Well aren't we the lucky ones dear play chums? Good old J Allard, Microsoft executive, has finally thrown us some scraps of information regarding Xbox 2 or Xenon as it has come to be known. So far it's all good and you're even luckier because I'm here to sift through young master Allard's GDC speech and repackage it into tasty little morsels.
Step right this way and nibble at the journalistic hors d'oeuvres I have prepared for you"
As expected there was no grand unveiling at GDC. That delight is being saved for E3. So LA really will be the place to be this May – no hyperbole involved for the first time ever. Now there's a shock headline if ever I heard one.
However, Allard did announce that the future is High Definition (HD). Xenon will be HD/progressive scan compatible, which means graphics are going to look better than they've ever looked before once we all invest in HD TVs. Allard described HD as a move out of the 3D era and into a whole new one. Hmm I'm guessing that this is a round about way of saying the graphics will be dead good as opposed to announcing a personal discovery of the fourth dimension.
Microsoft is responding to what Allard describes as a consumer ‘thirst for customisation.' The Xenon promises us the ability to personalise every aspect of our entertainment experiences. He also mentioned something about an ‘abundance of on-demand content for game consumers.' Your guess is as good as mine on this one.
There were many mysterious sound bites littered throughout the speech. Me thinks Allard was trying to bamboozle rather than inform. He did a very good job of talking a lot without actually saying very much at all. But some vital tit-bits did come to light, so read on.
Xenon will have optional hard disks that can be bought as add-ons and memory cards will also be available in various sizes. Perhaps the most notable announcement was the "guide." This is described as an entertainment gateway that instantly connects players to their games, friends and digital media.
Now you're curious"
The "guide" features Gamer Cards, which provide a snapshot of the people on Live. Key information is available on Gamer Cards allowing you to find people of similar ages, skills, interests and lifestyle. Kind of like Live speed-dating. Sounds great in some ways, but surely part of the point of online play is to interact with people you wouldn't necessarily choose to go to the pub with.
With customisation being the big buzzword of Allard's day, you'll be pleased to hear that custom playlists are another key feature of the guide. This means developers will no longer need to support custom music in games. Instead it is part of the machine itself, so gamers will be able to listen to their own music when playing all Xenon games. I'm not sure how this will work in terms of music scores, but playlists certainly work for me on everything except narrative-led games.
The guide is a veritable treasure chest of delights and allows players to make Micro Transactions. So expect to start paying peanuts for new costumes, personally customised cars, skins, maps, levels. You name it and I expect you'll be able to buy it for mere pennies, cents and nickels.
Microsoft have obviously been listening to the development community – hmm or maybe this speech has just been tailored to sound that way. Cuh, let me put my cynicism away and just report the facts. Developers will be pleased to hear that many Live features such as friend lists and voice chat have been enabled at a chip level. This means developers will have time to concentrate on creating great games rather than fiddling with meeting certification requirements, which is also good for gamers – hoorah!
Inside the machine you've got everything you'd expect from Microsoft. The latest graphics cards from ATI, combined with HD means anything the machine puts out is going to seriously wow our retinas. Then you've got your multi-channel sound capabilities allowing us to hear every breath and every footstep every enemy makes.
Add to all this rumours that the machine is going to be a mere shadow of its mighty forefather. I've heard, slinky. I've heard, curvy and I've heard sleek. If I hear iPod I cannot be responsible for my saliva production.
Is it getting hot in here or is it just me – phew whee!
Just one more morsel. Well actually it's a triumvirate of Japanese talent. Microsoft is probably feeling pretty happy with themselves right now. But resting on their laurels just isn't the X way. They've only gone full steam ahead on sewing up the Japanese market too.
Hironobu Sakaguchi (creator of the Final Fantasy series), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (of Rez fame – nuff said – well okay then I'll say genius), and Yoshiki Okamoto (Capcom ledge responsible for Resident Evil). What do these three people have in common you might ask? Well apart from all being Japanese, all being highly respected game creators, all being men and possibly all sporting the latest in futuristic glasses? Yes, apart from that they've all been hired to create next generation titles exclusively for X2.
And word on the street is they've been given free rein – not something the games industry gives away lightly.
Most played: City of Heroes
Most wanted: Xenon