Developers Impressed After Look At New Microsoft Game Console

Microsoft Corp.'s new X-Box entertainment game console may have gained a number of converts among skeptical developers Friday, March 10, 2000 though whether that will translate to commercial success against already formidable competition is far from certain. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who introduced the new console at the Game Developers Conference, put his company's challenge succinctly: ""One key element that is crucial is making it fun, making sure that people are entertained by what they do."" The X-Box promises to deliver on that challenge when it's released in late 2001 as Microsoft moves to capture a chunk of the $11 billion gaming industry from the Big 3 video game makers: Sony, Sega and Nintendo. In demonstrations of the console's capabilities, graphics depicting water, desktop items and butterflies over a Japanese pond were movie-quality, offering high-definition blends of shadows and colors. Sounds and movement had none of the pauses that often occur with processors on other game consoles or PCs. While a completed prototype was not available, a simulation of a game operating at X-Box's full capabilities was a show-stopper that gave developers a glimpse of the possibilities available under the system. Gary Weber, a programmer with Carlsbad, California-based game developer SolWorks, has worked with a variety in different game systems and acknowledged he was skeptical beforehand. ""Sony has a lot of consumers with PlayStation, and they have a lot going with PlayStation2, but Microsoft has a good system on their hands that we weren't sure about until today."" ""It's definitely built a lot of excitement,"" agreed Rick Ruckavina, a developer at Los Angeles, California-based Universal Interactive. ""They put some thought into making a machine that hits consumers at a mass-market levels but is easy for designers, programmers, artists, to work with immediately."" The X-Box will have an Intel Pentium III chip running at speeds of at least 600 megahertz, a DVD-ROM drive and at least 64MB of memory the equivalent of today's mid-range personal computers. Unlike other consoles, it also will have a hard drive that can store games or act as a ""virtual memory"" system to hold data for upcoming use. Microsoft is no stranger to the gaming industry. Its DirectX technology fits into the Windows operating system to improve graphics, sound and the speed of multimedia software, especially games. Meanwhile, its PC-based strategy game ""Age Of Empires II: Age of Kings"" was the fourth biggest seller in 1999, while ""Flight Simulator"" landed at No. 8, according to Reston, Virginia-based PC Data Inc. Still, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant will have a tough battle on its hands. Sony's PlayStation2, which went on sale in Japan this month, is the most advanced platform currently on the market. It has the ability to play audio CDs and DVDs, and link to the Internet for multiplayer games and basic World Wide Web access. PlayStation2 will be released in the United States this fall, a year before Microsoft's console will appear, giving it plenty of time to capture the hearts of consumers. But market share in the gaming industry may not be all that Microsoft is worried about. Jennifer Orvik, National Sales Manager for San Francisco-based CMP Media Inc.'s game media division, said the X-Box was an intelligent countermove to the threat posed by PlayStation2 to Windows-based PCs. ""PlayStation2 has the potential to replace a lot of the functionality that the PC serves in most homes,"" Orvik said. ""You can't do word processing on it, but you can surf the Net and play games, and that's what most people use their computer for."" X-Box users will be able to connect to high-speed Internet services to take part in multiplayer games, as well as Web access and e-mail, but can only use digital subscriber lines (DSL) or other high-speed services, said Robert Bach, a vice president in Microsoft's Home and Retail Division. The company has not released estimates of the X-Box's retail cost. Other game consoles include the Sega Dreamcast, which uses software developed jointly with Microsoft and currently retails for $199.99. Games cost anywhere from $29.99 to $49.99 each. The PlayStation2 is selling for about $370, although the price expected to drop by the time it reaches stores in the United States. The current PlayStation sells for less than $100, and its library of games also will play on the next generation of machines, unlike Sega's Dreamcast and Nintendo's high-tech successor to the N64, which is code-named ""Dolphin."" Source: Associated Press (AP)