“The nifty clips of video games supporting Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 console are running on Apple machines, Microsoft confirmed on Friday,” Richard Shim reports for CNET News. “‘We purchased a number of Apple G5’s because very specific hardware components of the G5 allow developers to emulate some of the technology behind future Xbox products and services,’ an official Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. ‘This is an interim development tool that will be replaced with a more powerful and comprehensive solution later.’
“The new console from Microsoft is based on a similar IBM PowerPC architecture used in Apple computers–the Xbox 360 uses three 3.2GHz symmetrical cores, according to the company. Apple has been using PowerPC chips since 1994 and Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has said the company is happy with IBM’s PowerPC family of chips,” Shim reports. “Microsoft recently switched processors from an Intel chip used in the first Xbox console to a custom Xbox processor based on Big Blue’s Power technology in its new Xbox 360.”
Full article here.
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anon: Sculley wasn’t at Apple when the original 128 Macs were rolled out. Your “facts” are lacking.
Anon,
The XBox 360 runs on ONE PROCESSOR with THREE CORES that can run TWO THREADS EACH.
As for speed, the XBox will be good, but the RAM is 512. Try running Photoshop in 512 megs.
As for the Macs that Microsoft has seeded to developers running an old PowerPC version of NT to develop the games, how many of those developers have set them up to dual boot and are playing with Tiger and are thinking “Hmmm…maybe I shoudl develop some games for Macs.”
Someone has to come up with a software solution/hack for any dual processor Power Mac G5 (or at least Apple’s next gen 3 GHz desktops) to play XBox 360 games. And as for the XBox 360 itself, if Apple doesn’t come up with its own iHome server/device, then at the very least it should partner up with Sony on the latter’s PS3 (latest rumor), or release a “lite” version of Mac OS (Jaguar, perhaps?) to turn the XBox into a full-fledged home computer. That “lite” Apple OS could hopefully play a role similar to iTunes for Windows.
Hi,
Yea, thanks all. Didn’t mean to stir everyone too much.
I understand there are differences between CPU’s; but I still have to question how much it *really* costs to build a dual G5 box. That was my main point. I’m also surprised at the speed of the Xbox cpu’s… PowerPC’s – how much is “cut out” or “specialised” to allow them run that fast, compared to say the G4/G5??
Btw, Sculley was at Apple before the launch of the Mac. He was President & CEO in April 1983.
Ciao.
ps it would be good too if MS ported DirectX 9 to OS X… then maybe more games would be available for Macs. However, I don’t see it happening. Ironic how everyone wants OS X on Intel, yet miss this opportunity for getting more games on Macs.
This is an interim development tool that will be replaced with a more powerful and comprehensive solution later.
I love how they always dig at Apple products no matter what.
If I think it is absurd for common folk to banter about Apple’s marketing and advertising, what do you think I might say about the same folk yammering on about the differences between computer engineering differences?
A CPU unto itself does not a computer make.
Anon, spend a day reading Apple’s annual reports and financial statements. If you still have a point to make then, then we’ll be happy to listen to you.
Anon,
Microsoft has lost about $1.5 Billion on the original Xbox. They make a big pile of money in licensing fees on every Xbox game sold, even more on the games they make themselves. They still lost $ 1.5 Billion.
Could it be that they are selling the Xbox game console
AT A BIG FRIGGING LOSS?
Don’t bitch that a much more powerful Dual G5 is sold at a profit. Apple has to pay for their coders and their R&D somehow.
“This is an interim development tool that will be replaced with a more powerful and comprehensive solution later”, an official Microsoft spokesperson said.
Well, naturally, it’s running in emulation after all, and the Xbox is a machine with a very specific and limited range of capabilities, unlike a fully fledged computer. But MS isn’t missing an opportunity to muddy the waters by delivering this backhanded remark, the implication being that the Mac is weak and underpowered.
Playing devils advocate just for a second, if the Xbox 360 did indeed have a more powerful and comparable CPU than was available to Apple, then the shit would absolutely hit the fan. I doubt that this is the case, however. It’s just more MS BS.
Regardless, I seriously hope that Apple has kept its options open with PPC developments at Moto/Freescale so if there are any further snafus with IBM, they have something to bring to market to bridge the gap.
Both IBM and Moto have been full of promises in the past, but both have had problems delivering repeatedly. But with other companies joining the PPC bandwagon, it can only mean potentially more option for Apple in the long run.
The magic word is ‘power’, what a happy coincidence.
Poor Microsoft. They are forced to work on PowerMacs! That could mess with any hardcore PC user’s mind.
are you guys stupid or something?
the news post only says that the xbox is based off of powerpc hardware technology. I’m pretty sure that that doesn’t have anything to do with any of Apple’s operating systems. In fact the new xbox is a powerpc system running Microsoft software. There’s nothing uniquely Apple about the powerpc hardware infrastructure. Linux runs on intel hardware just fine.
MS knows, and everyone else does to, that the Power Series is Superior to anything x86. (besides the FX)
Remember, if it werent for Intels cheap chips, we’d all be using XP on Power or Some other RISC Variant.
Its too bad ya know, Windows would be a better platform if they would release it for Risc Based systems. I remember using NT 4 on Power and DEC Alpha, It was a fast and rock solid system.
Does this mean that if we could find out the correct tweaks & wat eva ms did to those machines, anyone who owns a G5 can potentially play Xbox games when they do that upgrade?