Gates Shows Off Xbox Media Center, Discusses Consoles

Thanks to Reuters for its story reporting on Bill Gates' announcement of an Xbox Media Center Extender kit at the CES show in Las Vegas, discussing the add-on "that will extend the functions of its Windows XP Media Center Edition to the console, turning it into a set-top box that allows the playback of live and recorded video, music and photos." 1UP has a couple more details, noting the add-on "will combine an Xbox DVD title with a dedicated remote control [and] currently carries no release date or price point", and the Reuters interview with Gates has him noting of the Xbox: "We are pushing the boundaries in terms of expanding what people think of as what the device can do." He's also confident but secretive about the next generation of consoles, suggesting: "In terms of the next round, hey, it's a new game. We're not showing our hand and I don't think Sony's showing their hand. We're doing some very cool work, but that's really all we say at this point."

Comments

WTF???

[Anonymous Coward]

There is no way that Bill Gates PR talk will make me buy a console no(t enough) games, because I'm a gamer and a freak and not one of these overpaid decision makers that like to get fucked by Bill Gates buzzy-buzz PR talk.

Re:WTF???

[PhoenixOne]

"no(t enough) games, because I'm a gamer and a freak"

I'm a gamer too, which means if there is at least one outstanding game for a console then I have to buy it. For me, Steel Battalion was enough for me to spend $200 on a console plus another $200 for the game (plus $39 for a desk big enough to hold the controller ;)).

Bill can talk until he is blue in the face but, as long as they get exclusive content I need, I guess I'm still his bitch. ;)

Windows Tv's

[Bruha]

Yeah and he's also secured deals to put WinCE into many tv's for some home media center.

Frankly I'm pissed becuase the last thing I want to do is have to buy antivirus for my Tv.

Re:Windows Tv's

[Anonymous Coward]

Ugh. Microsoft everywhere. MSNBC, Xbox, WMA-enabled DVD players, V-ports on RCA TVs, WinCE everywhere, etc.

I don't want to think about what influence Microsoft will have on content when America inevitably allows them to control every medium in existence. He who owns the bridge controls who and what can pass, and at what price.

Re:Windows Tv's

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

HA HA! That's so funny! Because you have to use antivirus software under Windows! So obviously any Microsoft product needs it too! Oh man, hilarious!

Wait a second, does the XBox come with antivirus software? What about the Microsoft mouse I own? How about MS t-shirts?

Re:Windows Tv's

[NanoGator]

"I don't want to think about what influence Microsoft will have on content when America inevitably allows them to control every medium in existence. He who owns the bridge controls who and what can pass, and at what price."

Yeah, because Microsoft makes a monopoly out of everything it touches. For example, the XBOX, the PocketPC, Ultimate TV, Front Page, IIS, Microsoft Network Cards...

Re:Windows Tv's

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you a natural dipshit, or did you take classes?

Re:Windows Tv's

[Anonymous Coward]

He's been infected....

Re:Windows Tv's

[unclethursday]

For example, the XBOX, the PocketPC, Ultimate TV, Front Page, IIS, Microsoft Network Cards...

While it's true the Xbox and others aren't monopoly positions now, the Xbox is their way into the living room where UltimateTV and MSN TV (formerly WebTV) failed miserably.

Considering the Xbox Music Mixer moves the Xbox away from being 'just a game console', and this new Media Center application will do so even more, it really is apparent that the Xbox is a trojan designed for Microsoft to be able to gain footholds, and to their hope control, in the living room.

Expect the Next Xbox to be a huge feature laden set top box, probably complete with UltimateTV and MSN TV capabilities, as well as even closer ties to connecting to Windows/Longhorn PCs. Games will end up being just part of the focus, instead of the main focus. They'll use the Xbox name to get it into homes where the Xbox already is, and hope to lock people into their control.

Re:Windows Tv's

[NanoGator]

"Expect the Next Xbox to be a huge feature laden set top box, probably complete with UltimateTV and MSN TV capabilities, as well as even closer ties to connecting to Windows/Longhorn PCs. Games will end up being just part of the focus, instead of the main focus. They'll use the Xbox name to get it into homes where the Xbox already is, and hope to lock people into their control."

That's fine. But for them to make a monopoly out of it, they still need for the market to say "Yes, we like this." That's not leveraging of monopoly, that's making a successful product. It's hard to aim my pitchfork at MS when that type of situation occurs.

Re:Windows Tv's

[(mandos)]

Last time I checked Sony made lots of Very nice TVs. I don't think they'll become dependant on their direct competition.

Re:Windows Tv's

[Scrameustache]

Yeah, because Microsoft makes a monopoly out of everything it touches. For example, the XBOX

Well, the Xbox looks and feels like a monolith, does that count? : )

Modding

[ultrabot]

This stunt is quite probably done to reduce the value consumers get from modding the xbox; soon similar stuff can be done with an un-modded xbox.

Quite probably MSFT will be referring to this as an "innovation", like all the other obvious things they do.

Re:Modding

[Anonymous Coward]

the mods aren't innovative either.
if this works better than that BS pc->xbox pos hack in that karaoke title, i'd call it innovative.

it certainly beats the pants off anything sony is trying to do.

Re:Modding

[PhoenixOne]

Outside the "Slashdot" circles I doubt very many people mod their consoles. Until somebody comes up with a way to "mod" that doesn't require opening the case and poking around inside, then I don't think Bill loses much sleep over this threat.

Re:Modding

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't care I'll still buy this. I would love to turn my xbox into a movie player without having to kill off my xbox live account. Besides I actually buy my games so I don't need to mod my xbox and no I don't run lunix on it either because I have a pc for that.

Re:Modding

[kgbkgb]

You're wrong if you think that only "hackers" (people who like to tinker with their hardware and software.. linux uses... etc) and people interested in technology on more than a superficial level mod their consoles. The vast majority of people who mod their consoles are kiddies who don't want to pay for games.

Virtually anyone can do it. opening the case and poking around inside requires simply unscrewing a few screws, setting the solderless modchip in place, screwing it in, and putting the top back on your xbox.

Re:Modding

[kgbkgb]

First of all, keep in mind that you don't have to get rid of your xbox live account if you mod your xbox. The only restriction is that your modchip cannot be enabled at the time you log into Live. With most modchips, you have to pull a jumper or flick an external switch to disable the modchip, but with the latest BIOSes it's done automatically.

Even given that you buy your games and don't want to run linux on your xbox, I would personally recommend modding it. It's really not very expensive (about the price of one game, or less), and there are many more advantages to a modded xbox than pirated games and linux. For instance, the ability to back up your games to your harddrive is invaluable, especially with the fragility of DVDs (you may need a bigger harddrive for this, depending on how many you want to back up). This will not only protect your games, it will speed up your load times by a lot. You can also back up your DVD movies if you want, though those would often be quite big. Also, it gives you the ability to play VCDs, SVCDs, just about any audio/video media format. You can install emulators for virtually every game platform ever released, and there are free ROMs or you can buy them very cheaply.

The sky's the limit!

console wars to the max

[anielsud]

This feels like a knee-jerk reaction to the psx being released. Of course Gates again lost the race, this time for a media center / console hybrid. At least the difference is far less than the last release wars.

It's interesting to note that it's touted as a media center extension -- will it not function without a media center pc already in the household? Along those same lines -- I can't really figure out what the offering is here, besides playing video over a network. This is a very vague announcement indeed.

Re:console wars to the max

[*weasel]

this doesn't sound like any sort of knee-jerk feature competition. the PSX added dtv-tuning and pvr capability. this basically just lets your xbox access data from your home network. Sony doesn't do that (yet), and MS doesn't do PVR (yet).

though, i'm fairly certain MS is going to have a bigger HD and PVR in the nextbox. Sony will probably make market and sell two seperate products, the ps3, and a pricier ps3+pvr. i'd also be surprised if they don't have a firmward update for the PSX, to allow them some sort of 'access your network' capability in short order.

and yes, going on the info from the announcement, the extender kit will not function unless xp media center is installed on some pc on the network (i'm guessing xp: mce includes a data streaming server the extender kit taps into - it wouldn't be long before an open-source option is available).

competition, sure - but not kneejerk. you could see this coming from miles away. particularly following the slap-dash hacked-together method you can transfer mp3s/jpgs from pc->xbox with that xbox karaoke title. they see the demand - and they have to realize that the current methodology -sucks-.

i'll still either download the devkit version of the server or wait for the OS flavor though. i would like to stream mp3s, mpgs, and pics to my tv. but i will not have my OS dictated.

X-Box Media Player

[Per Wigren]

I guess it still won't playback DivX, XviD, RealPlayer, Quicktime, OGG/Vorbis, AAC, OGM, Matroska, SRT/VobSub subtitles etc etc etc etc like XBMP and XBMC..

Why don't they give their customers what they obviously want instead?

BTW, No, I didn't read the article, this post is based on my previous experience with Microsoft. :)

Re:X-Box Media Player

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess it still won't playback DivX, XviD

So you can do what? Pirate movies? Play your porn on your TV? I bet that's the market MS is really after! Your average Joe doesn't care about the same things the average slashdot reader does.

I came here with modpoints but none of you are worth them :-p

Re:X-Box Media Player

[unixbob]

Although you are correct that the majority of people mod their XBoxes to play pirate movies and games, it's interesting to note the OP's point about giving people what they want.

The current DVD distribution method for example is completely consumer unfriendly. I have to wait until a TV series / movieis released in the UK before I can buy the DVD. That's not what I want. I want to be able to choose. I want to be able to choose between the American / European / Asian release of a DVD because they frequently have different content. I want to be able to take the film I've paid for and convert it to and AVI so I can watch it on my Pocket PC

Playing games from my XBox's hard drive is much more convenient than from the DVD I purchased it from. Much tidier too.

Yes I have a modded XBox and yes I still purchase games and DVD's. Friends with modded XBox's also still purchase games. Gaming is our hobby and stealing is not the way to get good games still made.

I recognise that we probably not representative of the majority of people. I just wanted to make the point that Modded XBox != warez.

Re:X-Box Media Player

[bigman2003]

Microsoft is giving a lot of their customers what they want. The customers they find valuable at least.

If you are looking for DivX, XviD, RealPlayer, Quicktime, OGG/Vorbis, AAC, OGM, Matroska, SRT/VobSub subtitles etc etc etc, are you really one of their valued customers- or did you maybe just buy some of their stuff and mod it?

In a way that many people here might find stomach churning, I'm a Microsoft customers. I own an Xbox, and about 30 legitimate games. 2 Windows computers, with XP/Office (one Media Center edition). I use SQL Server at work...etc, etc, blah blah blah.

I also don't give a flying fuck about a single media format you mentioned, other than Quicktime. I've got my music on Windows Media Player, my videos (movies) are all stored on their original DVDs- my home movies are stored in a .wmv format.

I don't mind at all if their products don't support those other format- because I don't use them. I would guess that the average person who stores their media in an OGG/Vorbis format does NOT purchase Microsoft products, and therefore, Microsoft would be wasting their time trying to support those people. (I don't think there would be a big rush to buy the products if they were available either)

This was not meant to be a rant- I just think that Microsoft IS supporting their customers here. They make my life easier by making all this crap work together as easily as possible. Most of us don't need it to support everything under the sun- just what WE use.

Re:X-Box Media Player

[gl4ss]

the thing is that this is a feature why the thing should have been more open from day 1, up until now(and still!) you MUST mod your xbox to take advantage of it as a common media player(also to have more enjoyable playing from hd).

This is a feature that is addable to xbox at NO COST AT ALL, without a need for an extra dvd title you switch in(like on the ps2 equivalent of this thing).

though, the same thing happens on lots of other devices by other manufacturers as well, on gba's it's handy to have just one big cart you dump your games on(which is of course something that nintendo wouldn't advise you on doing), with n-gage as well to properly enjoy it you have to find cracks to the games so that you can just dump them on one big mmc(along with other stuff) so that you don't need to change the mmc ever. I guess it's the same with few dvd players just as well and with pc games you need to find cracks so that you don't need to be switching the damn cd in the drive all the time.

and oh, as for Microsoft support. I got a ms sidewinder force feedback pro joystick that is an excellent stick, but one that microsoft dropped official support when moving to xp/2k(it's possible to get it working with the forces though, but you need to fiddle around way too much, have some other game with a force feedback menu usually to enable it - because ms is just a dick when it comes to supporting even their own hardware).

Re:X-Box Media Player

[bigman2003]

Adding this capability does cost money-

Support

If they added these features on day 1- they would make the Xbox more complex, and more difficult to support. If there were problems, they would have opened themselves up to a huge shitstorm of negative reviews.

They would have spent money making sure everything worked- possibly delaying the Xbox launch.

Consoles are supposed to 'just work'- and the only way to really make that happen, is to have a tightly controlled environment. (yes, I know there are occasional crashes...)

Re:X-Box Media Player

[NanoGator]

"the thing is that this is a feature why the thing should have been more open from day 1, up until now(and still!) you MUST mod your xbox to take advantage of it as a common media player(also to have more enjoyable playing from hd)."

So long as it opens the possibility for the machine to play 'pirated' games, then there's no 'should' about it. Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, but the reason game companies don't like you modding is that they don't want you burning ISOs and playing them. Remember, it's a game machine first.

"This is a feature that is addable to xbox at NO COST AT ALL,"

Not true. Microsoft loses money on every console. They make it up again with games. In theory, this 'feature' could make for a lot of XBOXes to be sold without plans to buy games for them. Microsoft risks losing serious money on something like that. Yeah, I know none of you care, but it does take the wind out of the whole "Microsoft's just being dumb" argument.

I'm not saying I agree with Microsoft. I think they're being overly protective of the system. It doesn't help, though, that everybody expressly hates Microsoft and would do anything they can to try to 'punish' them.

Re:X-Box Media Player

[gl4ss]

ah well, if you count the 'lost' money that way.
well, what I would have liked them doing is that they would have added at least divx/xvid/wmp playback to the thing from day 1.

but now they're going to do it anyways...

well it's just this thing that I absolutely hate to buy hardware that is intentionally limited by some piss poor choices by some piss poor ceo(software features being very cheap anyways, they could easily add this media player functionality as an update to the xbox like the updates that come on game discs modify the box). well I'm not going to buy a xbox anytime soon anyways..

Re:X-Box Media Player

[dave1212]

it's fine you own an xbox, whatever, its a console. Windows blows because it is full of security holes, etc. We all know this, you probably do as well, but seem to be too closed-minded to do a bit of research or admit that you might have made some bad purchases.

Surely you realize that wmv and wma look and sound terrible, and that they're the most difficult form of media to work with. To keep your movies on the original DVDs is the reverse of what we talk about here, the ability to be able to back up your own movies, should the disc get damaged over years of use. (and it will)

I don't know how you can claim they make "all this crap" work together. If you want to see an example of integration, check out iLife, by Apple. They're doing things that are truly integrated, and don't treat their customers like criminals the way MS does.

Should I go on? Nah.. the people who consider MS to be giving them 'good' solutions and products will eventually see the truth.. even if it takes a while.

Re:X-Box Media Player

[tabby]

So the beef is with DVD region encoding & how governments let companies mistreat consumers by dividing markets. This is what should be addressed. If you demand a feature that you might be using for legal purposes but that 95% of the population will use for warez you are not going to get it, and perhaps rightfully so.

Myself I'm planning on buying a dual-layer DVD writer to re-encode what I buy from overseas.

MSNBC is no-where

[AtariAmarok]

Ugh. Microsoft everywhere. MSNBC.....America inevitably allows them to control every medium

Have you ever watched MSNBC? Hardly anyone does. It's pretty much a failure. It's not even a real "Cable news channel", as they fill so much of their schedule with recycled fluff such as multi-hour celebrity profiles drawn from old "Today" show material. That net is in the fish-flops of death right now.

no

[otis_amber]

XBox's are dumb, PlayStation 2's are better! But I want Microsoft to add more to the XBox so we can see what those babies can really do, like access Slashdot. lol

Sony Has Buz and More

[saden1]

PS 3 will have all the bells and whistles everyone wants. On top of that they'll have a ton of games and developer support. I'm sure PS 3 will be DVR capable too.

Honestly, if XBox and PS 3 came out at the same time and have similar features which would you buy?

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[bigman2003]

Xbox

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

How did that get modded off-topic? It was an answer to a direct question which was very much on topic.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

Good lord! How did you break into the Sony labs to get this information! What a scoop!

Could you tell me what some of the games for the PS3 will be?

Thanks!

(P.S. Please return the keys to the DeLorean)

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

X-Box.

Why? X-Box Live.

Halo2, MechAssault2 & Doom3 on Live. It's gonna be great.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

It doesn't take a genius to know that Sony has more developer support. Sony cornered the Japanese market and developers long time ago. You can deduce this from the lackluster performance of the XBox in Japan.

If you think the playing field will be leveled when both XBox 2 and PS 3 hit the stores you are an idiot. Oh and toss in Nintendo which has the fluff market cornered.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah ok, like the PS 3 isn't going to have online game play. I just canceled my one year subscription. XBox Live is overrated.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

if PS3 online play is anything like PS2 online play, it's not even a comparison.

lag, cheating, crappy matching services hosted by third parties on a per-game basis... yeah, lemme sign up for that.

no, i'll stick to playing cstrike on a broadband-only network with no hacking, a global friends list, cross-game invites and dependable quality-of-service.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[*weasel]

because marketing buzz has always turned out to be indicative of the finished product in the past right? please.

you can't judge the systems until they're sitting on the shelf. picking sides now is just a fanboy exercise.

if the nextbox and the ps3 hit with the exact same features, i'd go MS for the online play. if sony had a comparable network gaming experience, i'd just pick the one that had a better library of the games i play.

right now that's the xbox.

but i'm not about to join a flamewar suggesting that it will be in the next generation, or that my decisions and opinions are the only 'right' ones for all gamers.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

The new Nintendo.

Why? I enjoy good video games.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

okay, let's clear up some disinformation which has come courtesy of everyone's favorite purveyor of knowledge - the anonymous coward! first of all, each developer of a PS2 game that uses online play is free to restrict online play to broadband only. check some PS2 game boxes sometime. you might see a little icon that says "Broadband only." that's not there for show. next, cheating was a problem in SOCOM. I have found that the games I primarily play online, Madden and ESPN NBA Basketball are not plagued by any cheating. Crappy matching services? Well, you get what you pay for. I pay nothing and get service that I find acceptable for the number of hours I play online video games. I mean, I enjoy playing against my friends from real life. I don't really want to play video games against some 14 year old who puts the headset on to say some profane insults and then takes it off because he's still not mature enough to converse with strangers. But that's just me - I don't call the service crappy; I call it acceptable for my needs. I recognize that XBox Live offers the user a more complete online experience that spans games but you should recognize that some people simply don't need that much. You know what I use for match making? Instant messanger from my computer or my cell phone. Shocking, isn't it?

Finally, your "per-game basis" line is incorrect. EA's entire line of sports games supports a single buddy list and you can see what people you know are online even if you are playing Madden and they are playing NBA Live.

Dependable quality of service? Have you checked your service agreement? Does MS make any guarantees regarding service?

I don't know, I'm just asking because I am curious.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[PainKilleR-CE]

Finally, your "per-game basis" line is incorrect. EA's entire line of sports games supports a single buddy list and you can see what people you know are online even if you are playing Madden and they are playing NBA Live.

To correct his statement, then, you're looking at, at best, a "per-developer" or "per-publisher" basis. Personally, EA's already lost any money I might have spent on their console games by making their online play PS2-only. At the very least they could've used the same online services for GameCube play, as the only substantial difference between Nintendo and Sony in terms of the online package is that Sony is advertising and pushing online capability.

The XBox's biggest advantage in online play outside of the services provided by Live is the variety of games available for online play. EA cuts into that a little by making their online play PS2-only, but overall most of the games they offer have at least 1 equivalent on the XBox with Live capability (exceptions would probably be the Sims and Tony Hawk series). It's actually a really stark contrast to the single-player gaming experiences on the two platforms, where the PS2 clearly offers more diversity.

All of that being said, I'll buy the next generation consoles as the titles I want become available, just as I did in this generation. Right now, the only PS2 games I buy are PS2 exclusives, and most of the XBox games I buy are multi-console releases (though I've mostly been playing Crimson Skies and Project Gotham Racing 2 lately). Obviously that puts the GameCube in the same boat as the PS2, buying mostly exclusives for that platform, and I've been trading in my DreamCast titles as I've been able to replace them on other consoles (or with sequels that are similar or superior enough to keep me from playing the DC versions).

Dependable quality of service? Have you checked your service agreement? Does MS make any guarantees regarding service?

I don't know, I'm just asking because I am curious.

Of course not, because they can't control the line between you and them. You can't even get a guarantee on your QoS from your ISP, unless you pay business rates which guarantee a maximum downtime except in event of inclimate weather or act of god.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

"To correct his statement, then, you're looking at, at best, a "per-developer" or "per-publisher" basis."

Right, which is not what he said.

"Personally, EA's already lost any money I might have spent on their console games by making their online play PS2-only. At the very least they could've used the same online services for GameCube play, as the only substantial difference between Nintendo and Sony in terms of the online package is that Sony is advertising and pushing online capability."

Well, there's got to be some added cost associated with adding Gamecube online support. Weigh that with the number of users who have the BBA for the Gamecube and I would guess that EA did not see enough of a market to bother with it.

"Of course not, because they can't control the line between you and them. You can't even get a guarantee on your QoS from your ISP, unless you pay business rates which guarantee a maximum downtime except in event of inclimate weather or act of god."Yes. I was more or less trying to call the AC out because he was making the claim that XBox Live was more dependable than any online servers for PS2 games; which I am not convinced of. Again, I don't play many PS2 games online BUT I've never found a server to be down when I go to play online.

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh yeah, the fluff market! Gotta have that fluff market, thank God for Nintendo!!!1! It's all fluff!

Hmm, yes, you know nothing. Are you a teenager?

Re:Sony Has Buz and More

[Anonymous Coward]

Daddy??? Where are you DADDY?!?! I'm so Saden!!!

M$ is on crack

[superpulpsicle]

When was the last time I played a game on XP without some tweaks or another. Just changing the resolution alone is something no consoles need to deal with. This doesn't include video card patches and drivers etc etc

MythTV

[mollyhackit]

With programs like MythTV it looks like the linux community will be forever beating Microsoft to the punch as far as hardware usability goes.

Re:MythTV

[*weasel]

'roll your own' solutions using open source software will always have better features than their closed-source competitors.

this goes for mythTV vs Tivo,replaytv,psx, et al as well.

but they will never be the product of choice for the mass market. so it doesn't matter who beats whom to the punch. it only matters (in the money making sense) who can deliver the best product to the largest market.

and if the xbox can do pvr and games, then i'll feel alot better about giving it to my mother-in-law than setting her up a mythTV box with an emulator -- even though that's what is sitting under my tv right now.

Re:MythTV

[Pengo]

I spent almost a full day getting MythTV working, and still didn't work perfect. Seems business as usual for linux apps. Linux poses no more threat on PVR space than linux based home built routers pose for home access point routers like linksys or netgear.

yeah..

[Anonymous Coward]

..let's all spent money for something we already have just better.

08-1-2004, 13:38 (Post by Gamester17)

Xbox WMC Extender Kit announced

Yesterday evening Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman unveiled Windows Media Center Extender Technology at 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), one of the devices that will use this will be the Xbox though a Xbox Windows Media Center Extender Kit Xbox DVD title. Quote: "Xbox Media Center Extender Kit will be a new Xbox title that brings Media Center entertainment experiences onto your TV or display through your Xbox console, so you have even more choice in where and how you enjoy your digital entertainment. Microsoft will release Xbox Media Center Extender Kit as a packaged software product that runs off Xbox like an Xbox game. With a wired or wireless connection back to the Media Center PC, your Xbox console will now allow you to enjoy your PC's digital entertainment media when and how you want"

Looks like Microsoft has taken a notice of XboxMediaPlayer/XboxMediaCenter success,
(however with our solution one does not need an expensive Windows Media Center PC).

Read the full announcement on microsoft.com here and here
More inside information and a brochure checkout neowin.net

ARE YOU A JIHADING TERRORISTICAL TYPE?

[Anonymous Coward]

What the hell are you talking about? Is this some sort of copy and paste troll from two years ago?

I will call down the wrath of George Bush upon you if you do not cease and desistify.

Re:ARE YOU A JIHADING TERRORISTICAL TYPE?

[Anonymous Coward]

Call in Asscroft and have this man arrested for being anti-merkin.

Here's a Question

[chia_monkey]

Big question just popped in my head. We all know Microsoft loses money for every XBox unit sold. The more they sell, the more MS loses. Now they just dumped more R&D into the unit and has this add-on. When do they plan on making money on this or are they still trying to simply saturate the market and gain market share and then increase prices and/or subscription fees? I know it's a reaction to PSX and to Apple's Digital Hub (in a roundabout way), but adding it to a loss-leader doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Re:Here's a Question

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

Actually, the more MS sells, the less MS loses. Allow me to break it down for you. Microsoft spends 1 currency unit to produce a single XBox. Now let's say they produce 1,000. They're at -1,000, right? If those 1,000 units sit in a warehouse, they're still at -1,000. But let's say they ship the units and they all sell and suppose MS sells them for 0.5 current units. Then what is MS at? -500. You see how the more MS sells, the less they loose?

Finally, the more consoles ship, the greater the number of games that will ship. And for every game that ships, the more money comes into MS.

I believe the last time I heard MS was still planning on not turning a profit on the XBox but rather making it merely a beachhead. But I could have missed a press release so anyone who knows whether the XBox division is close to turning a profit, please alert me. I checked google news but found nothing.

Re:Here's a Question

[bugbread]

The more people own XBoxes, the more games are sold, and MS makes their money back off games sold. It's only the hardware that's sold at a loss.

Re:Here's a Question

[gmhowell]

Brilliant analysis. Do you work for the accounting firm of Dewey, Trollem, and Howe?

The next Xbox most likely...

[orthancstone]

If it has backwards compatibility, it'd be much more useful to me :p

I doubt PS 3 will have everything though. Remember, Sony still hasn't learned to sell the console with 4 controller ports. They will make some kind of compromise in the design somewhere and it will piss of gamers...

Dude. You just don't get it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft didn't get in to the cosole business just to lose a but load of money in a market larger than movies.

The WHOLE point of the Xbox, isn't to provide a games platform, but to be the box that runs everyone's TV. It was Windows 1.0. With the way Sony treats North America, he might even be able to swing it.

From the outset, everyone knew where the Xboxes were going to end up. He's not copying anyone, but rather moving on to a less mysterious Phase II.

Shooting from the hip

[clu76]

Microsoft and Sony duke it out over the next 5 years for the number one home media center. One becomes the clear dominate. Nintendo continues development of video gaming techologies, ignoring the home media center race. Nintendo takes number one spot in dedicated game console race.

Re:Shooting from the hip

[gmhowell]

Nintendo takes number one spot in dedicated game console race.

Sweet. Number one buggy whip manufacturer.

(FWIW, the last two consoles I have bought were Nintendo brand. Prior to that, it was a Sega Genesis. I have a way of picking the losers.)

Re:Shooting from the hip

[Kyouryuu]

Doubtful.

The most likely thing Nintendo would do is back away from console design and pull a Sega. While I once had confidence and faith in their designs, with the twin disasters (relative to the PS2 and even Xbox) of the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube, they just can't keep doing this and expect anyone but fanboys to rush to their aid.

Re:Shooting from the hip

[Anonymous Coward]

Far from picking the losers. The Genesis was a loser in Japan until Sonic, and even then it wasn't that great. But it did extremely well in non-Japanese markets (not saying much considering the era that this happened, but it's at least some kind of consolation).

Assuming you're talking about N64 and GameCube (NES, SNES, and the GameBoys weren't losers by any stretch of the imagination), the N64 was profitable for Nintendo, and was home to a lot of exclusive games, and not just those from Nintendo (although those games are obviously the major draw to the system).

The GameCube is in an even better position, third-party-wise and all-around, than the N64, and the first-party games are once again of particularly high caliber. If you enjoy these games (I do, very much) there is no way that the GameCube is a loser, since you wouldn't ever be able to play them elsewhere.

Besides, I think your analogy is flawed. There is nothing obsolete about a dedicated gaming device, and it's hard to believe that such a device will ever become obsolete. A gaming console without extraneous multimedia features is like a GameBoy without a built-in clock. Just because the NeoGeo Pocket Color had a built-in watch doesn't make it less obsolete than a GameBoy Advance, which lacks one. And it certainly didn't make the NGPC a better system for playing GAMES than any given GameBoy.

Re:Shooting from the hip

[Anonymous Coward]

First, Nintendo has publically claimed that they would pull out of the video game business completely if they were ever to withdraw from the game hardwar business. I believe this statement.

Second, as I've just posted elsewhere, the N64 and GameCube are, objectively speaking, successes. They were and are profitable.

Third, there is nothing inherently wrong with the design of the GameCube. Sure the N64 had its shortcomings compared to the competition, as well as its share of major advantages. But the GameCube compares very favorably against the competition in terms of its ability to play technically impressive games, particularly compared against the market leader, PS2.

Does the presentation of these facts make me a fanboy in your opinion? I hope so, as long as you're not the kind of person who tends to dismiss, blindly and outright, the opinions of informed, clueful fanboys.

Re:Shooting from the hip

[gmhowell]

I do enjoy the systems, and did buy them for the games, which is why I don't really care about picking 'loser' systems.

The trick with making an 'obsolete' system is price differentiation. If the nextgen gen playstation/xbox are $250, whereas the nextgen nintendo is $200 (pick your own numbers) how much damage will that do to Nintendo.

Given that I really like the Nintendo products, I certainly wish them well, but I'll not hold my breath.

'Bout time Microsoft figured it out

[IntergalacticWalrus]

So Microsoft FINALLY got a clue. They actually realized that an important fraction of their user base WANTS to use the XBox as something else than just for games and DVD movies. So instead of modding their XBox, people might actually buy that WinXP.

However, one wonders if this WinXP Media Center will allow for more than just MP3s, photos and video files. That's not much, considering what a properly modded XBox can do.

Re:'Bout time Microsoft figured it out

[JVert]

I *think* the xbox mce extender uses RDP and the video itself is streamed separatly. I know the other extenders can run third party applications like napster and even some home automation applications using flash.
But I dont quite understdand what else you want the xbox to do? This extender kit requires a Media Center PC in your home already.

And in the End

[jazman_777]

The XBox will be a PC. Except like with Apple, all proprietary hardware/OS.

MISLEADING

[Anonymous Coward]

Re-read this article. It sounds to me like the xboxen will need to talk to a "XP Media PC" as a mother ship. As in it will not know how to even talk to lunix. I just about got excited. Don't get me wrong I own an unmodded xbox and some 20 games but I just don't want to shell out a whole pile of money for a XP media PC. Anyway this is too bad.

Re:MISLEADING

[FauxReal]

Re-read this article. It sounds to me like the xboxen will need to talk to a "XP Media PC" as a mother ship. As in it will not know how to even talk to lunix.

Well if that's the case, I'm sure someone will easily sniff the interface and create linux software to emulate an XP Media PC.

Anti-MS trolls live here thats why

[Anonymous Coward]

You gave positive feedback to a Microsoft product, a big no no for the Slashdot trolls.

I do agree with you, I would get an Xbox.

just freeloaders

[tabby]

Anyone who says to be considered a real media console it needs divx, mp3 et all support is more than likely just wants to play rips they downloaded from the net. I think we all just need to 'fess up and shut-up about insisting that companies support our illegal activities.