Archived from groups: microsoft.public.xbox,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati,alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video (More info?)
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=3645
Rob Fahey 16:15 21/06/2004
Because two boxes under the TV are as good as one, apparently
Sources close to Microsoft's senior Xbox executives have confirmed
that the company does not intend to make its next-generation console,
which is set to be launched by late 2005, backwards compatible with
existing Xbox software.
Speculation about the backwards compatibility functionality has been
rife since it emerged that Xbox 2 - codenamed Xenon - will have
radically different hardware to the original system, with a non-x86
processor, no hard drive and an ATI, rather than NVIDIA, graphics
chipset, all of which would make running Xbox titles on the platform
very difficult.
It was widely believed, however, that Microsoft had retained a team of
hardware emulation experts to work on the problem - although concerns
over the viability of such an endeavour were voiced by some experts,
especially regarding the company's ability to emulate the functions of
the graphics unit in the Xbox without violating NVIDIA's intellectual
property rights.
GamesIndustry.biz has now learned that Microsoft does not plan to
provide any backwards compatibility in the next-generation Xenon
platform - and indeed, that senior executives at the company don't
believe backwards compatibility to be an important feature for
consoles.
According to a source close to the project, internal Microsoft figures
suggest that only 10 per cent of PlayStation 2 purchasers were
interested in the console's ability to play titles developed for the
original PlayStation.
Although this still represents some seven million consumers on a
global basis - which is around half of Microsoft's entire installed
base for Xbox - the company apparently believes that allowing
consumers to play existing Xbox titles on the next-generation hardware
would not be a significant deciding factor for Xenon purchasers.
However, a report into the videogames industry published today by
Wedbrush Morgan Securities senior vice president Michael Pachter
disagrees with this conclusion - arguing that failing to provide
backward compatibility could have the effect of alienating Microsoft's
existing Xbox installed base.
"In the event that Xbox Next is not backward compatible, we think that
the device will be very slow to grow its footprint," the report warns,
while elsewhere it suggests that such a move could damage the
company's long-term prospects for the console.
"We do expect Microsoft to launch its console first, perhaps as early
as 2005," says Pachter. "Should it choose to do so without backward
compatibility or significant third-party software support, we expect
to see its first-mover advantage evaporate."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=3645
Rob Fahey 16:15 21/06/2004
Because two boxes under the TV are as good as one, apparently
Sources close to Microsoft's senior Xbox executives have confirmed
that the company does not intend to make its next-generation console,
which is set to be launched by late 2005, backwards compatible with
existing Xbox software.
Speculation about the backwards compatibility functionality has been
rife since it emerged that Xbox 2 - codenamed Xenon - will have
radically different hardware to the original system, with a non-x86
processor, no hard drive and an ATI, rather than NVIDIA, graphics
chipset, all of which would make running Xbox titles on the platform
very difficult.
It was widely believed, however, that Microsoft had retained a team of
hardware emulation experts to work on the problem - although concerns
over the viability of such an endeavour were voiced by some experts,
especially regarding the company's ability to emulate the functions of
the graphics unit in the Xbox without violating NVIDIA's intellectual
property rights.
GamesIndustry.biz has now learned that Microsoft does not plan to
provide any backwards compatibility in the next-generation Xenon
platform - and indeed, that senior executives at the company don't
believe backwards compatibility to be an important feature for
consoles.
According to a source close to the project, internal Microsoft figures
suggest that only 10 per cent of PlayStation 2 purchasers were
interested in the console's ability to play titles developed for the
original PlayStation.
Although this still represents some seven million consumers on a
global basis - which is around half of Microsoft's entire installed
base for Xbox - the company apparently believes that allowing
consumers to play existing Xbox titles on the next-generation hardware
would not be a significant deciding factor for Xenon purchasers.
However, a report into the videogames industry published today by
Wedbrush Morgan Securities senior vice president Michael Pachter
disagrees with this conclusion - arguing that failing to provide
backward compatibility could have the effect of alienating Microsoft's
existing Xbox installed base.
"In the event that Xbox Next is not backward compatible, we think that
the device will be very slow to grow its footprint," the report warns,
while elsewhere it suggests that such a move could damage the
company's long-term prospects for the console.
"We do expect Microsoft to launch its console first, perhaps as early
as 2005," says Pachter. "Should it choose to do so without backward
compatibility or significant third-party software support, we expect
to see its first-mover advantage evaporate."
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram