Quick question, Mr Hoglund: Have you ever owned an Original XBOX?
Preferably while it was being built and marketed, say circa 2002.
You ever hear of KODI? It started out as XBMC: XBOX Media Center App.
Or maybe the XBOX Media center Extender kit?
I suspect not.
See, the Original XBOX was a PC.
INTEL CELERON PROCESSOR, NVIDIA graphics coprocessor. Built-in hard drive.
DVD Drive. Built in ethernet port. FullHD graphics support. Today those are expected features. Back then the only gaming boxes that had those were XBOX and PC. Because the XBOX was a PC. Locked down true, but an entry level gaming PC nonetheless.
But it was a PC using standard PC components and, most important, its primary software development platform was DirectX on a stripped down version of Windows. In fact, when he saw, the XBOX prototype Bill Gates First Qurxtion was whether it could run OFFICE. It could. In fact, the primary use for hacked "jail broken" OG XBOXes was to run full Windows and/or LINUX. Long story there.
Many things have changed since those days but XBOX remains an entry level, locked-down DirectX gaming box. Hence XBOX.
The hardware has changed with each generation but today's XBOX still plays OG XBOX and 360 games. With enhancements from the newer hardware. Just like PCs. You change the hardware but keep the bulk of your games.
That too MS did first and best.
As they say, does that forget the past are doomed...to something or other.
If PCs continue to rise in market importance (which they will: you ain't seen nothing yet) it will have no negative impact on XBOX owners. Because not only will they get to take their existing games to the next generation (Windows compatible) hardware, but they will almost certainly get access to the new games (forward compatibility is promised). XBOX is already a subset of PC gaming and whatever the new hardware looks lie it will almost certainly remain so.
Because unlike the console obsessed XBOX owners are not, barring a few loud historically challenged fanboys, hardware fetishists. XBOX has gone from Intel+NVIDIA to PowerPC+AMD to AMD CPU/GPUs for two generations and throughout it all the games remain mostly playable. And the XBOX has historically drawn the vast majority of its library from PC game publishers. In fact, many of today's biggest console publishers entered the living room market via XBOX. Not Sony, not Sega, not Nintendo. XBOX. History is easily forgotten.
Not to be forgotten, Microsoft owns XBOX but they also own Windows. They make money off both and they have long done day and date for both segments, just as they have always done multiplatform third party style releases. In fact, their fondest dream since the first Xbox hss alszys been to unify software development for both sectors. Easier said than done because steering developers is way harder than herding cats.
But market economics are pushing developers and publishers just where MS wants them. And everybody from gamers to developers will benefit.
PC gaming isn't rising; its taking over, whether via full Windows or sub-set like SteamOS and the previously hidden XBOX OS. Game development is too hard, expensive, and competitive, too survive off locked-down boxes any more. It needs economies of scale only found on the PC variants.
Celebrate. The best is yet to be.
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