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Interview to J Allard second part |
di Antonino Tumeo, 30/1/2001 Intervista
What Xbox is... - Second part
J Allard, Xbox general manager, reveals to Nextgame.it al the secrects of the console that Microsoft thinks will revolutionize the concept of gaming. The hard disk and its uses, the line-up and the software developers contacted are some of the main topics of this second and last part of our exclusive interview.
In the first part of our interview, we heard from J Allard his opinions about the tech specs of Xbox, the controllers and its "connectivity". We discovered that Microsoft is preparing an "internet" strategy for its console, and we heard again that the focus is only on games. But we need more details on the hard disk, an inusual component for a console introduced with Xbox. And we want to know more about the strategies that will support the console: games, games developers and upgrades...
So, let's hear directly from J the answers. And give a look to the detailed images of the console that you'll find in this second and last part of our interview!
Nextgame.it: Talking about the Hard Disk, what will be its functions? Swapping space for the "slow" DVD support? Video Editing? Download space for materials from the net? What else? Could you describe us the typical use of this feature of your console?
J. ALLARD: From a gamers point-of-view, it will serve as a mammoth memory card. From a developer's point-of-view, it serves as mammoth persistent storage. It will be as important an innovation to gaming as 3d was. It's so hard to say how games will use it, but a couple examples serve to illustrate the potential. Imagine games which have no "loading..." screens and simply stream data from the drive without having discreet levels. Imagine games which persist all of the changes to an environment - skids on a track, holes in walls, corpses in hallways, footprints in the sand, bruises on boxers, ... which are remembered across games - not just how many coins are collected! Imagine games with real interactive music and true-to-life, non-repetitive commentary. Imagine levels 20x the size of a typical console game. There's so much that can and will be done with the hard disk.
Nextgame.it: David Braben also suggested that the Hard Disk could be a way for virus to come in. What is you opinion about this topic?
J. ALLARD: Ditto that for memory cards. No different. Remember, Xbox, like other consoles is a closed system. Most viruses get into pc's via email or random websites visited by the user. Really the only way to get a "virus" per se into a box is malicious code in a shipping game. All consoles are equally as prone to attack. And, remember that there's no general purpose os in the background, the games are completely in control of the system. That means any bad code has to do it's damage from the game it was delivered on. If anything like that ever happens in the industry, you'd think the world would find out quickly and correct it. I think the dvd/Ridge Racer memory card corruption problem with the PS2 Japan launch is an example of this.
Nextgame.it: One of the main "fears" that people had for Xbox was that they thought that X-Box would feature mainly portings from PC games. With the recent announcement of the list of european and american developers that will make Xbox only title, you gave a strong sign that this fear won't be real. Could we ask what conviced those developers (and in particular a big name like Peter Molyneux) to support Xbox? Have they been shocked by the technical features of your system?
J. ALLARD: The games we're approving and developers we're working with understand the demographic we're shooting for and the sensibilities of console games. We don't want "ports" regardless of the source. We want great games that will showcase the potential of the Xbox.
Nextgame.it: Capcom and Konami have already announce support for Xbox. It's clear that you are trying to attack the three japanese giants (Sega, Nintendo and Sony) also on their territory... Could you tell us something about the titles these company will develop for X-Box? New versions of famous titles, or brand new series?
J. ALLARD: Each company is releasing information about their titles on their schedule. I know that Konami has announced Crash Bandicoot, Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid sequels for the system, but I don't think anything else is public. We're really excited by the support of the japanese developers both for their own region as well as worldwide appeal.
Nextgame.it: Square hasn't announced support for your console yet... But many people say that they will do it soon... Are you with the people (polite way to ask if they will officially announce support in the next months...)?
J. ALLARD: Can't comment on unannounced companies. We're big fans of Square's products and talent...
Nextgame.it: Of which one of your competitors in the console market are you afraid more among Sega, Sony and Nintendo and why? And why, in your opinion, their systems will lose against the Xbox?
J. ALLARD: We're not afraid. We're humbled by the massive challenge of launching such a huge effort, but we're not focused on the competition. We think we have the best designed system for gaming and a great lineup of games. The rest is execution. I think if you add up everything that these companies are doing collectively to what we plan, 2001 will be an awesome year for gaming.
Nextgame.it: Do you think that the X-Box will finally replace the PC as a gaming system, or will they remain separate things (from the point view of games)?
J. ALLARD: Never! PC games are fundamentally different from a design point and the pc is the "innovation engine" that evolves every year. Every generation of consoles spawns this debate and I don't believe it will ever happen. I believe hardcore sims, strategy and fps games will always be strong on the PC. I believe that hardcore rpg's will always be popular. Casual games are also quite popular. I don't think there's a ton of cross-over. I think the pc is a place for more cerebral and solitary gaming that takes advantage of the most cutting edge technology vs. console. More and more gamers are doing both. And that's good.
Nextgame.it: How many games is Microsoft developing internally for the Xbox? Will they only be available for its console, or are you considering to "port" them on PC too? Could you tell us something about the ones you think are more interesting?
J. ALLARD: We'll be talking more about our 1st party games in march of this year. So far, I think Oddworld and Halo are the only games we've announced. I'm super excited about them. There's over 20 in the works and I think 1 or 2 might be both Xbox and pc, the rest are strictly Xbox titles. Of course, Ed's team (n.d.Andrea: Ed Fries, VP MS Games) is still doing a lot of pc-only titles.
Nextgame.it: How much games do you plan to have available at the launch? What genres will they cover? Which one you will think will be the "killer application" of the system?
J. ALLARD: We haven't announced our complete lineup, and it's way too early to predict the winners. Suffice to say, I think there will be several "killer" games in the first couple of months. At launch, I'm targetting 12-20 titles on shelf and several new titles per week.
Nextgame.it: What could you tell us about the remote controller upgrade to watch DVD films with the Xbox? In what will it consist? It's more an hardware or a software upgrade? How much time after the console official launch do you plan to sell it and how much will it be?
J. ALLARD: Haven't announced plans. It will be a remote control and a small device to plug into the box. It will not be expensive.
Nextgame.it: Internet ready console, but without a browser... Will you make some sort of browser available for the Xbox? Some sort of e-mail software?
J. ALLARD: No. The networking is for gaming, not for surfing. The system is completely designed for 3d gaming. We're not doing a keyboard, mouse, browser or email package. Go get a pc!
Nextgame.it: Will Xbox be upgradable? That is, will you make "expansion" that will enhance the power of the console (not necessarily like the PC, where you can change the hard disk or the CPU, but something more like the MegaCD or the 32X for the good old Sega MegaDrive...)
J. ALLARD: "Upgrades" are very poorly adopted in the console space. Look at the graveyard - 64dd, 32x, segacd, Intellivision voice module, Colecovision adam, Playstation i/o port, .... the bottom line is that all of the systems need to be compatible, the majority of titles will just target the default configuration, and gamers want to spend their money on games! Nothing is planned in this space. We tried to make all of the hard tradeoffs early and put the really important stuff (like the hdd and network) in the system so that gamers didn't have to shell out more and developers could use it in all games
Nextgame.it: Are there other companies already developing special controllers for your console? Could you name any of these company? And, in any case, what sort of controllers do you expect to come out for the Xbox? Wheels, joysticks...
J. ALLARD: We'll announce this soon. Of course, 3rd parties are welcomed and encouraged to make peripherals for the system.
Nextgame.it: Finally, what is in your opinion the single element (not considering only the technical feature) that in your opinion will make a success of the X-Box?
J. ALLARD: THE GAMES, the games, the games. Our dream is to deliver a gaming experience which blows peoples' minds. At the core of the experience, is the game. The Xbox system simply amplifies the creative visions of the designers. The games make or break the success of Xbox. Fortunately, we have the best designers in the world cooking up amazing ideas...
Back to the First part...
So, let's hear directly from J the answers. And give a look to the detailed images of the console that you'll find in this second and last part of our interview!
Nextgame.it: Talking about the Hard Disk, what will be its functions? Swapping space for the "slow" DVD support? Video Editing? Download space for materials from the net? What else? Could you describe us the typical use of this feature of your console?
J. ALLARD: From a gamers point-of-view, it will serve as a mammoth memory card. From a developer's point-of-view, it serves as mammoth persistent storage. It will be as important an innovation to gaming as 3d was. It's so hard to say how games will use it, but a couple examples serve to illustrate the potential. Imagine games which have no "loading..." screens and simply stream data from the drive without having discreet levels. Imagine games which persist all of the changes to an environment - skids on a track, holes in walls, corpses in hallways, footprints in the sand, bruises on boxers, ... which are remembered across games - not just how many coins are collected! Imagine games with real interactive music and true-to-life, non-repetitive commentary. Imagine levels 20x the size of a typical console game. There's so much that can and will be done with the hard disk.
Nextgame.it: David Braben also suggested that the Hard Disk could be a way for virus to come in. What is you opinion about this topic?
J. ALLARD: Ditto that for memory cards. No different. Remember, Xbox, like other consoles is a closed system. Most viruses get into pc's via email or random websites visited by the user. Really the only way to get a "virus" per se into a box is malicious code in a shipping game. All consoles are equally as prone to attack. And, remember that there's no general purpose os in the background, the games are completely in control of the system. That means any bad code has to do it's damage from the game it was delivered on. If anything like that ever happens in the industry, you'd think the world would find out quickly and correct it. I think the dvd/Ridge Racer memory card corruption problem with the PS2 Japan launch is an example of this.
Nextgame.it: One of the main "fears" that people had for Xbox was that they thought that X-Box would feature mainly portings from PC games. With the recent announcement of the list of european and american developers that will make Xbox only title, you gave a strong sign that this fear won't be real. Could we ask what conviced those developers (and in particular a big name like Peter Molyneux) to support Xbox? Have they been shocked by the technical features of your system?
J. ALLARD: The games we're approving and developers we're working with understand the demographic we're shooting for and the sensibilities of console games. We don't want "ports" regardless of the source. We want great games that will showcase the potential of the Xbox.
Nextgame.it: Capcom and Konami have already announce support for Xbox. It's clear that you are trying to attack the three japanese giants (Sega, Nintendo and Sony) also on their territory... Could you tell us something about the titles these company will develop for X-Box? New versions of famous titles, or brand new series?
J. ALLARD: Each company is releasing information about their titles on their schedule. I know that Konami has announced Crash Bandicoot, Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid sequels for the system, but I don't think anything else is public. We're really excited by the support of the japanese developers both for their own region as well as worldwide appeal.
Nextgame.it: Square hasn't announced support for your console yet... But many people say that they will do it soon... Are you with the people (polite way to ask if they will officially announce support in the next months...)?
J. ALLARD: Can't comment on unannounced companies. We're big fans of Square's products and talent...
Nextgame.it: Of which one of your competitors in the console market are you afraid more among Sega, Sony and Nintendo and why? And why, in your opinion, their systems will lose against the Xbox?
J. ALLARD: We're not afraid. We're humbled by the massive challenge of launching such a huge effort, but we're not focused on the competition. We think we have the best designed system for gaming and a great lineup of games. The rest is execution. I think if you add up everything that these companies are doing collectively to what we plan, 2001 will be an awesome year for gaming.
Nextgame.it: Do you think that the X-Box will finally replace the PC as a gaming system, or will they remain separate things (from the point view of games)?
J. ALLARD: Never! PC games are fundamentally different from a design point and the pc is the "innovation engine" that evolves every year. Every generation of consoles spawns this debate and I don't believe it will ever happen. I believe hardcore sims, strategy and fps games will always be strong on the PC. I believe that hardcore rpg's will always be popular. Casual games are also quite popular. I don't think there's a ton of cross-over. I think the pc is a place for more cerebral and solitary gaming that takes advantage of the most cutting edge technology vs. console. More and more gamers are doing both. And that's good.
Nextgame.it: How many games is Microsoft developing internally for the Xbox? Will they only be available for its console, or are you considering to "port" them on PC too? Could you tell us something about the ones you think are more interesting?
J. ALLARD: We'll be talking more about our 1st party games in march of this year. So far, I think Oddworld and Halo are the only games we've announced. I'm super excited about them. There's over 20 in the works and I think 1 or 2 might be both Xbox and pc, the rest are strictly Xbox titles. Of course, Ed's team (n.d.Andrea: Ed Fries, VP MS Games) is still doing a lot of pc-only titles.
Nextgame.it: How much games do you plan to have available at the launch? What genres will they cover? Which one you will think will be the "killer application" of the system?
J. ALLARD: We haven't announced our complete lineup, and it's way too early to predict the winners. Suffice to say, I think there will be several "killer" games in the first couple of months. At launch, I'm targetting 12-20 titles on shelf and several new titles per week.
Nextgame.it: What could you tell us about the remote controller upgrade to watch DVD films with the Xbox? In what will it consist? It's more an hardware or a software upgrade? How much time after the console official launch do you plan to sell it and how much will it be?
J. ALLARD: Haven't announced plans. It will be a remote control and a small device to plug into the box. It will not be expensive.
Nextgame.it: Internet ready console, but without a browser... Will you make some sort of browser available for the Xbox? Some sort of e-mail software?
J. ALLARD: No. The networking is for gaming, not for surfing. The system is completely designed for 3d gaming. We're not doing a keyboard, mouse, browser or email package. Go get a pc!
Nextgame.it: Will Xbox be upgradable? That is, will you make "expansion" that will enhance the power of the console (not necessarily like the PC, where you can change the hard disk or the CPU, but something more like the MegaCD or the 32X for the good old Sega MegaDrive...)
J. ALLARD: "Upgrades" are very poorly adopted in the console space. Look at the graveyard - 64dd, 32x, segacd, Intellivision voice module, Colecovision adam, Playstation i/o port, .... the bottom line is that all of the systems need to be compatible, the majority of titles will just target the default configuration, and gamers want to spend their money on games! Nothing is planned in this space. We tried to make all of the hard tradeoffs early and put the really important stuff (like the hdd and network) in the system so that gamers didn't have to shell out more and developers could use it in all games
Nextgame.it: Are there other companies already developing special controllers for your console? Could you name any of these company? And, in any case, what sort of controllers do you expect to come out for the Xbox? Wheels, joysticks...
J. ALLARD: We'll announce this soon. Of course, 3rd parties are welcomed and encouraged to make peripherals for the system.
Nextgame.it: Finally, what is in your opinion the single element (not considering only the technical feature) that in your opinion will make a success of the X-Box?
J. ALLARD: THE GAMES, the games, the games. Our dream is to deliver a gaming experience which blows peoples' minds. At the core of the experience, is the game. The Xbox system simply amplifies the creative visions of the designers. The games make or break the success of Xbox. Fortunately, we have the best designers in the world cooking up amazing ideas...
Back to the First part...