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  • Subject: Xbox 2 update.
Subject: Xbox 2 update.
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-"Next" Xbox Hardware Takes Form-

MICROSOFT’S XBOX 2 hardware is starting to come together, according to reports, as final graphics details are thrashed out.
Sources have told us that ATI is now starting to roll out the R500 part which will be the basis of Xbox 2, ahead of the machine’s launch on January 5 at the Consumer Electronics Show.

R500 is a Shader Model 3.0 part, and will be similar to the R520 part that will be its next generation PC graphics chip. The tape out will be a relief to developers, who have been working on the 9800 class hardware that shipped in the Xbox 2 development kits.

A spokesman for Nvidia told the INQ that he had had numerous requests from Xbox developers for GeForce 6800 cards, since coders were eager to start work on SM3.0 routines, regardless of the final render target.

The tape out of R500 - which has been delayed, we are told, fairly substantially - means that Microsoft’s coders now face a frantic 2 months of coding to create demo routines to make the most of the graphics hardware, so that they can wow the Las Vegas crowds.

We are hearing conflicting reports about backwards compatibility of the Xbox 2 hardware with Xbox 1, which appears to be one of the reasons for the delay. One camp is telling us that ATI is having a hard time making Xbox software work because of all the Nvidia-specific routines that were programmed in games.

Another source is telling us that Nvidia is being more than a little awkward about releasing details of how its chips work to its rivals, and that Microsoft is sitting awkwardly in the middle. The lacerations of pens on paper were rumoured to be coming from the offices of m’learned fiends.

The Xbox 2 deal that Microsoft has with ATI is very different from the one it put in place with Nvidia for the original machine. Microsoft pays Nvidia a flat rate for each chip it supplies for the Xbox, a figure which has stayed unchanged since the machines launch. As chip manufacturing prices have come down, this has enabled Nvidia to rake the cash in as it makes a huge profit on each chip. Realising its mistake, Microsoft is fabricating its Xbox 2 graphics chips itself, and just paying a license fee to ATI for the chip design - a far less lucrative deal.

A spokesman for ATI told us that we should talk to Microsoft about Xbox 2, and declined to comment on the status of the company’s progress with the R500 design. A Microsoft spokeswoman told us that the company wouldn’t comment on speculation about the hardware in Xbox 2. Nvidia told us that it was happy to be working exclusively on its next-generation PC hardware.
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-Three Flavors Of Xbox 2-

One of them will be like a PC, shock.

A SLIDE from a non disclosure agreement (NDA) presentation seen by the INQ points toward Microsoft launching three versions of the Xbox 2, one of which is a fully functioning PC.

The presentation, understood to have been given to analysts and market researchers in the UK earlier this year, plots a time-line for the introduction of the systems. Xbox Next and Xbox Next HD are planned for Autumn 2005, whereas the Xbox Next PC is penciled in for Autumn 2006.

The standard Xbox Next will not include a hard drive, which will allow Microsoft to cut costs on this basic unit. Xbox Next HD, as you might imagine, does include a hard drive and will offer increased functionality based on this. Xbox Next PC is, according to the presentation, an entry-level PC that runs Windows and all standard PC software. It also includes CD Burner, Wireless keyboard, mouse and controller and will work best connected to a high-definition TV or PC monitor. Media Center functionality - like movies, music and photos - is also included. The device will also play most available PC games.

System outline specifications note that Internet browsing and instant messaging would be key applications, and that the entire unit will be smaller than the current Xbox, although it will not be possible to upgrade the shipping memory or processor.

The year-long gap between the mooted introductions of the 2 standard Xboxes before the Xbox Next PC is an interesting decision, which suggests that Microsoft realizes the time that the market needs to acclimatise to TV media functionality. Since the Vole expects to ship Xbox Next before the Sony PlayStation 3, 2 versions of the console allow it to get the first wave out before PS3, but to also spoil the launch of Sony’s flagship by concurrently announcing the PC version



I got these two articals from xboxaddict.com.

  • 11.15.2004 2:03 PM PDT