IGN- Xbox 2: Details from GDC, Developers, MS, and more

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Everything You Wanted to Know About the Xbox 2...
...But were afraid to ask. Details from GDC, Microsoft, developers, and more.
by Douglass C. Perry
March 11, 2005 - This fall -- probably November-- Microsoft will launch its next-generation system, codenamed Xenon. The Redmond, Washington-based software company that built its wealth and power on word processors, operating systems, and office tools, knows that being the primary technology in your living room is now more important than being just the center of your parents\' study.

In 2001, Microsoft madly rushed out its first console ever, Xbox. The commanding system, powered by a 733 MHz chip crafted by Intel, and a Microsoft and nVIDIA-powered 250MHz custom graphics chip named the XGPU, has, in less than four years, grabbed the newcomer second place in the current-generation marketplace. But when you look at it from Microsoft\'s perspective, the Xbox was just a beta test, an experiment, a testing of the waters. This next generation, the one that starts this November, will be where Microsoft take charge.

The New Gameplan
Correctly identifying a system\'s strengths as more than just its hardware, Microsoft has announced its key focus areas will be in hardware, software, and services. Meaning, its hardware will be powerful, which is granted. And it had better be. This is the next gen, right? But its software, being created by a well-proportioned stable of developers from across the world (including lots of Japanese developers), will be better too. And its services, from the operating system to the popular Xbox Live, will launch gamers into the next generation full throttle. We all heard it at GDC, Allard calling the former generation the 3D era, and this new one the HD era. And the ideas behind such simple words are compelling indeed.

While this sounds logical, intriguing, and persuasive, one must wonder why the switch in tactics. After all, wasn\'t it Microsoft that touted its superior hardware in the last round of consoles? Wasn\'t it Microsoft that ran hell-bent into Japan with wads of cash, trying to buy everyone they could? Only to find the Japanese development community less than welcoming. Wasn\'t it Microsoft whose games were delayed every fall because of its inability to manage its software development teams, with Rare being the biggest disappointment since its purchase? Hell yes.

But like Microsoft\'s Corporate Vice President and "Chief XNA architect" J Allard told IGN yesterday, "We get to use our playbook now. Each time a new generation comes around, nobody is in first place. The clocks start over. Winning in the previous generation doesn\'t get you a head start or an instant first place. Everyone starts with a fresh slate. This time around we\'re doing things much differently."

Microsoft might be worried about the PS3\'s impending Cell power, but the company is showing a poker face now. A poker face and a smile. Microsoft\'s plan is different this time. Whether it\'s because the company doesn\'t have the Darth Vader of technologies running its system, or because it won\'t use Blu-Ray, we\'re not certain, but the plan is definitely different this time. Why? Well, the Xbox company isn\'t telling us much these days, but what\'s very clear is Microsoft learns from its mistakes; it\'s filled with motivated, intelligent people who want to win; and it\'s all backed by the world\'s richest man.

Breaking that down more specifically, Microsoft, despite all of its less than alluring qualities as a company, oftentimes represents human intelligence and innovation at its best. The GDC keynote speech offers glimpses into Xbox Live\'s future capabilities, from the enticing Gamer Card to the gamer profile to the software support via XNA. The Redmond software company knew it was bad at managing developers, but it also knew something else, too. There was no software supporting developers, there was nothing gluing everything together. So it created XNA, an all-encompassing software management tool that helps the entire development team work together more efficiently and productively.

Microsoft has courted Japanese developers for years, with some success. Sega and Tecmo being the standouts. Now those multiple visits have paid off, with former Square President Hironobu Sakaguchi, former Capcom Director Yoshiki Okamoto and Rez Creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, all on board. We can only assume these are the first steps. Konami, Capcom, Namco and others are, from what we know, all in development with Xenon games. And Rare, for all its delays, was bought, we were told, specifically for creating great content for Xenon. It sounds like a partial truth, but given how few games Rare has made, and the games we know it\'s capable of making, we\'d like to take the optimistic road.

Which leads us to this new system, codenamed Xenon. What\'s true, what\'s false? We\'ll tell you. For months now, IGN has been researching Xenon. We\'ve gleaned facts from quiet, honest developers, taken our clues from Microsoft, and gathered various tidbits from the Internet. In this article we also have compiled information from various news outlets, including San Jose Mercury News, GameSpy, GamaSutra, to name a few, and of course, we\'ve done our own homework, gathering news from own credible sources in the development and publishing communities.

The New Name Is...What?
We\'re going to say this a few times in this article, but Microsoft has not yet officially announced its new system to the world. It\'s been announced to developers, and its\' code name is Xenon. Just like Nintendo\'s Project Dolphin (GameCube), and Sega\'s Katana, Dural, and Blackbelt (Dreamcast) before it, Microsoft is temporarily calling its console Xenon.

What will it be called? Supposedly "Xbox 360" is the latest name. We can\'t be sure why this would be the name of anything ever, but it particularly sounds lame when you think that Microsoft felt the name took care of two birds with one stone. It gives the new Xbox a "3" in it, which takes care of Xbox 2 being numerically compared to PlayStation 3, and coming out inferior -- something Microsoft executives were apparently worried about. And it also hits Nintendo\'s Revolution, since a 360 is itself a revolution. That\'s smart thinking, right? Right??? Other names that have been bandied around include Xbox 2, Xbox Next. The name has yet to be officially announced.

Xbox 2 Software
We\'ve learned that Microsoft plans on blowing out its launch this fall with a slew of games. How big is big? Sega was the first to really blow out a system launch with about 19 titles back in 1999, and Sony upped the ante with 29 games, though only two of them were really good (Madden and SSX). Unlike other game companies, Microsoft sees the "launch window" as a three to four month period, rather than the first day or two. According our own sources, in that window of time, Microsoft expects to ship 30 to 40 titles. Quite a bit of games, we\'d say.

Within the first year, we\'re told, they plan to ship as many as 80 to 100 games. That\'s an ambitious goal by anyone\'s guess, but with a competitor such as Sony in your face, you need everything you can get. Just for those wondering, Halo 3 is not believed to be a launch title. Instead it\'s theoretically planned for launch day and date with PlayStation 3. Take that Jak and Daxter!

The West
So, which developers are on board? All of the big and medium-sized publishers are on board right now, though none are officially announced as such. From Europe and the US, Electronic Arts, Activision, THQ, Eidos, LucasArts, Vivendi Universal Games, Ubisoft, Atari, Midway, Take-Two, and Codemasters, are all on board.

Sources close to EA suggest that the company\'s fall\'s lineup will encompass both Xbox and Xbox 2 titles. Meaning, everything from the sports side -- Madden, NBA Live, NASCAR, and Tiger Woods -- will on Xbox 2, as will many of its entertainment titles: The Godfather, Battlefield: Modern Combat, SSX 4, James Bond: From Russia with Love, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the Urbz 2 are all supposed to appear on Xbox 2.


Unconfirmed rumors surrounding Activision\'s launch titles include obvious but anticipated sequels, including Quake IV, Tony Hawk\'s Underground 3, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Call of Duty 2. THQ has at least one original IP in the works, we\'ve learned, and Eidos is no doubt planning to bring both new IPs and old franchises to the upcoming system. VU Games, apparently, might skip the launch, waiting to make games in the second wave. We\'ve learned Midway has one launch title, and we\'re unsure of the others. But rest assured, they all have Xenon test kits (and they\'ve all been given an update every week!).

The East
You can bet on this, if the Xbox sold well here in the US and in Europe, it stank in Japan. Stank. According to Enterbrain, a local Japanese sales tracking group, in 2002 Microsoft had sold less than 500,000 hardware units. But as we\'ve been saying, Microsoft has learned from its mistakes. It\'s assuredly making a smaller next gen system (so that Japanese people can actually put them in their houses), and it\'s getting Japanese developers to make games for its system. Both are big steps for any console manufacturer, especially a gaijin-bred American one.

To clarify his point, Microsoft Corporate VP of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing Peter Moore told IGN this: "Japan is the cradle of the game industry and the home of very creative and innovative minds. It\'s vital to see the Xbox as a viable competitor in that area. The Japanese market is a very large priority for us for both first-party development and third-party developers and publishers."

Though none of these companies have officially announces their games, we\'ve learned that Capcom, Namco, and Konami are on board. Sega has already made its announcement (see Condemned), and Tecmo, as always, has got game with (DOA 4, Ninja Gaiden 2, and DOA: Code Cronus ). Recent rumor is that DOA 4, like DOA3 before it on Xbox, is a launch title.

Then there are the recent coups, former Square President Hironobu Sakaguchi from Mistwalker (two unnamed RPGs), former Capcom Director Yoshiki Okamoto of Game Republic, and Rez creator and Q Entertainment\'s Tetsuya Mizuguchi, both of whom has pledged support for Xbox 2, but have yet to reveal their games.

Operating Software
Using XNA and Xbox Live as its software tools to launch the console and support its software development partners, respectively, Microsoft plans to make many old uncertain and inconsistent things standardized in the next gen. For instance, it is requiring developers to make all their games work in some way compatible with Xbox Live. Backing up its HD era theme, Microsoft wants all games to be created for high definition, with a minimum baseline of 720p at 1280x720 for gameplay and video sequences; 16:9 aspect ratio; 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, and anti-aliasing.

For video and motion, Xenon uses Xenon Motion Video, or "XMV." XMV, naturally, is based on MS\'s Windows Media 9. Using the mandatory codec for HD-DVD, Microsoft\'s plans for Xenon video are to nail 720p clocking at 30 frames per second with 5.1 Surround Sound.

As announced at GDC, all Xenon games enable custom soundtracks. Although Microsoft didn\'t announce it, the supported formats are believed to be MP3 and WMA, which suggests that these music files work in tandem with Microsoft\'s upcoming music service. Whatever the case may be, whether you\'re importing your own music or someone else\'s, files will be encoded up to 320Kbps CBR or VBR stereo.

System Hardware
Microsoft has yet to announce its hardware specs. Funnily enough, it has yet to officially announce its platform. Yet, for all intents and purposes, Xenon has been announced -- to developers anyway, and, through them, us. We\'ve been piecing together their specs for a long time now and we had accumulated about 85% of the final specs, when our sister site, GameSpy, beat us to it. These hardware specs, according to GameSpy (see their article, "We Got Next"), are the official ones leaked from developers. As I\'ve been saying, Microsoft would not officially comment on these numbers, reiterating its mantra, "we do not comment on rumor or speculation."

We have added more information to these specs, via our own contacts.

CPU: Xenon\'s central processing unit (CPU) has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each is capable of at least two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.

GPU: Xenon\'s GPU, codenamed Fudo, is a generation beyond the ATI X800, and designed at ATI\'s Marlborough, Massachusetts office. Its clock speed is 500 MHz and it supports Shader 3.0. Developers are currently working with an alpha 2 GPU. Beta GPU units are expected by May and the final GPU is slated for a summer release. In game terms, the final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today. It\'s compatible with DirectX 9\'s PS and VS 3.0. It\'s also compatible with the next version of DirectX (DX10).

System Memory: Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. This number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. PCs are multiprocessing machines, not just game machines, thus this number is more than sufficient for a dedicated console like Xenon. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.

Optical Drive: Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Xenon videogames will appear on dual-layer DVD-9 discs. While the media is the same as that of the current Xbox, the usable space on each disc is up to 7 GB. The DVD drive is scheduled to run at 12X.

Memory Units: Xenon will use 64 MB to 1,024 MB memory cards. A total of 8 MB is reserved for system use, leaving a 56 MB to 1,016 MB for user data.

Hard Drive:
Xenon\'s hard drive is optional. It\'s not built in like the current Xbox. A total of 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined. The Hard Drive will be 2.5" form factor and sold separately. Microsoft\'s current plan is to require you to buy the hard drive to enable backward compatibility with current Xbox games. This way, Microsoft recovers the cost of its hard drive, plus it is most likely to give buyers of the HD Xbox Live subscriptions.

Camera:
Xenon will have a USB 2.0 camera. It\'s capable of 1.2 megapixel still shots and VGA video. Photos can be used in-game and for gamer profiles. The camera can also be used for video chat. Developers are currently using a simulated camera driver.

Sound Chip:
Xenon does not have an audio chip in the traditional sense. Decompression is handled by hardware, while the rest of the chores are handled by software. DirectSound3D has been dropped in favor of X3DAudio. The former was deemed too inflexible.

Wireless Options:
Xenon will enable both wired and wireless controllers (like the Nintendo WaveBird or the Logitech controllers), and comes with RF receivers for wireless options. The system also supports an optional Internet router/adapter.

Controllers:
The new controllers will be around the same size as the current S-controllers. Microsoft has eschewed the dual triggers for shoulder buttons, and the design is said to be a mixture between the current S-controllers and the current PS2 controllers. They will not feature slots for memory cards, which, we\'re told, are on the console itself. The system supports 64 megabyte memory cards. There are three controller slots, two controllers on front of the system, plus one USB on the back. Controllers have 2.5mm jacks for headset use.

Console Design:
The Xenon console design is said to be much smaller than Xbox, which seems obvious. The new design is styled less like a Corvette and more organic in shape. Its size falls somewhere between the new slimmer PS Two and original PS2.

Services
At GDC, Microsoft\'s Corporate Vice President J Allard revealed new features to its service pillar, of which Xbox Live plays a significant part. Several ideas were put forth, and the most impressive ones featured distinct upgrades to the Xbox operating system and Xbox Live. Microsoft plans to make online features regular, consistent, and easy-to-use Internet functions as part of its new console. These features include Gamer Cards, Marketplace Shopping, Micro-transactions, Custom Playlists, and Gamer Cred.

[Gamer Cards] offer gamers a quick look at key Xbox Live data, instantly connecting players with similar skills, interests, and lifestyles. Likening the idea to baseball cards, these new user profiles track stats, friends\' online presence, favorite songs, and things particular to you favorite games. AT GDC, Forza Motorsport (due on Xbox in April) was used as an example. The user profiles can be called up before or after a game. The simple interface menu slides across from the left, taking up approximately one third of the screen. Organized in horizontal rectangular bars, each one showed custom details. With Forza, you\'ll see the fastest time on a track, fastest lap, and favorite track, for instance.

Gamer Cards tie into [Gamer Cred]. This star system resembles EA\'s EA Bios a little. Also like Merit Badges, the star system indicates the amount of hours you\'ve spent and how good you are across a range of games. This will help you better pair your skills up with players of similar skills when playing online.

[The Marketplace] enables players to brows subjects by game and genre, among other methods and gives them the option to acquire episodic content, new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, vehicle parts, character skins, and new community-created content. Micro-transactions work in coordination with the Marketplace. Here, you\'ll be able to buy small-ticket online items (see the list aforementioned) enabling developers and the gaming community to charge for content they create and publish on Marketplace. This ought to be interesting, considering people generally don\'t want to pay for these exact kinds of items. Custom Playlists eliminate the need for developers to support custom music in games. With Xenon, all games will support custom soundtracks via the operating system. All of these features are operational the chip level; they\'re all built into Xenon, so developers can focus more on creative development.

[Xbox Live] has always been Microsoft\'s most innovative and greatest strength, and going into this next generation battle, Microsoft will continue to elevate the prominence of its Live success, adding new features, we suspect, every year, to stay ahead of Sony and Nintendo. While we wish we could tell you that current Xbox Live will get a free ride going into the future, that information is still undetermined. We think Microsoft will tie in a free subscription when gamers buy the independently sold hard drive.

Conclusion
Having been through several hardware launches myself, Microsoft\'s approach is smart and solid. It lost money on every console it sold in this generation because of the cost of the hard-drive, among other things, and selling its HD separately in the upcoming battle, whether we like it or not, gives it the chance to make some money back. The three-pronged approach is intelligent and represents Microsoft\'s learned ways. You have to have numerous things going into a launch. Not just a good system, but great relationships with retailers, great games (though not necessarily 30 or 40), and among them at least one killer app. That\'s just for starters.

As a console manufacturer, you should have good first-party games (though Sony proved with PS2 you don\'t need it), and strong third-party support. With EA behind it from the beginning, full Japanese support, and eager American and European developers scrambling away to create awesome new games, Microsoft has these area in check.

While Microsoft doesn\'t support Blu-Ray nor does it have a monster Cell Processor, as was proved in this generation, it\'s what you do with the polygons, not how many you have. The PS2 won this generation handily with the least powerful, most difficult-to-develop-for console, creating considerably less visually attractive games. Yet in crushed its opponents. Better yet, PS2 came out a year before its competitors, giving it a year\'s worth of games, plus at least one year in advance for developers to acclimatize to the new system. That\'s Microsoft\'s advantage now. It will be one year ahead in the market, one year ahead in development, and one year ahead in gaining Xbox Live subscribers.

You also absolutely need super marketing. Microsoft always has done a great job of it. From what we have heard, the hugely successful worldwide launch of Halo 2 is the precursor to the Xenon launch. Take Halo 2 and multiply it by 20. That\'s what the Xenon launch will be like. If this proves true, boy, this fall we may very well see one of the most spectacularly launches of any system yet.

Likes? Dislikes?

I like that the new console is smaller, between the PS2 and the new PSTwo sounds great.  I hope it\'s a sleek design.

I like that it will be backwards compatible, I haven\'t decided if I like the idea that it requires the HD to do so.  I understand not everyone will want it and I also grasp it from a business perspective.  I want to put away my Xbox when I get my X2 so I\'ll definitely buy into it IF the HD is reasonably priced.

I like that one can play custom sountracks for any game.  Nice.

I\'m curious as to why MS is taking one step back with the 2 controller ports and having the USB...I don\'t want to buy an accessory for what should be standard on consoles.  Does anyone know how wireless hubs work?  How many controllers can one hub support?

I\'m interested to see how much of this turns out to be true. E3 can\'t come soon enough.

[Paul2]

maybe by using usb controllers, it save up some connection space since usb plug is smaller than controller connection?  shrugs...

I can\'t wait for E3. This may be the best one in a long time. PS3, Revolution AND Xbox2.


/giddy

Sounds swell.

[Evi]

Damn it Ginko! You and your...informative posts...damn them...and such.






















Keep it up. :thumb:

Originally posted by Ginko
Likes? Dislikes?

I like that the new console is smaller, between the PS2 and the new PSTwo sounds great.  I hope it\'s a sleek design.

I like that it will be backwards compatible, I haven\'t decided if I like the idea that it requires the HD to do so.  I understand not everyone will want it and I also grasp it from a business perspective.  I want to put away my Xbox when I get my X2 so I\'ll definitely buy into it IF the HD is reasonably priced.

I like that one can play custom sountracks for any game.  Nice.

I\'m curious as to why MS is taking one step back with the 2 controller ports and having the USB...I don\'t want to buy an accessory for what should be standard on consoles.  Does anyone know how wireless hubs work?  How many controllers can one hub support?

I\'m interested to see how much of this turns out to be true. E3 can\'t come soon enough.

Nothing surprising there at all. All I want to know is if it\'ll have more good games than the first one or else I\'m not buying one. Burned once, not going to twice.

Originally posted by JP
Nothing surprising there at all. All I want to know is if it\'ll have more good games than the first one or else I\'m not buying one. Burned once, not going to twice.

I suppose that depends what you think makes a good game...

Looks at Halo 1/2, Fable, Chronicles of Riddick, KOTOR, Oddworld, Ninja Gaiden, Otogi, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Unreal Championship, not to mention all the third party games like Burnout, Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Soul Calibur II just to name a few...

*shrugs

I want it now!      

Microsoft has eschewed the dual triggers for shoulder buttons, and the design is said to be a mixture between the current S-controllers and the current PS2 controllers.

NICE!


I think MS should make a poll on Xbox.com on what the new name should be.  I wonder how much this new system will cost?

499$ /w hard drive