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Xbox 2 Announcement Expected at CES

Posted by Zonk on from the next-next-generation-console dept.

BlueMoon writes "On January 5th at 6.30pm PST, the night before the opening of the CES 2005 event, Bill Gates will give a pre-show keynote speech in Las Vegas. A public announcement of Microsoft's next generation Xbox is widely expected."

19 comments

  1. Best Be Backward Compatible... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Or I won't be buying one for a long, long time.

    I mean, it's only now, years after initial launch, that we're starting to see some really good games for the console coming out. It takes a long time for developers to find the best way to optimize on a platform, and just when they hit their collective strides... Poof! New hardware again...

    M$, if you are listening, take a lesson from the success of the PSII -- make sure XBox 2 is backward compatible. If not, BIG MISTAKE!

    1. Re:Best Be Backward Compatible... by clarus · · Score: 2, Interesting

      http://www.engadget.com/entry/4103333888832967/

      This is all just rumor mill, but it would be rather exciting if they could get a emulation done without having a performance drop compared to the existing hardware.

      It shouldn't be that hard, since it is just a PC emulation on a Power PC, however, the main reason they were trying to avoid backwards compatability wasn't that it wasn't possible or even too costly, but that there were security bugs that they didn't want to spend the time to fix(seems like a recuring theme for M$)

      --clarus

    2. Re:Best Be Backward Compatible... by clarus · · Score: 1

      This is a re-copy of that article

      http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/6754/Xbox-2-Backward -Compatibility-Update

    3. Re:Best Be Backward Compatible... by jchenx · · Score: 1

      I never really understood why backwards compatibility was such a key feature. If I really wanted to play PS1 games not long after the PS2 launch, I still had my PS1 available to do so. Nowadays, few people care about PS1 games anymore, so it's a non-issue the older a system gets.

      --
      -- jchenx
    4. Re:Best Be Backward Compatible... by AvantLegion · · Score: 1
      >> M$, if you are listening, take a lesson from the success of the PSII -- make sure XBox 2 is backward compatible. If not, BIG MISTAKE!

      Not really.

      Anyone that isn't willing to spend $150 or less on an Xbox isn't going to be spending $300-some on an Xbox 2 just to get to play Xbox games.

      Backwards compatability is the most "overhyped" feature on earth. A nice bonus, but little more.

    5. Re:Best Be Backward Compatible... by chrispyman · · Score: 1

      While you're right in that backwards compatibility is quite overhyped, you still have to consider that Microsoft is cutting the current XBox lifetime short by releasing the XBox 2 earlier than expected. Also, isn't it usually true that alot of the better games come out later in a console's lifecycle? Backwards compatibility would most likely increase sales of these late games. Besides, the most popular games right after the PS2 was first released were actually PS1 games.

  2. Xbox 2 by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 0, Troll

    If it has the functionality of the original Xbox then I will probably have to buy it. If it has video in and therefor Tivo Functionality I will have to buy it for my parents as well. And possibly my grandparents.

    Sigh damn you Microsoft how can you make everything so easy!

  3. Hmmm by LittLe3Lue · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The XBox 2 sounds like it will be quite powerful. I don't know about backwards compatibility, but if we look at how Microsoft has worked in the past it will be.

    Just think about how long they held on to Dos, and it is still supported.

    I think compatibility has always been one of Microsoft's (one of the main?) assets.

    Anyway, what I ask, Is how will the XBox 2 profit compared to the first one. How will MS price it in order to compare with the other next gen consoles?

    Will it be again a huge money-loosing system, or are they expecting to start turning a profit now that they have made a (arguably) name for themselves among gamers.

    Also to wonder is, will the XBox 2 be as mod-able as the original? I know many many people that only purchased it because it could be used for so many more purposes than originally intended. But that doesn't exactly benefit MS, since they don't get only loose money on the system sale.

    We will see what Bill has to say about the future, although we all know that only time will tell the truth - and it will be very different from what He tells us.

    1. Re:Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MS-DOS is no longer supported. cmd.exe is different.

    2. Re:Hmmm by LittLe3Lue · · Score: 1

      Yes, but I can still play my DOS games.

      Thats what I meant.

      (Sure, maybe not all, but for the most part - and its not like its a console, whose only purpose is to play games.)

    3. Re:Hmmm by GrandCow · · Score: 1

      Will it be again a huge money-loosing system, or are they expecting to start turning a profit now that they have made a (arguably) name for themselves among gamers.

      Also to wonder is, will the XBox 2 be as mod-able as the original? I know many many people that only purchased it because it could be used for so many more purposes than originally intended. But that doesn't exactly benefit MS, since they don't get only loose money on the system sale.

      Every company tries to make their systems less modable whenever they can. That's part of the reason the original Playstation had 5 or 6 different models out (I remember having to go to funcoland and asking to see every used PSX there before picking up a couple of the earliest models I could find). Mod chips = lost business for the most part (Yes I know about imports and "backups" and if that's all you did then more power to you... 95% of the people installed mod chips to pirate games)

      If it is modable, it will help them though. An Xbox sold is one that potentially will be buying games. Microsoft can show that they have 10,000,000 sold Xboxes and try to get developers to make the game Xbox only, even if 9,000,000 of them only use them as a media center PC. It made me laugh when the linux zealots were all crying that everyone should buy 5 and cause them to lose money when the Xbox first came out. I think I only saw a few comments of people pointing out that this increases marketshare for MS.

      Also, about the console being a money losing system: Yes, most likely. But so were the PS2 and most other consoles when they came out. I think the GC just barely made a profit when it was first released. That's not the point though, since that is prettymuch par for the course. They make money back on software and licensing rights.

      --
      "Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
  4. Um... by hollismb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't think anyone who follows the industry find this all that particularly surprising, since it's been talked about for a while now. I too agree it might be a little early for a new Xbox, but it all depends on the games it launches with. Right now, after the winter quarter of next year, there's not a lot of high profile titles that have been announced, so it sort of feels fitting for a good time to release a new system the next fall. I hope there's backwards compatibility too, but it's not too likely at this point, and is a feature that very quickly loses its appeal as the library grows. Definitely not a maker/breaker. The stuff I care about more is what we already have in the current Xbox, particulary the local storage that prevents me from having to buy memory cards and allows for custom soundtracks and content downloads.

  5. Backward Compatibility Problems by Neuticle · · Score: 2, Informative

    *whack!* Not to beat a dead horse *whack! smack!*

    1) No hard drive. Sure a big flash card might be able to hold some of the info, but it would have to be a real big sucker, like 1 gig. That would add cost and complexity and with the frequency of writes to the drive, lifetime would be a big issue.

    2) PPC vs. x86. Ok, so like you said, emulation might solve this problem, but we still don't know for sure.

    3) Nvidia proprietary graphics tech. The Xbox relies heavily on this, and it's successor will use ATI. This complicates graphics emulation, to what degree I am not really qualified to say, but it can't be easy to tip-toe around all those patents without some cycle-intense translations.

    4) No white or black buttons. Granted, they kind'a suck, but many games made important use of them. I suppose the controller ports could be the same allowing use of the old controller, but that means having your old controllers around to swap in and out... not ideal.

    5) Something else that I can't remeber. Good old Deschutes Brewery and their winter ale... mmmm beer. Damn need to go back to the store.

    --
    "Cheeze it!" - Bender
    1. Re:Backward Compatibility Problems by clarus · · Score: 1

      I rememeber reading about the ATI card, but where did you find out about the controller design and the Hard Drive?

      Sounds like some great information!

      --clarus

    2. Re:Backward Compatibility Problems by hollismb · · Score: 1

      A large portion of your list above is nothing but rumors, some of them incorrectly interpreted. For example, the black and white buttons may be gone as black and white buttons, but would be replaced as extra buttons above the two triggers. At this point, though, still a rumor. Secondly, it's pretty safe to assume that the controller ports will be different. The next Xbox peripherals will be compatible/plug and play with PCs. More than likely, they'll be straight USB, unless they ship with some sort of adapter. Regardless of the harddrive issue, I wouldn't expect to lose any functionality. There will be memory on the next Xbox, seeing as content download is a very important Xbox Live feature that they obviously won't be taking away. With less memory, though, there is the possibility of losing custom sountracks, which would suck. And, if I have to buy a memory card for some reason, I'd be really pissed.

  6. XBox2 by TJ_Phazerhacki · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I am really growing somewhat tired of corporations trying to shove the "New-and-not-so-significantly-improved" versions of products down our throats. All consoles are guilty - Nintendo for the deluge of gameboys in recent years, Sony for the special editions and hardware add-ons, and MS for rushing the XBox 2.

    Seriously, I would hate to be a game coder right now. Id be sitting between platforms, with a really difficult choice - do you make it good, and for the last gen - see FFIX! - or Rush it and use the "New" technology - Most of the original X-Box releases.

    Will I buy one? Yes. Should I have to? No.

    --
    Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!