Friday
March 10, 2000
X-Box vs
PlayStation 2
X-Box to
Deliver Ultimate Console Gaming Experience
SAN JOSE,
Calif. -- March 10, 2000 -- At a Microsoft
executive retreat last March, a suggestion that
the company develop its own video game console
coincided with a similar idea already being
explored by Microsofts DirectX team. The
proposal quickly made its way up the ranks of
approval and, one year later, has become reality.
Today, at the
annual Game Developers Conference, Microsoft
Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates
revealed that Microsoft is entering the video
game scene with the introduction of a new game
console, code-named X-Box. Capitalizing on its
software expertise, experience in maintaining MSN
Gaming Zone http://www.zone.com -- the
most popular gaming community on the Internet --
and advances in PC technology, X-Box is a game
console that will deliver the most realistic,
intense and action-packed game experience
available.
"Building on
our strengths as a software company, X-Box will
offer game developers a powerful platform and
game enthusiasts an incredible experience,"
Gates said. "We want X-Box to be the
platform of choice for the best and most creative
game developers in the world."
"Our success
in PC games has afforded us the opportunity to
invest more into PC game and extend our efforts
into the entertainment hub of the home -- the
living room," said Robbie Bach, vice
president of Microsoft's Home & Retail
division, referring to the fact that the
company's PC-based games had four titles on the
top 10 bestseller list this last holiday season.
Does the
introduction of X-Box mean that Microsoft is
moving away from PC-based games? Not according to
Don Coyner, director of marketing in the newly
formed Microsoft Games division.
"The PC and
X-Box are complementary devices. Each has very
distinct audiences," Coyner said. "PC
games are more cerebral, while console games are
more visceral. If you look at the top 10 games
lists for these two platforms, you'll see that
they don't really match up." The most
popular PC games of 1999 include Age of Empires
II, Half-Life, and SimCity 3000, while the most
popular console games of 1999 include Pokemon
Snap, Gran Turismo Racing, and Final Fantasy
VIII.
Currently, there
are about 29 million console players, 11 million
PC game players, and 7 million who play with
both, Coyner said. There is limited customer
overlap, and there are clear differences in
content. And the consumer pool is large enough to
allow for multiple companies to do well.
"X-Box is
expected to offer the most advanced graphics, the
most flexibility in Internet gaming, and the most
realistic play of any game console on the
market," said Rick Thompson, vice president
of Microsoft's Games division.
A
"Future-Generation" Device
Microsoft is not
concerned with its status as a
"newcomer" to the games console
industry. There are always opportunities for new
leaders to emerge, and the company recognizes
that the video game business is all about the
games. From Atari to Nintendo to Sega to
PlayStation, it has historically been shown again
and again that gamers are loyal to the games --
not to the hardware. Microsoft is determined that
X-Box will be the next success story in this
market, by advancing video games through
innovative new technologies.
Specifications
of X-Box and PlayStation 2
|
|
X-Box
|
PlayStation
2
|
CPU
|
733
MHz Intel
|
300
MHz
|
Graphics
Processor
|
300
MHz custom-designed X-Chip, developed by
Microsoft and nVidia
|
150
MHz Sony GS
|
Total
Memory
|
64
MB
|
38
MB
|
Memory
Bandwidth
|
6.4
GB/sec
|
3.2
GB/sec
|
Polygon
Performance
|
300
M/sec
|
66
M/sec
|
Storage
Medium
|
4x
DVD, 8 GB hard disk, 8 MB memory card
|
2x
DVD, 8 MB memory card
|
Broadband
Enabled
|
Yes
|
Future
upgrade
|
DVD
Movie Playback
|
Built
in
|
Utility
required to be on memory card
|
As a
"future-generation" device, X-Box will
deliver rich, compelling graphics, and will
enable a user's playing experience to be better
and faster than any other games console
available. It will push about 300 million
polygons per second -- more than three times the
graphics performance of its closest competitor,
Sony PlayStation 2, which was recently released
in Japan.
Perhaps the most
significant difference between the two consoles
is the hard drive built into X-Box, supporting
8GBs of hard disk space; PlayStation 2 does not
have a hard drive. The hard drive will give X-Box
gamers more realism, speed, expandability and
storage, providing for richer game experiences.
Fans of sports games, such as basketball, will no
longer have to wait for their console to catch up
to the action. "He shoots, he scores!"
will be in real time.
"Subtleties
like that really make games come to life,"
Thompson said.
A Superior
Gaming Machine
Though X-Box is
first and foremost a superior gaming machine, and
like traditional game consoles will run through a
TV set, it will have additional capabilities for
a consumer's convenience. Out of the box, the
console will come standard with four game
controller ports, a DVD player, a hard drive, and
broadband Internet access (it will be able to
support a modem as an add-on), with a keyboard
and mouse as optional peripherals.
As a dedicated,
locked-down games system, it is not an
all-purpose machine. It is designed specifically
to provide the best console game experience
available, and its add-on features support that
goal. Broadband access will enable users to play
with thousands of other gamers on the Internet,
and will provide the ability to download the
latest updates to games. In a basketball video
game, for example, a user will be able to
download the most current status of teams in the
NBA, so the game will accurately reflect that
information.
"We're
taking the best of the PC and putting it into a
console," Coyner said.
Although X-Box is
Microsoft's initiation into the console arena,
the company is not in unfamiliar territory.
Microsoft has always recognized that games are a
popular form of home entertainment. As a
category, games represent 50 percent of consumer
PC software sales, and Microsoft has recently
delivered best-selling PC games to meet this
demand. Consumers are becoming more and more
comfortable with technology -- more than half of
U.S. households now own a PC -- and Microsoft
wants to take those technology advances into the
living room, where 86 percent of U.S. families
with teens have one or more game consoles.
Microsoft is
dedicating significant resources in technology,
developer support and marketing to make X-Box
successful. As an example of this commitment,
Microsoft Games was recently reorganized into a
separate, dedicated division. Its staff comprises
the former PC games team, experienced game
developers, software engineers and designers, and
others with experience in game consoles.
"Because the
platform will be familiar to developers who have
used PC architecture in the past, working with
technology such as Direct X, X-Box reduces the
learning curve normally associated with
developing for a new console, and enables better
first-generation games," Coyner said.
To some, the
introduction of X-Box may seem like a departure
for Microsoft, whose energies have historically
been devoted to the PC. However, it is an
extremely logical step to take, Coyner said.
"There has been a generation change, and
Microsoft recognizes that. People are expecting
more from their devices, and that's as true for
entertainment as anything else. And we at
Microsoft have the experience to help by
innovating with new technologies."
Over the past few
months, the technology industry has been witness
to this refocus. Microsoft recently changed its
company vision statement from "a PC in every
home" to "empower[ing] people through
great software - any time, any place and on any
device," and in that vein has made strides
in wireless communication with the Pocket PC, and
in interactive television with WebTV. The
introduction of X-Box is an expansion of that
vision, ultimately providing more value to the
consumer.
Making Better
Games, Faster
Consumers aren't
the only ones who will benefit from X-Box.
Microsoft is encouraged by the number of
high-profile retailers, game developers and
publishers that have responded positively to
X-Box. Gamers have expressed excitement about the
console, and developers are enthused as well,
knowing they will be able to make better games
and faster. About 30 percent of X-Box games will
be developed by Microsoft, while the other 70
percent will be developed by third parties.
"We are very
impressed with the technology and are looking
forward to creating games that will leverage the
power of the system," said Gregory
Fischbach, co-chairman and CEO of Acclaim
Entertainment, Inc. "We view the advent of
the next generation consoles -- such as X-Box --
as a tremendous opportunity to grow our
business."
Mitch Lasky,
executive vice president of Activision, Inc.,
expressed similar sentiments. "We are
excited about Microsoft's entry into the console
business, and X-Box is positioned at the leading
edge of next-generation technology," he
said. "In particular, X-Box provides us with
a familiar tool set for development, which will
give us an advantage in delivering
state-of-the-art game experiences to
consumers."
While exact
pricing has not yet been determined, the X-Box
console and games will be competitive with other
next-generation console systems already on the
market and in development.
"It makes
sense for us to take the recent advances in
technology and put them to use in this new and
exciting way," Thompson said.
"Microsoft has the technical and game
expertise to unlock the future of
entertainment."
|