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XBOX NEWS #3!
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Microsoft will sell 200,000 green special edition Xbox consoles:
Microsoft
will sell 200,000 green special edition Xbox consoles:
04/07/04 Microsoft announced that they will sell 200,000
green special edition consoles starting April 13th. The
console will be bundled with Halo. More details in Microsoft
Press-Release.
Microsoft launched limited edition green translucent
XBox Console in Europe, about one year ago. The new console
started to selling retail for €229.99. and is translucent
green and comes with two translucent green controllers.
"Microsoft Corp. today announced a pairing of epic
proportions: a limited-edition retail special featuring
the Xbox® video game system and all-time Xbox best-seller
"Halo®" for only US$169.* Shipping to U.S.
retailers April 13, the coveted combo features a special
"Halo"-branded, green Xbox console and "Halo"
jeweled controller with a copy of the game. However, only
the best and brightest -- or at least the fastest -- fans
will taste the glory: Just 200,000 of the boxed sets are
available."
Taiwan's
TSMC to Make Chips for Microsoft Xbox:
04/06/04 TSMC the world's largest contract maker of semiconductors,
will make chips for future Microsoft Xbox game consoles,
the two companies said.
The agreement expands an existing relationship and allows
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to directly provide
Microsoft with the most advanced semiconductor process
technologies, they said in a joint statement.
No other details were immediately available.
TSMC now has a contract to make graphics chips for the
second generation of Xbox game consoles through Canada's
ATI Technologies Inc , the world's second-largest graphics
chip maker.
Microsoft signed that deal with ATI, which outsourced
manufacturing to TSMC. The next generation of Xbox is
set for release late in 2005.
The latest agreement was signed directly by Microsoft
and the Taiwan company, said TSMC spokesman Tzeng Jinn-haw.
He declined to give a dollar value for the contract.
The announcement came after the close of Taiwan trade
on Tuesday. The Taipei-traded shares of TSMC, which is
one-fifth-owned by the Netherlands' Philips Electronics
N.V. ended flat at T$62.0 each.
Last month, Microsoft lowered the price of the Xbox to
$149.99 from $179.99, a move seen as a change in strategy.
Microsoft previously cut the Xbox price only after similar
cuts from industry leader Sony Corp on the PlayStation
2.
ATI focuses on designing chips used to compute complex
three-dimensional graphics for computer games, but outsources
the actual microchip production to companies like TSMC.
Microsoft
Cuts Xbox Price to Boost Sales: 3/29/04
Microsoft Corp. on Monday cut the price on its Xbox video
game console in a move seen as a boost to the game publishing
industry ahead of its biggest gathering of the year in
May.
The price cut boosted shares in game retailers and was
hailed by analysts as a catalyst for more share gains
in the coming weeks.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, cut the Xbox
price to $149.99 from $179.99 and also trimmed prices
on software such as the karaoke game "Xbox Music
Mixer," "Project Gotham Racing 2" and "Crimson
Skies: High Road to Revenge."
The Xbox price cut is effective Tuesday, while the software
cuts take effect Monday and Tuesday.
"Hardware price cuts should benefit video game publishers
and retailers. A lower hardware price point should translate
into higher hardware unit sales," Banc of America
Securities analyst Gary Cooper said in a note.
"In turn, a larger installed base of hardware should
lead to higher sales of video game software. In particular,
we believe that these price points will appeal to a more
mass-market audience," he said.
Shares in the specialty game retailers, Electronics Boutique
Holdings Corp. and GameStop Corp. were up on the news.
Both had built price cuts into their outlooks for the
year, and other retailers said the move was good news
as well.
"We know price cuts have usually increased public
interest in (gaming) products in the past and we expect
that to happen in this go-round." Circuit City Stores
Inc. spokesman Jim Babb said.
CHANGE IN STRATEGY
The Xbox was released at $299 in November 2001. The price
dropped to $199 in May 2002 at the E3 industry trade show
and to $179 in May 2003, at the same event. The new price
was widely expected to come at some point before this
year's E3.
The 2002 price cuts led to a sharp upsurge in sales of
game consoles and software in what otherwise would have
been the relatively quiet summer months. However, the
cuts in 2003 were smaller than many expected and had little
effect.
The move is a change in strategy for Microsoft, which
previously cut the Xbox price only after similar pricing
moves from industry leader Sony Corp. on the PlayStation
2.
While many analysts expect Sony to eventually match Microsoft's
latest pricing move, there was some doubt on Monday that
the cut would come immediately. Sony executives said last
week that their decisions on the future of the PS2 would
not be determined by competitive pressure in the marketplace.
"We believe that a price cut of consoles will be
beneficial for video game publishers and could signal
a price cut of the PS2 soon, although we believe that
Sony faces a Japanese accounting hurdle if it cuts the
price of the PS2 prior to April 16 (within two weeks following
the close of its fiscal year)," Wedbush Morgan analyst
Michael Pachter said in a note.
Since early this year, analysts and publishers have called
a move to $149 necessary for the game industry to achieve
its growth targets for the year, and some have even raised
the idea of prices going to $129.
"We doubt a $149 price point will be enough to drive
(calendar 2004) hardware unit sales above 2003 levels,"
Piper Jaffray analyst Tony Gikas said in a note last Friday
predicting the price cut.
"We estimate that a $129 price point on (Xbox) and
(PS2) would result in 1.5 million additional hardware
unit sales during 2004 compared to the $149 price point,"
he said.
Shares in game publishers were broadly higher in afternoon
trade. Shares of Microsoft, which loses money on Xbox
sales but makes money on sales of video games, rose 20
cents to $25.23 on Nasdaq.
Video game hardware and software sales come to $10 billion
a year in the United States. A new generation of consoles
to replace the Xbox and the PS2 is expected in about the
next two years. (Reuters)
Microsoft
has taken the hard disk out of its Xbox:
The head of Israel-based flash memory maker M-Systems,
Microsoft's new hardware partner for the Xbox, has confirmed
that the next version of the game console will not have
a hard drive.
M-Systems CEO Dov Moran said in an interview with Israeli
business newspaper Globes that "Microsoft has taken
the hard disk out of its Xbox. The only thing left will
be a CD; that's all."
A Microsoft represenative called Moran's comments "speculation"
but declined to comment further.
M-Systems announced an agreement late last month with
Microsoft to supply flash-based storage devices for future
versions of the Xbox. Company executives said they couldn't
give details on what the devices would be, but Moran's
comments confirm speculation that they will replace the
8GB hard drive built into current game consoles.
"At some point, when users want to save their e-mail
messages, copy music, or anything like that, the only
storage they'll have is what we give them," Moran
told Globes.
Microsoft originally touted the hard drive as one of
the key features distinguishing the Xbox from competing
consoles, but the storage has not been utilized by software
publishers to change the way games work. Instead, the
hard drive is mainly used for small-scale storage operations
such as saving data on progress in a game, and for nongame
functions such as saving music tracks "ripped"
from CDs.
Analysts have said that dropping the hard drive could
trim at least $20 per unit from production costs for the
money-losing game console.
Microsoft has consistently refused to divulge details
on the next version of the Xbox beyond new agreements
with component suppliers, including graphics chip maker
ATI Technologies and IBM, which will make the main processor
for the console. The company is believed to be preparing
the next version of the Xbox for delivery late next year
and is expected to share details with game makers later
this month at the Game Developer's Conference. Source
CNET News.com
Microsoft
Planning New Xbox Live Features: Microsoft
Corp. is planning a number of new features for its Xbox
Live online gaming service this year, including limited
data storage on its network, the company said on Friday.
Code-named "Tsunami," the new set of features
is still in the planning stage and are expected to roll
out gradually over the course of the year, Microsoft said.
But the list of services in development gives a preview
as to what the company has planned for its Live service,
which has more than 750,000 subscribers worldwide.
Among the features listed in an email from the company
was something called "title-managed online storage,"
a way for game players to store and share data via Microsoft's
network.
There has been speculation within the industry that Microsoft
may not include a hard drive in the next version of the
Xbox console, in favor of network-based storage that would
reduce the console's physical size and cost.
Other enhancements in the works, Microsoft said, include
the ability for game publishers or group of players to
create competitions for specific games and new ways to
contact friends to play games through the MSN Messenger
instant-messaging software.
Buzz about the "Tsunami" features began to
circulate on the Internet this week after some of the
improvements were said to be revealed in a software development
kit for Xbox Live.
Though Microsoft did not say anything about a voice-messaging
feature, gaming sites reporting on "Tsunami"
said there were indications from files in the kit that
Xbox Live would eventually allow players to leave each
other brief voice messages.
Microsoft
leaking XBox 2 specifications.
Microsoft plans to release the new XBox before Sony comes
out with the Playstation 3 in 2007.
The XBox for 2005 has supposedly three IBM-designed 64-bit
microprocessors. A ATI graphics chip faster than any available
on the market. The new XBox will support HDTV. 256MB RAM
which can be extended to 512MB.
Most likely no backward compatibility of Xbox games,
which would be different from Sony's strategy. Microsoft
seems also to be very concerned about cost of the new
XBox. See more details in Mercury
News Story.
Japanese Microsoft Exec talking about the next generation
XBox. The new head of Microsoft Japan's Xbox division,
Yoshihiro Maruyama, has commented on the company's plans
for its next-generation console, stating that the hardware
will be smaller and is due to launch in 2007. That date
will depend heavily on when Sony decides to launch the
PS3. "Whether we'll release the successor of the
Xbox before the PS2's needs to be decided carefully,"
he commented. "It has strong pros and cons."
More Details on gamesindustry
Microsoft
turns to technology licensing for Xbox Next:
Are off the shelf components hurting MS' pocket too much?
Recent agreements signed by Microsoft with a variety
of companies to supply technology for the successor to
Xbox reveal that the company is switching to the manufacturing
model preferred by its rivals.
While the Xbox is formed of off the shelf components
supplied by leading technology firms such as Intel and
NVIDIA, the contracts for technology for the next generation
console, codenamed Xenon, indicate that the company's
attitude to manufacturing has changed considerably.
Rather than buying devices which are effectively PC components
from manufacturers, Microsoft's next generation plan revolves
around licensing technology designs from key suppliers
such as ATI, IBM and SIS Technologies, and then arranging
for the manufacture of these chipsets itself - effectively
becoming a full-scale chip maker, albeit one without a
fabrication plant of its own.
This new approach means that rather than selling components
to Microsoft, as NVIDIA and Intel do, ATI and IBM will
be receiving royalties for the use of their technology
- but Microsoft will have ultimate control over the manufacturing
and final use of that technology, effectively giving the
company far more control over its own platform, and the
ability to make significant cost savings on manufacture.
This is the same system that Nintendo and Sony operate,
and it's one ATI and IBM are familiar with - since they've
worked with Nintendo and Sony respectively on console
projects. ATI provides the graphics hardware for Nintendo's
GameCube under broadly the same terms as its new deal
with Microsoft for Xenon, while IBM is one of Sony's development
partners on the Cell microprocessor for the PS3. More
Details on gamesindustry
Microsoft
Confirms 'Halo 2' Release in Fall: 1/30/04
"Halo 2," the sequel to the best-selling Xbox
game ever and one of the most-anticipated titles of 2004,
will ship this fall, Microsoft Corp. said on Friday, dashing
hopes that the game would be out sooner.
Many industry observers as well as fans had expected
"Halo 2" to ship as early as the spring -- possibly
in March or April -- and retailers had been counting on
a June release date.
But a spokeswoman confirmed on Friday that the "Halo
2" launch is now set for the later part of the year.
A firm launch date was not available, although it would
be in Microsoft's next fiscal year, which starts in July,
the spokeswoman said.
As of Friday morning, the Web sites of specialty game
retailers GameStop Corp. and Electronics Boutique Holdings
Corp. still listed "Halo 2" as being scheduled
for a June 1 release.
Bungie, the Microsoft-owned developers of the original
"Halo," which has sold more than 4 million units
since its November 2001 release, posted a note about the
timing of "Halo 2" on its Web site on Friday.
"So, remember last year when we told you we don't
announce release dates until we're confident well meet
our deadline? Well now were confident. Halo 2 will ship
in fall 2004. Please make a note of it," the site
said.
Xbox
for $99? Xbox 2 in 2005? 01-28-04 Microsoft
might have a few surprises for the game sector up its
sleeve.
In a report by CNN
Money's Chris Morris, American Technology Research
analyst P.J. McNealy suggests that Microsoft will cut
the price of their current console to $99 by Labor Day.
"It is our belief that the price on the consoles
in North America could see a stepped drop this year",
says McNealy "with both the PS2 and Xbox being cut
to $129 between now and the May E3 trade show, with [Microsoft]
then cutting the Xbox further to $99 in the late summer."
The analyst's information is part of a research note that
was released today.
McNealy also believes Microsoft will launch the yet to
be named next version of the Xbox late in 2005. That would
allow Microsoft to have a full year on store shelves before
Sony's PlayStation 3 supposedly hits sometime in 2007.
Electronic Arts Inc. the industry's largest publisher,
expects the prices of Sony's PS2 and Microsoft's Xbox
to come down to $129 from $179 sometime between the spring
and Labor Day.
Microsoft
at Work on Next Xbox - Gates: LAS VEGAS
01-07-04 - Microsoft Corp. is hard at work on the next
generation of its Xbox video game console, even as the
current version starts to show its full potential as an
entertainment hub, founder and Chairman Bill Gates said.
In an interview ahead of his keynote address at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gates told Reuters the
company would look to extend the functionality of the
Xbox, the only game console to ship with a built-in hard
drive and Ethernet connection.
"We are pushing the boundaries in terms of expanding
what people think of as what the device can do,"
Gates said.
Last year, Microsoft released a title called "Xbox
Music Mixer" that allows users to download music
and photo albums from their PC to the console.
Later this year, Gates said, Microsoft will release a
kit for the Xbox that will extend the functions of its
Windows XP Media Center Edition to the console, turning
it into a set-top box that allows the playback of live
and recorded video, music and photos.
"You'll see us keep pushing the boundaries there,"
Gates said.
Microsoft has lately been active in recruiting staff
to work on gaming hardware, although Gates declined to
talk in much detail about the company's plans for the
next generation of the Xbox, which is widely expected
to come in 2005 or 2007.
Market leader Sony Corp. which has dominated the current
generation of consoles with its PlayStation 2 has been
similarly circumspect about its plans for a PS3.
"In terms of the next round, hey it's a new game.
We're not showing our hand and I don't think Sony's showing
their hand," Gates said. "We're doing some very
cool work but that's really all we say at this point."
Despite heavy competition, though, Gates said he was
pleased with the market position of the money-losing Xbox,
which was released in Nov. 2001 and has battled Nintendo
Co. Ltd. for second place in the U.S. market.
"Our goal in this generation was to be one of the
leaders, and we feel like we've accomplished that very
well," Gates said.
Windows Media Player - Official XBOX Skin Click Here!
Xbox
Secret Pictures Exposed.!
The Xbox
secret pictures, These are the secret pictures
post on the Net, before the official released at CES.
There is a link to the official Xbox web site below!
The Xbox: Microsoft Xbox will have
a modified Pentium III processor. With a top speed of
733 MHz, it's not as fast as compared to 1 GHz PCs, but
faster then the Sony's PlayStation2 300-MHz processor.
Polygon performance, a measure of how fast a chip can
paint graphics, is 150 million polygons per second for
the Xbox vs. 66 million per second for the PlayStation
2. The machine also will have separate audio chips and
graphics , It will come with an 8GB hard disk, a DVD drive
and a built-in port for high-speed online gaming. Microsoft
Xbox technology is a real Super-Game-Geeks dream machine!
Microsoft's Xbox, a set-top console that
plays games and DVD movies and provides access to the
Web, will compete head-to-head with Sony's similarly configured
PlayStation 2 (PS2) . By the time the Xbox arrives next
fall, the PlayStation 2 will have had nearly a year's
head start in building an installed user base.
One of Microsoft's goals is to make DVD
playback easy for Xbox owners; many PlayStation 2 owners
have complained that playing DVDs is awkward with the
PS2's controller and complicated on-screen menu. With
the Xbox, however, DVD playback is an option -- DVD fans
will have to purchase an expansion pack that includes
Ravisent's CineMaster software and a separate remote control.
The software has special effects and audio/video
processing quality comparable to that of a high-end DVD
player. Although the Xbox is generally referred to as
a next-generation game console, the unit is more like
a PC -- not surprising given Microsoft's PC-centric heritage.
The system will be powered by an Intel Pentium III processor
and will feature a hard drive, broadband Internet connectivity
and a premium graphics chip. According to Microsoft, the
Xbox boasts more than three times the graphics performance
of the newest generation of game consoles.
Click here to go to The
Xbox home site.
Xbox Pictures!
XBox Specifications
CPU: 733 MHz Intel
Graphics Processor: 250 MHz custom designed
chip, developed by Microsoft and nVidia
Total Memory: 64 MB
Memory Bandwidth: 6.4 GB/sec
Polygon Performance: 125 Million per second
Sustained Polygon Performance: 125 Million per second
Micropolygon/Particle Performance: 125 Million per second
Simultaneous Textures: 4
Compressed Textures: 6:1
Full-Scene Anti-Aliasing: Yes
Maximum Resolution: 1920x1080
HDTV Support: Yes
Internal Hard Drive: 8 GB
Development Tools: Direct X API
Controller Ports: 4
DVD Drive: 5X DVD Drive With Movie Playback
Audio Channels: 64 (up to 256 Stereo Voices)
3D Audio Support: Yes
AC3 Encoded Game Audio: Yes
Midi/DLS2 Support: Yes
Expansion Port: Yes
Modem Enabled: Future Upgrade
Broadband Enabled: Yes
XBox Cheat Codes! Click
Here
