Power to the artists
Blackley said Xbox titles will benefit from raw hardware horsepower-- a 733MHz processor, a beefy hard drive, 250MHz graphics processor-- but also clever configuration. Microsoft has spent extra effort in putting the system together in a way that makes it easy for software writers to exploit features and write programs.
Numerous game developers have complained that market leader Sony made its new PlayStation 2 console so difficult to program that current games harness only a fraction of its power.
"One of the basic premises of the Xbox is to put the power in the hands of the artist," Blackley said, which is why Xbox developers "are achieving a level of visual detail you really get in 'Toy Story.' "
Among the Xbox titles in development is a World Wrestling Federation game, leading to the closing appearance by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who noted a number of similarities with the software guru. "Both The Rock and Bill Gates are known worldwide for their vast array of catch phrases," the wrestler noted.
In addition to the Xbox shenanigans, Gates also echoed Intel CEO Craig Barrett's keynote the night before by describing a future where theatre systems in wirelessly networked homes. Naturally, Gates opined that Microsoft software will be the glue that binds it all together.
"The PC is going to be the place where you store the information and
really the centre of control," he said. "Software is the key to
making sure we don't have islands of information."
XBox Console Tour
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