New XBox details

[Andrew Pratt]

Today at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), Microsoft announced the first details of its next-generation Xbox video game system platform.

Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Chief XNA Architect J Allard further outlined the company's vision for the future of entertainment, citing the emergence of an "HD Era" in video games that is fuelled by consumer demand for experiences that are always connected, always personalized and always in high-definition.

"In the HD Era the platform is bigger than the processor," Allard said. "New technology and emerging consumer forces will come together to enable the rock stars of game development to shake up the old establishment and redefine entertainment as we know it."

Allard shared the first details about the next-generation Xbox guide. Persistent across all games and media experiences, the guide is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects players to their games, their friends and their digital media.

Features of the guide include these:

• Gamer Cards. Gamer Cards provide gamers with a quick look at key Xbox Live information. They let players instantly connect with people who have similar skills, interests and lifestyles.
• Marketplace. Browseable by game, by genre, and in a number of other ways, the Marketplace will provide a one-stop shop for consumers to acquire episodic content, new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins and new community-created content.
• Micro-transactions. Breaking down barriers of small-ticket online commerce, micro-transactions will allow developers and the gaming community to charge as little as they like for content they create and publish on Marketplace. Imagine players slapping down $.99 to buy a one-of-a-kind, fully tricked-out racing car to be the envy of their buddies.
• Custom playlists. This feature eliminates the need for developers to support custom music in games. The guide instantly connects players to their music so they can listen to their own tracks while playing all their favourite next-generation Xbox games.

The guide requires hardware designed with software in mind. System-level features of the guide such as custom playlists, the Xbox Live Friends list and voice chat are enabled at the chip level.

The next-generation Xbox hardware design principles will also include the following:

• A well-balanced system that will deliver more than a teraflop of targeted computing performance
• A multicore processor architecture co-developed with IBM Corp. that provides developer "headroom" and flexibility for the HD Era
• A custom-designed graphics processor co-developed with ATI Technologies Inc. designed for HD Era games and entertainment applications

In addition, familiar software technologies such as DirectX, PIX, XACT and the recently announced XNA Studio complement the new hardware to help game developers unlock increasingly powerful and complex silicon.

[Neal_C]

Thanks for posting the info Andrew. Can't wait to see the actual full blown specs of the unit when it is finally "officially" released.

[Gordon Moore]

Updated specs on the hardware....from the Game Developer's Conference:

Checkit out :T

http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/microsoft-xbox/594331p1.html

The Guts of the Next Box


CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of 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 is a generation beyond the ATI X800. 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. The final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today; in game terms, it would handle a game like Half-Life 2 with ease.


System Memory - Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. Keep in mind that this number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.


Optical Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Games will come 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 drive is slated to run at 12X.


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


Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined.


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. It's unknown if the Xenon camera will allow for EyeToy-like gameplay. 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.

[Neal_C]

Everything sounds really good, especially all the additional improvements to Live. The power of this machine will be phenominal.

I am a bit disappointed they won't be using HD-DVD, but atleast they bumped the drive up to dual layer.

However, maybe that decision was made to allow component outputs to still be used, so they can hit more of the market. I would imagine that anything with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray will require HDMI at a minimum.

[Trevor Schell]

Great stuff!
Any idea as to when it will be out?

[Gordon Moore]

A lady I work with....her brother is the lead designer (or something) with the FIFA line at EA sports in B.C. obviously, he can't comment on it but development for games have begun for the next gen consoles.

I haven't heard when a release is expected for the consoles. "When it's ready...in time for x-mas of some year" I guess.

[Neal_C]

All the rumors I have heard point toward Microsoft aiming to beat Sony to the punch and releasing the Xbox 2 by the end of the year. I think Sony is slated to release the PS3 sometime in Q1 '06.

I have also heard all three, MS, Sony, Nintendo, will have something in store for E3 in May.

I think I have also read somewhere about EA working on games already. Of course, many studios better be working on games because launch titles for MS are going to need to be strong so they can get a nice jump on Sony. I would imagine that if launch is the end of this year, there are some nice choppy playable demos of games on beta systems being tested right now.