Microsoft CEO Pledges Xbox 2 Innovation, Makes Next-Gen Warcry
Halo 2 ‘greatest game ever written’ claim.
Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer last week addressed assembled school children at the firm’s Redmond HQ on all things Microsoft which, of course, featured a crowd-pleasing Xbox 2 chat.
When asked if he could say anything about Xbox 2, Ballmer said, “When you see the new Xbox, you're going to think it's un… well, let me say it politely - unbelievable. Just unbelievable. The graphics, what it can do, the way things look, huge innovation. Rumours are that we'll see that product sometime soon. I couldn't comment, of course, on those rumours. But it's an amazing, amazing innovation.” As you may know, the launch period for Xbox 2 was revealed by SPOnG on January 17 as being set for Q4 of 2005.
Ballmer went on to make the second PlayStation 2-killing pledge in months. Seemingly struggling not to swear for the second time, Ballmer said, “I think we’re going to blow by Sony with our next box. I absolutely think we’re going to kick their backsides, so to speak. I think Xbox 1 has been a fantastic product. We’re not market leaders yet. There’s Sony, there’s us, there’s Nintendo. When we get Xbox 2 in the market, there’s going to be Xbox and the other guys,” said Ballmer in what Team Xbox pleasingly describe as being his “Jerry Maguire style”.
“I'm feeling a little frisky on this topic right now!” He declared.
This is going off the rails somewhat… No matter, we’ll press on.
To round things off, Ballmer, a charismatic, animated character, explained why the Xbox 2 would be such a rampant success. “Why do people buy one game console over another? As we say around here, 'Duh, it's the games.' Partly they're great games because they have great graphics, they have great processing, they have great this, they've got great that, but it's about getting great games. So, there's two parts to that: number one, we have to make sure we have a great environment, software environment for people to write games, games that connect to one another, games that are social, games that are hardcore. We've got to make sure we let people write great games. But then, number two, we, Microsoft, have to write a number of really great games to show it off. What is 'Halo 2?' It's the greatest video game ever written. It shows off Xbox 1, and we’ve got some more games coming that will be the greatest video games ever written, and they’ll show off Xbox 2.”
Although Ballmer’s Halo 2 claim is questionable, in the rest of his rantings regarding the next-generation of consoles - combined with the firm’s significant lead into the marketplace - he may very well be justified in his confidence.
When asked if he could say anything about Xbox 2, Ballmer said, “When you see the new Xbox, you're going to think it's un… well, let me say it politely - unbelievable. Just unbelievable. The graphics, what it can do, the way things look, huge innovation. Rumours are that we'll see that product sometime soon. I couldn't comment, of course, on those rumours. But it's an amazing, amazing innovation.” As you may know, the launch period for Xbox 2 was revealed by SPOnG on January 17 as being set for Q4 of 2005.
Ballmer went on to make the second PlayStation 2-killing pledge in months. Seemingly struggling not to swear for the second time, Ballmer said, “I think we’re going to blow by Sony with our next box. I absolutely think we’re going to kick their backsides, so to speak. I think Xbox 1 has been a fantastic product. We’re not market leaders yet. There’s Sony, there’s us, there’s Nintendo. When we get Xbox 2 in the market, there’s going to be Xbox and the other guys,” said Ballmer in what Team Xbox pleasingly describe as being his “Jerry Maguire style”.
“I'm feeling a little frisky on this topic right now!” He declared.
This is going off the rails somewhat… No matter, we’ll press on.
To round things off, Ballmer, a charismatic, animated character, explained why the Xbox 2 would be such a rampant success. “Why do people buy one game console over another? As we say around here, 'Duh, it's the games.' Partly they're great games because they have great graphics, they have great processing, they have great this, they've got great that, but it's about getting great games. So, there's two parts to that: number one, we have to make sure we have a great environment, software environment for people to write games, games that connect to one another, games that are social, games that are hardcore. We've got to make sure we let people write great games. But then, number two, we, Microsoft, have to write a number of really great games to show it off. What is 'Halo 2?' It's the greatest video game ever written. It shows off Xbox 1, and we’ve got some more games coming that will be the greatest video games ever written, and they’ll show off Xbox 2.”
Although Ballmer’s Halo 2 claim is questionable, in the rest of his rantings regarding the next-generation of consoles - combined with the firm’s significant lead into the marketplace - he may very well be justified in his confidence.
Read More Like This
Comments
Showing the 20 most recent comments. Read all 29.
ohms 14 Feb 2005 16:09
10/29
LUPOS wrote:
not suprisingly there are already plenty of people raging on it... i love that any time sony makes some vague unsubstantiated claim about the ps3 this place turns into a weird technical discussion about how cell can change the world and when someone from M$ makes vague unsubstantiated claim we call them t**ts. glad we decided to take the high road.
well, despite being the big evil mega corporation and the rest of it, Micro$oft are in the games industry, not to innovate, not even just to make money (cos they're losing bucketloads, and they can afford to), they're here to rule it. fact is, in the end, they will, nomatter how long it takes.
whether it's xbox 2, 3 or 4, it's their sole aim to dominate this market like they do with others, and Micro$oft will in the end. so forgive us our little rants against them. :)
LUPOS 14 Feb 2005 16:24
11/29
ohms wrote:
whether it's xbox 2, 3 or 4, it's their sole aim to dominate this market like they do with others, and Micro$oft will in the end. so forgive us our little rants against them. :)
but for the imediate furture was does M$ loosing bucket loads of money mean to me... well... it means that much liek the xbox... im going to get several hundred dollars worth of hard ware for only a few hundred of my dollars... it also means that for m$ to acheive their goal they have to spend bucket loads of money on game development and on supporting 3rd party developers and even on advertising... so M$ is throwing away a fortune to try and win over a market that your convinced they are going to own anyway and the only downside to you for the forseabel future is that you might get great games and great hardware at a good price... oh yea... the end of days is totaly upon us.
also i have my doubts about M$ owning the world. the US government wont always be this screwed up (god willing) and little things liek google are proof positive that M$ money cant always buy them victory.
Linux usgae keeps goign up not down... younger genratiosna re more and mroe able to use a computer that isnt designed for a moron... and the more they know the more M$ looses. No one has every monopolized anythign forever... Bush may equal the downfall of america the great... but that might end up a good thing... we coudl use a dose of humble pie over here.
nothing lasts forever... go buy that 20$ virtual boy on ebay and enjoy wario land... its an awsoem game... go try the original AVP on the jaguar... if you had the foresight you may have gotten to play a little game called panzer dragoon saga... came out right at the end of the saturns life. by then you coudl buy a saturn for like 100$(or less, now a days the game costs as much as the sytem did when it came out). Enjoy the spoils of giant companies fighting over you... its not all that bad.
if you really think M$ is going to take over the next gen then i would see worrying about it. But i dont see them owning round 2 and by the time thats over another 4-6 years will have passed and MS might be in a very different situation.
sorry if im a little incoherent... train of thought is a little gittery... but i think you get were im going... even if you dont agree.
more comments below our sponsor's message
Ditto 14 Feb 2005 17:32
12/29
LUPOS wrote:
go buy that 20$ virtual boy on ebay and enjoy wario land... its an awsoem game...
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, appeared on the original Gameboy, not the Virtual Boy.
LUPOS 14 Feb 2005 17:47
13/29
Adam M wrote:
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, appeared on the original Gameboy, not the Virtual Boy.
actually Mr. Know it all ... "Wario Land" apeared on the virtual boy... wario land "mario land 3" apeared on the game boy color. ;P
i know because i own it
I said wario land, not the later..
and for refference sake the virtual boy version was the superior version... seperated from the rest by its multi dimesnional platforming. By far the best game on the virtual boy (not an impressive feet i realize) and one of the best 2d nintendo platformers ever. Huge boses, clever puzzles, awsome characters. A+++
if your a fan of old school 2d platform games the $50 total price for the v-boy and a copy is totaly worth it (the blinding headaches from the hours you will spend with your face in the virtual boy might not be however)
also if you are a glutton for punishment teleroboxer was pretty fun and red alarm is actually a pretty awsome shooter... sort of a starfox/decent blend with vector graphics... worked very well with the VB's dual direction pads (an often forgotten inovation by nintendo).
config 14 Feb 2005 17:59
14/29
LUPOS wrote:
sorry, I just saw a spong article that was actually kind of positive twords xbox so i had to come ride the train :)
It's clear you missed the subtext
And Lupos, don't worry. Just as soon as Sony's opposite number to Balmer starts spouting witless b******s, we'll rip him to shreads too :)
LUPOS 14 Feb 2005 18:07
15/29
config wrote:
It's clear you missed the subtext
Although Ballmer’s Halo 2 claim is questionable, in the rest of his rantings regarding the next-generation of consoles - combined with the firm’s significant lead into the marketplace - he may very well be justified in his confidence.
subtext? seems to me like the author actually thinks Ballmer might not be completly insane... which is possibly the nicest thing anyone from spong has said in regards to M$ in as long as i have been coming here.
(however if that was ment as sarchasim, the authors sense of irony is about as accute as alanis moriset's)
also i will definitly do my best to hold you to that sony promise, nothing escapes my "Xbox green" colored gaze.
;)
schnide 15 Feb 2005 10:11
16/29
LUPOS wrote:
subtext? ment sarchasim moriset's definitly colored
Your use of English makes my eyes hurt.
Anyway, I just thought I'd correct Balmer's quote for him:
"What is 'Halo 2?' It's the most hyped game ever written, except we didn't bother to finish it."
config 15 Feb 2005 10:17
17/29
schnide wrote:
Anyway, I just thought I'd correct Balmer's quote for him:
"What is 'Halo 2?' It's the most hyped game ever written, except we didn't bother to finish it."
"What is 'Halo 2?' It's the most hyped game ever written, except we didn't bother to finish it."
Same could be said for Half-Life 2
vault 13 15 Feb 2005 15:56
18/29
LUPOS wrote:
He didn't just say better graphics... he said its going to be a "huge inovation" in graphics.
you know liek how sony sadit the ps2 was going to be able to render toy story quality scense in real time... HAHAHAHAHA... if real time is being interpreted through the eyes of the mighty redwood perhaps!
you know liek how sony sadit the ps2 was going to be able to render toy story quality scense in real time... HAHAHAHAHA... if real time is being interpreted through the eyes of the mighty redwood perhaps!
Yeah I remember that. So everyone's a dipshit when it comes to talking about their system except for Nintendo.
What pisses me off is that, not to call you guys out specifically, all these game sites and magazines have these mundane, drivelous (word? anyone? Bueller?) mind-numbing interviews with top guy from company x and all they can say is no comment. Here's what I have learned about the next round of systems:
Sony: We think, well look at Nintendo's life cycles, we don't want to put out another system until we're ready. Playstation 1 made it 10 years. Or some drivel like that. The crux of their interview is how we're better than Nintendo and the Cell is gonna make people jizz all over their HDTVs.
Microsoft: What we have here is the next generation of gaming. Our next system will blow the competition away. Our graohics will we superior, our games will be superior, our dicks are superior. We're gonna blow a whole load on the competition and gum up their inner workings. Usual Microsoft bolstering and hype in a bad attempt to in the end make more money.
Nintendo: Our next system will revolutionize gaming. Wires? We don't need no stinking wires! No tethering to a box or any silly archaic nonsense. Nintendo is future! And I have a small penis, my load will neither stick to any of my competitors hardware or make stains on your nice new tv.
Basically the sentiments are there. Sony's parading like a peacock, Microsoft is pretending to be the next king of the jungle, and Nintendo is the usual good ol' Nintendo.
And would I be better off if I had read nothing about the next round of gaming systems? I know nothing about what there going to be, nothing about what games are coming, and nothing about nothing! SO STOP GIVING US CRAP INTERVIEWS!
P.S. You guys like how I used some male machismo jerking of joke in every summation? I did, I laughed AND cried.
config 15 Feb 2005 16:09
19/29
Right on the money. Thing about Nintendo being good ol' Nintendo is that the company is living is cloud cuckoo land and needs to get with the bullshit marketing b******s if it's survive the next gen. It has to willy wave with the big boys, even if really does only have a little cock.
LUPOS 15 Feb 2005 16:18
20/29
config wrote:
It has to willy wave with the big boys, even if really does only have a little cock.
i know its wrong... and bad... and i shouldn't... but i like how big the xbox is... its very american... all big and unecesary and showy next to a gamecube... like corvette next to a civic... i certainly dont have alot of reason for US pride these days but its kind of nice to see gameing from english countries doing so well... peopel used to think that the only good games would ever come from japan and that just isnt true any more...
i dont have a point, just thinking out loud... im not proud that im proud of its unnecesaryness... i just am...
FYI: no i dont have or want a hummer... i drive a kia... and i woudl get a hybrid if i had the scratch for it
vault 13 15 Feb 2005 16:54
21/29
LUPOS wrote:
FYI: no i dont have or want a hummer... i drive a kia... and i woudl get a hybrid if i had the scratch for it
If I had some scratch, I'd feed it to a chicken. I'm a nice person.
fluffstardx 15 Feb 2005 22:13
22/29
config wrote:
schnide wrote:
Anyway, I just thought I'd correct Balmer's quote for him:
"What is 'Halo 2?' It's the most hyped game ever written, except we didn't bother to finish it."
"What is 'Halo 2?' It's the most hyped game ever written, except we didn't bother to finish it."
Same could be said for Half-Life 2
THANK GOD SOMEONE ELSE THOUGHT THAT.
If anyone didn't expect Ballmer to start running his gob off around the start of Spring, they haven't been keeping up. He's like a windup Bob-Omb toy; he jumps out of his box and just explodes. It's nice to see enthusiasm. It's much better than Sony's usual "PLEBIANS! We rule your universe, and as such we will give you details WHEN WE WANT!" or Nintendo's "wah wah gaga poopoo innovation burble". And yes, i LIKE Nintendo.
Everyone sees the dust in the horizon; the next war will be big, and all will be decided by getting people's attention. Shooting down the Playstation and puffing up your chest are pretty much the best way of doing it when you have nothing to show...
Ditto 16 Feb 2005 09:49
23/29
LUPOS wrote:
wario land "mario land 3" apeared on the game boy color. ;P
Original Gameboy ;) :p.
vault 13 16 Feb 2005 21:44
24/29
Adam M wrote:
LUPOS wrote:
wario land "mario land 3" apeared on the game boy color. ;P
Original Gameboy ;) :p.
He's right, its funny. Now Lupos has egg on his face. Original Gameboy gray egg on his face.
Hey who remembers the old package design for the original Gameboy products. Man did it suck.
kid_77 28 Feb 2005 11:12
25/29
Another pointless mock-up, but what the hell:
Looky! You can see the capacitors n'all!
Wouldn't be much of an X-"Box"... Maybe we've all been barking up the wrong tree? X-Sphere? ;)
Looky! You can see the capacitors n'all!
Wouldn't be much of an X-"Box"... Maybe we've all been barking up the wrong tree? X-Sphere? ;)
tyrion 28 Feb 2005 13:53
26/29
So that's why it's called XBox 360!!
config 28 Feb 2005 14:14
27/29
Hey, it looks to use the same circuit boards on the top and side. It's a four-core system! w00t!
Ditto 28 Feb 2005 17:16
28/29
That's quite a cool design. Looks kinda like a jet engine.
vault 13 28 Feb 2005 18:01
29/29
F**k this s**t! I ain't havin' another Microsoft headache on my hands trying to fit this gob of hardware into my entertainment. It looks like a piece of someone's new Apple computer and we all know that Apple is ass, except for the iPod which is ingenious. I want a slim, black, front loading, four port, broadband ready, powerful, f**kin' kick ass system that fits that nicely into my center.
I ain't buying no sphere!
I ain't buying no sphere!