Microsoft’s Gates confident over Xbox 360, HD DVD
AFP - Microsoft founder Bill Gates has expressed confidence in the success of the software giant's new Xbox game console as well as high-definition HD DVD technology.
Visiting Japan, a key battleground for next-generation video game consoles and DVD players, Gates said he hoped the Xbox 360 would win a new legion of older fans with its simple games and online multi-player system. "The Xbox came out for the last Christmas season. That's been a very sold-out product and really ushering in this idea of high-definition gaming -- realism -- but even more importantly, the idea of community. "Bringing that social community aspect into this we think is very critical and it will redefine and revolutionize those products, in fact make it attractive not just to young men but to people of all ages," he told reporters. The first Xbox, which was launched in November 2001 and came to Japan in February 2002 -- nearly two years behind Sony's PlayStation 2 -- flopped here, in part due to a lack of games that appealed to local tastes. This time Microsoft is doing its utmost to avoid history repeating itself and has stolen a march on Sony, which recently announced a six-month delay to the launch of its PlayStation 3 next generation console to November. Microsoft and Sony are also key players in another battle between global technology giants -- over the next-generation of DVD players. The US software behemoth is supporting the HD DVD format pushed by Toshiba and NEC, which is vying with the rival Blu-ray format, led by Sony and Panasonic, in a replay of the VHS-Betamax video tape battle of the late 1970s. "We think products like HD DVD and Xbox 360 are really going to drive consumers to expect that high definition," said Gates. He also indicated that Microsoft's next operating system, Vista, the release of which has been delayed until next year, could eventually be made compatible with the Blu-ray format if its developers share the necessary information. "In terms of Blu-ray that's also coming along. As they finalize their specifications we'll understand how well that's able to connect up to Windows. As yet they haven't shared that," he said.