Jan 20

Microsoft Gets Into the Game
Sun Review January 20, 2001

At the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates revealed to the world the highly anticipated Xbox video game console during his keynote address.

"Xbox is the future of video gaming," Gates said. "With its breakthrough technology and incredible graphics capabilities, Xbox will set the standard in gaming for years to come. It enables game designers to create a whole new world of gameplaying experiences that will captivate the imagination and competitive spirit of gamers like no other console."

What is so interesting about the Xbox (www.xbox.com) is not only that it is a hardware product manufactured by a company traditionally known for its dominance in the software industry, but also that its release could not have been timed better. Sony's failure to deliver sufficient quantities of its popular Playstation 2 (www.playstation.com) over the holidays has left eager consumers dangling until late January. Another major competitor, Sega (www.sega.com) is experiencing financial difficulties and is not expected to release any upgrades to its Dreamcast game console any time soon. And so, by design or by pure serendipity, Microsoft finds itself in a very enviable position in the gaming market. If the Xbox lives up to its promises, and enough game developers can be convinced to design games especially for the Xbox, Microsoft should make a huge splash in the gaming market.

So what is so different about the Xbox? Well, for starters it probably has a faster processor (Intel 733Mhz) and more RAM (64MB) than most of our computers. The Xbox comes with four game controller ports that allow easy multiplayer gaming and enable other peripherals, ranging from game pads to voice-activated headsets. An audio-video connector allows you to hook up the Xbox to your TV and home theatre system so you can experience 3D audio. A 250Mhz Nvidia graphics processor delivers more than three times the graphics performance of competitor's consoles and a maximum resolution of 1920x1084. The Xbox also has massive storage capacity with an 8GB hard drive and 8MB memory card. A built-in Ethernet port allows you to play fast-action online games via a broadband connection such as ADSL or cable. The Xbox can also be used for DVD movie playback.

Interestingly, the design of the Xbox incorporates some practical features that have not been included in other manufacturer's game consoles. For example, the Xbox has a cord more than 9.5 feet long - the longest offered by a console maker - and a front-loading DVD tray for game CDs (most are top-loading). The console can easily fit into your entertainment center and still reach your sofa without cramping your style. The Xbox is slated for release in Fall 2001.