Read the Miyamoto interview in full right here!

Im not an expert on the specifics of it nor woudl i claim to be but the way i had read about it is that its basically like a high end custom pc designed just for graphics, like if you buy a computer from SGI. The board that conects all the parts was specially designed to work best with all the specifics parts, it doesnt have any of the bottle necks and errors that would be more of a problem when tryign to make a one size fits all pc part. Also just because it uses the same procesor as a pc isn't necesarily a knock against it, it just bugs me that people just throw that phrase around like its a bad thing. "oh its just a pc in a box" so what, what if it is, its the strongest system out there and it is incredibly easy to develop for, unliek the ps2 which everyoen complained about when it first came out caus of the wrid way the architecture is set up. remember those first few games that wheren't even anti-aliased caused they couldnt do it without slowng the whoel thing down. Seems to me liek it was a fantastic idea shoving pc parts in a smaller box. somebody tell me the down side to their strategy cause if there is one i dont know about it. and no the fact that its kinda big doenst count as a negative to me, i dont live in a closet in japan so i dont mind the extra inch of console on my shelf.
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But if you compare the Xbox PC architecture to the Gamecube's PowerPC they must be nearly comparable in terms of multimedia performance. You can almost recompile for Xbox rather than have to wrestle with the Emotion Engine - it is much easier to develop for.

I just think that Mircosoft are lazy bunging a PC in a box. Their next generation Xbox, based on PowerPC, should be much better.

We can all predict what Microsoft and Sony will come up with, the interesting thing is quite what Nintendo will do with Revolution...

This article is very interesting, and informative.

BTW, I'm not a Xbox hater; I own one and love it (mainly due to reasons mentioned in the above article).

It'll just be another PC in a box. A newer PC in a box, sure. But a PC in a box all the same...

Well, it actually looks like it will be GameCube in a box:

CPU - IBM
GPU - ATi

;-)

thats what i'm saying. i dont understand how people thinsk its lazy of them to make a pc in a box. probably saved alot of money on development. and the parts for it are goign to be mass produced for pc's as well so that makes the purchase price for ms cheaper in the long run than if they where xbox specific chips. I just don't see the down side of a pc in a box, especially since its the best sytem going at the moment. I'm actully suprised sony arent following suit with the ps3 since they have the same "all-in-one media center" vision for there consoles as ms does.
As for the fact that it is easy to get pc soft ware to run on it doesnt seem like a knock against it either, im sure alot of xboxs have been sold specifically to uses as media center pcs. im sure it is possible to get make a web browser for the game cube and ps2 also, it woudl just be more difficult cause it is a different platform. All the resources are there. hell the ps2 has usb ports on the front so you can use a mouse and keyboard.

anyway, fine xbox is just a pc in a box... what i want to know is... so what? why is this bad? i asked that in my last post and still havent gotten a good reason. its just a talking point, and it was used as a jab at m$ which to me doesn't make sense.
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I agree it's a nonsense to ridicule a console on the basis of it combining PC parts (LAN Card, IDE HD) to a PC motherboard (Intel Celeron, DDR Memory, IDE Controller, Ethernet Controller), because - as we all know - it's all about bigotry... ... I mean enjoyment ;-)

I really don't expect the XB2 to be quite so blatantly dependent on current PC technology, but really all we can do is speculate on the final product.

I actually hope it will be (and backward compatible), because the XBOX mod scene is the most exciting thing to happen to consoles ever - unless you only care about "professional" games, with plumbers and ocarina wielding elves ;-)

Lupos, check your gaming history before you put your foot in your mouth. It was Nintendo that produced the first analogue pad with N64, and Mario 64 was the first game to be use it.

Sega's answer to this was Nights on the Saturn and their own analogue pad to try steal Mario 64's successful thunder. This is more or less the only reason Nights ever existed in the first place.

"Analog "thumb-sticks" have appeared on the latest generations of console controllers, beginning with the Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, and Sony PlayStation. The thumb-operated analog stick allows for fine control within the game which would be impossible to achieve by digital means only."

That quote is taken from below, follow link for a history lesson.
http://archive.gamespy.com/hardware/june02/sticks1/


Despite loving or hating Xbox, it is a pc in a box. A PC you can mod, you can too with Xbox. Xbox has a hard drive just like a PC. Xbox is even large like a PC and gives you online gaming updates and patches, just like a PC.

Some of you might ask why is Xbox being like a PC so bad? It's great from a gamers perspective and I'm all for freedom of modding you machines, just like you would your PC. The problem is MS, and because Xbox is THEIR baby, they don't want you cracking it open and making improvements, that they would normally not bat an eyelid to, were Xbox a normal PC. Talk about double standard, and instead of encouraging this freedom of creativity by the same fans that helped them to not only design Xbox and pads, but also helped them two number spot, MS turn round and kick you in the teeth. Nice.

The final nail in the coffin of the XBox/PCbox arguement is that just like the PC, piracy is also rife on Xbox (so much for playing DVD movies, eh? Now MS and Sony are feeling the other side of he double edged DVD sword), to the point it's hurting MS's arse. However as I've said before, this piracy problem is MS's own fault. Piracy has been a problem on PCs for years, but they leave Xbox more open than a lady of the nights' legs. You can never convince me that MS never thought of this, after the several attacks and piracy Windows OS has had in many years on the PC. As a result the likes of Valve, Rockstar, Bungie etc are hurting bad. Perhaps their greed blinded them, while rushing Xbox to the market.

Looks like a pc in a box and acts like one, it's a pc in a box, just more like the bare bones of one, but for gaming.

Agreed. Piracy on the Xbox is so easy, and once modded with a huge PC hard drive in it, all you have to do is hire a game and copy it to the HD. For the modders, it takes enormous self-restraint not to do this, nor participate in the whole DC++/ BitTorrent method of piracy.

I must admit, I used to download games in order to "try before you buy", but it was obvious I wasn't helping the situation, as I was contributing to the spread of Pirated software.



Yes, in having, essentially, an nVidia motherboard with a simple BIOS ROM as it's means of protection (BIOS ROMS are easy to flash), it's incredulous that they thought it was safe from hackers.

I still love my XBox (not M$) though ;-)

Nights released 8-21-96

N64 released in the US in sptember

...but the 64 came out in japan in june so you are indeed correct, but being 16 and living in the states i was not as well informed of what was going on in japan as i could have been.

me = pwned , you rule, be proud. way to correct a comment i made three posts ago that is complelty unreleated to what we are talkign about now, thats big of you, mmmmm my foot is soooooooo tasty!

anyway...

so the only reason for complaint anyone can come up with for the xbox being a pc is that its easy for you to get free games for it... uh... guys... i dont know that i would call that a bad thing, especially considering alot of the peopel who bought and modded xbox's never woudl have bothered to buy the system if they would have had to pay for the games. i know at least one person where this is true. so its not really a lost software sale as it is a gained hardware sale (down side for ms is they count on games sales to make up for the fact that they under charge for the system to begin with.) now seeing as i above admitted my error in the xbox being pc question i will try one final time to further my main point... from the perspective of the consumer (i.e. the guys on here who call the xbox a pc as an insult) what is the down side of the xbox being a pc? it is looked down on by alot of people for it and i dont think it has had any adverse affect on the quality of the system or the games.
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sheesh 3 posts ago Joji man, why you bringing up old s**t ? LOL

Xbox is just a PC - I will keep repeating - technically it is a PC in terms of hardware. Christ, it even runs the Windows 2000 kernel!

To Rod Todd: the next Xbox will probably be a Mac. PowerPC processors are most widely used in Macs. The GC's PowerPC processor was customised with extra instructions for Nintendo to use. Generic code compiled for some G3 Mac processors will run on the Cube too - hence the Linux on Cube project. However, the hardware supporting the processor in the Cube is, as far as I'm aware, fairly non-standard. Even the graphics card is not typicall ATi (I believe that it was developed by another company before being passed to ATi as the result of a take-over although I can't confirm that). Microsoft used almost "off-the-shelf" components for the Box.

Problems of using the PC x86 architecture:
* It's not optimised for gaming. Designing new processors or modifying them for gaming allowed them to perform optimally.
* As much as we love it, the PC uses old technology. Surely it's best to develop new technology that can encorage innovation?
* It makes developers lazy. It's so easy to develop for Xbox that developers could be encoraged to just recompile existing and not that great games for Xbox.

fine if you want to point out the error, but the foot in mouth thing was unnecesary, and from where i was standing, in america, i was not wrong as far as i knew, my bad nintendo wins by a month, ok thats, good thanks for the correction, there was no need for the snide comment attatched to it.

"Problems of using the PC x86 architecture:
* It's not optimised for gaming. Designing new processors or modifying them for gaming allowed them to perform optimally.
* As much as we love it, the PC uses old technology. Surely it's best to develop new technology that can encorage innovation?
* It makes developers lazy. It's so easy to develop for Xbox that developers could be encoraged to just recompile existing and not that great games for Xbox."

THANK YOU!

1) no its not optimized for gamming but it was a much faster cpu than the others had whch made up for the difference(it is still the most powerfull sytem going), ms probably (and this is just my assumption) thought that it woudl be cheaper to pay a little bit more for each systems parts than it would have been to have developed an entirly new system. save on R&D
2)i agree fully, good point. in the long wrong the xbox's design hasnt really dont anything to aid the progress of console development or technology in general.
3) while this is theoretically true it hasnt really been the case, the ps2 has seen just as many pc converts as the xbox has so its similar architecture didn't really lead to an over abundunce of pc games. However this is due mainly in part to micirosfts policy of keeping the xbox from seeming like a pc because that was one of the early concerns.

thanks again for furthering the conversation
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I must admit that M$ has done an excellent job in this respect. They have managed to filter out a lot of the rubbish that should have populated Xbox.