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GDC 2005: Microsoft Announces Plans for the \"HD Era\"

Posted December 31, 1969 by Rick Bushie

Microsoft?s Corporate Vice President J. Allard, gave a Keynote speech on the future of the entertainment industry and the Xbox?s role in it. He called the next generation of entertainment the ?High Definition Era,? or the ?HD Era.? High Definition not only referred to HDTV technology, but to the increase in definition of the industry as a hole. He broke Microsoft?s plans into three categories; Software, Hardware and Services.

With the increase in quality and quantity that the HD Era will bring with it, developers will be forced o increase the size of their teams to minimums of fifty people, where as many fully active and effective developers have teams of thirty. In order to smooth the transition for developers, Microsoft has been developing new development tools for companies world wide. Over the next year, Microsoft will be revealing XNA Studio, a development program that helps bring large comprehensive teams under the same umbrella, making it easier to manage.

The speaker then discussed the hardware expectations for the HD Era. He said that he couldn?t go into detail on their generation platform since they plan on waiting to reveal it in depth at E3. He did however inom us that the hardware will be less focused on making amazing leaps in technology and instead attempt to cater towards developers and to build the system around the development software instead of the other way around. This means that once the platform comes out, games will be developed quickly and efficiently, granting the end users access to better games sooner.

Allard went on to discuss the services and their role in the next generation of gaming. He said that Microsoft plans to streamline the services aspect of the industry to help support the 15% per month online community growth that is currently inflating the online community to epic proportions. Companies can expect to be able to make online transactions with their players with no transaction fee. That means that players can buy new rims for their car for 75 cents without the company worrying about a fee that makes it cost more than it?s worth.

Microsoft also revealed its plan to streamline the user interface for its online play, making it consistent and simple so that players will have an easier time making the transition between games. Further, system messages from the console will be easier for players to understand, ensuring that the ?Message gets across.?

Finally, Allard discussed Microsoft?s vision to bring a higher level of custom ability to the player?s gaming experience. Players will be able to create online player cards that display information about themselves as well as a customizable image. Further, the players will e able to create their own sound tracks for their games, choosing amongst all their favorite music, even if the developers couldn?t add a customizable soundtrack to the game itself. Microsoft believes that custom ability is will be the life blood of the next generation of games.

At the beginning of the speech, Allard related a story about an Atari commercial from his youth. The commercial showed an entire family sitting in the living room playing a game on the Atari. The commercial then posed the viewer a question as the family rejoiced over an unseen victory, ?Have you played a video game today?? Microsoft intends to make the answer ?Yes.?