In the future...PC = XBOX?

[Gryph]

I read this article and found it rather interesting. We all know that XNA is a Microsoft package that allows for easy development between XBOX and PC but what was really interesting was this paragraph.

 

To that end, Longhorn will natively support the XNA development system, and Longhorn-based PCs will directly benefit from this. "Xbox 2 peripherals will all work on PC," said Lester, clarifying that Xbox controllers, steering wheels, and other console-related peripheral functionality will all be brought into Longhorn's portfolio, as will Xbox Live functionality. For game players, this will make for, if nothing else, an added convenience, since playing a game on a PC or an Xbox will [ideally] come down to little more than unplugging the controller from one and plugging it in to the other. For game developers, Microsoft hopes that the introduction of XNA will help standardize development on both platforms--to such an extent that "you won't have to choose between Xbox or PC" to develop games...and, ideally, so that players won't have to choose between the two platforms to play these games.

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/22/news_6108247.html

 

So what'll be the point of getting the new console if you can just play the games on the PC and use the same peripherals?

 

Am I just misinterpreting this? What do you guys think?

Edited September 23, 2004 by GryphonKlaw

[BIGWORM]

Sounds like you're not misinterpreting anything...looks like all Xenon games will be PC-compatible and Vise-versa. I think at that point it comes down to portability and specs alone. I'd have to see the specs of a Xenon and (lets just say) a mid-range (at that time) PC with Longhorn on it.

[Madi]

sounds good , lol ms has always been trying to get to the pc players

[Wizard]

Open source-WHA?

 

Or is this just easy deving for 2 systems that will most likely have the same architechture?

[Jjangthekid]

how will this compare to gc or ps2/ps3?.. hm...

 

it be cool if ps3 had that capability.. =/

[Gryph]

Well I guess we won't have to worry about XBOX2 emulation anymore.

[Wizard]

Umm, I have no clue, but this mostly means nothing to Sony.

 

But yeah, it's a dev kit that allowed easy porting to PC/other consoles it seems.

[Agozer]

The only problem I have with all this is tht Microsoft is trying to make that XNA SDK a standard for all consoles. "Make your PS3 games with our software."

[Gryph]

Well that's all great for me since it will all work on my PC then.

[Wizard]

Well that's all great for me since it will all work on my PC then.

Yay! More uses for my uber powerful amd 64!

[Jjangthekid]

ehh..still earning my money to build the computer..

dammmnnn...

[ken_cinder]

Sounds to me to be more of a hardware deal. Software in general probably won't be compatible, but at the lower levels, peripherals and other things will just be inter-changeable "Plug and Play"

[Gryph]

Sounds to me to be more of a hardware deal. Software in general probably won't be compatible, but at the lower levels,  peripherals and other things will just be inter-changeable "Plug and Play"

But XNA is supposed to deal with the software compatibility issue.

 

This is the most important line in that article:

 

Microsoft hopes that the introduction of XNA will help standardize development on both platforms--to such an extent that "you won't have to choose between Xbox or PC" to develop games...and, ideally, so that players won't have to choose between the two platforms to play these games.

 

Making hardware compatible isn't that tough, software is the biatch and the most important part.

[ken_cinder]

Sounds to me to be more of a hardware deal. Software in general probably won't be compatible, but at the lower levels,  peripherals and other things will just be inter-changeable "Plug and Play"

But XNA is supposed to deal with the software compatibility issue.

 

This is the most important line in that article:

 

Microsoft hopes that the introduction of XNA will help standardize development on both platforms--to such an extent that "you won't have to choose between Xbox or PC" to develop games...and, ideally, so that players won't have to choose between the two platforms to play these games.

 

Making hardware compatible isn't that tough, software is the biatch and the most important part.

I get that part. But that is from a development standpoint, not an end user standpoint.

Portability being the word.

As for hardware, it's not THAT easy. What if you could use ANY PC controller on your Xbox 2, without any adapter or incompatibilities with games? Not all adapters work properly with every game, and it's not necessarily the adapters fault either, but rather the way the input method was coded for a particular game.

 

Still, you could be right, and it could be interoperable software between systems. And it rather makes good business sense. Didn't MS lose money on Xbox Hardware sales?

 

In the end, if it's software, it's just another ploy for them to try and standardize an industry area to THEIR standards. Something that doesn't please me........MS sucks.

Edited September 24, 2004 by IJTF_Cinder

[Shibathedog]

WTF? if you just unplug the controller from your XB2 and put it in your PC, is the Xbox just going to have regular old USB ports or something?