Microsoft XboxOn March 10,
2000 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California, Bill
Gates, Microsoft's Chairman and Chief Software Architect, wasted
little time in getting to the point: the company would be releasing
a new platform that promised to take users in "directions that we
can't even imagine." The platform? The not-so-secretive Xbox, the
working name of the company's first console game system, scheduled
for release in the fourth quarter of 2001.
Microsoft's vision, according to Gates, is to "empower people
through great software -- any time, any place and any device."
Citing the steady growth in games over the years (an estimated 200
million games sold in 1999 alone), Gates explained how a platform
such as the Xbox can succeed in the marketplace by offering new
opportunities for gaming. He continued to show how far Microsoft and
the industry as a whole had come by comparing the technology of two
games: 1981's Olympic Decathlon (Microsoft's first game) and Digital
Anvil's Freelancer (published by Microsoft in 2000).
Gates' speech helped illustrate the reason why Microsoft decided to
enter the console gaming market in the first place: the rapid rise
in technology coupled with the decline in costs allowed them a
"window" of opportunity. The air was not initially filled with
optimism, however. When Bill Gates was approached with the idea in
late 1998, he was concerned whether or not the Xbox could be twice
as good as something already out there. After learning about the
proposed features it would have, Gates' initial concerns were
alleviated and the project began the process of becoming a reality.
The Xbox, despite rumors to the contrary, would not simply be an
extension of the company's PC experience wrapped up in a console.
There will be no load times, no software installation, no device
conflicts and no worrying about meeting the minimum system
requirements. But this isn't your typical console system, either. A
number of innovations were announced to make it stand out from not
only the current batch of consoles, including the Dreamcast and
PlayStation 2, but from every console produced before it.
The platform has a custom 733MHz Intel CPU along with a Microsoft/NVIDIA-designed
GPU capable of performing more than one trillion operations per
second. This frees the CPU to do other things rather than being
bogged down with polygons or textures. The throughput also promises
to deliver photo-realism in terms of visual quality, and Gates
himself beamed that the technology is three generations better than
the latest graphics chip out on the market (as of March 2000).
Sound was also major focus for the Xbox, as consoles were perceived
by Microsoft to have failed in seizing the opportunity to offer
high-quality audio for users. In a concerted effort to address this,
the Xbox will have a 64-voice I3DL2 audio processor that promises to
deliver movie-like sound. Memory, the bane of most console systems,
was targeted as well: the platform will ship with 64MB of unified
memory with a 200 MHz bandwidth to the CPU. The most intriguing
feature, however, was the fact that all Xbox consoles will come
equipped with an 10GB hard drive.
Other than Nintendo's 64DD console add-on for the Nintendo 64
(available only in Japan), gamers have not had the ability to save
large amounts of data or experience new level add-ons, characters or
similar enhancements. Now sports games can offer detailed
statistical tracking, meaningful career modes and endless roster
updates. Persistent online role-playing games can offer new worlds
and dynamic updates that are so necessary to keep users from being
bored. In addition, the hard drive will also allow for unique
gameplay experiences no one has even considered yet.
The console system will have four built-in controller ports making
use of USB connections, but the nature of the game pads or
peripherals have yet to be determined. Microsoft's SideWinder group
is said to be working on the controllers, but it is unknown how many
buttons they will have or what innovations they will bring to the
table, if any.
The Xbox was designed to be developer friendly with a broad set of
tools provided by the company and the same level of support
experienced by PC developers. The operating system will be a kernel
of Windows 2000, meaning the OS will be streamlined to take
advantage of the fact that the Xbox is a console system only;
there's no need for features such as Plug and Play, for example, on
a dedicated machine.
The rest of the features are as follows: a custom A/V connector that
has been designed to support a resolution beyond HDTV, a 10/100 Mbps
built-in Ethernet port to take advantage of broadband technology, an
expansion port that will be used for a 56K modem add-on (the unit
will not ship with a modem), and a 4X DVD drive with movie playback.
The hardware will not be manufactured by Microsoft directly, and it
is uncertain what the Xbox will look like at this stage of the game.
While the Xbox remains to be seen, all initial signs are positive.
Electronic Arts has agreed to publish titles on the system, and the
rest of the publishers reads as a who's who list in the gaming
industry: Eidos Interactive, Infogrames, Fox Interactive,
Activision, Capcom, Hasbro Interactive, Konami, Sierra On-Line,
Midway, Bungie, Acclaim, Koei, THQ, Ubi Soft, Take 2 Interactive and
Lionhead Studios.
The strong backing by key publishers is very encouraging for
third-party support, as is the financial resources of Microsoft, who
can afford to get behind the system and aggressively market it to
compete with the rest of the console systems. Of course, a number of
questions must still be answered.
Will dedicated console users take to an unfamiliar company (at least
in the console market) as a source for their gaming needs? It may be
hard to sway an audience comfortable with the names Sega, Nintendo
and Sony in their living rooms. And yet, the PlayStation proved you
don't necessarily need to have an established console history as
long as the games are there. And these games will be extremely
important, as the company has targeted the traditional console
audience between the ages 16-27, rather than older PC users.
Another question is whether or not the market can support three
console systems, let alone four. History has shown time and time
again that users gravitate toward two platforms, leaving the others
to wither and wilt away. Can the Dreamcast, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and
Gamecube all peacefully coexist and be profitable? It's doubtful.
Perhaps the biggest question is whether the system can meet its
scheduled release date. After all, the hardware must be finalized,
the development kits must be released and developers must start
working on delivering content. The process to sign-on with the XBox
involves getting on the DirectX 8 SDK list and e-mailing Microsoft
at xbox@microsoft.com.
Microsoft has created a games division (www.microsoft.com/games)
dedicated to supporting the Xbox system, and their goal is to
publish approximately one-third of the titles themselves. The number
of expected launch titles is unknown at this time, but Microsoft is
committed to delivering a balance of genres that emphasize quality
and depth. Since two-thirds of the games must come from third-party
companies, they are key to the Xbox's success in the market.
— Scott Alan Marriott
|
