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July 22, 2025, 10:41:21 AM

we're back, baby

Just thought I'd reprint this here for those with Gamespyphobia. I'm sure I've broken some sort of law.

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We Got Next - Part One (Xbox)
GameSpy reveals details on the next Xbox console.
By Raymond M. Padilla | March 8, 2005

For several GameSpy editors, Game Developers Conference (GDC) is one of the best and most enjoyable events held each year. One of the primary reasons for GameSpy's GDC love is that the editors get to interact with some of the best talents in the business. Recently, some of GameSpy's friends in the development community shared a ton of details on Microsoft's next console system. Keep in mind that all of this information is based off of alpha development kits and current projections for the final hardware. Everything is subject to change. In the first part of our Xbox expose, I'll cover the console's hardware components and software goals. Since the final name of the next Xbox hasn't been revealed yet, I'll refer to the system by its codename, Xenon.

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.



Raymond's Reaction - The Xenon is an extremely impressive piece of hardware. It will allow gamers to see things like complex lighting in gameplay, amazing details through high-level shading (impeccable clouds, fur, grass, cloth, water, marble, ground, etc.), incredible textures, and new post effects (increased motion blur, heat distortion, depth of field, light blooms, etc.).

While people have already been correctly speculating about the removable hard drive and the standard DVD media, I was surprised at the inclusion of the camera. I haven't heard a single rumbling about a Xenon camera prior to GDC. The optional hard drive is a bit understandable; the only gamers that care about it will buy it anyway, while casual gamers won't care about the performance and convenience gains a drive offers. The standard DVD isn't too surprising considering that HD-DVD drives will be too expensive for inclusion in a console system in 2005.

The Software

Microsoft is requiring developers to make all Xenon titles Live enabled. One of the key reasons for this will be revealed in the second part of this story.

Developers are being instructed to plan their games for high-definition. The baseline is 720p at 1280x720 for gameplay and video clips, 16:9 aspect ratio, 5.1 Surround Sound, and anti-aliasing. These features are the current minimum requirement.

All Xenon games can be played using custom soundtracks. Owners can also play their own music directly. Supported formats are MP3 and WMA. Files can be encoded up to 320Kbps CBR or VBR stereo. The system is branded a Music Player Service.

For gameplay movies, Xenon uses Xenon Motion Video (XMV). XMV is based on Windows Media 9 and uses the mandatory codec for HD-DVD. The goal for video is 720p running at 30 frames per second with 5.1 Surround Sound.



Raymond's Reaction - Mandatory Live "awareness" isn't a big surprise. Online is one area where Microsoft is trouncing the competition. Microsoft's progression with online console gaming has progressed wonderfully (see Halo 2) and the future plans are even more interesting. (Again, see part two of this feature tomorrow for more information.)

It's nice to see that Microsoft is being aggressive with HD performance. Having all games run at 720p (potentially) makes for an incredibly engrossing experience -- particularly owners of HDTV sets. Users with standard televisions needn't worry; 16:9 content will be letterboxed to fit within a 4:3 aspect ratio by default. Developers are being instructed to make sure that any critical text will fit into and look good in 4:3.

# Microsoft Supports Profiling

Whether the games are single player or multiplayer, all Xenon titles tie into a new gamer profile feature. Think of it as a universal profile for each gamer that uses the system; the gamer profiles are the player's single identity across all Xenon games. Similar to how a single Windows XP machine can be set up for multiple users, each Xenon system will house profiles for every gamer it serves. This feature is fantastic for households with multiple gamers, since each player's settings can be saved in his or her profile and selected when the system boots.

The system is very flexible. You're able to choose universal settings while making exceptions for individual games. You can set your profile to automatically set inverted controls and yellow uniforms if that's your preference, but if for some reason you prefer to play Splinter Cell with a standard look and orange uniforms you can change the setting for just that title.

The settings are available online and offline. System settings can be brought up in every Xenon title. The profile is also where you make your privacy and opt-in selections.

The profile also records achievements and something dubbed "Gamer Cred." Achievements are game-specific tasks, such as beating a certain boss or completing a level in a certain amount of time. Achievements can be awarded online and offline; the baseline is for every game to award at least five achievements. Gamer Cred is how much you're awarded for each achievement. The more games you play and the better you do, the more Gamer Cred you'll earn. Microsoft's is suggesting that developers award at least 1000 Gamer Cred points per title.

Parents will be pleased to learn that the profile system includes extensive parental controls and privileges. The system lets parents decide what games their kids are allowed to play, as well as if their children are allowed to share their profile and chat with other players. Software controls allow parents to select multiplayer restrictions.

Last, but not least, is the" Gamer Card." Think of it as an at-a-glance gamer profile. The Gamer Card allows other online players to quickly see another's Gamertag, title, Gamer Creds, reputation rating, gamer zone, country, and title. It's a virtual membership card that helps gamers find people to play with. If you think you've found a match then you can select the Gamer Card to view that player's full profile to make sure.



Raymond's Reaction - While impressive hardware specs obviously lead to a more powerful console, additions like the gamer profile can have a bigger impact on the user experience. It's great that multiple users can turn on the livingroom Xenon and have it boot so that all their settings are active. It's fantastic that gamers no longer have to change settings each time they buy a new game in their favorite genre. And it's subtly powerful that gamers can make exceptions to their settings as they see fit. This feature is all about personalizing the console experience and it should work quite well.

The achievement options are excellent. It's a way for players to be competitive, earn bragging rights, and attain additional satisfaction for playing games. Rewarding the player is always a good thing and awarding Gamer Cred gives players a higher sense of accomplishment that can be shared with or showed off to the Xenon community.

As extensive as the gamer profile is, it's nice that there's a quick way to check out other players with the Gamer Card.

Cumin' Atcha Live

As I noted in part one of this feature, all Xenon titles will be Live enabled. The console itself will have system-enabled Live features including:

# Friends management
# Access to recent players
# Message center
# Game invite management
# User notifications
# Gamer profile
# One-on-one voice chat
# Downloads
# Feedback
# Sign-in

It will be easier than ever for players to communicate with others on Xenon. Players no longer need to create custom message centers for each game. The message center manages player-to-player messages, friend invites, game invites, open P2P messaging, service-to-player messages, and title-to-player messages. Players can also communicate via voice and video chat.

All online multiplayer games are required to have social and ranked matches. Social matches rely on affiliate list tracking. Each player can be in contact with 1500 others, including friends, recent players, and preferred players.

Downloads will be managed from a central system user interface. They will appear as offers to the player in a download marketplace. Free and premium downloads will be supported. Developers will be able to send players to the marketplace and notify them when new content is available.

As I mentioned when I was discussing the Gamer Card, other players can see your various profile stats quickly. One of the most pertinent stats to Live is player reputation. Players will be able to grade, compliment, and complain about other players. Reviews are tied to a player's own experience as well. It's unclear how the whole system will be policed. It's a great feature, but one that can be taken advantage of and seems difficult to arbitrate. The complaint system is managed by Microsoft customer service.



Raymond's Reaction - Microsoft is taking all the great exciting features of Xbox Live, adding some enhancements, and tying it all together in a clean way. Its goal here is to make online console gaming easier in order to expand the audience. The unified Live experience definitely makes online gaming more accessible, while still allowing developers to make game-specific customizations.

I'm quite intrigued by the concept of a download marketplace. As the content library grows, console download shopping can be another activity gamers can use Xenon for. If Microsoft adds user reviews for downloadable content then the download marketplace might turn into a micro-Amazon.com. Seeing a lot of positive user reviews for a download might get gamers interested in a title they didn't consider before.

In Conclusion

In many ways, the gamer profile and Live features are more interesting than the hardware specs. Even before this article, everyone knew that Microsoft would be releasing a more powerful system. Gamers didn't really know or never thought about how the company would make playing console games different. These features show how Microsoft is changing the console experience by increasing personalization and ease of use. Sony hasn't discussed much of anything regarding the PlayStation 3, while Nintendo promises something radically different with its next system. Microsoft seems to be employing a sound strategy of building on the experience that millions of consumers enjoy while simultaneously making it easier for more of them to get in to.

Quote from: Signe on March 09, 2005, 05:40:10 AM

The optional hard drive is a bit understandable; the only gamers that care about it will buy it anyway, while casual gamers won't care about the performance and convenience gains a drive offers.

I don't know anyone who wouldn't care, casual and hardcore alike. If Microsoft intends this to be closer to an all purpose set top device unit than the X-Box was, it'd only make sense to put a hard drive in. Instead of making me pay for a digital camera that I'll NEVER use.

Meh, it doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure that I'll buy a PS3 anyways.

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# 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.

I don't generally go in for buying gimped PCs to play games with crappy controllers on my low res TV screen.

But fucking hell. 256Mb. My camera has more memory than that.

Also, note to author, the correct way to finsh that bullet point would have been to say: 'The Xbox has 64Mb of system RAM and as a result we have to put up with tiny levels with loading necessary every 8 seconds on way too many lazy ass console ports. Yes Kotor, I'm looking at you.'

Buying an hdtv has shown me that I am a pc gamer for life. Not going to skimp for a few titles a year, sorry Zelda. Maybe Nintendo should make pc ports.

Most of that sounds good. I get a huge chuckling chortle out of them dropping DirectSound3D as being too inflexible. evil

But why, for fuck's sake, WHY DITCH THE HARD DRIVE AS MANDATORY IN FAVOR OF A FUCKING WEBCAM, YOU DEGENERATE MUNCHKIN MOLESTING BUTTNUGGETS? I have no fucking interest in a video camera. It's not going to enhance my Live playing experience to be able to count the pimples on my opponent's sun-deprived face. Fuck you, include the hard drive and a headset as standard, and THEN we'll talk. Don't make me spend extra money on a two necessary devices while dropping me a video camera that I will be loathe to use.

If I wanted to SEE my opponent, I WOULDN'T BE PLAYING ONLINE.

Everything else looks good.

I like the idea of a video camera so I can see Haemish squirm as I beat him 115-0 in online baseball.

As for people seeing me, well, that's what tape and a picture of Lorenzo Lamas is for.

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# Microsoft Supports Profiling

Sign of the times that I was, at first glance, expecting this to talk about how every time you fire up Grand Theft Auto, or play the terrorists in Splinter Cell, it takes your picture and sends it along with other pertinant data to the local FBI office.

Alkiera

Are you thinking it won't?

Hang on, so if the HD is optional, that means games have to run without a page file.

Practically no RAM, *and* no page file, *and* running some windows variant + directx variant. wtf?

Quote from: HaemishM on March 09, 2005, 07:27:51 AM

Most of that sounds good. I get a huge chuckling chortle out of them dropping DirectSound3D as being too inflexible. evil

I don't think they fully comprehend how much naked griefing ass-shots that camera will cause.

"Goddamnit, I just lost 50-6 in ESPN NFL 2k6. OH GOD BROWNEYE SHOT!"

/fierce scrubbing of eyes with steel wool

Quote from: Signe on March 09, 2005, 05:40:10 AM

The profile also records achievements and something dubbed "Gamer Cred." Achievements are game-specific tasks, such as beating a certain boss or completing a level in a certain amount of time. Achievements can be awarded online and offline; the baseline is for every game to award at least five achievements. Gamer Cred is how much you're awarded for each achievement. The more games you play and the better you do, the more Gamer Cred you'll earn. Microsoft's is suggesting that developers award at least 1000 Gamer Cred points per title.

The achievement options are excellent. It's a way for players to be competitive, earn bragging rights, and attain additional satisfaction for playing games.

A lot of this stuff is just fluff I could care less about. "Gamer Cred"? Give me a break. I guess there are gamers out there that will be pleased to have an "offficial" e-peen measurement. Meh.

Quote from: HaemishM on March 09, 2005, 08:28:32 AM

"Goddamnit, I just lost 50-6 in ESPN NFL 2k6. OH GOD BROWNEYE SHOT!"

/fierce scrubbing of eyes with steel wool

I cant wait to do that to schild.

Quote from: Morphiend on March 09, 2005, 10:53:25 AM

Quote from: HaemishM on March 09, 2005, 08:28:32 AM

"Goddamnit, I just lost 50-6 in ESPN NFL 2k6. OH GOD BROWNEYE SHOT!"

/fierce scrubbing of eyes with steel wool

I cant wait to do that to schild.

You'll have to catch me in a sports game first.

I'm not quite sure what some of the complaints are about. I'm sure Microsoft has done enough corporate espionage to make sure that the Xbox Next is JUST this side of the best looking machine in terms of graphics for the next gen as well. When everything is standardized, 256megs of RAM goes a long way. I don't think Ninja Gaiden or Soul Calibur II could efficiently run on my machine and I've got something like 1.5gigs of ram.

Just sayin.

Also, I hope that Xbox can scale that 720p to 1080i. My tv doesn't display the former. I don't want to have to pick this behemoth up and return it.

I'm with Schild here when he says that 256 can go a long way. That said, it costs all of 10 dollars to put 512 instead of 256, so wtf.

Also, I've found myself wanting some sort of screen capture device for a quite a while. And if this camera lets me do international video conferencing with someone who has XBL overseas, then I'm all for it.

The whole Gamer Cred is the first step to what schild mentioned in some thread a while back. An alternate publishers world/game (we'll call it Fred) where what you do in the games they provide have some benefit in Fred. Currently it's just stats and stuff. But I could see this developing into more.

While I haven't played Gaiden, remember that on your Xbox it is running in a lower resolution than you would ever accept on your PC.

Both in terms of texture resolution and screen resolution.

Also, please remember all the threads moaning about tiny little load zones in Thief, DX2, Kotor, etc etc etc.

Finally remember that 64Mb on a 700Mhz PC was considered balanced at the time that 700Mhz was a sensible speed for a PC. 256Mhz is not enough on a circa 04-05 PC, which the rest of this spec seems to be aiming for.

RAM is being skimped on because it's the component that it's hardest to get a volume discount on relative to PCs, because it's already so generic. GPU on the otherhand is probably the easiest thing to negotiate discounts on, which is why they are overengineering in that area.

I'm sure it's all good business sense, and won't cause the XBox a problem as a console, and espeicially not when compared to the other consoles it will compete with. I'm only annoyed in anticipation of piss poor ports to the PC of games that would have been far better if they were originally designed for a proper gaming platform.

I am assuming it is...but I did not see a mention of backwards-compatibility.

Also, I'll take a cheap HDD over a cheap camaram, kthx.

Don't make that assumption. Until the PS2 came out, most console systems were not backwards compatible with previous generations. I really, REALLY hope the next Box is backwards-compatible, but who knows?

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But why, for fuck's sake, WHY DITCH THE HARD DRIVE AS MANDATORY IN FAVOR OF A FUCKING WEBCAM, YOU DEGENERATE MUNCHKIN MOLESTING BUTTNUGGETS

You know what, new X-box should come up with mandatory industrial-strength with lube-repellant coating ass-vibrator to be used at all times while playing games. That is least X-box gamers deserve for supporting gimped-out PC that fags up good titles for the rest of us.

The Xbox had enough stellar games that I can forgive the blunder that is Deus Ex 2. It would also seem very few companies are willing to walk down that path again.

I hate online play, plus its a pain in the butt with my ISP requiring a router from the cable modem to the console.

Strike 1.

Games are reportedly gonna cost 60 a pop. I am usually too cheap to pay 40-50 as is.

Strike 2.

I rarely use my X Box, don't find Halo anything special, and don't want to pay for extra content.

Strike 3.

Don't have HDTV and probably won't till at least 2007 when a good 30-36 inch set goes for a sub 800 dollar cost.

Strike 4.

Looks like I should be avoiding X Box 2 unless it manages multiple must have original games. So far there haven't been any for X Box1 unless Dai Senryaku 7 counts, so I can at least pass for a good year plus.

Most of those sound like strikes against yourself instead of the Xbox...

HDD hard drive = useless.

History has shown that optional additions to systems are almost never worth anything, online-enabling hardware being the exception.

Which would you do? Make a game that only runs on an XBox + HDD or a game that runs on the system you KNOW everyone has?

Most of the HDD stuff will just be loading times and crappy extras you can download. How's that PS2 HD working out, all 4 people that own one?

Quote from: Margalis on March 10, 2005, 08:44:13 PM

Most of the HDD stuff will just be loading times and crappy extras you can download. How's that PS2 HD working out, all 4 people that own one?

All 4 people that own one no doubt dropped $50 for the ability to mod the shit out of the PS2 using nothing but an HDLoader CD. As far as hard drives in console systems go, they're good news for pirates, open source morons who want to put Linux on everything including some vegetables, and for online games. If an optional hard drive will give me the ability to play a console based MMOG in open beta, so be it.

Quote from: sinij on March 10, 2005, 12:51:07 PM

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But why, for fuck's sake, WHY DITCH THE HARD DRIVE AS MANDATORY IN FAVOR OF A FUCKING WEBCAM, YOU DEGENERATE MUNCHKIN MOLESTING BUTTNUGGETS

Hey, wouldn't you know...its already come out

SeXBox Vibration Controller (Admin: Obviously NSFW)
http://www.slashdong.org/boards/viewtopic.php?p=6#6

Quote from: schild on March 10, 2005, 08:52:45 PM

As far as hard drives in console systems go, they're good news ..... and for online games. If an optional hard drive will give me the ability to play a console based MMOG in open beta, so be it.

Not sure what a HD is going to do for a MMOG over anything else?

If I want large zones and decent graphics on a MMORPG, it's only for the same reasons I want them on a single player RPG.

If I want a game design that requires lots of storage for my saves, it's going to be more important for single player stuff than for multiplayer since MMOGs will need to store saves on the server anyway to prevent hacking.

I like a hard drive in my X-Box because I hate fucking with annoying ass memory cards that are too easily lost and usually have shit for storage. I like having a hard drive in my X-Box for ripping songs off CD's that I can then use in my games. It is the ultimate convenience feature, not to mention the fact that X-Box's Dashboard downloads patches for games and the X-Box Live service to the hard drive. It's a convenience feature, and my love of it has fuckall to do with pirating, because I'm too lazy to get a modded X-Box.

I can USE a hard drive. I have no use for a fucking video camera.

Quote from: HaemishM on March 11, 2005, 08:40:16 AM

I have no use for a fucking video camera.

Everyone has use for a video camera.

/borg.

PA deals with the dumbness of a video camera on a console today.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2005-03-14&res=l

Yep, that is exactly my fear. It will make the friends list that much more important in the New Live.

Quote from: eldaec on March 14, 2005, 06:02:49 AM

PA deals with the dumbness of a video camera on a console today.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2005-03-14&res=l

Heh. PA got me to laugh again. Happens about once every 6 months, but G&T can bring it on occasion.

No hard drive and only 256mb RAM? Uh... um... er... So 256 can go a long way on a console, but how bloody far???

The original X-Box only had 64 MB of RAM. If you look at games like Splinter Cell, Project Gotham Racing, ESPN NFL 2k5 or MLB 2k5, I'd say 256 MB would go pretty goddamn far.

Quote from: WindupAtheist on March 14, 2005, 11:51:29 AM

No hard drive and only 256mb RAM? Uh... um... er... So 256 can go a long way on a console, but how bloody far???

Very.