Xbox 2 & PC Hybrid? [May 27, 2004, 10:20 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Microsoft studying appeal of Xbox 2-PC hybrid on CNN Money describes low-key
research Microsoft has been conducting to evaluate the appeal of combining PC
functionality into the next generation Xbox, which they say may be available as
early as next year. The Xbox, of course, is built on PC architecture, so the
issues involved are much more conceptual than technological. Here is a bit of
what they learned about this scenario, currently being tested with focus groups,
that is apparently just one of several possible directions Microsoft may be
taking with the Xbox 2:
The B/R/S Group, a California-based market research company that lists Microsoft and the Xbox division specifically as clients, has been gathering consumer feedback on a device it refers to as Xbox Next PC – "a videogame console system with a hard drive and a built-in fully functional PC." Mention of the device came on one of several slides shown to focus groups.
One slide describes the unit, which would require a PC monitor or high definition television, as being backward compatible with current and next-generation Xbox titles. It would also play PC games and include a fully functional version of Windows, CD burner, DVD player (with remote control), built-in access to Xbox Live and a hard drive. Control-wise, the system would come with both a keyboard and mouse and a standard Xbox controller. The price point this particular study tested was $599.
Even so, you still have to buy the rest of the components, and you're still looking at $60-80 upgrades once a year under that plan. I took the other route, and stuck by a Celeron 300A with a TNT2 for 5 years. For the last 2 and a half, there were more upgrade concerns than just the video card, and by the fourth, the entire $1000 system was pretty much a write-off. Mileage-wise, it was only marginally cheaper than just buying some consoles, and I could have had much, much better graphics over the time period.
There are many valid reasons to go with a PC for gaming instead of a console, but for those on a limited budget, who enjoy the kinds of games that come out on consoles, and who won't have a conniption switching from 1280x1024 down to 800x600, I would say that the console is the cheaper way to get a gaming fix, no question.
There are many valid reasons to go with a PC for gaming instead of a console, but for those on a limited budget, who enjoy the kinds of games that come out on consoles, and who won't have a conniption switching from 1280x1024 down to 800x600, I would say that the console is the cheaper way to get a gaming fix, no question.
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