Microsoft Xbox.
The XBox is a console system designed by the leading computer company ‘Microsoft’. This console was the companies’ first venture into the video game market and their product has delivered a great beginning for Microsoft’s gaming future.
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On March 10, 2000 Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft officially unveiled the XBox to the world at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose. Microsoft was capitalizing on it's software expertise and PC technology and had begun development on a high-performance, easy-to-use platform that they claimed would enable developers to create better games, faster (Planet X, 2005). The console system was then delivered to anticipating gamers all over the world in November of 2001, along with a range of mentionable launch titles including Halo: Combat evolved, Project Gotham Racing, Dead or Alive 3 and Amped which show the potential of the system. The catalogue of XBox titles has grown since and now features over 600 games. This list features some of the most advanced console games available on any console (Official Xbox, 2005).
On November 12, 2002 Microsoft launched ‘Xbox live’, an online service which allows gamers to play other gamers from all over the world via broadband internet (Wikipedia, 2005). This service is a huge success as the Xbox live community has grown to 2 million members in its short life and it is found that a new member is added every 30 seconds (PVC, 2005). This feature has now created a new realm for the console systems as online gaming was only available on PC until the release of the XBox and other 6th generation systems.
The XBox is technically the most powerful console system (Planet X, 2005) on the market,in 2005. It boasts an Intel P3 733MHz processor along with an 8 gigabyte hard drive, something which until now no console contained. The hard drive is used to store game data, downloadable content and music which replace soundtracks within certain games. The System also allowed for a broadband adapter, which is now used for connection to the internet for the ‘Xbox live’ service.
(Offical Xbox, 2005)
The Xbox 360 is the new addition to the Microsoft’s short timeline within the console industry. Unveiled to the world on MTV on Thursday, May 12, 2005, “Xbox 360 represents a dramatic leap forward in high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences�? (Official Xbox360, 2005). This future console system will include three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each and a 20 gigabyte hard drive, over double the capacity of the original Xbox (Cnet, 2005). Microsoft is also developing an upgraded version of the ‘Xbox live’ service for the release of the new system. The Xbox 360 is scheduled for release in America late 2005, and then around the world at later dates (MTV, 2005).
Yarron Frauenfelder 12:58, 20 Sep 2005 (EST)
Cnet news.com (2005) Xbox specs reveled. Retrieved September 19, 2005 from http://news.com.com/Xbox+specs+revealed/2100-1043_3-5705372.html
MTV (2005) Microsoft Squares away release date for Xbox 360. Retrieved September 19, 2005 from http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1509582/20050914/index.jhtml?headlines=true
Official Xbox website (2005) Hardware. Retrieved September 19, 2005 from http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/hardware/default.htm
Official Xbox website (2005) Games. Retrieved September 19, 2005 from http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/games/default.htm
Planet X (2005) Introduction. Retrieved September 19, 2005 from http://www.planetxbox.com/about/microsoft/
PVC (2005) Xbox live community doubles in just one year, new member added every thirty seconds. Retrived September 19, 2005 from http://www.pcvsconsole.com/news.php?nid=3088
Wikipedia (2005) Xbox live. Retrieved September 19, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_live
