Xbox Gets Military Tactical Planning Software

Thanks to The Baltimore Sun for their article discussing possible military applications of videogame technology, specifically referencing the Trex visualization tool from joint government training and videogame developer, BreakAway. According to the article: "In about a year, if all goes according to plans, soldiers flying to an overseas mission will play Trex on the Microsoft video-game system Xbox to familiarize themselves with actual streets, buildings and terrain before setting foot on foreign soil." The piece reveals that Trex "...will use satellite data to digitally replicate 3-D images of cities such as Kabul, Mogadishu or Baghdad", and the website explains that the software can be "...used to create tactical simulations for en route training." A different army tactical training simulator developed by Pandemic Studios, Full Spectrum Warrior, was highly acclaimed as a videogame at this year's E3 trade show in Los Angeles.

Comments

Seems an odd choice, unless MS pays

[iainl]

Unless this is some Microsoft-funded promo stunt, why would they use the XBox? I'm aware that a standard unit makes a convenient smallish and cheap PC, but the difficulty of publishing titles to non-dev boxes in a hurry would be a larger issue than the extra money it would take for a Shuttle-cased PC, surely? I can't see why they wouldn't just do this on a PC, rather than a closed-down console, particularly if they used joypad to USB converters to make the interface simpler.

Re:Seems an odd choice, unless MS pays

[*weasel]

i've got a brother who works on a naval cruiser, and he says pretty much it's the box of preference for the guys. there's at least one in each of the lounges.

besides, i'd think it'd have to do with the good tools and good performance with very little console-specific coding.

you gotta have an experienced ps2 developer to pull out the graphics a dime-a-dozen pc developer can do on the xbox.

and the xbox is a sealed unit. it isn't going to be a security risk, it isn't going to be a maintenance draw, it isn't going to be as expensive ($200+tv $400 + monitor).