X-BOX UNVEILED
March 10, 2000

Bill Gates announced at the annual Game Developers Conference that Microsoft is entering the video game world with the introduction of a console, currently code-named X-Box. "Building on the company's software expertise and advances in PC technology -- such as 3-D graphics and Internet connectivity -- Microsoft is developing a high-performance, easy-to-use platform that will enable developers to create better games, faster."

"Building on our strengths as a software company, X-Box will offer game developers a powerful platform and game enthusiasts an incredible experience," said Gates. "We want X-Box to be the platform of choice for the best and most creative game developers in the world."

"Familiar tools such as the Microsoft DirectX API will inspire movie-quality rendering, enhanced Internet gaming, and superior audio in future-generation games." According to Microsoft, X-Box will deliver the following:

• High performance of Intel Pentium III processor technology with Streaming SIMD Extensions.
• More than three times the graphics performance of the newest-generation game consoles ("newest" is open to interpretation, though it seems to be speculating raw X-Box polygons against the original raw PS2 polygon estimates). Co-developed with experts at NVIDIA, the custom-designed graphics chip will deliver more than 200 million polygons per second (note: expect this estimate to come way down with special effects thrown into the mix, and possibly without... albeit still likely higher than the competition).
• Rich, fast-action, and realistic experiences will be enabled by the X-Box hard drive.
• Broadband Internet connectivity. Combining the power of PC technology with the accessibility of its DirectX development tools, Microsoft is providing game developers with a maximum-performance creative medium to deliver better games.

"The PC has always been the design center for high-end entertainment because of the unlimited graphics power and the great tools that make programming easier," said Robbie Bach, vice president of the Games Division at Microsoft. "Our developer partners are excited to apply Hollywood design techniques to creating superior X-Box games."

Microsoft is allocating significant resources in technology, developer support, and marketing to make X-Box and its developer partners successful (read: expect money to come into play in a major way). X-Box is slated to launch in fall 2001, and numerous developers and publishers have already expressed their enthusiasm for it, including Electronic Arts, Konami, Acclaim, and Eidos.

"We view Microsoft's entry into the console business as an important and positive event for our industry. Electronic Arts is intrigued by the opportunity to develop exciting new games for X-Box," said Larry Probst, chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts. EA's support should go a long way considering they usually hold out their development efforts until systems are established.

"We welcome the development of the new X-Box platform because we expect it will help the home game console industry expand," said Kagemasa Kozuki, chief executive officer of Konami Co. Ltd. "We plan to organize an X-Box development team and release new titles for the platform before anyone else. We hope that X-Box will be a successful platform and will help the game console industry grow further."

To advance PC and X-Box games, Microsoft has formed a new dedicated games division. Robbie Bach, vice president of the Home and Retail Division, will oversee the Games Division.

X-Box Logo