“It appears that Microsoft, which launched Xbox in late 2001 after Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s GameCube consoles, will be the first company to unleash its next-generation home console. The tentatively codenamed ‘Xbox 2,’ set to receive a name revision before its release because Microsoft doesn’t want consumers to assume it’s inferior to PlayStation 3 based on end numerals, hasn’t yet been given an official release date. But just because Microsoft isn’t yet talking doesn’t mean developers working on early ‘Xbox 2’ development setups are so keen to keep quiet,” IGN reports.
“The ‘Xbox 2’ will use PowerPC based architecture similar to the chipset powering Apple’s G5 computers. That being the case, Microsoft’s early ‘Xbox 2’ development kits have been little more than modified Apple G5 systems pre-packed with ‘Xbox 2’ emulation software. ‘I heard [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs found it pretty ironic and funny that Microsoft has been shipping Apple systems to developers,’ one studio source joked to IGN on the subject,” IGN reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft must really be serious about the gaming market if they’re actually willing to use superior hardware with powerful CPUs for a change.
