GameSpy.com - Article

Subscriptions

Platforms

All Games

GameSpy

GameSpy Network

Featured Sites
PlanetGrandTheftAuto
PlanetUnreal
PlanetCallofDuty
PlanetDOOM
PlanetBattlefield

FilePlanet
Daily Download

Asheron's Call:
Dark Majesty
Special Offer

Special Features

Most Wanted Games of 2004

What 40 games made our most sought after titles of '04? Find out!

GameSpy Grudge

Xbox Timeline
A dated look at the progression of the Xbox and thoughts on its future.
By Steven L. Kent | Feb. 16, 2004

For Microsoft, the video-game industry has been a whiplash rollercoaster ride with lucrative peaks, costly valleys, and a changing list of passengers going along for the ride. The Redmond, Washington-based software giant has hung in for the ups and downs and is prepared to go another round, though at least one expert says corporate views have changed on the ultimate benefits.

"I think that Microsoft has done surprisingly well given how hard it was to launch the Xbox," says Dean Takahashi, author of Opening the Xbox. "At the same time, I do not think it has lived up to expectations, certainly not in markets like Japan."

A certain amount of euphoria surrounded the announcement of Xbox. When Bill Gates unveiled it at the Game Developers Conference in 2000, audiences were dazzled by the console's amazing technology. At the time that Gates made the announcement, Sega's Dreamcast was withering and Sony's PlayStation 2 was just hitting the streets in Japan.

Microsoft made a few crucial errors at the launch of Xbox, most notably in its efforts to woo Japanese consumers. Seeing the importance of a good showing in Japan, Microsoft went hard after the Japanese market, delaying its European launch. Europe was unquestionably the more receptive market. To date, Microsoft has yet to reach the million consoles sold mark in Japan.

But Microsoft has also made some brilliant moves. In preparation for its launch, Microsoft acquired Bungie and used Halo as its launch title. At the time, Goldeneye 007, for Nintendo 64, had been the only hit FPS game to appear on a console. The Bungie acquisition proved itself -- giving Microsoft a truly impressive killer application to drive its sales.

Microsoft has also suffered from a talent brain drain. Two of the original members of the Xbox team, Seamus Blackley and Kevin Bachus, left the company early on. The other founding members, Otto Berkes and Ted Hase, are still with Microsoft, but no longer working on the Xbox project.

"I think it is sad that Microsoft cannot hang on to its talent because experience is everything in the games industry," says Takahashi.

In 2002, Xbox reached one milestone that few people would have predicted when Microsoft overtook Nintendo to capture the second place slot in consoles sold in North America. (Due to poor Japanese sales, Microsoft is out of contention for world sales.) This Christmas, Nintendo recaptured the number two slot after dropping the price of GameCube to $99.

Despite the fact that Xbox now trails behind the competition, Takahashi says that he is confident that Microsoft will release a second-generation Xbox. What has changed, however, is the notion that Xbox will be the center point of the livingroom. "I think that the idea that game consoles are going to take over all processing in the livingroom has been tested and has failed," says Takahashi, who continues to cover the games industry for the San Jose Mercury News.

Next: The Xbox project begins »
Page: 1 2 3 4

Previous Articles

More Articles

Which Wins?