Microsoft To Release Three Versions of X-Box 2's

[vincent]

here

584903913[/snapback]

And the point of this post is.....? :huh:

[iconboy]

Nobody said they are going to be selling an external hdd.  It's not that hard for the game to detect a hdd or a memory card.  They will probably sell the non-hdd one for $200 and the hdd one for probably $350 - $400.

584903805[/snapback]

u completley misunderstood me, although u do make a good point. Think of it this way... what is the #1 problem faced by computer game makers? the inconsistancy between computer hardware. Almost everyone has a different computer setup. So they have to release different versions of the game (mac and pc) and release patches and updates and drivers up the ass (for dif hardware).

What if a game comes out for the xbox 2 that requires a hdd, but you have the non hdd version of the xbox 2? this it doesnt happen? look at FFXI for the ps2... i dont have a ps2 hdd, so i cant play this game. true i can go out and buy one, but im not going to do that ;)

now look at it from the developers point of view, they can either a) release 2 versions of the game (one that runs off the hdd and one that streams from a disc), b) tell microsoft that a portion of their userbase cant get the game and that they should release a hdd addon (which will cost M$ millions more in the end) or c) tell everyone with a non hdd xbox 2 to screw off...

look, all im saying is that M$ wants to save money and release a non hdd xbox, but will have to deal with a whole new can of worms down the road. stupid, stupid, stupid. You cant really argue for NO HDD, its ONLY been GOOD for the xbox 1!!

As for PS3 vs. Xbox2, who knows whatll happen, but did anyone ever forsee Sony vs. Microsoft for the console leader a few years back!? LOL -we live in CRAZYY times ;)

[Slimy]

kool, i guess..

[Stokkolm]

u completley misunderstood me, although u do make a good point.  Think of it this way... what is the #1 problem faced by computer game makers? the inconsistancy between computer hardware.  Almost everyone has a different computer setup.  So they have to release different versions of the game (mac and pc) and release patches and updates and drivers up the ass (for dif hardware). 

What if a game comes out for the xbox 2 that requires a hdd, but you have the non hdd version of the xbox 2? this it doesnt happen? look at FFXI for the ps2... i dont have a ps2 hdd, so i cant play this game.  true i can go out and buy one, but im not going to do that ;)

now look at it from the developers point of view, they can either a) release 2 versions of the game (one that runs off the hdd and one that streams from a disc), b) tell microsoft that a portion of their userbase cant get the game and that they should release a hdd addon (which will cost M$ millions more in the end) or c) tell everyone with a non hdd xbox 2 to screw off...

look, all im saying is that M$ wants to save money and release  a non hdd xbox, but will have to deal with a whole new can of worms down the road.  stupid, stupid, stupid. You cant really argue for NO HDD, its ONLY been GOOD for the xbox 1!!

As for PS3 vs. Xbox2, who knows whatll happen, but did anyone ever forsee Sony vs. Microsoft for the console leader a few years back!? LOL -we live in CRAZYY times ;)

584904036[/snapback]

that is all true but people make a choice to buy the non-hdd one and they should know that they may run into problems with certain games. Also I don't think there really are any games out that require a hdd except for final fantasy. It's not really that big of a problem in my eyes.

[LUTZIFER]

Well I sure hope this is all true, as I definitely couldn't see myself buying another XBOX "without" a hard drive. The hard drive in the first XBOX was the best thing going.

But I can't really see me buying XBOX 2, as I still have many many years left on buying the thousands and thousands of awsome games for XBOX as it is. Unless they will be compatible with the new XBOX.

But then again, I'm not much into gaming anyways, but when I am in the mood for playing a game, it's definitely gotta be XBOX. Just cant stand the crappy graphics of PC games, even when played on powerful systems.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

I take anything the Inquirer says with an entire shaker of salt.

I'm still not even 100% convinced of the claims that Xbox 2 will have three Power5-based chips.

Though I do think that's entirely possible.

In January we should know more, when it's official.

I don't think that multiple Xbox2 platforms in itself is a bad idea. I could easily see them going the "PSX" route and releasing a base Xbox2 console, and then a PVR/Media Center style one.

But I want the baseline Xbox2 to have all of the *game related* features of the higher end one.

That means the baselines Xbox2 should have a hard drive. And full Xbox 1 compatability.

The higher end model could have a *larger* hard drive. And Media Center functionality. That would be cool.

Another option I'd heard pandered about was the idea that they could include a removable hard drive of sorts. But more than a hard drive, it would also be a portable media player. That would be nice and all, but expensive.

If they're going to do that, they need to sell the baseline Xbox2 with a small, basic hard drive in that slot. And then let people purchase larger capacity disks with those added media features if they want them. THAT would be cool as well.

Microsoft showed great understanding of the console market when they decided to include the hard drive and network adapter with the original Xbox.... they knew that developers would only target those options if they were included in every box. I don't think they'll make the same mistake once.

[Dazzla Veteran]

What about Xbox games that use the HD as a large cache? What would happen when playing on an Xbox with no HD? Reduced performance?

They should go with one or the other, splitting the market like that is hell for developers and simply no good for consumer because all it does it create confusion amongst the casual gamers (read Mums and Dads buying for kids etc).

[Stokkolm]

I take anything the Inquirer says with an entire shaker of salt.

I'm still not even 100% convinced of the claims that Xbox 2 will have three Power5-based chips. 

Though I do think that's entirely possible.

In January we should know more, when it's official.

I don't think that multiple Xbox2 platforms in itself is a bad idea.  I could easily see them going the "PSX" route and releasing a base Xbox2 console, and then a PVR/Media Center style one.

But I want the baseline Xbox2 to have all of the *game related* features of the higher end one. 

That means the baselines Xbox2 should have a hard drive.  And full Xbox 1 compatability. 

The higher end model could have a *larger* hard drive.  And Media Center functionality.  That would be cool.

Another option I'd heard pandered about was the idea that they could include a removable hard drive of sorts.  But more than a hard drive, it would also be a portable media player.  That would be nice and all, but expensive.

If they're going to do that, they need to sell the baseline Xbox2 with a small, basic hard drive in that slot.  And then let people purchase larger capacity disks with those added media features if they want them.  THAT would be cool as well.

Microsoft showed great understanding of the console market when they decided to include the hard drive and network adapter with the original Xbox.... they knew that developers would only target those options if they were included in every box.  I don't think they'll make the same mistake once.

584904096[/snapback]

One thing to note is that the current XBOX is an x86 based system and the XBOX2 will be PPC so the old games most likely aren't going to work on the XBOX2.

This could answer the question above about running Windows on the XBOX2. If they are working on an emulator for the games how much harder could it be to run windows on it?

[Brandon Live Veteran]

Oh yeah, in addition to the portable hard drive/media player idea... I've also heard Xbox design guys mention that they were looking at "alternative storage" forms, such as including flash memory or using network storage.

However, the only option I see possibly getting used would be to include a large capacity flash card (512MB or 1GB) in the hard drive "slot," which could be replaced with a larger drive as I suggested above.

Again, this is all idle speculation. Though there are certainly some cool possibilities emerging in regard to these next gen systems.

[nivek7]

I don't think this is a good idea. I rather they release 1 "type" of xbox and then offer addons to it.

[Phemo]

What about Xbox games that use the HD as a large cache? What would happen when playing on an Xbox with no HD? Reduced performance?

Exactly. The standard Xbox may only have an 8GB HD, but it has 3x750MB (ish) partitions that are used for caching of data - it'll read ahead and bung some info on the HD to speed up loading, etc. The vast majority, if not all games employ this method. Easy way to prove it (if you have a modded Xbox) is to play a game then reboot halfway through - FTP into it and more often than not, you will find files on X, Y and Z partitions that get cleared as new games are booted.

I think that a no HD Xbox would be a pretty silly move, of course, that depends on what media it's using. If it uses DVD which it most likely will then the problem can be somewhat avoided by equipping it with a hefty amount of RAM.

[Elmo]

will xbox pc play xbox games?

[Brandon Live Veteran]

One thing to note is that the current XBOX is an x86 based system and the XBOX2 will be PPC so the old games most likely aren't going to work on the XBOX2.

This could answer the question above about running Windows on the XBOX2.  If they are working on an emulator for the games how much harder could it be to run windows on it?

584904118[/snapback]

The next Xbox will *likely* be a PPC system, though that hasn't been announced officially anywhere.

Furthermore, we have the following information to consider:

-An Xbox designer said that the XB2 will have "enough power to emulate the Xbox one handiliy."

-There's a company that claims to have developed a sort of "code translation" technology that allows code written for one system to be executed on a completely different architecture with impressive performance and simplicity. I forget the name of the company, I'm sure someone remembers the site. They even included a diagram on their site describing how their system could be used to run games made for an x86 console run on a PowerPC console... Jee whiz, I wonder who would ever want to do that? :)

-Furthermore, the Virtual PC for Macintosh team was recently relieved of their duties regarding the graphics subsystem emulation for the next version of Virtual PC for Mac (which is supposed to emulate DirectX 8 level 3D hardware). Guess who took over that development? Yup, your favorite next-gen Microsoft console team.

[anthony]

Why not do a little research on the XNA Development kit first

Then you would of course notice, that all development for Xbox games goes on a Dual Processor G5 running a modified Windows NT core. For more info, use Google.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

I don't think this is a good idea. I rather they release 1 "type" of xbox and then offer addons to it.

584904125[/snapback]

I still think this is the most likely scenario. However I would not be surprised at all if they offer bundles including the base system and some of these add-ons. I also would not be surprised to see one with a larger hard drive and Media Center functionality.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

Why not do a little research on the XNA Development kit first

Then you would of course notice, that all development for Xbox games goes on a Dual Processor G5 running a modified Windows NT core. For more info, use Google.

584904165[/snapback]

Yes, the current Xbox2 XDK "preview" hardware is in fact a heavily modified Dual G5 system with an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro.

New kits that more closely match the final specs should start to appear in early '05.

[kaneso]

ps3 will hav tivo and play divx :D

[kyro]

which one will allow me to install linux ? :ninja: :pc: :cool:

[pdog]

i think all of this is bull****. Microsoft won't make an xbox without a HD or soemthing ALOT like it. Have more faith in them.

[Stokkolm]

i think all of this is bull****.  Microsoft won't make an xbox without a HD or soemthing ALOT like it.  Have more faith in them.

584904257[/snapback]

I would definately prefer a hdd to something like a compact flash device. You would think that compact flash would cost more than a hdd anyway.

[Stokkolm]

Yes, the current Xbox2 XDK "preview" hardware is in fact a heavily modified Dual G5 system with an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro.

New kits that more closely match the final specs should start to appear in early '05.

584904179[/snapback]

I don't know if it would be possible but could IBM somehow engineer the processor to support CISC and RISC? That would certainly be the smartest way to go if it was possible.

[KayMan2K]

I don't know if it would be possible but could IBM somehow engineer the processor to support CISC and RISC?? That would certainly be the smartest way to go if it was possible.

584904444[/snapback]

Dual Core? One for RISC and one for x86 CISC?

GameBoy Advance uses both a RISC and a CISC I believe...

[b3ta]

All of a sudden X-Box PC sounds very, very appealing. :shifty:

[figgy]

Has any other site other than Inquirer validated this report?

I don't believe Register and Inquirer.

[Damolee]

Hubba, Hubba!

If my current gf hasn't been dumped or vice versa by the time this thing comes out .... then I / she soon will be LOL

Personally I will always have a pretty good PC at hand, so consoles are just a means of getting to games I can't buy for the PC ....but hasn't anyone yet considered that by releasing an XBOX PC , they are opening up the eyes of the typical "Console Only" generation of people and introducing them to the PC that we ourselves all love & know.

Microsoft, if they pull it off ... this could make an industry wide change long term, just imagine how many more people will be introduced to the PC market having their stubborn'ness stripped and their eyes opened to what they are missing out on !!!

Increased PC market size, an already existing fanbase of sorts, product awareness etc

Just a hunch , but if they haven't already announced it .... Microsoft will eventually be key players in the CPU and other hardware markets, my theory that Gatezilla is after world domination seems to be coming true lol

We own most of the Operating System market, we will also develop the best components to match it ... makes perfect sense, like a kid starting off playing with mere toys, progressing onto bikes and skateboards...then the juicier stuff ...PCs!

All child's play!

Is anyone else seeing this? ....!