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Microsoft denies Xbox 2 showing at GDC
Kristan Reed 10:33 18/03/2004
We don't really believe them, though.
Speaking yesterday to our sister site Eurogamer.net, Microsoft Europe
has issued a surprise statement that categorically denies the rumoured
unveiling of Xbox 2 at the Games Developers Conference next week.
A senior Microsoft Europe executive responded to increasing
speculation that it will launch its successor to Xbox at the San Jose
show by saying: "It's fair to say we won't be announcing a hardware
platform at GDC".
This news will come as a blow to those expecting that the show would
mirror the role played by the event four years ago, when MS chief Bill
Gates emerged on stage decked out in an Xbox baseball jacket to herald
the company's arrival in the console market.
But despite all evidence and logic to the contrary, the company's
appearance at the show is set to be limited to talking about games,
with J Allard and Robbie Bach presenting two keynote speeches at the
event. "It's fair to say that we are going to be discussing the role
of software in games development," the source confirmed.
Indeed, the programme of events at GDC lists Bach and Allard's
'Getting To The Game' keynote on March 24th as being essentially no
more illuminating than telling development attendees "how we can help
you finally turn innovation into impact," and discusses a "faster path
to Game of the Year accolades and to the hearts of the mass market".
Interesting stuff, but many had expected them to also add tantalising
new information regarding Microsoft's future plans in the console
market - with many commentators claiming that the GDC show would be
the "coming-out party" for Xbox 2 and anticipating a full unveiling.
However, several senior sources have cast doubt on whether Microsoft
is issuing denials so as to avoid spoiling the impact of its
announcements at next week's show in San José, and despite this
denial, it would still be surprising if the next-generation console
was not discussed in some form at the showcase event.
One interesting possibility is that Microsoft will make the official
announcement on Xbox 2 outside of GDC at its own separate press event
nearby - thus eliminating the chance of information leaking out ahead
of the show, as tends to happen at such big events.
Whatever the truth of the situation, Microsoft hasn't at any point
shied away from the fact that it is working on a successor to Xbox,
and with the possibility of a late 2005 US launch mooted, for the
timeline to follow that of its original console an announcement now is
essential.
Industry watchers expect - at the very least - software demos to be
shown off to give an idea of the machine's potential capabilities.
Essentially, that's all Microsoft did at GDC 2000, with some rough
specs to allow developers the time to work on producing a quality
launch line up.
Much the same was expected this time around, and for the console to be
completely off the agenda would be a major surprise given the
importance of the event - after all, launching developer specific
information at E3 would be a strange tactic. It's possible that
Microsoft's denial of a GDC showing for the console is simply designed
to quell the more unlikely reports of a full unveiling, which has
never been on the agenda for the show.
Indeed, the Microsoft Europe statement follows comments made recently
by Microsoft Japan's Asako Miyata, who confirmed that while Robbie
Bach would discuss the new console, Xbox 2 won't actually be unveiled
at the event and the specs may not even be revealed, in a move
apparently designed to ensure that the machine outperforms the PS3.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Microsoft denies Xbox 2 showing at GDC
Kristan Reed 10:33 18/03/2004
We don't really believe them, though.
Speaking yesterday to our sister site Eurogamer.net, Microsoft Europe
has issued a surprise statement that categorically denies the rumoured
unveiling of Xbox 2 at the Games Developers Conference next week.
A senior Microsoft Europe executive responded to increasing
speculation that it will launch its successor to Xbox at the San Jose
show by saying: "It's fair to say we won't be announcing a hardware
platform at GDC".
This news will come as a blow to those expecting that the show would
mirror the role played by the event four years ago, when MS chief Bill
Gates emerged on stage decked out in an Xbox baseball jacket to herald
the company's arrival in the console market.
But despite all evidence and logic to the contrary, the company's
appearance at the show is set to be limited to talking about games,
with J Allard and Robbie Bach presenting two keynote speeches at the
event. "It's fair to say that we are going to be discussing the role
of software in games development," the source confirmed.
Indeed, the programme of events at GDC lists Bach and Allard's
'Getting To The Game' keynote on March 24th as being essentially no
more illuminating than telling development attendees "how we can help
you finally turn innovation into impact," and discusses a "faster path
to Game of the Year accolades and to the hearts of the mass market".
Interesting stuff, but many had expected them to also add tantalising
new information regarding Microsoft's future plans in the console
market - with many commentators claiming that the GDC show would be
the "coming-out party" for Xbox 2 and anticipating a full unveiling.
However, several senior sources have cast doubt on whether Microsoft
is issuing denials so as to avoid spoiling the impact of its
announcements at next week's show in San José, and despite this
denial, it would still be surprising if the next-generation console
was not discussed in some form at the showcase event.
One interesting possibility is that Microsoft will make the official
announcement on Xbox 2 outside of GDC at its own separate press event
nearby - thus eliminating the chance of information leaking out ahead
of the show, as tends to happen at such big events.
Whatever the truth of the situation, Microsoft hasn't at any point
shied away from the fact that it is working on a successor to Xbox,
and with the possibility of a late 2005 US launch mooted, for the
timeline to follow that of its original console an announcement now is
essential.
Industry watchers expect - at the very least - software demos to be
shown off to give an idea of the machine's potential capabilities.
Essentially, that's all Microsoft did at GDC 2000, with some rough
specs to allow developers the time to work on producing a quality
launch line up.
Much the same was expected this time around, and for the console to be
completely off the agenda would be a major surprise given the
importance of the event - after all, launching developer specific
information at E3 would be a strange tactic. It's possible that
Microsoft's denial of a GDC showing for the console is simply designed
to quell the more unlikely reports of a full unveiling, which has
never been on the agenda for the show.
Indeed, the Microsoft Europe statement follows comments made recently
by Microsoft Japan's Asako Miyata, who confirmed that while Robbie
Bach would discuss the new console, Xbox 2 won't actually be unveiled
at the event and the specs may not even be revealed, in a move
apparently designed to ensure that the machine outperforms the PS3.
_______________________________________________________________________________