"Xenon" Codename for XBox 2

[Lord Kalthorn]

All this new Information!

"Xenon" is the code name for the forthcoming Xbox 2 from Microsoft, a company representative said. The game console is expected to appeal to a wider variety of consumers and contain a wider variety of features, including music playback. The future console will also differ from the current Xbox in that the key chips inside the system will come from IBM, ATI Technologies and SIS, rather than Intel and Nvidia. Some game sites reported the code-name, but the company has not publicly touted the name, the representative said.

Microsoft now confirmed that its Xbox 2 peripherals will be compatible with the PC, and that PC gamers will, come Longhorn, be able to game on Xbox live against Xbox 2 owners.
Currently, the Xbox uses USB controllers with a non-standard jack. Third parties have been making Xbox-to-PC adaptors for a while now.
Eurogamer suggests that the Xbox 2 will be using a standardised joypad design which Dean Lester, top man at Microsoft's Windows Gaming division, has been promoting as a platform standard.

Xbox live gameplay will be enabled by the XNA cross-platform development technology that Microsoft has been busy beaverying away at. It is hoping that by making Xbox 2 and PC development very similar, it can leverage its PC dominance to gain share in the console market.
At the moment, the Xbox 2 is due to premiere some time in 2005 - a full year ahead of Longhorn, and before the Windows Graphics Foundation platform is in full swing on the PC side of things. Traditionally, consoles have lagged behind PC technology. Could the delays to Longhorn from Microsoft mean that the Xbox 2, coupled with XNA and WGF, becomes a technically more advanced platform than the PC for the next year? That would certainly be a coup for the console sector, as well as for ATI, whose graphics power the Xbox 2.

A SLIDE from a non disclosure agreement (NDA) presentation seen by the INQ points towards 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 timeline for the introduction of the systems. Xbox Next and Xbox Next HD are planned for Autumn 2005, whereas the Xbox Next PC is pencilled 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 two standard Xboxes before the Xbox Next PC is an interesting decision, which suggests that Microsoft realises 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, two 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.

Hope this is all useful to you!

 

[winterfreshpwnz]

That sounds pretty cool, with the whole pc gamer playing against xbox liver, but I still won't be buying it since I'm a playstation fan. Can't wait to get news about the ps3.

 

[FuRgy]

Sounds good, I like Playstation 2

 

[David Lindon]

Cool

 

[alvino]

Sweet. Yeah, you really dont need hard drives...they could just sell 1 or 2gb memory cards.

 

[135791]

man that looks sweet

 

[rakedog]

I personally dislike Xbox, but a friend of mine managed to install Linux on the hard drive for it, so that was really sweet. If Xbox 2 connects to PC, I'll screw around with it with my computer friends, we'll put some linux on it, and do some fun stuff with it. Mod it out, ect.

 

[Lord Kalthorn]

Lol; Xenon with Linux... and things in it will work?

 

[rakedog]

Yes. It's microsoft. You can exploit pretty much whatever you need. Just search securityfocus.org or some other big security site for an Xbox Live exploit, to make them not recognize linux on it. Oh and as far as installing, lol just format the drive they have on there, put in a special Linux cd, and install it.

 

[airiox]

Yeah microsoft also got a patent for the Xbox 2.

I cant find a link to the story, but oh well. It will have dual cpus or somthing.