I know that MSFT wants the X-box to be a gaming machine, but they are in a competitive market, and people don't want both a Nokia Multimedia apparatus and the X-box in the same living room. So either one of the boxes is removed, or the functionality is implemented in one box.
Nokia just made a multimedia thing for the TV using Linux and the Mozilla browser. There are gaming machines out there using Linux. Many DVD machines use Linux internally. If you have the choice between:
- MSFT X-box for games only.
- NN box running Mozilla browser, games, Office programs etc.
and the X-box is the most expensive one, who will win? MSFT needs to implement the same functionality as the competition. The harddisk is the big secret weapon: With the harddisk MSFT can do anything on the X-box. They could even port Microsoft Access with 100% compatibility if they wanted.
I'm in no doubt that the Nokia Media Terminal and it's successors will have great success in Europe:
nokia.com
They also contain a harddisk, use Linux, provide games etc. You can play 3D games over the internet with this thing. That's good enough for most people.
There will be many more of these devices, and a lot of them run Linux, and more and more of them will run Linux. Some will have harddisks to provide maximum functionality, some will be low-cost without a harddisk, but still provide full Linux functionality. 3D-games like "Soldiers of Fortune" can run on a Linux without a harddisk. So the console market is:
Nokia versus Sony versus Microsoft versus all the small players.
TV-users in Europe will likely buy the Nokia thing. Playstation users will likely buy a PS2. Who will buy the MSFT X-box? Gaming entusiasts and MSFT fans.
Unfortunately for MSFT, I believe there are more TV-users than gaming entusiasts, and Nokia can reach more end-users through their sales channels in Europe than MSFT. |
