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EA's Plans for Xbox 2

Posted by Zonk on from the not-a-lot-of-sense-here dept.

GamesIndustry.biz has news of EA's Xbox 2 plans for 2005, adding additional weight to the likelyhood of a new console by the end of the year. Oddly, the story states that the games in the works for the new console will also be developed for the current iteration of the Xbox. This may partially confirm the lack of backwards compatibility discussed previously on Slashdot and seems to pit Microsoft's new console against the old one for sales dollars.

25 comments

  1. funny mental image by keiferb · · Score: 1, Funny

    You know, as soon as I read the headline, I had a picture of a Gary Larson-esque viking ship with a bunch of XBoxes in the little seats where the rowers sit.

    Monday... it makes the mind do stupid things.

  2. lack of backwards compatibility? by 00null00 · · Score: 1

    Lack of backwards compatibility? Come on, the Xbox 2 will be more powerful than the first, so why wouldn't it be able to play the old games? I remember Playstation making the same games for 1 & 2 at the same time, and it helped them keep their older console generation buying new games. They just weren't as shiny. I think I'll be able to play my copy of Halo 2 on Xbox 2. At least I hope so.

    1. Re:lack of backwards compatibility? by StingRay02 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Exactly. That's probably one of the dumbest statements I've read in the teasers. The real reason they're going to make new games for both Xbox and Xbox 2 is that, (here's a shocker) not everyone is going to buy an Xbox 2 at launch. Imagine that! The thing'll probably be $300-400 at launch, possibly more if they think they can get away with it, and I know I'm not going to buy it untill a couple of price drops happen.

    2. Re:lack of backwards compatibility? by samdu · · Score: 1

      X-Box 2 WILL be more powerful than the current machine. But, while I agree that the article uses terrible logic, there is still a big question mark with regard to backwards compatibility.

      X-Box 2 will use a PowerPC derivative for its CPU. X-Box uses a Pentium. X-Box 2 will use ATI graphics, X-Box uses nVidia. While there may be some backwards compatibility built in using some form of emulation, I highly doubt that it will be 100% accurate or 100% reliable. I don't actually expect the next X-Box to be backwards compatible at all. I don't see it being powerful enough to emulate the previous box at full speed. Oh, and there may not be a hard drive in the X-Box 2. That'll be a huge hit for compatibility.

    3. Re:lack of backwards compatibility? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PS1 compatibility in the PS2 fell out quite naturally: they used the PS1 chip to handle the controllers, and from there to PS1 compatibility was a very short step. Or, in simple terms, it's not so much a case of the PS2 being backwards compatible with the PS1 as it is of the PS2 containing a slimmed-down (physically, not capability-wise) version of the PS1 as part of its basic design, leading to a trivial addition for backwards compatibility.

      I'll be very surprised if the Xbox 2 is backwards compatible, based upon the info that's out in the wild now.

    4. Re:lack of backwards compatibility? by zev1983 · · Score: 1

      But have comodity PC processors and graphics chips advanced to the point where they can emulate different architectures from just 4 years ago, even when in an optimized configuration? The answer is probably not. The Xbox2 seems to be a continuation and extension of the current design and architecture paradigms, so a drastic break away compared to previous performance is most unlikely.

      Compare this to the drastic architectural shifts regarding the architecture used in the PS3. Like the guy says in the article here http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/23/023920 7&tid=126&tid=1 it's designed more like a Cray than a PC. It may be hell for those programing it at first, but the power is there. If Sony hadn't come up with a much more powerfull architecture for the PS2 would it have been powerfull enough to run PS1 games in emulation? Probably not as well. I run a 1.4Ghz Athlon 512MB RAM and GeForce 3 and when I run Playstation games on my PC in emulation they run at somewhere around 1 tenth the normal speed. Wipeout plays like a hot air balloon simulator.

      The Xbox2 seems to be based on a trio of probably POWER5 derived processors and probably unified RAM (like the current Xbox)and a high end graphics chip. I don't really know much else but that sounds like an Xbox with 3x the processors on a new architecture and updated for the times.

      The PS3 architecture just makes my head hurt (might be because I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a year...). Here is the article that seems to explain it the best with minimal headache: http://www.blachford.info/computer/Cells/Cell0.htm l (from the slashdot link). Sony IBM and Toshiba apparently didn't make many compromises in their pursuit of speed. This stuff should probably show up in one of IBM's supercomputers in the next couple of years, probably a petaflops machine.

      I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that one has vastly more theoretical power and because of that can easily run it's predicessors games in emulation. It takes allot of horsepower to run things in emulation. They talk about this and more in the Cell article...

  3. Disagree with the logic here by hal2814 · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Oddly, the story states that the games in the works for the new console will also be developed for the current iteration of the Xbox. This may partially confirm the lack of backwards compatibility discussed previously on Slashdot and seems to pit Microsoft's new console against the old one for sales dollars."

    Maybe not. You can actually get a copy of Madden 2005 for the original Playstation, even though PS2 is backwards compatable. I would imagine that EA is betting that there will still be a signifigant portion of XBox owners who will not own an XBox2 any time soon and they'd like to continue to make money off of XBox owners.

  4. What's so odd there? by ivan256 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Oddly, the story states that the games in the works for the new console will also be developed for the current iteration of the Xbox. This may partially confirm the lack of backwards compatibility discussed previously

    That seems to me more like a strategy to deal with the lack of forwards compatability of the original Xbox. For the same reason, EA still develops their new titles for the original Playstation and for the PS2.

  5. Parent is correct by LilSerf · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Most of the EA Sports line was still being released on PS1 up until a year ago or so. There's nothing "odd" about it. EA would be stupid to disregard the huge pre-install base and solely pursue the new console owners. Likewise, EA would be stupid to just release an XBox version and say "use your backward compatibility" to XBox2 owners. Those with new consoles will want games that actually push their hardware.

    Gradually the previous generation's support will diminish, just like the PS1 games gradually became little more than roster updates and had no new-feature-similarity to their PS2 cousins.

    1. Re:Parent is correct by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since when is EA known for releasing games that push hardware? All they do is make games for the largest install base and then port them to the other consoles.

  6. "adding additional weight"? by lightspawn · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sounds just like what the xbox was missing.

  7. Weight by Meagermanx · · Score: 1

    adding additional weight to the likelyhood of a new console

    Hey, Additional weight.

  8. If Xbox 2 Isn't Backwards Compatible and Mod-able by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I seriously doubt I'll buy one.

  9. Xbox compatibility by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "may partially confirm the lack of backwards compatibility"

    Just because they release the same games for Xbox, all of a sudden it confirm's lack of backwards compatiblity. Okay, that is a far reach. Kind of reminds me how the KKK takes things out of the Bible and makes stuff up.

    EA probably want's to continue the support the Xbox for a couple of more years. Wow that means no compatiblity with the old Xbox! You are a genius!

  10. While EA does carry alot of influence.... by LordZardoz · · Score: 1

    Microsoft can easily refuse to permit certain games from showing up on the X-Box. With any of the consoles, you cannot release a game for that console unless the owners of that platform decide to permit it.

    The only thing preventing Microsoft from stopping EA's plan of releasing on X-Box and X-Box 2 is the possible fear of alienating a game publisher that has become too big to ignore.

    END COMMUNICATION

    1. Re:While EA does carry alot of influence.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Wrong.

      See "Tengen" court rulings for more information, kid.

    2. Re:While EA does carry alot of influence.... by jareth_chong · · Score: 2, Insightful

      In the console market, Microsoft needs EA more than EA needs Microsoft.

    3. Re:While EA does carry alot of influence.... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      I seriously doubt EA would like to piss MS off Tengen-style. MS is the kind of company that would change the law to close this loophole if it was of any interest to them. Though the DMCA might already do that.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    4. Re:While EA does carry alot of influence.... by jareth_chong · · Score: 1

      EA does not want to deliberately "piss off" Microsoft just to flex its muscles. However, EA will act in its best monetary interest, not Microsoft's.

      If EA's best interest clashes with Micosoft's, EA has enough power to not cave in to Microsoft. In some other markets that are related to Windows, Microsoft has enough might to force most other companies to bow to its will. However, Microsoft does not have that kind of influence in the console gaming world, especially when Xbox is a far behind Sony as the number-two in the console market.

      Sony Playstation has an endless list of classics. Xbox has Halo and Halo 2, and that's it. At this point in time, Microsoft needs EA more than EA needs Microsoft, to help establish Xbox as a player in the console market. EA can decide to go against Microsoft to work with just Sony. If EA cooperates with a couple other major game publishers, they can bury Microsoft's Xbox.

  11. EA on Xbox 1 v. EA on Xbox 2 by superultra · · Score: 1

    I think what's more interesting is that EA seems to be supporting the Xbox2 slightly more than they did the Xbox1. EA was slow to support the first Xbox, and they did so begrudgingly. The article states that none of the EA-Xbox2 titles are exclusive, but if they're better looking (and one owns an Xbox2) why would one not buy the Xbox2 version? What will really show EA's hand will be whether they release any PS3 exclusive titles or not.

    Their attitude is more cautious, but it seems that the industry is warmer to the Xbox2 than they were to the Xbox1. Will this translate into market domination (in the US at least?)?

  12. Re:Why is this news to the slashdot audience? by bigman2003 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Yes, you might be right.

    Slashdot should block out anybody using an IE browser, or anyone on a microsoft platform.

    The other 5% can have a big party.

    --
    No reason to lie.
  13. Re:Why is this news to the slashdot audience? by hollismb · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    So, when the release date for Longhorn is announced, that also won't be 'news for nerds'?

  14. This says nothing about backward compatibility by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oddly, the story states that the games in the works for the new console will also be developed for the current iteration of the Xbox. This may partially confirm the lack of backwards compatibility

    No, this absolutely confirms the lack of forwards compatibility in Xbox 1. Which we knew already because it's staggeringly obvious.

    Lay off the monkey juice, Zonk. It'll improve your logic.