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Revealed - How Microsoft planned Xbox 2 for Christmas 2004
Rob Fahey 16:37 26/04/2004
Microsoft's headlong rush to the next generation leads to a serious gamble
in '05
Internal schedules at Microsoft as recently as last November called for the
Xbox 2 to be launched in time for Christmas 2004, sources close to the
company have revealed - and the firm is still thought to be considering a
launch by mid-2005.
Sources at a number of key Xbox developers, who cannot be named for legal
reasons, have confirmed that when the company originally revealed the
outline specification for Xbox 2 late last year, the company surprised its
partners by suggesting that the new hardware would be in shops for Christmas
2004.
The system has since slipped from that schedule - which also called for an
unveiling of the specification at GDC, at the high-profile press conference
which the company eventually used for the launch of the XNA development
platform - but Microsoft apparently still has hopes to get the new console
out in mid-2005, ahead of the Christmas 2005 release anticipated by most
commentators.
"I think they underestimated how hard it was going to be to build a console
that wasn't using PC architecture," one source familiar with the firm's
console development efforts told us today. "But they're racing to get to the
market as soon as possible - they really want to reverse the head start that
Sony had last time."
A launch in mid-2005 would probably give Microsoft a full year's head-start
on Sony's PS3, and possibly even more, as some commentators have suggested
that Sony could allow the PS3 to slip further in order to allow the
PlayStation Portable to hold the limelight for longer.
One consequence of Microsoft's eagerness to launch a next-generation console
so soon is that the firm has allegedly encouraged developers to move to next
generation development ahead of schedule. While few if any companies have
moved their PS2 teams onto PS3 projects as yet, discussions with developers
over the past week have revealed that quite a few are wrapping up work on
the Xbox with their current projects and are moving on to Xbox 2 development
imminently - or have done so already. It's not a universal trend by any
means, as several companies are still planning to start new Xbox titles in
the coming months, but it's certainly a different landscape from the
thriving environment that is PlayStation 2 development.
Of Microsoft's internal big-name studios, it's seemingly planned that Halo 2
will be Bungie's last Xbox title before moving on to Xbox 2 development,
while UK-based Rare is already working on Xbox 2 software - with the highly
anticipated Perfect Dark follow-up apparently planned for the
next-generation hardware. The firm's range of XSN Sports titles have also
been cancelled in 2004 and will now appear in 2005 instead - quite possibly
as early Xbox 2 titles, thus giving the new console a full range of sports
games from the first stages of its lifespan.
This is a risky gamble for the company. If they can launch the Xbox 2 in
mid-2005, they'll certainly have an impressive head-start and will have the
only next generation platform on the market for at least six to nine months.
However, Xbox users may feel unhappy with the short life-span of their
console as the flow of original titles for the platform dries to a trickle
in 2005 - and if no new console is forthcoming until late in the year, then
2005 begins to look very barren for Microsoft.
__________________________________________________________________________
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=pub&aid=3348
IF Xbox 2 came out THIS year, there would be not much better than a Radeon
X800 XT under the hood. maybe R450. probably not R500. Microsoft
would've been incredibly stupid to launch THAT early.
even mid-2005 is early.
____________________________________
Revealed - How Microsoft planned Xbox 2 for Christmas 2004
Rob Fahey 16:37 26/04/2004
Microsoft's headlong rush to the next generation leads to a serious gamble
in '05
Internal schedules at Microsoft as recently as last November called for the
Xbox 2 to be launched in time for Christmas 2004, sources close to the
company have revealed - and the firm is still thought to be considering a
launch by mid-2005.
Sources at a number of key Xbox developers, who cannot be named for legal
reasons, have confirmed that when the company originally revealed the
outline specification for Xbox 2 late last year, the company surprised its
partners by suggesting that the new hardware would be in shops for Christmas
2004.
The system has since slipped from that schedule - which also called for an
unveiling of the specification at GDC, at the high-profile press conference
which the company eventually used for the launch of the XNA development
platform - but Microsoft apparently still has hopes to get the new console
out in mid-2005, ahead of the Christmas 2005 release anticipated by most
commentators.
"I think they underestimated how hard it was going to be to build a console
that wasn't using PC architecture," one source familiar with the firm's
console development efforts told us today. "But they're racing to get to the
market as soon as possible - they really want to reverse the head start that
Sony had last time."
A launch in mid-2005 would probably give Microsoft a full year's head-start
on Sony's PS3, and possibly even more, as some commentators have suggested
that Sony could allow the PS3 to slip further in order to allow the
PlayStation Portable to hold the limelight for longer.
One consequence of Microsoft's eagerness to launch a next-generation console
so soon is that the firm has allegedly encouraged developers to move to next
generation development ahead of schedule. While few if any companies have
moved their PS2 teams onto PS3 projects as yet, discussions with developers
over the past week have revealed that quite a few are wrapping up work on
the Xbox with their current projects and are moving on to Xbox 2 development
imminently - or have done so already. It's not a universal trend by any
means, as several companies are still planning to start new Xbox titles in
the coming months, but it's certainly a different landscape from the
thriving environment that is PlayStation 2 development.
Of Microsoft's internal big-name studios, it's seemingly planned that Halo 2
will be Bungie's last Xbox title before moving on to Xbox 2 development,
while UK-based Rare is already working on Xbox 2 software - with the highly
anticipated Perfect Dark follow-up apparently planned for the
next-generation hardware. The firm's range of XSN Sports titles have also
been cancelled in 2004 and will now appear in 2005 instead - quite possibly
as early Xbox 2 titles, thus giving the new console a full range of sports
games from the first stages of its lifespan.
This is a risky gamble for the company. If they can launch the Xbox 2 in
mid-2005, they'll certainly have an impressive head-start and will have the
only next generation platform on the market for at least six to nine months.
However, Xbox users may feel unhappy with the short life-span of their
console as the flow of original titles for the platform dries to a trickle
in 2005 - and if no new console is forthcoming until late in the year, then
2005 begins to look very barren for Microsoft.
__________________________________________________________________________
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=pub&aid=3348
IF Xbox 2 came out THIS year, there would be not much better than a Radeon
X800 XT under the hood. maybe R450. probably not R500. Microsoft
would've been incredibly stupid to launch THAT early.
even mid-2005 is early.
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