how bill gates was persuaded to make the Xbox

[JohnB]

This is a great and long article for those who want to know how Microsoft began with the Xbox:
http://www.redherring.com/insider/2002/0411/2270-5.html

[Hugh_Jass]

Check it out! You can buy a book on the topic at Amazon:

Opening the Xbox : Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761537082/qid=1018640534/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_3_2/102-5296963-7322533)



Book Description

The video game industry is expected to double in sales over the next five years. It has already eclipsed motion pictures to become one of the largest and fastest growing markets in history and a lamplight illuminating where the future of entertainment is headed. In an effort to grab a chunk of that market, Microsoft, an absolute newcomer to the gaming industry, has put billions of dollars on the line in a gamble to build the fastest, most mature, and most advanced video game console ever: the Xbox. Is this new Microsoft venture just another experiment that, like WebTV, was launched to much fanfare but will be quickly forgotten? Or, will it become the next Windows, finding its way into the homes and lives of millions of people around the world?

In Opening the Xbox, award-winning journalist and gaming-industry expert Dean Takahashi guides you deep into the amazing story of this much-anticipated game console. Through exclusive interviews with top executives at Microsoft, exhaustive research, and a penetrating investigation, he unveils the tumultuous story behind the development of the project and how it could change the entertainment industry forever. Inside, you’ll discover that what started as Project Midway, spearheaded by Jonathan “Seamus” Blackley and three of his renegade cohorts, turned into Xbox—a multibillion-dollar enterprise that become Microsoft’s largest internal startup ever and a personal pet project of Bill Gates’s. The colorful infighting, the cutthroat tactics used to lure partners, and the race to vanquish bitter rivals Sony and Nintendo are all laid bare in this unvarnished, high-tech drama. It’s a story like no other, full of heroes and villains, plot twists and intrigue—all before the backdrop of Microsoft’s grand ambition to move from the office into the living room.

If you’re like the millions of gamers, investors, and business spectators who anxiously anticipated the Xbox, then you don’t want to miss the explosive, exclusive, behind-the-scenes story in Opening the Xbox.

From the Back Cover
“I had not thought it possible to write an entire book on a single game console. Takahashi has done it and done it well. Opening the Xbox is constantly interesting and very personable. It’s also a book that should ruffle a few egos, including my own.”
—Steven L. Kent, author of The Ultimate History of Video Games

[l Maximus l]

Wow, very cool article...and, man, Hugh_Jass! Nice find on that book, too! :)

[Kraft]

Originally posted by Hugh_Jass
...all before the backdrop of Microsoft’s grand ambition to move from the office into the living room.

I don't see why Microsoft is having so much trouble with this. It only takes me about 3 seconds to move from my office to my living room.

*walks back and forth a few times to prove his point*
*laughs at his own humor*
*notices noone else is laughing*
*sighs*
*wanders off into the darkness*