Why Microsoft Embraced Gaming 146
wjousts writes "A interesting take on the birth of the Xbox from Technology Review: 'When the original Xbox video-game console went on sale in 2001, it wasn't clear why Microsoft, known for staid workplace software, was branching out into fast-paced action games. But Microsoft decided that capitalizing on the popularity of gaming could help the company position itself for the coming wave of home digital entertainment. "Microsoft saw the writing on the wall," says David Dennis, a spokesman for Xbox. "It wanted to have a beachhead in the living room." ... Now Microsoft is linking Xbox 360, its most successful consumer-focused brand, with others that have not been as well received. It is integrating Bing, its search engine, into Xbox and Xbox Live to enable people to search for multimedia content. By the end of the year, Microsoft is expected to unveil an updated Xbox Live design that is more in line with the look of Windows phones and the forthcoming Windows 8.'"
Re:Because (Score:4, Informative)
This short-hand history does little to explain anything. The XBox did not spring forth from Microsoft, like Athena from the head of Zeus, "because they saw the handwriting on the wall".
Xbox was an extrapolation of work begun, at least, wit the introduction of DirectX in 1995. Equally, the history of MS Flight Simulator must be considered. This was rooted in a time when consoles were just a scroll and jump away from Pong.