Future of HD Gaming
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Xbox Taking Gaming Into the 'HD Era'
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...09261711_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-MEDIA-XBOX-DC.XML
Xbox Taking Gaming Into the 'HD Era'
By John Gaudiosi and Chris Marlowe
SAN FRANCISCO (Hollywood Reporter) - Today's consumers want a games experience that's always connected, always personalized and always in high-definition, and the next generation of Xbox will give it to them.
That was the core message conveyed by Microsoft corporate vp and chief XNA architect J Allard during his keynote speech Wednesday at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco.
With significant improvements in processing power, speed, broadband utilization and other capabilities, the new Xbox will usher in an "HD Era" of gaming, he said.
"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."
Illustrating what that means for gamers, Allard shared the first details about the next-generation Xbox "guide." This user interface will remain consistent across all games and media experiences, providing what Allard said is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects players to their games, their friends and their digital media.
Emphasizing the HD aspect further, Allard added that the system is designed to display in the 16x9 format.
BLURRING THE LINES
James Cameron participated in a video demonstration of how the Xbox was part of the networked home, briefly explaining how his current HD 3-D project based on Yukito Kishiro's "Battle Angel Alita" was being designed to blur the distinctions between games and movies.
Allard said Microsoft will provide a marketplace for consumers to buy episodic content, new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles and new community-created content. This marketplace will allow gamers to purchase content for less than a dollar.
In an age when the music industry is utilizing video games to break new bands and introduce new songs from established artists, the new Xbox also will allow for custom playlists. The guide instantly connects players to their music so they can listen to their own tracks while playing their favorite next-generation Xbox games, or can be expanded using the Xbox Live broadband service to give artists and labels a new avenue for reaching their audience.
"Our customer is going to expect to be able to connect to their content wherever they want, whenever they want," Allard said
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...09261711_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-MEDIA-XBOX-DC.XML
Xbox Taking Gaming Into the 'HD Era'
By John Gaudiosi and Chris Marlowe
SAN FRANCISCO (Hollywood Reporter) - Today's consumers want a games experience that's always connected, always personalized and always in high-definition, and the next generation of Xbox will give it to them.
That was the core message conveyed by Microsoft corporate vp and chief XNA architect J Allard during his keynote speech Wednesday at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco.
With significant improvements in processing power, speed, broadband utilization and other capabilities, the new Xbox will usher in an "HD Era" of gaming, he said.
"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."
Illustrating what that means for gamers, Allard shared the first details about the next-generation Xbox "guide." This user interface will remain consistent across all games and media experiences, providing what Allard said is an entertainment gateway that instantly connects players to their games, their friends and their digital media.
Emphasizing the HD aspect further, Allard added that the system is designed to display in the 16x9 format.
BLURRING THE LINES
James Cameron participated in a video demonstration of how the Xbox was part of the networked home, briefly explaining how his current HD 3-D project based on Yukito Kishiro's "Battle Angel Alita" was being designed to blur the distinctions between games and movies.
Allard said Microsoft will provide a marketplace for consumers to buy episodic content, new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles and new community-created content. This marketplace will allow gamers to purchase content for less than a dollar.
In an age when the music industry is utilizing video games to break new bands and introduce new songs from established artists, the new Xbox also will allow for custom playlists. The guide instantly connects players to their music so they can listen to their own tracks while playing their favorite next-generation Xbox games, or can be expanded using the Xbox Live broadband service to give artists and labels a new avenue for reaching their audience.
"Our customer is going to expect to be able to connect to their content wherever they want, whenever they want," Allard said
http://www.gamespaper.com/news/Next-GenerationXboxwillb.shtml?1110412567,35638,
Next-Generation Xbox will be the HD-Era
Microsoft's J Allard has unveiled the very first official details of the Next-Generation Xbox - Xenon - at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and introduced the world of gaming to the HD-Era.
Key features of the next Xbox - which J Allard referred to as Xenon twice during his keynote speech - are said to include a custom-designed graphics processor by ATI and a multicore processor by IBM, which when combined offer more than a teraflop of targeted computing performance.
Explaining the leap from the current 3D Era to that of the HD Era, Allard told the assembled crowds "In the 3D era it was about online gaming, online gaming as a novelty or as a differentiator. In the HD era connected communities become the very essence of the experiences that we're creating and delivering"
Microsoft are pinning their hopes on the future of gaming being in 16x9 widescreen, high definition visuals and cinema style sound - possibly most interestingly though was the revelation that in the HD-Era Microsoft are going to "get rid of wires" which would confirm recent rumours of wireless controllers for the forthcoming Xbox, and may also hint towards compatibility with the forthcoming WiMAX Wireless networks which are currently in development.
"In the HD Era the platform is bigger than the processor" claimed Allard, before going on to bravely predict that "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".
The new 16:9 HDTV dashboard was also revealed during the presentation, and has a provisional name of "Xbox Guide", with Gamer Cards giving an at-a-glance guide to key Xbox Live features including gamertag name, number of online friends, player stats and key achievements.
A Marketplace will also open up the ability to browse by both game and genre, revealing episodic content, new game levels, maps, weapons and other add-ons which are available, alongside the ability to manage micro-transactions allowing for gamers to buy unique personalised features such as a one-off liveried car or player outfit.
Custom Playlists also look set to feature heavily in the next Xbox, with the ability not only to replace in-game soundtracks - even if developers haven't programmed in the function to allow it - but also offer a much more visual music player with track and artist information presented alongside cover artwork.
Next-Generation Xbox will be the HD-Era
Microsoft's J Allard has unveiled the very first official details of the Next-Generation Xbox - Xenon - at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and introduced the world of gaming to the HD-Era.
Key features of the next Xbox - which J Allard referred to as Xenon twice during his keynote speech - are said to include a custom-designed graphics processor by ATI and a multicore processor by IBM, which when combined offer more than a teraflop of targeted computing performance.
Explaining the leap from the current 3D Era to that of the HD Era, Allard told the assembled crowds "In the 3D era it was about online gaming, online gaming as a novelty or as a differentiator. In the HD era connected communities become the very essence of the experiences that we're creating and delivering"
Microsoft are pinning their hopes on the future of gaming being in 16x9 widescreen, high definition visuals and cinema style sound - possibly most interestingly though was the revelation that in the HD-Era Microsoft are going to "get rid of wires" which would confirm recent rumours of wireless controllers for the forthcoming Xbox, and may also hint towards compatibility with the forthcoming WiMAX Wireless networks which are currently in development.
"In the HD Era the platform is bigger than the processor" claimed Allard, before going on to bravely predict that "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".
The new 16:9 HDTV dashboard was also revealed during the presentation, and has a provisional name of "Xbox Guide", with Gamer Cards giving an at-a-glance guide to key Xbox Live features including gamertag name, number of online friends, player stats and key achievements.
A Marketplace will also open up the ability to browse by both game and genre, revealing episodic content, new game levels, maps, weapons and other add-ons which are available, alongside the ability to manage micro-transactions allowing for gamers to buy unique personalised features such as a one-off liveried car or player outfit.
Custom Playlists also look set to feature heavily in the next Xbox, with the ability not only to replace in-game soundtracks - even if developers haven't programmed in the function to allow it - but also offer a much more visual music player with track and artist information presented alongside cover artwork.
