Quote:
Despite slashing forecasts for Xbox sales, Microsoft said Tuesday
the video-game console will do well against competitors as the
company makes a major push in online gaming. Nearly every Xbox
game will eventually let players compete online, says Robbie
Bach, senior VP of Microsoft's game division. "Just like in the
last video cycle, you had to move from 2-D graphics to 3-D
graphics, we think people will move from no online support to
online support being a requirement for everything but a very few
games," Bach says.
Microsoft plans to be in the forefront in building games with
online support and selling services for those games, as well as
helping third-party game developers add similar capabilities.
Microsoft and competitor Sony Corp., which makes PlayStation,
plan to launch gaming networks by the end of the year.
Capabilities initially will include online tournaments and
real-time chat, eventually adding music and movies to the
consoles.
Last week, Microsoft cut forecasts for sales this fiscal year
ending June 30 to 3.5 million to 4 million consoles, from 4.5
million to 6 million. But it projects the number of consoles sold
will increase to between 9 million and 11 million worldwide by
the end of fiscal 2003. While Microsoft, a newcomer to video
games, expects steady progress against Sony and Nintendo Co.'s
GameCube next year, it believes it will take five years to become
a dominant player. Says Bach, "This is not the type of thing that
will happen overnight." - Antone Gonsalves
