Here's a slice of the new (and lengthy) interview with Microsoft insider Dean Takahashi, author of 'The Xbox 360 Uncloaked':
Will Microsoft ever produce a deluxe Xbox 360 version, with HD DVD and a bigger Hard Disk bundled? Could it coexist with already sold Xbox 360?
Microsoft has to assess the market carefully. If Sony starts to pull ahead of Microsoft in sales with the PlayStation 3, then Microsoft has to understand why. If Sony's PS 3 is pulling ahead because it has better games, then Microsoft may not benefit by launching a bundle with more expensive hardware. If Sony's PS 3 is pulling ahead because it has better hardware, then Microsoft may want to try to match that with a bundle of the HD-DVD drive and a bigger hard disk. In this kind of bundle, the HD-DVD would be a player only. It would not store games on the disc.
It may be harder for Microsoft to launch a new version of the Xbox 360 that stores game data on HD-DVD discs. Why? Because the Xbox 360 hardware is designed to retrieve data from a DVD drive, not an HD-DVD. I don't know if it is technically possible to change that. We know that Microsoft could store games on hybrid discs with DVDs on one side for those who do not have the HD-DVD player, and it could use HD-DVD discs on the other side for those who do. But the question becomes why would they want to do that? If they introduce new hardware in the middle of the cycle, it may only confuse the market and lead to higher manufacturing costs. In the game business, the name of the game is to simplify the business model as much as possible and drive the hardware to the lowest possible costs. If they introduced a new SKU, they would incur higher costs. They might alienate those who can't afford it.
What does the Xbox Brand mean for the gaming industry, right now?
That question is answered in the book, but the phrase escapes me now. Microsoft viewed the brand as something that put gamers in the center through customization and personalization. I think that gamers see it as a balance of good design, technology, and low costs. It is a system for hardcore gamers who would rather spend money on games than hardware. It started with the hardcore gamers who loved Halo and playing online with Xbox Live, but it is growing to a wider mass market.
Which is the main reason that brought so much attention to Xbox 360 from third party delevopers, in your opinion?
I believe that Microsoft exploited one of Sony's weaknesses. That was the perception among developers that Sony was arrogant. Microsoft catered to developers, asking what they wanted in a system and making tools that enabled them to become more productive at making games.
Was it a succesfull strategy to launch Xbox 360 before PlayStation 3? Will it be enough to win the console war against Sony, thinking even to what happened with Dreamcast and PlayStation 2?
I believe that it was an accident that the Xbox 360 launched before the PS 3. Microsoft didn't want to be late. They didn't know that Sony would fall behind schedule. In the last generation, with all other things equal, Microsoft saw the same growth curve for Xbox sales as Sony saw with the PS 2. But since Microsoft launched 20 months behind Sony, its sales always trailed. By launching ahead, Microsoft now puts pressure on Sony. Sony tried to make the Xbox 360 seem obsolete as it did with the Dreamcast. But Microsoft has survived that comparison so far.
What do you think about marketing's role in this business?
Marketing is very important. It is the reason that Nintendo lost the last round. Nintendo had a nice and powerful system. But it made the box purple and made it seem like a toy. So it was stereotyped as a system for kids. Adults, who were the growing part of the market, stayed away from it. That doomed the GameCube. Sony appealed to a broader audience. Microsoft appealed to older adult gamers as well as PC gamers. Marketing is important.
What do you think of PlayStation 3 and its launch?
I believe that the PlayStation is an excellent system. It has great games such as Resistance: Fall of Man. But I don't think it has a big advantage over the Xbox 360 or the Nintendo Wii. Each system has appealing games. That means that Sony will lose market share because of its high price. I think that Sony has largely mismanaged its launch. It seems to have fewer units available than Microsoft had last year, while Nintendo has shown what can happen with an excellent launch strategy.
Sony has pushed off Europe, and that is where the key battleground will be fought. Since Microsoft has exclusives on games that matter to Europeans, such as Fifa, that is going to be bad for Sony in Europe. Sony is in the same bad position that Microsoft was a year ago. But this problem is worse because if gamers cannot get a PS 3, they may opt for an Xbox 360 or a Wii. And if they do, Sony has lost those sales for good.
Will a third Xbox ever come out?
Yes, I believe it will. I would expect it to come out about five years after the debut of the Xbox 360. My guess is that it would appear in 2010.
Who thought about achievements in the first time? Do you think that Microsoft will ever give the opportunity to convert Gamertag Points in Microsoft points to be spent in the marketplace?
I don't know the answer to this question. I know that it came from the Xbox Live group, but I don't know who specifically dreamed this up. That's a good question for Microsoft. I think it would be an excellent idea for Microsoft to reward loyalty by converting Gamertag points to be spent in the marketplace. But I don't know if they will do it.
Will Xbox360 be able to become a console desirable mainly for its line up and not for its great perfomance? And will it be able to give to millions of people games like Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, ecc.. and all other pearls that made famous the PS2?
This is the hardest problem for Microsoft to overcome. Sony has momentum. Because it had the most popular platform, it had the loyalty of the game developers, it had the most exclusive games, and it had the biggest share of developer investment. Even now, Sony has more than twice as many game developers on staff as Microsoft. But Microsoft has spent a lot of money and is gaining ground. It has eliminated some important exclusives with Sony, including Grand Theft Auto. Microsoft has Halo and now Gears of War. It has also invested heavily in its line-up of games for 2007, including Too Human, Crackdown, Mass Effect and the Tom Clancy games. It convinced Ubisoft to give it an exclusive on the next Splinter Cell game, and to make Fifa an exclusive in Europe. Those are important franchises. Some of the big Japanese game makers are still favoring the Sony platform. But more are creating cross-platform titles. This is a problem that Microsoft can overcome with time, experience, and money.
What do you know about Microsoft's strategies to give Xbox 360 a bright future even in Japan? What has been made to set up good partnerships with the most important japanese software houses?
I am worried about Microsoft's future in the Japanese market. It really should think about buying a major Japanese game publisher in order to fix its problems in Japan. It tried much harder with the Xbox 360, investing more heavily in major developers such as Mizuguchi, Sakaguchi, Itagaki and others. The Blue Dragon game has sold well, particularly the bundle. But the Xbox 360 is still selling very few units in Japan. Microsoft made a major mistake by not delaying the launch in Japan when the games fell behind schedule. I don't know if they can recover now. I don't know if they have the stomach to keep throwing money at the Japanese market. And if I were a Japanese game developer now, I would abandon the Xbox 360 platform in Japan for lack of an installed base.
Do you think the DVD support will be capable enough for this generation of hardware? On the long run, will Hd-DVD and Blu-Ray support be necessary for games?
I think that the DVD support is adequate for now. There are only about four more years until Microsoft launches a new console. Gears of War fit on one disc. It is a short game, but the size of the DVD wasn't a constraining factor. We have seen many games on the PC use multiple discs. That hasn't driven the costs way up for game publishers. If necessary, the games can be split into multiple discs, as Nintendo did with the Resident Evil 4 game on the GameCube. Gamers didn't like it, but they still bought the games.
Do you think that Gears Of War will become the Xbox "symbol" together with Halo? And what's been people's reaction to the game there in USA?
The game has sold more than 2 million copies. That is a faster sales rate than Halo had at the beginning. There are more consoles out now than there were back then. Still, it's clear that Microsoft has created an important new franchise in addition to Halo. It has had a very good reception, both for the single player game and for the multiplayer game. People expect it to be like Halo, but it plays very different. It is more stop and pop, as one gamer said, than it is run and gun. It makes you think more about your tactics. I think that is why it is so popular. It will give Halo 3 a run for the money in popularity. But ultimately I think Halo 3 will outsell Gears of War.
Any rumors about Bungie's future?
I don't know anything beyond what Microsoft has said. They're creating a new studio with Peter Jackson that includes former Bungie studio manager Pete Parsons. That's been announced. They are creating Halo 3. They are creating a Peter Jackson game set in the Halo universe. And Ensemble Studios is doing a real-time strategy game based on Halo. The movie is on hold because of a dispute with the studios.
Damn interesting. 
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Originally Posted by hellsing
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