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[HSDEMONZ]

First Details: Inside the Xbox 2 - Part 1
>> From teamxbox.com:

QUOTE

Both ATI and MS executives are absolutely refusing to answer questions on the Xbox successor, but that didn’t stop us in our mission to be the “Insider’s Choice for Xbox Information.” We’re proud to bring you today the very first info on the Xbox 2 GPU. Our highly placed source within the industry informed us that the graphic technology powering the Xbox successor is a derivative of the R500, the successor of the R420 to be unveiled later this year at Comdex. This graphic chip has been in design for longer than a year at ATI’s Marlborough, Mass. office and much like the Xbox’s nVIDIA GPU, the Xbox 2 graphic chip will also be a custom silicon that will have the R500 as its core technology. This graphic chip is aimed at the next version of the DirectX API, most probably called DirectX 10, which is already in development and simply code named: DirectX/LH. LH stands for Longhorn, the next major desktop Windows release, which will follow Windows XP.

Posted by:: XanTium
September 10 00:00 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

Rumor: IBM to Manufacture Xbox 2 CPU *updated*
>> From teamxbox.com: http://www.teamxbox.com/news.php?id=4929

QUOTE

An anonymous source informed us today that MS and IBM have signed a multi-million dollar agreement under which IBM Microelectronics will manufacture a next generation CPU for the Xbox 2. Work on the new processor has already started, but the deal was inked just a few days ago. We also don’t know if the chip will be manufactured using current 0.13 micron (a micron is a millionth of a meter) process technology or the upcoming 90nm fabrication process. At the moment we have no official confirmations about this information so take it for what it’s worth. A MS spokesman was unavailable for comment at the time of posting this story. We’ll certainly have more as things develop.

If IBM makes the chip, it probably also means the 'Xbox Next' won't be based on the x86 architecture.

Update: The article has been removed by TeamXbox (the website that released this news as first). Were they forced by MS to remove it?

Thanks to gamester17 for the news.
Posted by:: XanTium
October 1 15:35 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

An IBM processor? Unlikely?
>> From theinquirer.net: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=11996

QUOTE

THERE'S STILL SOME doubt about the future architecture of the Xbox console, but if ATI's involved, as it is, an IBM processor in there is unlikely. Nvidia's CFO reminded us a few days ago in a conference call that the current Xbox actually uses three key bits of semi technology – the CPU, a graphics chip and a chipset. ATI therefore stands to gain in a couple of ways from its recent agreement with MS. Whoever makes the graphic chip for MS, is likely to have a chunk of the mobo and chipset real estate too. But will the future Xbox 2 use an Intel or an AMD chipset? We know that there are special bonds chaining Intel to ATI, but this, we suspect is a marriage of convenience.

On the other side ... we received some anonymous sources confirming a deal was being closed between MS and IBM for the 'Xbox Next' CPU.
To be continued ...

Thanks to gamester17 for the newslink.
Posted by:: XanTium
October 8 14:43 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

Xbox 2/II/Next - What can we expect when it comes?
>> Gamester17 from XboxMediaPlayer(info)/XboxMediaCenter(info) wrote about his speculations, educated guesses, hopes and dreams for the Xbox2 (alias Xbox Next).

Check it out on the XBMC forums.http://www.xboxmediaplayer.de/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.pl?act=ST;f=11;t=146
Posted by:: XanTium
October 10 14:54 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

XBox 2, PS3 set for 2006 battle
>> From theinquirer.net: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12248

QUOTE

GAMES MAKER THQ has its nose to the grindstone readying games for the next generation of consoles heading for a high street battle in 2006, CEO Brian Farrell said. In a conference call to discuss THQ's latest quarterly results, Farrell said the company's Rainbow and Volition studios were already working on ideas for the consoles. "We still believe that the next generation will launch in 2006. That's our best guess as of today's date," Farrell said. But he added that he couldn't rule out an earlier launch date for either one, or both of the consoles. "We're certainly preparing in the event that there is a 2005 launch," he said. Having carved itself out a niche in the maket dominated by Sony, MS will live or die in the next round of the battle which has seen the Vole squeeze into Nintendo's shoes as the number two contender, Sega having given up the hardware ghost some time ago. The big two are likely to go head to head within weeks of each other, in a battle for the hearts and minds of nimble-thumbed youngsters everywhere.

Posted by:: XanTium
October 21 15:46 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

Where is ATi's Radeon 9100 IGP chipset?
>> From theinquirer.net: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12204

QUOTE

IT SEEMS ATi's Radeon 9100 integrated chipset has been just around the corner for well over a month, yet there is still no word about its availability. MSI has shown at least one, as our friends at UK gamer tested it, but the boards are still not in the channel and, as far as we are aware, there are no shops you can buy them at. Shuttle should introduce its XPC system based on this chipset as soon as it is ready and we remember that ATI told us that it will ship some of these machines with TV tuner and new Windows Media Centre Edition 2004. But where are they? We also know that ColorPower will have this board but there is still no information about them and even big boys such as Asus haven't yet introduced them and don’t have them in retail - at least not in Europe - and we haven't read anything about its availability on the Interweb. We reckon that these machines will be ready soon, but how soon we have no idea. It's sure not so easy to make a Southbridge as ATI as well as Nvidia have learned. But still they need some practice for Xbox 2 chipset, don't they? Gates wants this Xbox 2 to be killer stuff and ATI's chipset to glow. If he dreams not of Linux, maybe Sony stirs his unconscious meanderings.

Thanks to Gamester17 (XBMP/XBMC) for the link.
Posted by:: XanTium
October 24 14:25 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

IBM to power Xbox Next *updated*
>> It was a rumor some weeks ago (http://www.teamxbox.com/news.php?id=4929) ... and now it's confirmed.
From gamesindustry.biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page....me=dev&aid=2493

QUOTE

MS has signed up IBM to manufacture chips for the "future" generations of its Xbox console. According to a statement offered by both companies, MS has "licensed leading-edge processor technology from IBM for use in future Xbox products and services to be announced at a later date". That's the same language used in the statement announcing MS's deal with ATI to use the graphics specialist's GPUs in future Xbox systems. It is widely believed that that announcement referred to Xbox 2, so it's a good bet that the IBM announcement does too. But which chips will IBM provide? The implication is that we're talking PowerPC processors. That seems unlikely given the current Xbox's foundation on x86 PC technology, but rumours have circulated of a compatibility break between the two generations of the console. If accurate, it's a bizarre move for MS to make, particularly since backward compatibility surely helped Sony sell Playstation 2.

Read more about it:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page....me=dev&aid=2493
http://www.teamxbox.com/news.php?id=5075
http://games.slashdot.org/games/03/11/03/1...7.shtml?tid=211


Posted by:: XanTium
November 3 15:53 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

SiS to ship Xbox Next I/O chips
>> From digitimes.com: http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Article....ages=PR&seq=205

QUOTE

Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) announced that it has entered an agreement with MS to supply media input/output (I/O) chips for use in future Xbox products and services, according to a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) today. “We’re integrating SiS’ cutting edge, media I/O technologies into future products to create innovative Xbox products and services that serve the digital entertainment lifestyle,” said Todd Holmdahl, general manager of Xbox Hardware at MS. Both companies declined to detail the availability of the chips or the approximate launch of the next-generation Xbox game consoles.

Thanks to StaTiK for the link.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 4 11:53 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

IBM accidentally spills more beans about Xbox chip
>> From theinquirer.net: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12476

QUOTE

BIG BLUE'S Micro division is pleased as punch about MS using one of its designs in a future Xbox. So pleased that when a spinner sent us a press release he outlined details of all sorts of stuff that isn't in the document. It confirms our position as undisputed leader in providing advanced chip technology for the gaming industry. We make the CPUs for Nintendo's GameCube systems. We are shipping in volume the GeForce FX advanced graphics processor for NVIDIA, the premier supplier of graphics chips for the gaming industry. We are working with Sony Computer Entertainment to develop the processor for its PlayStation3 system. And now we've won the next-generation Xbox. It may be a cliché, but this is an "IBM Team" effort. Many of our major operations will be involved in the project, including -- Rochester, Minn. for design, our Austin, Tx. Advanced Microprocessor Development Center and Raleigh, N.C. Technology Park for development, East Fishkill, N.Y. for manufacturing and packaging, and Burlington, Vt. for mask and test work. It exemplifies the type of business that we're starting to win -- deals that use the full capabilities of IBM's many resources.

Read the whole article/press release on theinquirer.net.
Thanks to Gamester17 link the link.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 4 16:33 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

More about Xbox Next's IBM CPU
>> After the press release that IBM will make the Xbox Next (alias Xbox2) CPU, Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,61065,00.html) thinks IBM will use a PowerPC (cpu used in Apple computers).

QUOTE

MS's next-generation Xbox will ditch its Intel chip in favor of the same kind of chip used in Apple's Macs -- an IBM PowerPC processor -- IBM and MS announced on Monday. In a cryptic press release (http://www.ibm.com/news/us/2003/11/031.html) issued on Monday, IBM announced MS's intention to use an IBM chip in the next-generation Xbox, which is expected to debut in early 2005. The release studiously avoids naming the chip architecture, referring only to "IBM's family of state-of-the-art processors." However, IBM spokesman Scott Brooks said IBM's "family of processors" are all PowerPCs. He declined to name the architecture specifically, saying IBM had promised MS it would not do so. A spokeswoman for MS, which also issued a release (http://www.MS.com/presspass/press/2003/nov03/11-03XboxIBMPR.asp), declined to elaborate. "It's quite simple," she said. "It's an announcement of a technology agreement. There's not much more to be said."

Read the whole article on wired.com.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 4 19:22 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

MS/IBM may still use x86 in Xbox2 ?
>> Yesterday wired.com (http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,61065,00.html) launched the idea that as MS chose IBM to make the CPU for the 'Xbox Next' chances were high it would be a cpu based on the PowerPC 970 (similar to the G5 processor that powers Apple's developed jointly by IBM, Apple and Motorola).

More articles came out today with other possibilities.
From newsfactor.com: http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/22622.html

QUOTE

Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds questioned whether the IBM supplied chip would be PowerPC architecture. Much of the Xbox software is based on Windows code, he said. "If MS goes away from an x86 processor, they're going to have to maintain a separate code base, and that just doesn't make any sense," he told NewsFactor. The IBM Xbox processor actually might be an x86 processor, he said. "IBM could get that license from AMD," he pointed out. "We know that IBM and AMD have a relationship, so it's possible that IBM could build the AMD architecture and deliver it in the Xbox package." As a possible alternative, IBM may have an opportunity to integrate the functions performed by more than one of the Xbox's chips into a single chip, providing significant cost cutting, Reynolds said. IBM will not actually need to rewrite the code for a PowerPC chip, but merely recompile it, Aberdeen analyst Russ Craig said. "My guess is that there's probably a fairly easy switch." Craig speculated that IBM will supply MS with the same processor it supplies to Nintendo, which is the PowerPC. Additionally, since IBM is developing an ultra-fast processor for Sony's Playstation, "it could be that IBM has done some tweaks to an architecture that may be better for game machines than a Pentium." To ensure backward compatibility, MS reportedly will use the Virtual PC technology it acquired from Connectix last year, although using Virtual PC technology would be a performance detriment, Reynolds said.

Read more about it on newsfactor.com and also check out the article on theregister.co.uk (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/33741.html)
Thanks to Gamester17 for the links/news.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 5 17:59 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

Xbox2 vies with PS3 technology ?
>> Another story about which CPU IBM will make for the Xbox2 ... they open a new possibility here though ... Xbox2 might aswell use the cell CPU IBM, Toshiba and Sony are currently developing for the Playstation3. Sony wouldn't be happy ... but can they do something about it?

From TheInquirer.net: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12523

QUOTE

The most curious thing about the choice of IBM is that the firm is already producing processors for Nintendo and is designing the next generation of 'Cell' processors for the Playstation 3. So IBM effectively knows what all of the key players are up to, something that might not sit comfortably with the CEOs of the three main console firms. The Real Threat The biggest firm in console gaming by far is Sony with its Playstation 2. The juiciest leaks that have appeared about the Cell processor put that architecture a country mile ahead of any other mainstream processor performance wise. It looks likely to offer capabilities that will be well beyond the AMD64 and PowerPC variants when it is released, even taking into account the latter processors improving considerably over the next couple of years. That leaves MS with a big problem. If it chooses PowerPC or AMD64, it might end up trying to sell an Xbox 2 that at best offers only half the performance of the Playstation 3. A far from appetising thought. But then you need to think about just why IBM and Toshiba are involved with the Cell processor in the first place. Both firms are aiming to use it in high-power multiprocessor systems. In theory at least, both firms could supply Cell processor systems to whichever companies they liked. So then you end up with the last major possibility, that MS could well have chosen IBM to manufacture processors for the Xbox 2 because it has somehow persuaded the firm to supply Cell processors for the new system. There're no two ways around it, Sony would be livid if that was the case but it would also be stuck. MS has more than enough money to step into the breach if Sony decided to walk away from dealing with IBM over that happening. That's something Sony couldn't afford to allow because it would mean the firm scrabbling around trying to find a replacement architecture and Xbox 2 getting the Cell technology all to itself, with all that entails.

For more information go read the whole article on TheInquirer.net (with more details about the AMD64 and PowerPC option ... that was already on the news here earlier).
Posted by:: XanTium
November 6 23:42 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

Will Xbox2 Run Xbox Games ?
>> From totalvideogames.com: http://www.totalvideogames.com/?section=Re...8&format=000005

QUOTE

Speaking to a German magazine, Robbie Bach, Senior Vice-President MS Game Division, confirmed that the company has yet to decide whether the Xbox2 will run Xbox games. Other details revealed by Bach confirmed that IBM have been enlisted to design the main CPU, although he believes the Xbox still has 2-3 years before we’ll see the new machine.

Posted by:: XanTium
November 7 23:08 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

Petition: Make Xbox2 backwards compatible
>> From http://www.petitiononline.com/xbox2/petition.html:

QUOTE

MS Xbox Hardware Development (www.xbox.com) has yet to decide if they are going to make the Xbox2 backwards compatible with existing Xbox games for the Xbox(1), this petition is a request to MS to make the next Xbox play the Xbox games of today. We urge you, existing and future Xbox owners, please sign this petition, hopefully MS will listen and hear the public demand and make the Xbox2 backwards compatible

More Info/Sign Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/xbox2/petition.html.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 10 17:06 GMT+1

[HSDEMONZ]

MS turns to technology licensing for Xbox Next
>> From gamesindustry.biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page....me=dev&aid=2534

QUOTE

Recent agreements signed by MS with a variety of companies to supply technology for the successor to Xbox reveal that the company is switching to the manufacturing model preferred by its rivals. Rather than buying devices which are effectively PC components from manufacturers, MS's next generation plan revolves around licensing technology designs from key suppliers such as ATI, IBM and SIS Technologies, and then arranging for the manufacture of these chipsets itself - effectively becoming a full-scale chip maker, albeit one without a fabrication plant of its own. This new approach means that rather than selling components to MS, as NVIDIA and Intel do, ATI and IBM will be receiving royalties for the use of their technology - but MS will have ultimate control over the manufacturing and final use of that technology, effectively giving the company far more control over its own platform, and the ability to make significant cost savings on manufacture. Another benefit for MS is that this form of technology licensing will make the Xenon platform into a far more proprietary system than the Xbox, thus making it far less likely that people will be able to hack the system to run PC software. This has been a major problem for the Xbox to date - the inclusion of PC components in the box was a red flag to a bull as far as software hackers were concerned, and it's thought that many Xboxen are now used as home media centres and emulators rather than as games consoles as a result. Although this will probably deter the hackers to some degree, and the business and manufacturing model open to MS will almost certainly save it significant amounts of money (with actual physical manufacture of the chips likely to be outsourced either to the Far East or back to IBM itself), it has its drawbacks. The company touted the Xbox as the easiest platform of its generation to develop on because it was so similar to the PC; this will not necessarily hold true for Xenon, which won't be based on an x86 architecture like the Xbox and the PC. Making life tougher for the hackers may also make it tougher for legitimate developers - and there are also major question marks over how this console will manage to maintain backwards compatibility and play Xbox games, with rumours abounding that MS has approached emulation specialists Connectix with a view to solving this thorny issue.

Read the full article on gamesindustry.biz.
Posted by:: XanTium
November 10 17:46 GMT+1