Gates: Xenon will be a media hub

[ZoinKs!]

Xenon's software menu would be similar to that of the company's Media Center edition of Windows...
"If you're used to that menu, when you use this Xenon you'll see a menu a lot like that that lets you get photos, TV, music and all those different things."

Next-Generation Xbox to Be Media Hub

Not a surprise, but now it's official. I wonder if this applies to both hard drive and no hd versions.

"Our goal in the last generation was to be in the game," Gates told reporters, "We came out of this round a strong number two."...

Asked if Microsoft would be able to beat Sony with Xenon, gates said that several top employees involved with Xenon had promised Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer that Xenon would beat Sony and that he welcomed that "competitive dynamic."

Gates: New Xbox has chance to be No. 1

Of course he'll say Xenon will beat Sony.
Personally, I expect all three next gen consoles will be "good enough" from a performance point of view.

I believe these comments are from WinHEC. I imagine more Xenon details will appear between now and the May 12th MTV infomercial.

 

[Carl B]

I don't know about all this though - I understand the new menu system being media PC-like, but in the Engadget interview, Bill Gates explicitly says that the Xenon will require a PC to gain that functionality, so I don't see the Xenon as much of a hub itself - more as a spoke on the hubs wheel from which you can access the files on a media center PC.

 

[jvd]

A strong number 2 ? Last i saw they were still struggling to keep ahead of nintendo ?


As for the x360 beating the ps3 i doubt it . But as long as it doubles its user base i would say its doing its job and hurting sony .

 

[rabidrabbit]

I think it's job is to bring money to MS, not "hurting Sony"
At least that's what most companies would like to think of their product, bringing money first, not "hurting" other companies first

 

[Shifty Geezer]

A strong number 2 ? Last i saw they were still struggling to keep ahead of nintendo ?

Going by internet babble, it seems MS are helping with the illusion that they've whipped Nintendo's butt. AFAIK they're pretty much level pegging, save that Nintendo make money too, but the masses seem willing to believe MS are a confident second place.

I'd like to see an interviewer actually ask for clarification when an MS spokesperson next says they're in second place

 

[Fodder]

I think it's job is to bring money to MS, not "hurting Sony"

MS can still afford to lose money, but Sony can't. If MS can minimise losses and boost their marketshare, while putting a serious dent in Sony's SCEI-dependent profits, they don't need to make any money from Xenon to be in a prime position to stomp all over PS4.

 

[Cobra101]

I get nauseated whenever I hear MS and "media" in the same sentence.

 

[Kolgar]

Microsoft hasn't "beaten Nintendo" so much as carved off a bit of Sony's pie and sold an additional bunch to existing PS2 owners.

Honestly, Xbox's target audience is the same as Sony's, while Nintendo has clearly gone after families and the younger market.

What's happened is that the overall market pie has expanded, allowing Sony to sell more systems and a me-too product like Xbox to gain a foothold as well.

I doubt Nintendo would have sold very many more GCs this gen if Xbox never existed.

 

[gurgi]

I think it's job is to bring money to MS, not "hurting Sony"

MS can still afford to lose money, but Sony can't. If MS can minimise losses and boost their marketshare, while putting a serious dent in Sony's SCEI-dependent profits, they don't need to make any money from Xenon to be in a prime position to stomp all over PS4.

Where have I heard this argument before? =P

 

[Fodder]

I don't know, do tell. Either it'll bear no relation to what I'm getting at and I'll have a right chortle, or it'll shut me down comprehensively and I'll disappear back into my hole.

 

[Edge]

This <a href=http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20050503040025.html>analyst</a> seems to think otherwise:

""I think when we have this talk in 2010, Sony is going to have 55%, Microsoft is going to have 35% and Nintendo 10%, with all three of those having +/- 5%," Wedbush Morgan Securities' interactive entertainment industry analyst Michael Pachter said in an interview with GameDAILY.biz web-site."

and

""It's just that I think the impact on current consumer behavior is limited to 30% of all consumers. Among pure PS2 owners (not those who own an Xbox and PS2), no one is sitting around saying, 'Oooh I can't wait for the Xbox 360!' ... 35% of the existing consumer base is going to slow its purchases in anticipation of the Xbox 360 launch. Next year, 50% of the consumer base will slow its purchases in anticipation of the PS3," Mr. Pachter said."

 

[Teasy]

Honestly, Xbox's target audience is the same as Sony's, while Nintendo has clearly gone after families and the younger market.

Thats an oversimplified generalisation.

I doubt Nintendo would have sold very many more GCs this gen if Xbox never existed.

That all depends on your defenition of "very many more". If its anything under 10 million then I think your very wrong.

 

[AzBat]

I don't know about all this though - I understand the new menu system being media PC-like, but in the Engadget interview, Bill Gates explicitly says that the Xenon will require a PC to gain that functionality, so I don't see the Xenon as much of a hub itself - more as a spoke on the hubs wheel from which you can access the files on a media center PC.

Some of the comments in the Engadget interview agrees with the comments he made with Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

It won’t be a Media Center PC, so there’s some things you won’t be able to do. You’ll be able to do a lot of media things including storing music, playing music, connect up your player. There’s an overall media vision, and we certainly see households that just have Xenons in them, and we see households that have normal PCs and Xenons, and we see households that have media center PCs and Xenons. We’re going to make all those do what you’d expect.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000440041962/

"If you're used to that menu, when you use this Xenon you'll see a menu a lot like that that lets you get photos, TV, music and all those different things."

I don't see a problem here. Xenon will just have some, but not all, of the main functions of a Media Center PC. Whether or not that includes DVR I'm not sure. But I expect at least Windows Media Center Extender capabilities built-in. They're already expecting Xenon households with no PCs or media center PCs. In those cases Xenon will be the media hub. It just won't be as fully capable as having a PC or media center PC as the hub.

Tommy McClain

 

[wco81]

Not going to be much of a digital hub or replacement for MCE if you can't store enough HD video. 40 GB won't nearly be enough.

 

[Carl B]

I don't see a problem here. Xenon will just have some, but not all, of the main functions of a Media Center PC. Whether or not that includes DVR I'm not sure. But I expect at least Windows Media Center Extender capabilities built-in. They're already expecting Xenon households with no PCs or media center PCs. In those cases Xenon will be the media hub. It just won't be as fully capable as having a PC or media center PC as the hub.

Tommy McClain

Well sure I agree with you as far as having the media extender abilities go, but how is that any different from what I was saying in the first place then?

 

[AzBat]

You said it can't be a hub without a PC. I think it can be just not as full featured. Evidently Microsoft are seeing that as a possibility.

Tommy McClain

 

[Carl B]

You said it can't be a hub without a PC. I think it can be just not as full featured. Evidently Microsoft are seeing that as a possibility.

Tommy McClain

Well, I see where you're coming from now - I just think we have different opinions of what a hub is then, but I agree that the Xenon will have multimedia capabilities beyond gaming alone.

 

[AzBat]

Not going to be much of a digital hub or replacement for MCE if you can't store enough HD video. 40 GB won't nearly be enough.

It's not meant to be a replacement for MCE. MCE is here for a long time. The PC and MCE is where you'll have gobs and gobs of hard drive space. So it makes sense to stream it off there over your network. When you don't have a PC and a MCE, 40gb should be enough to do 40hrs of standard TV recording. Tivos originally started out on 20gb, but released a 40gb shortly after. I'm not totally sure the Xbox will even be capable of recording HDTV. Probably can only stream it off MCE. MCE requires 200gb or more for HDTV recording. MS probably don't want to risk the sales of its MCE with a cheap HDTV recorder included in its game console.

Tommy McClain

 

[Fox5]

Microsoft hasn't "beaten Nintendo" so much as carved off a bit of Sony's pie and sold an additional bunch to existing PS2 owners.

Honestly, Xbox's target audience is the same as Sony's, while Nintendo has clearly gone after families and the younger market.

What's happened is that the overall market pie has expanded, allowing Sony to sell more systems and a me-too product like Xbox to gain a foothold as well.

I doubt Nintendo would have sold very many more GCs this gen if Xbox never existed.

Well, n64 basically doubled gamecube in sales this gen, and xbox and gamecube are about equal, you could say xbox split nintendo's market in two.

 

[Qroach]

I agree with that statement. I think MS ended up taking market percentage away from nintendo, and that's why Sony ended up with roughly the same percentage as last gen.