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The first next-generation cross-platform development engine has today been announced: Acclaimed for its versatility, simplicity, power and user-friendliness, the engine [Blimey 1] enabled Climax to turn around PS2, Xbox, GameCube and PC games in double-quick time. And now, with a new generation of gaming platforms looming on the horizon, Climax has again stolen a technological march on its rivals by revamping the engine for PS3, Xbox 2 and PSP. Simply called Blimey 2, the new engine boasts a host of enhancements and improvements that will ensure Climax remains among the games development elite. "The Blimey engine has served us well over the last couple years, but Blimey 2 takes us to another level" commented Karl Jeffery, CEO of Climax. "It's more powerful, more adaptable and, most importantly, it keeps us ahead of the competition. We've already got games in development that are using Blimey 2 and we're ready now for PS3, Xbox 2, PSP and any other next generation games platform."

For the whole press release: http://ve3dboards.ig...?topic=13982792
Posted by:: XanTium
November 17 19:14 GMT+1

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Speaking last week at the unveiling of a TV-sized supercomputer based on 1000 specially designed PowerPC chips, IBM vice president of technology and strategy Irving Wladawsky-Berger said the platform will be the foundation for next-generation consoles from Nintendo and Sony, according to a throwaway line in a Reuters report at the weekend. Of course, the possibility exists that Wladawsky-Berger inadvertently mentioned Nintendo when he should have referred to MS, or that Reuters got it wrong. Nintendo is working on future successors to the GameCube and the GameBoy Advance. It is expected to announce the former next May at the E3 show. Curiously, with GameCube development partners IBM and ATI now confirmed as Xbox 2 developers, speculation is mounting that the new Nintendo and Xbox 2 may be one and the same thing, with the two firms essentially offering two, individual products both derived from a common platform. Indeed, ATI has already been named by Nintendo as its future graphics partner - despite being signed by MS, nominally Nintendo's rival. It's hard to imagine to competitors being happy to share one key component supplier, let alone two, such is the risk that commercially sensitive information might be exposed to a rival. No, the only way they would happily allow this situation to exist is if they are working on the same console platform. That the two might co-operate against Sony has been the subject of rumour for some time. It may even herald an attempt to create a licensable platform on which both companies build a high-margin software business while others commoditise the hardware.

Posted by:: XanTium
November 18 01:02 GMT+1

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A number of internet news sites have claimed that MS and Sony will take the wraps off their next generation console offerings at events in spring 2004 - but what exactly might be shown is not discussed. Rumour reporting site C&VG was first out of the blocks with a story stating that MS will show its next console, allegedly codenamed Xenon, at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose next March - ahead of Sony unveiling the PS3 at E3 in May. It's not unlikely that MS would choose GDC as the venue for its first official talk about the successor to Xbox, since the original announcement of its entry into the console market was made by chairman Bill Gates at GDC in March 2000 - almost exactly 20 months before the Xbox launched in North America. However, it's extremely unlikely that any seriously useful information about Xenon will emerge from GDC next March, even if MS does choose to announce the system there. At present it's expected that Xbox' successor will appear in late 2005, which would fit with the original timescale between GDC 2000 and the Xbox launch in November 2001 - but it's worth remembering what exactly MS did announce at GDC 2000. The Xbox product presented at that original conference had no final specifications, no software and no proper real-time demos. The prototype model presented was a PC running the very first NV15 prototype silicon and encased in a large chrome-finish "X", and at this point AMD was on board to make the CPU for the system. The demo reel included footage of Afro Thunder from Midway's Ready 2 Rumble talking about the power of Xbox animation. In the end, Ready 2 Rumble never actually appeared on the Xbox console.

Read more on gamesindustry.biz.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 21 15:22 GMT+1

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The move to IBM’s PowerPC chipset has implications far beyond the gaming industry: it stands to threaten the Linux open source movement. “The biggest winner from this whole arrangement will likely be MS itself – but not for the reason that people expect,” Mr. Mantion says (analyst at digital communications market research firm In-Stat/MDR). He believes that by working with IBM’s PowerPC platform, MS will be able to finally make inroads into embedded computing – or software that is hard wired onto consumer electronics motherboards. Mr. Mantion believes MS may be able to tweak its Windows XP Embedded operating system by leveraging expertise gained from the Xbox. PowerPC architecture also is used in many corporate blade servers, the low-cost, high-power servers revolutionizing the server marketplace. Mr. Mantion suggests that the closer relationship between Windows and IBM in the Xbox could help MS quell Linux momentum in the space.

Note that above article doesn't mention that it has NOT been confirmed yet that IBM and MS will use a PowerPC in the Xbox Next. Other CPU architectures are possible: x86 (with amd license), cell technology, ...
Posted by:: XanTium
November 21 16:26 GMT+1

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Xbox isn't at the center of what we do in the home. Xbox is critical and vital to what we do in the home, but at the center of the home, we believe is a Windows® computer, a Media Center computer, because at that center you want a place to store all your digital assets. You want to be able to put your photos, your music, your video, and your television recordings. You want something to manage the network and your multiple Internet connections. You want that central, multipurpose workhorse that, by the way, can also do a lot of productivity things as well, at the center of what you do in the home. Xbox then becomes the device that connects around that to provide great videogame entertainment. So Windows is at the core of what we do and around that, MS sees in the consumer space a set of connected devices. It's quite clear to us that over the next five years wireless networking will be very pervasive in the home. We're already seeing a lot of growth in that marketplace. Prices have come down. The technology is improving. Installation is easier and people are seeing the benefits of simple things, like being able to get to a printer, and the more exciting benefits of having multiple people on the Internet gaming against each other and communications. So we think the home is fundamentally a networked environment with a Windows computer at the center and a series of devices connected to that Windows computer. Now, one of those devices could be a Tablet PC, it could be a Pocket PC, it could be printers, or other intelligent devices. And certainly one of the important ones for us is Xbox because of its role in the videogame space and how central videogames and interactive entertainment is to what people do in the home.

You can read the whole article here: http://www.MS.com/ms...04playtime.mspx
Related article on future WMC can be found: http://www.MS-watch....,1395326,00.asp

XBMC discussion here: http://www.xboxmedia...t=ST;f=11;t=146
Thanks to Gamester17 for the news.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 25 16:14 GMT+1

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According to remarks made in Japan by Steve Ballmer, MS CEO, the US giant will release Xbox2 (Xenon) in 2006. Whilst many had suspected that MS would try to gain the upper hand on Sony and launch in 2005, it now appears that MS are happy to squeeze another year out of the Xbox and launch on a level pegging with the Playstation3 in 2006.

Thanks to Devil-Man for the link.
Posted by:: XanTium
December 5 14:36 GMT+1

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To sum things up, it is possible that the Xbox 2 might use an AMD64 processor (Athlon 64FX or the upcoming K9); probably a modified version, highly optimized for gaming purposes (ala Intel PIV Extreme Edition), that will be built by IBM using the most advanced manufacturing process available at the time the Xbox 2 ships; probably a 90-nanometer manufacturing process or, a 65-nm one, if the Xbox 2 arrives late 2005/early 2006. The chipset could be designed by ATI, using some licensed technologies from SiS. That would have ATI not only designing the graphic processor but also the chipset; just exactly as nVIDIA does nowadays by providing their NV2X GPU and nForce chipset for the existing Xbox. So there you have it. This is our small conspiracy theory. It is pure speculation but based on rumors, inside info, and technology facts.

Read the full article on TeamXbox.com.
Thanks to Gamester17 for the link.
Posted by:: XanTium
December 10 12:00 GMT+1

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MICROPROCESSOR FIRM MS is looking for engineers who will work on hardware circuits for computer based game console systems or peripheral devices. The vacancy is in Mountain View, California, and the successful candidate will work on printed circuit board design, verification and testing, and detailed electrical analysis. You need to have one year of hardware engineering experience and a degree in computer engineering or electrical engineering. And you need one year's experience of analogue and digital system simulation. As you can read here. (http://jobsearch.monster.com/getjob.asp?JobID=19468153&AVSDM=2003%2D11%2D18+09%3A19%3A00&Logo=1&col=dltci&cy=US&brd=1%2C1862%2C1863&lid=354%2C355%2C357%2C883%2C356&fn=&q=Electrical+Engineer)

Thanks to Gamester17 for the link.
Posted by:: XanTium
December 10 12:44 GMT+1

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A job advertisement (http://www.MS.com/careers/search/details.aspx?JobID=5a0a79bb-f7bd-4161-878f-d1d6f414ca9a) which has appeared on MS's careers website suggests that the company may be considering moving to a proprietary disc format for its next console, in an effort to make piracy on the device more difficult. According to the ad, MS's Xbox team is seeking an engineer "to manage the design and development of the Xbox Game Disc for the next generation Xbox console," with the job description going on to mention anti-piracy as the first in a list of key factors for the new game disc specification. Although it's possible that the role will simply involve devising a copy protection mechanism for games on existing DVD media, similar to that used by the current generation Xbox and the PS2, the description of the role hints strongly at the company developing a more proprietary format. MS may be planning to follow in the footsteps of Nintendo, whose mini-DVD format which has been highly successful in preventing piracy on the GameCube. It's widely expected, however, that whatever media the next Xbox console (codenamed Xenon, apparently) uses will be the same size as DVD media, since the system will be expected to play back DVD movies and provide backwards compatibility with Xbox games. Although preventing piracy which results from the copying of game discs is obviously an important consideration, MS will also be thinking very hard about how to prevent piracy which uses the hard drive on the system. Many mod chips for the current generation of Xbox allow users to copy games to their hard drives and then play them without the original game disc, or simply download copies off the Internet directly onto their console - a new avenue for piracy which has potential to be hugely damaging if it becomes popular.

Posted by:: XanTium
December 12 18:25 CEST

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MAKE NO MISTAKE, the top brass at AMD and Intel are going to need to live by Andy Groves' famous "only the paranoid survive" counsel. The two firms, along with VIA and Transmeta, are facing the biggest threat to their processor businesses ever: MS is moving in. The announcement that MS has chosen IBM to make a processor for Xbox 2 should be sending shivers down the spines of the execs of every x86 chip firm. Just about every newswire has concentrated on trying to figure out what type of chip is going to be used in the Xbox 2. Will it be a PowerPC derivative? A licensed version of AMD64? A modified Cell processor? It really only matters to gamers exactly which chip MS has chosen, everyone is looking at the finger when it's pointing to the moon. All of the x86 firms, but especially Intel and AMD, are going to have to be on their guard. If MS gets one piece of intellectual property into the next generation of x86 processors, you can bet that it won't be satisfied with just that. It will want to maximise its license revenues and that means getting more licenses in there. Oh, the first one will seem trivial, perhaps it will even be free of charge, but MS doesn't play softball. Sooner or later the x86 firms would find a hefty percentage of their gross margin heading Redmond way. MS is very smart indeed and it has become used to getting its 'tax' on pretty much every PC sold. The firm will be looking at this and similar techniques as an insurance policy; it has seen the spread of Linux and knows its revenue stream is under threat, if it has a stake in every x86 processor sold, Linux gaining ground won't matter so much. All in all, this is classic MS. And if the x86 firms' execs weren't sweating before they read this, they certainly should have been. The biggest problem they face is how to stop it from happening because MS will make its arguments very persuasive.

Read the whole article on theinquirer.net.
Thanks to Gamester17 for the link.
Posted by:: XanTium
December 12 16:45 GMT+1

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ATI Technologies Inc. announced today its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2004, ending November 30, 2003. The graphics chipmaker reported record revenues of U.S. $469.7 million, a 40% increase relative to the first quarter of fiscal 2003. "Product leadership is enabling ATI to win new customers and penetrate new markets today," said KY Ho, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ATI. "Our focused execution on delivering our product roadmap is attracting new channel partners and establishing broader distribution for the future." Last summer, ATI announced it entered a technology agreement with MS to develop "custom, leading-edge graphics technologies" for the Xbox successor.

Posted by:: XanTium
December 22 18:37 GMT+1

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FEW DETAILS ON XBOX 2
Most expect market leader Sony Corp., as well as MS and Nintendo, to bring out new consoles in 2005 or 2006.
Sony's PlayStation 2 had a one-year head start on the Xbox and GameCube, an advantage that has proved insurmountable, in terms of installed base and market share. MS has of late been actively hiring engineers for its development efforts.
"Really, the imperative is to not give anyone a head start," Bach said.
He declined to offer further details on MS's announced partnership with International Business Machines Corp. or to discuss issues like whether or not the next Xbox would contain a hard drive, as the current unit does. Many analysts have cited the hard drive as a key cost of the money-losing console.
He also said it was unlikely MS would make any major hardware upgrades to the Xbox before the current business cycle ends, as Sony has done with PS2.
"They do their tuning with hardware, we do our tuning with software," he said.
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Read the whole article on reuters.com. (http://www.reuters.c...storyID=4089338)
Posted by:: XanTium
January 8 2004 00:00 GMT+1

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MS has lately been active in recruiting staff to work on gaming hardware, although Gates declined to talk in much detail about the company's plans for the next generation of the Xbox, which is widely expected to come in 2005 or 2006. Market leader Sony Corp., which has dominated the current generation of consoles with its PlayStation 2, has been similarly circumspect about its plans for a PS3. "In terms of the next round, hey it's a new game. We're not showing our hand and I don't think Sony's showing their hand," Gates said. "We're doing some very cool work but that's really all we say at this point." Despite heavy competition, though, Gates said he was pleased with the market position of the money-losing Xbox, which was released in Nov. 2001 and has battled Nintendo Co. Ltd. for second place in the U.S. market. "Our goal in this generation was to be one of the leaders, and we feel like we've accomplished that very well," Gates said.

Posted by:: XanTium
January 8 13:53 GMT+1

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TOKYO--MS Japan's new Xbox division chief Yoshihiro Maruyama says that his company's next generation machine, casually referred to by media outlets as the Xbox Next, will not see its shadow until 2006. Maruyama's comments support statements made by MS CEO Steve Ballmer last year, when he told the Nikkei Journal that the console will be released no sooner than 2006 in Japan. But whether the Xbox Next will be out before or after Sony's next generation machine is not decided, according to an interview with Maruyama contained in the current issue of Famitsu. One of the issues surrounding the original Xbox was the fact it was was considerably larger than other game consoles in the market. Rumors have been floating the Xbox Next will be considerably smaller and possibly uses notebook PC components. While Maruyama did not comment on specifics, he confirmed that the Xbox Next will indeed be smaller than the current Xbox. "In terms of hardware, we get a lot of requests asking us to reduce the console's size. Actually, I was thinking so myself before coming to MS. We promise that we'll make the new console smaller," Maruyama said.

Posted by:: XanTium
January 10 00:24 GMT+1

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Xbox2 backwards compatible petition reaches almost 10000 signatures
>> The petition that started several weeks ago asking MS to make the Xbox2 (alias Xbox Next) backwards compatible has almost reached 10.000 signatures! (9918 at time of writing).

Check it out: http://www.petitiono...2/petition.html.
If you agree with the statement and didn't sign yet ... do it now :-)
Thanks goes to Gamester17 for the info.

Posted by:: XanTium
January 10 05:57 GMT+1