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Xbox 2 will most likely in November 2005.
http://cube.ign.com/articles/523/523583p1.html?fromint=1
Xbox 2 in 2005
Could Revolution be more powerful?
June 15, 2004 - It appears that Microsoft, which launched Xbox in late
2001 after Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's GameCube consoles, will
be the first company to unleash its next-generation home console. The
tentatively codenamed "Xbox 2," set to receive a name revision before
its release because Microsoft doesn't want consumers to assume it's
inferior to PlayStation 3 based on end numerals, hasn't yet been given
an official release date. But just because Microsoft isn't yet talking
doesn't mean developers working on early "Xbox 2" development setups
are so keen to keep quiet.
A major software company already prototyping software for Microsoft's
"Xbox 2" told IGN today that the publisher "definitely aims to launch
the console in North America for Christmas 2005." A November time
frame was given. A European release will follow in 2006, said the
source.
IGN contacted another software firm currently working working on "Xbox
2" software, who seconded the news. "Let's put it this way: a lot of
developers crunching to get their games ready for a 2005 launch will
be really pissed if Microsoft doesn't get it out by then."
Microsoft has moved quicker than Nintendo and Sony to get development
studios preliminary next-generation prototyping hardware, another
indication that the company hopes to get the jump on its competitors.
The "Xbox 2" will use PowerPC based architecture similar to the
chipset powering Apple's G5 computers. That being the case,
Microsoft's early "Xbox 2" development kits have been little more than
modified Apple G5 systems pre-packed with "Xbox 2" emulation software.
"I heard [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs found it pretty ironic and funny that
Microsoft has been shipping Apple systems to developers," one studio
source joked to IGN on the subject.
Multiple software houses involved with "Xbox 2" development stand by
rumors the console will not feature a hard drive, which would suggest
that it might also not be backward compatible with current Xbox
software. "Microsoft needs to make money with this system and so it's
going a pretty conservative route," an insider explained, adding, "but
that doesn't mean the system is not powerful because it is."
Microsoft is hoping that consumers, drunk on hit Xbox games like Halo
and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, will be eager to step into
the next-generation of home consoles with the successor. "It's hoping
the early arrival will not hurt it, but help it," said a development
source. "It doesn't want to be another Sega Dreamcast, in other words.
It wants to be a Sega Genesis."
Presented with this information, a spokesperson for Microsoft said
that the company "does not comment on rumors or speculation."
The downside to launching "Xbox 2" in 2005, say insiders, is that it
puts Microsoft in the position of being the first next-generation
console to market, which historically also means it could be the least
powerful of the three from a technical standpoint.
Preliminary tech specs for Nintendo's Revolution (of which there are
some half a dozen different versions, apparently) illustrate a console
that is as powerful as "Xbox 2" in most respects. In fact, IBM and
ATI, the two hardware makers responsible for the guts of "Xbox 2," are
developing Revolution. Given another year development time, Nintendo's
console could actually ship in 2006 as the more capable of the two
hardware platforms.
Meanwhile, IBM and Sony are developing Cell, a proprietary, powerful
new architecture that will be used in PlayStation 3. Some developers
believe that Sony could delay the arrival of its next-generation
console to as late as 2007 in order to create a Trojan horse for its
budding Blu-Ray DVD technology, which promises to deliver
high-definition DVDs into the living rooms of consumers, replacing
current DVD-players.
Sony's Blu-Ray technology has one formidable hurdle to overcome:
HD-DVD. This alternative format, backed by such electronics giants as
NEC and Toshiba and recently approved by the DVD Forum, is positioned
to give Ble-Ray a run for its money. But HD-DVD could be squashed in
the same way that DVD squashed DivX if Sony were to include Blu-Ray
DVD-playback in PlayStation 3, instantly turning millions of
gameplayers into Blue-Ray supporters.
Doing so would also give Sony a clear selling point over Microsoft's
"Xbox 2" as the only console that could play true high-definition DVD
out of the box.
http://cube.ign.com/articles/523/523583p1.html?fromint=1
Xbox 2 in 2005
Could Revolution be more powerful?
June 15, 2004 - It appears that Microsoft, which launched Xbox in late
2001 after Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's GameCube consoles, will
be the first company to unleash its next-generation home console. The
tentatively codenamed "Xbox 2," set to receive a name revision before
its release because Microsoft doesn't want consumers to assume it's
inferior to PlayStation 3 based on end numerals, hasn't yet been given
an official release date. But just because Microsoft isn't yet talking
doesn't mean developers working on early "Xbox 2" development setups
are so keen to keep quiet.
A major software company already prototyping software for Microsoft's
"Xbox 2" told IGN today that the publisher "definitely aims to launch
the console in North America for Christmas 2005." A November time
frame was given. A European release will follow in 2006, said the
source.
IGN contacted another software firm currently working working on "Xbox
2" software, who seconded the news. "Let's put it this way: a lot of
developers crunching to get their games ready for a 2005 launch will
be really pissed if Microsoft doesn't get it out by then."
Microsoft has moved quicker than Nintendo and Sony to get development
studios preliminary next-generation prototyping hardware, another
indication that the company hopes to get the jump on its competitors.
The "Xbox 2" will use PowerPC based architecture similar to the
chipset powering Apple's G5 computers. That being the case,
Microsoft's early "Xbox 2" development kits have been little more than
modified Apple G5 systems pre-packed with "Xbox 2" emulation software.
"I heard [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs found it pretty ironic and funny that
Microsoft has been shipping Apple systems to developers," one studio
source joked to IGN on the subject.
Multiple software houses involved with "Xbox 2" development stand by
rumors the console will not feature a hard drive, which would suggest
that it might also not be backward compatible with current Xbox
software. "Microsoft needs to make money with this system and so it's
going a pretty conservative route," an insider explained, adding, "but
that doesn't mean the system is not powerful because it is."
Microsoft is hoping that consumers, drunk on hit Xbox games like Halo
and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, will be eager to step into
the next-generation of home consoles with the successor. "It's hoping
the early arrival will not hurt it, but help it," said a development
source. "It doesn't want to be another Sega Dreamcast, in other words.
It wants to be a Sega Genesis."
Presented with this information, a spokesperson for Microsoft said
that the company "does not comment on rumors or speculation."
The downside to launching "Xbox 2" in 2005, say insiders, is that it
puts Microsoft in the position of being the first next-generation
console to market, which historically also means it could be the least
powerful of the three from a technical standpoint.
Preliminary tech specs for Nintendo's Revolution (of which there are
some half a dozen different versions, apparently) illustrate a console
that is as powerful as "Xbox 2" in most respects. In fact, IBM and
ATI, the two hardware makers responsible for the guts of "Xbox 2," are
developing Revolution. Given another year development time, Nintendo's
console could actually ship in 2006 as the more capable of the two
hardware platforms.
Meanwhile, IBM and Sony are developing Cell, a proprietary, powerful
new architecture that will be used in PlayStation 3. Some developers
believe that Sony could delay the arrival of its next-generation
console to as late as 2007 in order to create a Trojan horse for its
budding Blu-Ray DVD technology, which promises to deliver
high-definition DVDs into the living rooms of consumers, replacing
current DVD-players.
Sony's Blu-Ray technology has one formidable hurdle to overcome:
HD-DVD. This alternative format, backed by such electronics giants as
NEC and Toshiba and recently approved by the DVD Forum, is positioned
to give Ble-Ray a run for its money. But HD-DVD could be squashed in
the same way that DVD squashed DivX if Sony were to include Blu-Ray
DVD-playback in PlayStation 3, instantly turning millions of
gameplayers into Blue-Ray supporters.
Doing so would also give Sony a clear selling point over Microsoft's
"Xbox 2" as the only console that could play true high-definition DVD
out of the box.