Microsoft unveils new Xbox 360, takes aim at Sony:
08/18/05
Microsoft unveils new Xbox 360, takes aim at Sony: Microsoft Corp. unveiled its new Xbox 360 on Thursday, taking aim at Sony Corp. in the video game console market with a machine sporting high-definition graphics and features that make it an entertainment hub for the living room.
The world's largest software maker said its second generation Xbox will be on U.S. store shelves well in time for the 2005 holiday season that begins in late November, but it did not say how much the white-and-silver concave console would cost.
Among the features are three IBM microprocessors that are expected to deliver powerful computing and advanced graphics, as well as a detachable 20-gigabyte hard drive and the ability to customize the machine's front panel with detachable face-plates.
Microsoft's Xbox business is arguably the Redmond, Washington company's biggest bet, costing the software giant more than $1 billion in sunk costs every year since 2001.
Microsoft, with deep pockets and a reputation for persistently chipping away at competitors, has Sony squarely in its sights at a time when the Japanese consumer electronics maker is struggling with a top-level management overhaul and weak profitability.
Microsoft narrowly beat its closest competitor, Nintendo Co. Ltd., with the Xbox.
The smaller Xbox 360 is a departure from the original squarish black Xbox that debuted in late 2001, and is aimed at a wider audience, said J. Allard, Microsoft's vice president leading the charge behind Microsoft's push into the business.
Allard said Microsoft learned from its mistakes with the first Xbox, which launched a year behind its main rival, Sony's PlayStation 2 console.
Allard acknowledged, "We didn't get the controller right, we didn't get the industrial design right," referring to the original oversized Xbox controller and hardware that scratched DVD disks, generating customer complaints.
For the latest round, Microsoft hired U.S. and Japanese design firms to design a machine with smoother, more fluid lines to attract customers drawn to the iPod and Sony's products.
EYE CANDY
Microsoft unveiled the Xbox on MTV nearly a week before the start of the $10 billion gaming industry's annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3.
Despite all the multimedia features, however, the Xbox 360 will also have to be "first and foremost a good game system," said Robert Enderle of the Enderle Group.
Peter Moore, Microsoft's vice president in charge of Xbox marketing, said the Xbox 360 will be "gorgeous visually," thanks to upgraded graphics chips and full support for high-definition television displays.
Moore did not say how many launch titles Microsoft would have for Xbox 360, a key factor in driving early sales of the console.
In early game demonstrations, graphics quality has been boosted to the point where individual blades of grass are visible on moving landscapes while armies of monsters can be programmed to act individually or as a group.
For the internal gaming hardware, Microsoft replaced Intel Corp.'s central processor from the first Xbox with new PowerPC-based chips made by International Business Machines Corp., similar to the chips used by Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh personal computers.
Microsoft also swapped out the graphics chips, a key gaming system component, for chips made by ATI Technologies Inc. instead of Nvidia Corp..
Sony's PlayStation 3, expected to be launched in 2007, will feature an ambitious, advanced microprocessor called "cell" that is expected to power more realistic and advanced games.
Microsoft said it would extend its lead over Sony in the online gaming arena by introducing a two-tiered Xbox Live system for its new console.
By offering a free service, in addition to its current subscription service, Microsoft said it expected to have more than half of Xbox 360 gamers connected via the Internet, playing games and communicating together.
Another unresolved issue is whether Xbox 360 will be able to play games made for the older console, a tricky task because of the radical redesign. Microsoft did not say whether the new console would be backward-compatible. (Reuters)
Back to XBOX News Page!
HOT Software Picks!
Giganews is the industry leading Usenet service provider - Giganews Usenet Free Trial
Todays How To Tip - Windows 7 How To Fine-Tuning Visual Effects in Windows 7 Tip How To Tip
Todays Tech News - My new iPad 2 has finally arrived: See it here with some home pictures of the iPad an iPad 2
Todays Software Review - Tweet Adder 3 Software Review: Easily get more followers on Twitter
News Feed - New RSS Feet List - WTG RSS News Feed Here! - RSS How to info
