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Technology Stocks : Disk Drive Sector Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Oliver who wrote (8838)	10/10/2000 2:40:51 PM
From: Yogi - Paul	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9256

Mark, Bad decision by Microsoft. From the news release <<WD Protege's single-platter spins at 5400 RPM and stores data at 20 GB per platter.>> To small. The X Box will be an excellent gaming console but it could be so much more. Microsoft must be trying to defend the PC platform by making the X Box less capable than possible. Interesting ideas by a respected game developer: next-generation.com << Duke'n it out on Xbox DR talks to Scott Miller We dig those guys from 3D Realms; sure, we wish we were installing Duke Nukem Forever on our rigs right now, but co-founders George Broussard and Scott Miller call them like they see them. They both founded 3D Realms about 50 years ago (actually it was 1987), when computers were made out of vacuum tubes and Ovaltine boxes (actually a 286 with a CGA card) and they vaulted to success with their Roy Rogers and Trigger Go to Hell first-person shooter (in reality it was Duke Nukem 3D). We recently had a chance to talk to Scott Miller about progress on DNF, and he was more than happy to add his two cents about Xbox. Daily Radar: So, Scott, what do you think of the Xbox? Scott Miller: Does anyone think that Sony's PS2 will not be a giant hit? I didn't think so. Does anyone think that Nintendo's GameCube along with their Disney-like brands will not be a big hit? I didn't think so. So the Xbox has extremely tough competition from two console makers that have been doing this successfully for years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We'd be crazy not to [port Duke Nukem Forever], in fact, simply because it's so easy to make an Xbox version once you've got a PC version." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Xbox also has severe competition from the PC platform, and this is competition that the other consoles have to a much lesser degree. The fact that the Xbox and PC are kissing cousins means that a game made on one can generally be easily ported to the other--not the case when porting PC games to the PS2 and GameCube, or vise versa. So, it's hard for me to imagine any top developer making a hit Xbox game and not wanting to also make a PC version to capitalize on that already established and huge customer base. Thus, it's going to be very, very hard for Microsoft to get exclusive hit games on the Xbox, and that is the only way a console can become a leader, by having exclusive superhits. What this means is that few people who own a PC will have any reason to buy an Xbox. But that's not the case with the other consoles because they will have plenty of exclusive superhits. So not only must the Xbox compete with Sony and Nintendo, two established console leaders that are here to stay, the Xbox must also compete with the PC, and it's established and here to stay, too. A final nail in the coffin for the XBox is that even for many of the games that appear on both the PC to the XBox, many of them will be much easier to play on the PC. These are games that use the mouse controller as the primary input device, like shooters and real-time strategy games. The mouse is quite simply the perfect controller for these kind of games, and using a console controller is a pain. (Sure, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark did well as shooters on the N64, but that's because they were great games and exclusive to the N64, so players had no choice but to adapt to an inferior input device.) I hear people and the press say that Microsoft has the money to make the Xbox successful, but that argument has been proven false hundreds of times by businesses that try to buy market leadership with new products. It's therefore hard to imagine the Xbox being anything better than the fourth most popular gaming platform, behind the big three of Sony, Nintendo, and the PC. And usually being the forth player in a market means your days are numbered. DR: Since the Xbox and the PC are "kissing cousins," as you say, why wouldn't you port Duke Nukem Forever to the Xbox as well just to take advantage of the whatever install base Microsoft will have? SM: I didn't say we wouldn't do that! ;-) We'd be crazy not to do that, in fact, simply because it's so easy to make an Xbox version once you've got a PC version. DR: Fair enough. But have you overestimated the appeal of the PC? There may be a lot of people who would trade in great controls and improved resolution for a console that is 1/4 the price of a PC and won't have the stability problems that plague desktop gaming. Aren't you tired of the hassles that come with three different operating systems, several different 3D cards and all the various inconsistencies between manufacturer's products? SM: The small hassles of the PC are well worth the major advantages, such as better controls, better resolution, better sound system than most TVs, and the fact that I do so much other stuff on the PC makes it entirely convenient, and quite indispensable. Game systems are not indispensable. I think that the more stable platform advantage that consoles have is substantially overrated. And anyone who thinks PCs will experience a shrinking market with regard to game software doesn't have a clue. The PC is far too important to people's lives to ever be replaced, and games will always be a prominent part of the PCs usage. DR: A lot of PC-specific developers like Epic and Lionhead are starting to reposition themselves as console game developers as well. What do you think of these strategies? Would 3DRealms ever consider shifting their focus away from PC and onto the consoles? SM: There's a general consensus that the biggest money can be made on the consoles, and so we're seeing some developers jump ship to the consoles. However, it's by no means any easier to make money on the consoles, in fact it may be more difficult because the competition is stronger. And the PC is still a platform that can make a developer giant profits with a hit game, so for us we're going to stick with what we know and the PC is the best platform by far to make the games we're best at making. Jim Preston >> I suppose this does give an opportunity for firewire products such as Maxtor's recently announced product. Microsoft continues to disappoint. I want to buy the stock but they are not giving me any reason jump in. WDC's going to have problems dealing with Microsoft's legendary "slippage" in product releases. I'd be stunned if X-Box ships on schedule. Paul