We Got Next - Part One (Xbox)

[Chaotic_King]

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.

We Got Next - Part One (Xbox)


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.

Stay Tuned!

That's a wrap for part one of our Xenon feature. Be sure to come back tomorrow to learn more about Microsoft's exciting plans for Xbox Live. While the hardware specs and HD plans for Xenon are definitely cool, the new Xbox Live features might impact your gaming experience even more!

http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/microso.../594331p1.html

[muchuukuri]

ANYWAY, the article seems pretty, interesting... but it'd be nice if it was OFFICIAL. Really, its nothing more than insider talk, which is what we've been doing all along. I was hoping for something more. Thought the comments for a camera threw me for a loop, but it does make sense... why just chat with live when you can see eachother as well? It's a natural evolution... though, I don't personally like the thought of people being able to see into my home...

One thing that bothers me about the post... the dev kits went from 3 to 2 processors?? That's kinda a BIG change. Won't that 'cause problems for the devs? I mean, the worlds shift left and right, with a change like that... particularly if there's a huge "power" shift in the hardware from that.

[Chaotic_King]

Isn't it saying that the kits now have 2, but final ones will have 3?

[muchuukuri]

Hmm... the way I read it, no... at the begining they say the info below is based off the "alpha dev. kits", it then says the alpha 2 kits only have 2 CPUs... so to me I read it as originally 3 in the alpha and then down to 2 in the alpha 2 kits. There's a good chance you're right though, its kinda a matter of how you read it.

[siren]

The Alpha kits have 2 cores

[bustabusta196]

They have released Dev. kits with only 2 processors for use.. LATER in the Summer they will release a Dev. Kit with 3 processors as being the final kit. Understand?

[Chaotic_King]

Anyone else seem a little...underwhelmed?

[Fedos]

I sure do. I thought we were to be "blown away" by this story, at least that's what the Gamespy editor said beforehand.

[siren]

lets see? Underwhelmed?

What has been now rumored for Xbox2 to have

CPU able to handle 6 threads
All games Live Aware
All games compatible with Custom soundtracks
Wireless controllers
HDD
GPU faster than anything on the market at launch
Web Cam default
Native HD Resolution for games
Development kits in Dev hands for almost 3 years at launch

What does the PS3 have rumored?

Really fast CPU able to handle 9 threads
GPU with nVidia technology
Blu-Ray movie playback



May I ask what underwhelmed you? What just isn't exciting? What is more exciting about the PS3 right now?

[PeanutButterMunky]

I'm excited about both...VERY excited. I don't see the undewhelming part.

[Chaotic_King]

That doesn't mean that these specs don't blow me away.

How does Live affect me? I don't want or have Live, and won't be getting it.
I've yet to have custom soundtracks in any of my Xbox games, so this matters little to me. Could even ruin some games.
Wireless controllers? This should blow me away? Don't use them now, why will I?
HDD? You mean, the external one? Kind of a step back, huh?
That's nice, that's usually the case.
Web cam, doesn't bother me too much. (Most likely in PS3 as well)
Dev kits...that has little to do with these specs.

These specs don't blow me away, simple as that.

[siren]

I have to call you out on this Chaotic.

You have something agaist MS. This is obvious. Anything that gets said about Xbox2 stinks in your eyes yet Sony and the PS3 are perfect and amazing.

While you may not be excited about any of those features, it is clear that most consumers want them and will be excited about them.

On certain points you made.

You may not have Live, but online is the future. The fact that a lot of people are expecting Sony to make a Live style service for the PS3 speaks to how great it did at advancing online gaming. Anyone who has used Live Aware can attest to how nice of a feature it is. Have this with every game would definately rock.

Did you ever think that the reason you didn't use custom sound tracks was because almost no game makers included it? Having it as an option in all games would definately get it more use. Also, how could it ruin games if it is an option? You just don't use it when you don't want to.

GPU more powerful than current market is not usually the case. The Xbox was the first to do this. The GC and PS3 didn't even meet current market at launch, let alone the PSOne, N64, or any others.

Having the Dev kits out for so long goes a long way toward getting better games on the system. Something you have personally criticized Xbox for.

[Chaotic_King]

I have to call you out on this Chaotic.

You have something agaist MS. This is obvious. Anything that gets said about Xbox2 stinks in your eyes yet Sony and the PS3 are perfect and amazing.

I've never said that this sucks, I just said that I'm underwhelmed by these specs. I was not "blown away" like I was told by the editors who wrote this earlier. Sony is not perfect, anyone can see that. Practically nothing has been said about the PS3, so how could I find it amazing? But couldn't the same be said about you? Microsoft and the whole Xbox brand is perfect in your eyes.

While you may not be excited about any of those features, it is clear that most consumers want them and will be excited about them.

That's not clear, that's an assumption.

On certain points you made.

You may not have Live, but online is the future. The fact that a lot of people are expecting Sony to make a Live style service for the PS3 speaks to how great it did at advancing online gaming. Anyone who has used Live Aware can attest to how nice of a feature it is. Have this with every game would definately rock.

Online's the future, fine. But that affects me little. I'm not a fan of online gaming, I most likely won't be. Will I get Sony's PSNetwork? Most likely not, unless I see TFLO on it, or something very drastic. Having Live in each game doesn't rock in my eyes. (I like my single player RPGs)

Did you ever think that the reason you didn't use custom sound tracks was because almost no game makers included it? Having it as an option in all games would definately get it more use. Also, how could it ruin games if it is an option? You just don't use it when you don't want to.

Not really, the reason I don't use them is because there's no need for me to use it. It's even making it seems as if developers are forced to make all games Custom Soundtrack enabled. I'm sorry, I just see the purpose of this in certain games.

GPU more powerful than current market is not usually the case. The Xbox was the first to do this. The GC and PS3 didn't even meet current market at launch, let alone the PSOne, N64, or any others.

If you say so.

Having the Dev kits out for so long goes a long way toward getting better games on the system. Something you have personally criticized Xbox for.

Which still matters little to the specs.

[DezNutz]

I have to call you out on this Chaotic.

You have something agaist MS. This is obvious. Anything that gets said about Xbox2 stinks in your eyes yet Sony and the PS3 are perfect and amazing.

First off you calling anyone out for being bias, is retarded and ironic. He stated nothing that was bias as you state right above or have stated in other threads, he stated facts to why this is not overwelhming to him not just ignorant fanboy talk like x2 or others even in this string.

Now onto the string;

The most impressive thing to me personally is the final detailed inclusion of the 3 proccessors. I agree this is bigger, and better then most anything on production env now or maybe even when x2 is released, but I don't think anyone here is disullisioned themselves that this is better then even 1 cell, let alone multiple cell's.

Live on every game? Guess it depends on what they mean by "Live", if you can actually play other people online, or just uplaod high scores like a majority of x-box online games now. If it is just uploading scores and has no actually gameplay online then I could care less, if every game is playable online then that would be a nice feature.

256MB RAM? Of course this is not impressive. It is by far better then any existing home game console, but is still at best this generation technology. Now I am not saying that this will be sufficent for x2 next generation games, but it by no means blows me away.

DVD Optical Drive? Wow, again not impressive.

Hard Drive Optional? This is a step back for existing technology and x-box.. why would this be impressive? espically since final size of optional hard drive is still not determined.

Camera? That is a cool feature to inforce online and in games, but not impressive I mean PS2 has this feature right now, by no means is it anything new. Still I like that they make it standard and included in all systems, amy make developers actually use it a little more.

Custom sound tracks on all games? I kinda like having game makers with their own music specifically for that game. Hell if I want to listen to something else I can stick on my own headphones or music in background, no need for this on my game console. Again not really impressive to me personally either.

Every game supporting HD? Personally I like this, as I am an HDTV owner. Although I don't think anyone who is looking for an HD next generation console will look at X-Box2... I mean PS3 has the Blu-Ray for a purpose...

wireless controllers? Again nothing new, and actually I don't like the forcing people to use wireless and batteries, I would give them the option but making it the only choice I dont think is way to go.. again nothing new or blowing me away here.

I break down like this;

Impressed:
Processor - better then what I thought X-Box2 would have.
HD game Support

Not Impressed:
RAM
DVD drive
Wireless Controllers - should not be standard= more $
Custom Sound tracks
Hard Drive Optional

More Info:
Live support - need more info into what actually is
Camera - use in games?

[Fedos]

For me, I was a little disappointed at how the Gamespy editor advertised this feature. I thought we'd get some hard numbers like polygon count and so forth, instead we were treated to info that's already been bandied about with the exception of a few choice snippets of information. I'm still eagerly anticipating the unveiling of NeXtBox but I was expecting more concrete info. Maybe tomorrow's report will appeal to me more.

[muchuukuri]

Hmmm... everyone is saying three processors... apparently, I'm the one reading it wrong. My bad.

? Also, busta, is that time line info correct?? If so what does this mean for developers? They been building their gaems off of 2 processors... will this throw a wrench into the works?? Or has M$ taken the time to scale the system so adding a third core won't matter?? The jumping around worries me.

-- I just realized this, 'cause I'm slow... but, there's a drop in processor speed, which is a surprise. Heat issues perhaps?

? I was hoping for a little more info on the processor though... saying HL2 will run with ease is just dumb... the X850 runs HL2 at 60FPS on 1600x1200... so that told us nothing. Dumb gamespy.

? What does he mean by not equal to PC RAM?? I doubt a new type has been devloped, so what?? Maybe he means to say system will make use of portal tech and stream, so it doesn't NEED a lot? Perhaps, he's just running off rumors like the rest of us... again, shady.

+ 8MB reserved for system use? Wow, maybe all you're internet setting and all sorts of other things will be saved to the Card?? It'll be useful, if all games are online... fill it out once and end it. Though I wonder how they'd handle it if you brought you're card other to a friends place? I'm sure something's been worked out.

-- As I said the camera bothers me. Big brother M$ is watching.... Muwahahaha... it's not funny... but is the 1.2 megapixels set in stone? A little more would be nicer.

? Audio isn't my forte... can someone tell me how this is any different than standard audio chips??

+ I hope there'll be ways to make use of other audio formats... my OGG, MPC, FLAC, and APE would go to waste.

-- One thing about the... letterboxing on normal TVs... am I the only one a little bothered by this?? Is it so hard to resize it to standard TVs?? Maybe I should just shut up and go buy and HDTV...

[siren]

With a console developers are able to do a lot more with less ram.

You don't have to compete with other applications or the OS for space on the Ram. You also have complete control what memory addresses you set things into. You can very easily swap textures in and out on the fly, you don't have to load everything well in advance just in case some other process is taking away your ability to access the controller to get data off the disc or HD.

Also, on consoles you can position the data where you want to on the Disc so as to speed up access times, thus reducing further need to load everything into the ram up front.

[mudger]

What does this mean: "Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache."


Does that mean if you buy the hard drive that "technically" your games will run smoother and faster because of the 2gb cache buffer??

[muchuukuri]

Ah! Yes, yes... I keep forgetting about that... you get used to the concept of just living with the what 200MB or so average that XP eats and you forget, that consoles don't have that. However, I've still been hearing from devs that they're looking for 512MB. Granted, they're greedy... aren't we all... but, the call to arms seems to be for 512MB... with 256MB being the bare minimum. Perhaps they're simply too greedy??

EDIT:: That's the theory... HDD can transfer data faster than DVD.... like 10x faster.

EDIT::EDIT:: Siren, thanks for the info... know anythig about audio chips?? As in refernece to my question.

[DezNutz]

-- One thing about the... letterboxing on normal TVs... am I the only one a little bothered by this?? Is it so hard to resize it to standard TVs?? Maybe I should just shut up and go buy and HDTV...

Yeah I noticed that as well, they are going ot lose alot of people on that alone. Of course I got an HDTV but I know I am not the "average" gamer. I still know people who only ge VHS tapes of movies ifDVD letterbox is onyl avilabel becuase they hate the black lines.

The RAM is not a big issue as Siren Explains, really you should have 256MB RAM just for XP not f you wanna play game on XP you better get ALOT more.. of course that is just Microsoft making operating systems larger then they have to be cause they have monopoly on that... wait... still 256MB RAM on game consoles is by no means anything new or blowing me away.

The 2GB of cache buffer on hard drive will help becuase it is MUCH faster then loading from the media or disk. of course this is with the optional hard drive.

[bustabusta196]

Although people on here say they arent Bias.. peoples thoughts and comments pretty damn sure seem bias lol. People arent impressed with what Xbox2 is bringing to the table.. is there anything out right now that can compare to it.. if so then there should be no reason to why your not impressed but as for being something not out yet and not even seen.. how can you not be impressed.

[mudger]

Although people on here say they arent Bias.. peoples thoughts and comments pretty damn sure seem bias lol. People arent impressed with what Xbox2 is bringing to the table.. is there anything out right now that can compare to it.. if so then there should be no reason to why your not impressed but as for being something not out yet and not even seen.. how can you not be impressed.

Because I am scared that sony is gonna whoop some M$ a$$. Honestly, I am not impressed with what has been said in this article. However it is only speculation but i believe that it gives us a pretty good idea of what is coming. I have a feeling that i am gonna be buying two console systems in the future.

[muchuukuri]

Ah, no no... its not that I dislike the black lines... its just with the cruddy video quality of a TV and the shrunk size brought about by 16:9... it just looks ugly. I always end up watching "letter box" stuff on my comp, which has a smaller screen, but because of the resolution increase... doesn't look like I'm watching snot. The bars don't bother me... its the deterioration of video quality when you watch letterbox stuff on TV that bothers me.

[bustabusta196]

how can you be anymore impressed with Sony then with MS.. no one on this site besides siren has seen or even knows whats REALLY going on with next generation systems.. everyone will be like well this site says this.. who cares you cant really make a final judgement until you actually see the systems and what they can do..

[muchuukuri]

busta... how about that info on the timeline you gave for the upgrade in dev kits to 3 processors... is it true? Where'd you hear it?

Also, if we all just waited for final specs to come out, NONE of us would be here.