sorry if already p.
What are Microsoft's plans? What about Xbox 360? Details inside.
by Douglass C. Perry
March 10, 2005 - After hearing the crafted, well-honed J Allard keynote speech Wednesday at GDC 2005, the idea of sitting down one-on-one with such a savvy speaker all of a sudden became quite intimidating. After all, J Allard, Microsoft's corporate vice president and the holder of the "big"-sounding title, "Architect of XNA," is a solutions guy; a mental marathon runner who thrives on making new ideas work. He gets the technical aspects of programming yet sees the big picture of the industry. He knows digital slang, can use a technical dialect at will, yet he's charismatic and easy to talk to. He's the guy who gives those rousing keynote speeches every year. Once I actually sat down with him, being intimidated wasn't even on my mind. Asking him good questions about Xbox 2, well, that was tough.
But at noon at GDC 2005, J Allard sat with me for one-half hour. We spoke about the future of Microsoft's next-generation system, his visions for the company in the game space, and how working closely and thoughtfully with developers is the key to Xenon's success.
Three years ago, Microsoft dropped the Xbrick on gamers, giving us a huge, powerful system, and it's done pretty well. Second place your first time out is a great place to be. What's going to happen in the next few years?
"We get to use our playbook now," Allard said quickly and with a boyish grin. "You know each time a new generation comes around, nobody is in first place. The clocks start over. Winning in the previous generation doesn't get you a head start or an instant first place. Everyone starts with a fresh slate. With Xbox, we rushed into things. Four years ago we finished deals the night before we announced it. We made some mistakes. This time around we're doing things much differently."
What are some of the things Microsoft has learned about making consoles and about making games that you're taking into the next generation?
"The main lesson we've learned is focus," he began. "When we started with Xbox, we had focus, but a manic focus. Now, we're thoughtful. We've listened to game developers for years. Game developers, game creators, they are the core focus of our new system. You take a cell phone, and each one of us here in the room has one, and they all do different things. They have bells and whistles, some have cameras, Blue Tooth, whatever, but you know what? I'd go straight out and buy the first phone that enabled me to stay online when driving through a tunnel, that gives perfect connections, that did things better at being a phone then the other phones. The core systems of games, like phones, should be better, and that's our focus. Games are our soul. We want to build the best system out there, the one that makes it easiest to create great games on, and our focus is to enable great creators to do that.
"Second, we learned to build a worldwide foundation in order to be successful. The Xbox was for Americans, you know, Texans, the guys who like everything big. That's fine. But our focus now is worldwide, and we're going to make a system that reflects that goal. We want to personalize and localize our software and our services to each individual territory, and to make a system that supports a worldwide focus.
"Another lesson we learned is that less is more. We're more thoughtful about making additions and changes. The Gamer Card I talked about yesterday is a simple concept. It enables players to do and see all sorts of things, and our new system takes care of it so that game developers don't have to. Look at music. Three years ago we made music a priority. Not by saying music is important; but by giving you the chance to customize games with your favorite music. Look at music now. It's one of the most popular features on our system. That's customization, that's also at the heart of our new system.
"Our focus is on developers' dreams. Listening to what they want. A few weeks ago, you know, we announced that Hironobu Sakaguchi is developing games for Xenon. (See Mistwalker Games). I've been listening to Sakaguchi for six years. I've met with him for six years, and he's told me why he wasn't interested in developing for our system. I kept coming back, giving him new ideas, presenting our vision, and listening to what he wanted. You know what? He has seen an architectural blueprint of the system. He wanted to see it. It's that important to him to know what it looks like, how it's built, everything. Creators of this caliber are what will make Xenon a success."
What about the name of the new system, I asked. We've heard so many names. Is it really going to be Xbox 360?
"You know, the name of a system might make for good watercooler talk now. But that's because there is nothing else to talk about. It fills the void. The name of our system will reflect who we are. Look at Xbox. We didn't have a name for it. We just kept calling it DirectXbox, because at the time, that's what it was. It eventually just became easier to say Xbox. What's great about the name is that you can say Xbox in almost every language. It's pronounceable in so many languages. That's important. When we decided to call it Xbox, some people thought it was stupid. They thought the B looked like a beer keg. But once you play a game like Halo, you form a different impression of that system. The name of the system doesn't matter, really. It's what you put on that system that matters. That's what shapes your perception of the system. That's what makes it cool."
Sitting in the room with Allard was like sitting across from a human dynamo. So I changed the subject because it made me feel better. I spoke to him about his competitors over at Sony, who have been dynamos of their own kind. It's interesting to see Microsoft is going out early this generation, I started. Sony's going to put up a huge fight, and it's built up loyalty and a huge brand name in the game space. It expects to take first place again. It's the first console manufacturer to definitely have won two generations of the market in a row, and it's got this beast of a machine coming down the pipe with PlayStation 3. So, I asked Jay, when you think of the next generation wars, what keeps you up at night? What worries you?
"Nothing," he said straight-faced. "There is nothing to worry about. We're going forward with our strategy and our gameplan is a focused one. When you look at it, I mean, we came out 20 months after PlayStation 2. We were late. But if you have checked recent progress it was like we laced up our shoes in the third quarter of the game. We're doing pretty good for our first time out there."
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/595/595146p3.html?fromint=1So, you're not worried? It's good enough to just follow your gameplay?
"I look at one metric. Velocity. What keeps me up at night is our velocity. How fast are we going? What is keeping our velocity going? That's what I focus on. We're focused on taking things to the next level. That's the soul of Xbox, of Xenon.
"We do have one advantage," he said reflectively. "We have 2 million Xbox Live users. Am I obsessed with Kutaragi's recent displacement at Sony? Nah. Look at this: We're focused on making the Xenon incredibly accessible to our development partners. We've shipped 50 versions of our development kits to developers. We ship a new version, an updated version, to our development partners every month. No other company in the world has done this. We want them to make the very best games possible and by working extremely close with them, providing excellent tools, and giving them constant updates, they're going to do it."
I have heard two different stories about how easy it is to develop for Xenon, I told him. One team said it was difficult. The other said it was like developing for Xbox, but far more powerful. So which is it?
"Number two," he said, gazing at me as if I had said something sacreligious. "I want to know who these guys are and for you to put me in touch with them. Let me give you an example. Several months ago I gave a Xenon kit to a team at Rare. They had an Xbox game in development, and they converted it to Xenon in six weeks. It was up and running in six weeks. With the updates we're giving developers now, that same game could easily be transferred in half that time. Xenon is absolutely easier to develop for than Xbox, no question."
I felt like I was just getting started, getting into it with J, when I realized I only had two minutes left. Two minutes! What would I possible ask that he hadn't already answered? What had I missed that wasn't covered in the keynote address? He's said it all. All that he could, anyway.
Where do you see Microsoft in the console race in the next three years, I said, wishing I had said something smarter.
"We'll be number one," he said simply.
What can you tell me that I haven't heard before? That's special about the Xenon, I blurted out.
"It's all about customer delight," Allard finished elegantly. "It's all about getting the best creators, developers, and most experienced teams together, and giving them the best system they've ever seen."
Our time had ended. The half-hour was over. We stood up, shook hands, and said goodbye. As he walked out the door, he said with that smile on his face, "Don't forget, I want to know who those guys are who said it was hard to develop for Xenon. Give me their names and I'll call them."
With that, Allard was gone. On to another interview, another meeting, another person curious about the future of Microsoft's game plans, about Xenon. As I sat and collected my thoughts, I asked myself, what's he going to do next? The answer came easily. J will be in a million more meetings, smiling, ripping off rapid-fire anecdotes, talking the big picture, talking tech, talking about the future.
