Xbox
Microsoft first introduced the Xbox on November 15, 2001. This was Microsoft’s first entry into the gaming arena after having trying to incorporate the CE windows operating system into the Sega Dreamcast system.
Everyone knows that Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and when he sets his mind and his massive financial muscle to new software or hardware it is sure to be the best.
The Xbox has drawn literally hundreds of thousands of fans with titles such as Halo, Dead or Alive three and the ever-popular sports titles such as the Madden football series.
One of the amazing features of the Xbox is the fact it is built around computer hardware that currently exists. Did you know for instance that the processor speed in the Xbox is clocked at over seven hundred megahertz and that it comes with sixty-four megabytes of random access memory and a 10/100 Ethernet card?
A primary goal of the Xbox was to capitalize on the growing number of online gamers. This is a key reason for including a broadband card already built in. Microsoft has been offering subscription services for its Xbox owners that will allow multiple people to play a game either as a team or against each other. It is Microsoft’s goal not only to bring the Xbox to the masses but also to gain another valuable revenue stream by providing monthly services with their Xbox live subscription based service.
One of the downsides of the Xbox games live service is that it is only compatible with a broadband connection - meaning no one on dialup can participate. Even with this limitation, Microsoft claims that as of late 2004 they have signed up over one million users. This fact raises the eyebrows of some people in the gaming industry as public filings show the Xbox division of Microsoft has not made a profit in the first three years of operation. Microsoft tried in vain to add additional features such as music and the ability to play DVD’s. However, it seems the big brass at MS had reconsidered as they will be releasing an Xbox replacement for Christmas in 2005.
Everyone knows that Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and when he sets his mind and his massive financial muscle to new software or hardware it is sure to be the best.
The Xbox has drawn literally hundreds of thousands of fans with titles such as Halo, Dead or Alive three and the ever-popular sports titles such as the Madden football series.
One of the amazing features of the Xbox is the fact it is built around computer hardware that currently exists. Did you know for instance that the processor speed in the Xbox is clocked at over seven hundred megahertz and that it comes with sixty-four megabytes of random access memory and a 10/100 Ethernet card?
A primary goal of the Xbox was to capitalize on the growing number of online gamers. This is a key reason for including a broadband card already built in. Microsoft has been offering subscription services for its Xbox owners that will allow multiple people to play a game either as a team or against each other. It is Microsoft’s goal not only to bring the Xbox to the masses but also to gain another valuable revenue stream by providing monthly services with their Xbox live subscription based service.
One of the downsides of the Xbox games live service is that it is only compatible with a broadband connection - meaning no one on dialup can participate. Even with this limitation, Microsoft claims that as of late 2004 they have signed up over one million users. This fact raises the eyebrows of some people in the gaming industry as public filings show the Xbox division of Microsoft has not made a profit in the first three years of operation. Microsoft tried in vain to add additional features such as music and the ability to play DVD’s. However, it seems the big brass at MS had reconsidered as they will be releasing an Xbox replacement for Christmas in 2005.
Video games
The Granddaddy of the first videogame was Pong. Pong was developed by a gentleman named William Higinbotham while working for a US nuclear lab in NY. Pong was a simple tennis game controlled by two dials. Come on - we all played Pong at least once! Called Tennis for Two by the creators, Pong debuted in 1958 a Brookhaven gymnasium. The outright fun of the game and the curiosity factor helped start the video game industry.
The second Major development in Video gaming came when in 1961 a group of students from M.I.T. developed a game called spacewar. The group went on to develop spacewars into the first interactive video game. Who remembers the game Space Invaders? You know - the game where you shoot the downward moving aliens. Well, do you know it was based on Spacewars? Spacewars was a huge hit with the faculty at colleges and universities around the country. These universities used a little know technology to transfer and share the program called ARPAnet, which would soon be referred to as the Internet. No one could have envisions 40s years laters video games such as Xbox and Playstation 2 would be in the majority of livings rooms in the United States.
The major downside of the Spacewars game was that it took a computer the size of a large refrigerator and a cost of over one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to run it. This would change over the next decade as prices on hardware reduced substantially.
Pong would again later in history play a major part in the adoption of video games and consoles when in 1974 when Atari employees Harold Lee and Bob Brown come up with the idea of a home based system for pong. The idea took a while to sell but in 1975 they finally convinced Sears to purchase one hundred and fifty thousand units. The Pong game and control panel is labeled under the Sears “telegames” label and is a massive success. The video game was finally in the consumers’ hands and it could be easily hooked up to any current day television with ease.
Today popular video games include Xbox and playstation 2. Video gaming sales have surpassed one billion in sales, we can’t wait to see what the next ten years hold.
The second Major development in Video gaming came when in 1961 a group of students from M.I.T. developed a game called spacewar. The group went on to develop spacewars into the first interactive video game. Who remembers the game Space Invaders? You know - the game where you shoot the downward moving aliens. Well, do you know it was based on Spacewars? Spacewars was a huge hit with the faculty at colleges and universities around the country. These universities used a little know technology to transfer and share the program called ARPAnet, which would soon be referred to as the Internet. No one could have envisions 40s years laters video games such as Xbox and Playstation 2 would be in the majority of livings rooms in the United States.
The major downside of the Spacewars game was that it took a computer the size of a large refrigerator and a cost of over one hundred and twenty thousand dollars to run it. This would change over the next decade as prices on hardware reduced substantially.
Pong would again later in history play a major part in the adoption of video games and consoles when in 1974 when Atari employees Harold Lee and Bob Brown come up with the idea of a home based system for pong. The idea took a while to sell but in 1975 they finally convinced Sears to purchase one hundred and fifty thousand units. The Pong game and control panel is labeled under the Sears “telegames” label and is a massive success. The video game was finally in the consumers’ hands and it could be easily hooked up to any current day television with ease.
Today popular video games include Xbox and playstation 2. Video gaming sales have surpassed one billion in sales, we can’t wait to see what the next ten years hold.
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