Jason Dunn
05-17-2005, 11:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/46436/windowspaulthurrott_46436.html' target='_blank'>http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/46436/windowspaulthurrott_46436.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The Xbox 360 MCX experience will be driven by the remote control that comes with the device. Users must have an XP Media Center Edition 2005-based PC to drive the experience, and Microsoft will ship a free software update, codenamed Emerald, that will update XP Media Center 2005 to support the new Xbox 360 features. These features include full HDTV support for both live TV and recorded TV. That means that the MCX experience in Xbox 360 will be able to stream HDTV broadcasts over a home network, a capability today's Extenders lack. Furthermore, the Xbox 360 MCX will include the full Media Center user experience and not the stripped down version seen on today's Extenders. That means you get the full fidelity of the Media Center experience, complete with animations, transitions during photos slideshows, and so on. For many users, the Xbox 360 MCX will even look nicer than the default UI on a Media Center PC, a first for any Extender."</i><br /><br />This is the best article I've seen to date that covers the way the Xbox 360 will link to computers in the home. It's exactly what I was hoping for: a full-fidelity Media Center Edition interface. This is powerful stuff, and something that Sony simply cannot match. The Xbox 360 seems poised to take advantage of the power of the platform, which takes it beyond the realm of a gaming console and into the realm of a home digital media console, which greatly expands the scenarios for use. And now that we've learned Squaresoft will be releasing a new Final Fantasy title for the Xbox 360, and that it will be compatible with "top selling" regular Xbox games (read: they'll only do the work on making it compatible if it's a popular game), the Xbox 360 is poised for big success.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.xbox.com/media/games/e32005/vid-e32005livewebcast-001-Hi.asx">There's an E3 video that</a>, while of horrible quality (why don't these guys know how to create a great streaming video experience?), has some further details on the Xbox 360. It's one hour and 21 minutes long, so get some popcorn. :D According to the video, there are 200 games coming out in 2005 alone. 8O Meanwhile, I'm addicted to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search/103-1339957-5976634?keyword=jade%20empire&mode=blended&tag=thoughtsmedia-20&Go.x=18&Go.y=15">Jade Empire</a>. 8) [Affiliate]