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[mj1108]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050630...Rv4Wd2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3cjE0b2MwBHNlYwM3Mzg-

Microsoft Might License Xbox Software

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer 1 hour, 26 minutes ago

TOKYO - Forget the video game console — your TV could already have the brains to play those games. A coy Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates hinted Thursday that his company might license the software underlying its
Xbox gaming machine to a variety of outside companies in a bid to expand the market share for the Xbox machine — a platform that trails the sector's No. 1 Sony PlayStation.

The U.S. software company is considering offering "the basic software" for Xbox, although no decision has been made, Microsoft Japan spokesman Kazushi Okabe said Thursday, confirming the Gates' comments reported in Thursday's editions of Japan's top business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

Gates hasn't offered specifics about the kind of software or which companies would be involved. He also hasn't said whether the arrangement will involve manufacturers making products other than game machines, such as digital consumer electronics gadgets that combine PC functions with home appliances.

The arrangements being considered are similar to those that Microsoft has employed in the past by working with other companies, including Japanese electronics makers, to install its Windows operating system in personal computers, Okabe said.

It's unclear whether such gadgets will carry the Xbox brand name or some other name, and whether the software that may become available to outsiders will be Xbox or Xbox 360.

Microsoft plans to start selling its next-generation game machine Xbox 360 later this year while Sony plans to introduce the PlayStation 3 next spring.

The Redmond, Wash.-based firm hopes the head start will cut into Sony's lead in the market, and has been trying to appeal to Japanese consumers by attracting top Japanese designers to create games for Xbox 360.

Sony's
PlayStation 2 controls more than half the world's video game market, while Xbox and Nintendo Co.'s GameCube split the rest.

Ken Kutaragi, who heads Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news).'s video-game unit, has said that the computer chip that powers PlayStation 3 called "cell" will likely be used in other digital audiovisual products from the Japanese electronics maker.

PlayStation 3 will also play the next-generation DVD format that Sony is backing called Blu-ray Disc. Xbox 360 will run the current DVD standard, although Gates says that could be expanded to next-generation versions in the future.

 

[DarienA]

So they are attempting to come full circle with the Xbox.... that was their original plan for it, to license it out have have others build the hardware...

 

[HokieJoe]

It's hard to read MS's true intentions here, but I think they're talking about other things besides consoles.

 

[akascream]

So Xbox1 goes up against cell in the TV market? If the first Xbox can compete with PS3, just imagine what Xbox360 can do?

 

[Geek]

Didn't Sega attempt to do something similar at the end of the Dreamcast lifecycle? IIRC, only one Dreamcast hardware enabled product made it to manufacture, which was a television with DC capabilities.

 

[akascream]

Didn't Sega attempt to do something similar at the end of the Dreamcast lifecycle? IIRC, only one Dreamcast hardware enabled product made it to manufacture, which was a television with DC capabilities.

Yeah, the only manufacturer to manage this kind of thing (that I've seen anyway) is Nintendo. I've played SNES games on hotel tvs with wierd remotes, and even on long international flights on my individual tv with my odd phone/controller.

 

[Suikoguy]

Can I soon play Blinx on an airplane?

 

[StRaNgE]

If Gates can do what he did with windows with XBOX software then wow, there would be all kind of xbox makers just as there are pc makers.

he did it to apple, it would make sense he try and do it to Sony as well.

 

[Avtomat]

But what would be the incentive for hardware manufacturers (HMs) its not like the console itself makes a lot of money, if any at all.

 

[Lazy8s]

Geek:

Didn't Sega attempt to do something similar at the end of the Dreamcast lifecycle? IIRC, only one Dreamcast hardware enabled product made it to manufacture, which was a television with DC capabilities.

Right; they tried to generalize Dreamcast as an architecture for a broad range of computing products: everything from a PC add-in card to set-top boxes. They were going to spread the platform using the Dreamcast-on-a-chip that was developed, but it only made it into a set-top box from Pace sold in Europe.

A similar platform called MBX, developed especially for embedded systems and using more updated technology, has taken hold in the industry, though, and led to systems-on-a-chip which share DC's genes by combining PowerVR's technology with an SH-4. Those chips are being used to run car navigation/information displays and low-cost arcade platforms and can potentially be used for handheld game machines.

The next-generation N-Gage platform that'll be built into multiple upcoming Nokia phones very likely uses PowerVR's MBX combined on a chip with an ARM CPU (Texas Instruments's OMAP2 architecture):
http://www.n-gage.com/e3/video/videos.html?ID=22

 

[ChryZ]

Sony did it too ...

http://www.eet.com/story/OEG20000602S0064

no?

 

[Agent X]

But what would be the incentive for hardware manufacturers (HMs) its not like the console itself makes a lot of money, if any at all.

That's exactly the problem. Sony announced that they would license out the PlayStation chipset a few years ago, too, and nothing ever really came of that.

The problem is that most companies would not bother to do this, since they'd effectively be competing with the first-party console manufacturer (Microsoft or Sony), who could always undercut them every step of the way. Plus, the first-party console manufacturer would be able to reap the benefits of royalties from the software format, while the third-party hardware licensees would not. The third-party hardware licensee would have to sell the hardware at a much higher price in order to make the money. This might work on a specialized device as some others have mentioned (video games installed in hotel rooms or inside of automobiles), but it's doubtful you'd see it in a traditional video game console.

This strategy could possibly succeed on a different format where substantial money could be made on the hardware. 3DO and VM Labs tried this already (selling the chipset to hardware manufacturers), but the downside here is that by its nature it would increase the price of the system (since hardware manufacturers would have to make a profit).

 

[terrene]

This actually makes a lot of sense for 360. They've said again and again that their eye is on having a spot in the living room and that the games are just a "gateway." With this, TV's could be "media centers" right out of the box.

But then, a machine like that is going to cost a lot and only going to appeal to hardcore A/V folks who probably already have nice TVs and just want the damn Xbox.

 

[jarrod]

This strategy could possibly succeed on a different format where substantial money could be made on the hardware. 3DO and VM Labs tried this already (selling the chipset to hardware manufacturers), but the downside here is that by its nature it would increase the price of the system (since hardware manufacturers would have to make a profit).

Actually, both Nintendo and Sega have successfully sublicensed their platforms before. I think so long as the manufacturer offers something different from the regular branded machine (like the JVC X'Eye/WonderMega, Sharp Twin Famicom, Panasonic Q, Aiwa CSD-G1M, Majesco Genesis 3 or Hitachi Hi-Saturn Navi) there's definitely a market for that.

 

[Agent X]

Actually, both Nintendo and Sega have successfully sublicensed their platforms before. I think so long as the manufacturer offers something different from the regular branded machine (like the JVC X'Eye/WonderMega, Sharp Twin Famicom, Panasonic Q, Aiwa CSD-G1M, Majesco Genesis 3 or Hitachi Hi-Saturn Navi) there's definitely a market for that.

Yes, and there were a few others as well. Pioneer produced the LaserActive system, which had separate modules enabling it to play Sega Genesis/Sega CD or NEC TurboGrafx-16/TurboGrafx-CD games. Sharp produced a TV which had the NES hardware embedded into it; I saw this at a K-Mart store many years ago.

I never knew about the Aiwa CSD-G1M until now. Very interesting! Thanks for mentioning it.

I agree that the manufacturer would have to differentiate their product in order to make any headway into the market. The JVC X'Eye is a pretty good example, as it was a very good value and had some extra functions that you couldn't get with the ordinary Genesis and Sega CD. The Genesis 3 situation was a bit different, as it was more like a low-cost replacement for the earlier Genesis models, which Sega wasn't really interested in manufacturing anymore by that point in time.

One thing to keep in mind is that although some of these products were cool and managed to rack up a few sales here and there, none of them were runaway success stories in the mainstream market. That's why you didn't see very many manufacturers attempting this, and the ones that did usually did so with niche offerings after the platform had become established for a few years and the internal hardware costs dropped down to an affordable level. In today's market, I doubt you'd see other companies really offer a clone; certainly not from the get-go, as they'd be losing too much money on an unproven platform.

 

[golem]

well now that they have the nvidia license, they need to make a xbox emulator for the pc

 

[Fatghost]

well now that they have the nvidia license, they need to make a xbox emulator for the pc

That's a great idea.