What is Xbox?
Xbox is a new video game system by Microsoft that will have the power of a high-end gaming system and the flexibility of a personal computer. The consoles will also be Internet-compatible, allowing users to take part in multiplayer games with people around the country.
The console and games would be "competitively priced,'' with the Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation2 and Sega Dreamcast. The system is not likely to reach store shelves until 2001. The game console will feature a 733 megahertz processor and 64 megabytes of random-access memory.
The Xbox will have an Intel Pentium III chip running at speeds of at least 733 megahertz, a DVD-ROM drive and at least 64 megabytes of memory. Unlike other consoles, it also will have a hard drive that can store games or act as a ``virtual memory'' system to hold data for upcoming use.
The Xbox will come with a 4X DVD-Rom Drive that will have the ability to play DVD movies as well as the Xbox games. Like many current stand-alone DVD players, the Xbox is expected to support Dolby audio encoding.
Xbox will have 64 simultaneous audio channels, 3D positional audio (through DirectX), and Dolby AC3 audio encoding for crisp DVD theater-type sound.
|