NEW GAME DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM UNVEILED BY MICROSOFT

Microsoft said the next-generation XNA will be used for “future iterations of all Microsoft game platforms -- including Windows, Xbox and Windows Mobile-based devices.” But the company didn’t cite “Xbox 2” by name and it remained unclear if the Xbox followup will be called that, “Xbox Next” or something else entirely. Microsoft Home & Entertainment Senior Vp Robbie Bach and Corp. Vp J. Allard hinted that Microsoft was hard at work on the next Xbox, but offered no further details. Most game industry observers expect that it and competing next-generation systems from Nintendo and Sony will arrive in late 2005 or early 2006.

The executives also remained silent on an imminent $30 Xbox price cut to $149.99 that’s expected to arrive in the U.S. by April 1 (CED March 9 p8, March 22 p2).

In the keynote, Bach did, however, look into the future, saying: “The things that are coming soon aren’t going to make [development] any easier. There is going to be more silicon. Moore’s Law is alive and well. Things are going to be faster. There’s going to be more texture, more polygons.” Noting that there are 750,000 Xbox Live subscribers, Bach said: “In this generation, [online play] is really something of an extra for people. In the next generation it’s going to be a necessity.”

Bach also touched on the increasing cost of developing games, saying that in the early 1980s, Pac-Man was developed for $100,000 and went on to sell 10 million units. Now, the average cost of developing a single title is $5-$10 million, Bach said, adding, “you can spend $15 million to $20 million if you're not careful.” Bach said consumers will increasingly want better games, but noted that there was real price resistance for any game that costs more than $50.

He also warned that without the creation of common standards to help control the cost of making content, the game industry could go the way of failed entertainment offerings such as Cinerama, the 1950s multi-camera film technology that earned great praise but was found unworkable by most studios and ultimately failed.

But the main subject of the presentation was clearly the XNA development platform, which, in essence, is a combination of both new and old tools for PC, Xbox and mobile platforms game developers. Allard claimed that not only was XNA “going to prepare us for the move to high-def gaming,” but with it, Microsoft was creating a common standard for input devices, clearing the way for new cross-platform peripherals. Microsoft has already lined up the support of more than 20 game and middleware companies including Sofimage, Valve, Alias, Discreet, Quazail, VirTools and Pseudo Studios, he said.

In a speech clearly aimed at luring other developers to Microsoft camp, Allard suggest XNA would eliminate much of the preliminary coding, engine development and grunt work that goes into laying the foundation for a title, creating more time for developers to work on unique characters and compelling game play. He said that while many in the game creation community now get many of their ideas and licenses from the film world, XNA could eventually create a climate where “Hollywood is going to be coming to us for the breakthrough ideas.”

Underlining that Microsoft hasn’t abandoned PC as a gaming platform, Allard noted that Xbox Live tools such as billing, security, login, friends and matchmaking will be made available to Windows gaming, saying it would be easier to create a unified online gaming experience.

Also at GDC, Creative Technology unveiled GameCODA 2.0, an enhanced cross-platform audio middleware solution for console and PC game developers. It said the updated version “simplifies the challenge of managing audio assets and rendering audio on all of the leading game consoles in the market today.” Creative said this was “the first time that applications written in OpenAL language can run on game consoles as well as the PC, and with advanced audio functionality.” It said 2.0 was “available for major console gaming platforms” including GameCube, PS2 and Xbox, as well as PCs. Creative said support was also being extended to Macintosh OS X and Pocket PC, as well as to “next-generation gaming hardware.” The company also unveiled enhancements for its Interactive Spatial Audio Composition Tools (ISACT) for console and PC game development. Creative and its Sensaura subsidiary demonstrated the new system at the show and said it will be available in May as either a stand-alone system for PC audio development or as an add-on module with GameCODA Plus for cross- platform audio capability.

Audio signal processing company Waves, meanwhile, announced that its MaxxBass technology enabled the Spherex Xbox 5.1 surround sound system to provide improved audio for videogames. The Spherex system was spotlighted at CES in Jan. The Audio Products International subsidiary is producing and marketing the system as part of a worldwide licensing deal with Microsoft.

IGN/GameSpy unveiled a Consumer Intelligence Tool at GDC -- GamerMetrics -- that it said “tracks awareness, purchase intent and critical competitive product relationships.” It said the tool combines 2 data streams -- real-time observation of gamers’ interest in specific games on the IGN.com website and panel data from a group of more than 225,000 gamers -- to track more than 23,000 game titles across all major platforms. The tool is being targeted at publishers and retailers.

IGN/GameSpy also said at GDC that it signed multi-title, multi-platform technology licensing deals with LucasArts and THQ for the publishers’ online gaming initiatives. Other terms weren’t disclosed. As part of the LucasArts deal, the companies said IGN/GameSpy will supply LucasArts 4 software development kits (SDKs) that “facilitate online gameplay” for various titles, including Star Wars: Battlefront for PC and PS2 and Star Wars: Republic Commando for PC. The other deal calls for IGN/GameSpy to “develop and enhance online gameplay for multiple THQ titles,” the companies said. Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior for PC and PS2 was the first title included in the deal.

GDC’s producer said Wed. it expected “more than 10,000 game industry professionals” would attend the show through Fri.