub all along and doesn't want to taint the console with internet capabilities, which would make it seem more computer-like. Whatever the reason is we can't surf the net on our 360, but I ask again ... would you use the internet browser if it were available in the near future or is the lack of this feature really not that big of a deal to you?
Important or not, surfing the net on your 360
Today news broke that the beta version of the Nintendo Wii's internet browser became available, which got us a thinking. Early next year Wii owners will have access to a fully functioning internet browser and the Playstation 3 has had a browser built-in since day one. Our questions is rather simple, do you desire internet surfing capabilities on your Xbox 360? To us it seems a tad odd that out of all the next gen consoles the 360 is the only one that lacks the ability to surf the net. It isn't like Microsoft doesn't have instant access to an internet browser and a bajillion lines of code, but maybe they didn't include it on purpose. Maybe Microsoft has been focusing solely on creating a video game media hub all along and doesn't want to taint the console with internet capabilities, which would make it seem more computer-like. Whatever the reason is we can't surf the net on our 360, but I ask again ... would you use the internet browser if it were available in the near future or is the lack of this feature really not that big of a deal to you?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
12-22-2006 @ 5:18PM
masterxbox100 said...
yes. i would use it every day.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:20PM
nizzy1115 said...
yes i would hook up a keyboard and mouse for this purpose and get rid of my htpc
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12-22-2006 @ 5:21PM
ThweeSiddy said...
I dont care if the 360 has a web browser...
...cuz I have a Wii :-D
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12-22-2006 @ 5:23PM
maxpl said...
i would not considering you need a mouse and a keyboard, plus i already have a computer costing over 2k which i like to use.
web browsing on video game consoles is a gimmick. very few will use it.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:29PM
jarg said...
I would use it, imagine playing a game and you get stuck on a level, so you pause the game and launch the browser to search for tips on how to pass that level and to check out www.xbox360fanboy.com. Yeah... it would be nice.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:32PM
s2h said...
imagine pausing the game and walkin to your computer instead of having to have a keyboard and mouse hooked up.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:44PM
corleone said...
MS has a chance to show the other two how its done , ps3 hasnt got it rght , and no matter how hard nintendo try , 480p will never do . so yeah id like to see them do the browser properly on a console
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12-22-2006 @ 5:51PM
Matthew Mac said...
No, for the same reason I think most of the extra crap on the PS3 is stupid: I already have a computer.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:53PM
Vilhelm said...
Naw, would never use it.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:57PM
Imadogg said...
I'd only use the browser if Microsoft used Firefox on the 360 :)
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12-22-2006 @ 5:58PM
maxvanhelsing said...
Definately.
I use my PSP's all the time, but it always displays "not enough memory", which wouldn't be a problem for the 360.
I really don't know why Gates hasn't given us one yet.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:58PM
Logan T. said...
I couldn't care less. I bought my Xbox 360 for games, movies, and music. If I wanted it to do anything more I would have just spent the money on a new computer. If I really wanted to surf the internet on my TV I would hook my laptop up to my TV.
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12-22-2006 @ 5:59PM
Joost Schuur said...
I couldn't care less about a browser on any of my next gen systems (I have all 3).
I have about 4 computers in my house already that i can browse from, including a laptop that I usually position infront of my console gaming setup.
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12-22-2006 @ 6:04PM
Measure said...
I don't really want or need a browser on my Xbox. I've never heard anything good about WebTV, even from users. Why would I want a likely crippled browser on my Xbox when I have a fully-functional computer nearby?
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12-22-2006 @ 6:04PM
Alijah Green said...
ITS NOT A PAIN TO DO FOR ONE. PLUS MSFT SAID THAT THEY WILL GIVE THEIR CUSTOMER A CHOOSE. SO WHY NOT GIVE US A CHOOSE THEN. JUST MAKE IT WORLDS BETTER
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12-22-2006 @ 6:17PM
joneses said...
im up for it, i use my htpc in the theatre now for web and email when im home sick and wanting to watch a movie etc at the same time, i could use my desktop or laptop too i guess but not having to drag the laptop around the house or go downstairs tot he study to do so would also be great, means my kids could use the browser while playing instead of messing my shit up :P
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12-22-2006 @ 6:19PM
Mike said...
"I dont care if the 360 has a web browser...
...cuz I have a Wii :-D"
Good luck browsing the web in 480 :p
My brother has a wii and we tried out the web browsing. Its damn awful. Almost as bad as me s-videoing out from my pc graphics card to my Tv. I dont have an HDTV yet but I plan to get it as soon as samsungs new models come out. So basically, I would like to see a web browser. even tho my pc is next to my tv, and I will have my pc connected to the TV, I can still browse the web without having my computer on.
Of course I want proper 1080p output for web browsing. 480p like wii has is just silly. Hopefully my 360 will one day get a web browser.
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12-22-2006 @ 6:19PM
Justin said...
In one of the newer issues of PC Magazine comparing the 3 systems, microsoft claims that they polled users on if they wanted a browser, and the majority said no. I dont see why. I would definitely use it, it would be nice to be able to check gamefaqs on the fly while playing a game.
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12-22-2006 @ 6:25PM
Eli said...
I DO NOT WANT A VIRUS ON MY 360!!!!
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12-22-2006 @ 6:26PM
ciscomancer said...
I always thought that had MS put a browser on the original Xbox, coupled with Live, could have really put a dent in the PS lead. The original Xbox brought things to console users that pc players had been doing for a while (my brother played Halo endlessly but had never heard of Counterstrike). I think the bad taste WebTV left at MS killed any notion of it happening.
Like most people are pointing out, I would definately use it to check out gamefaqs, or 360fanboy or whatnot. It's not going to replace my PC, but it would save me some trips upstairs.
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