Late Night Consoling

June 25, 2002 8:30 PM

Financial rag Red Herring ran an article today about Microsoft's Xbox. The article is notable for a few reasons, first and foremost because it brings up yet again the numbers Microsoft's spending on each console versus how much they get back...according to "a source familiar with the matter" Microsoft will lose $750 million in the fiscal year ending next week, and a whopping $1.1 billion in the following year. The other notable item in the article is the news that Microsoft's Xbox team has been working on a sort of Xbox/UltimateTV hybrid, which features the off and online gaming of the former, along with the PVR capabilities of the latter. It's not a bad idea, but pretty pointless, especially since the UltimateTV project was deemed a failure (and the entire staff moved to the Xbox team). Microsoft needs to concentrate on great games. Any R&D should be spent on researching their next-generation system, not goofy ways to play with their current tech (take a cue from Sega -- it doesn't work).

	Xbox 2 in 2006? Speaking of the inevitable Xbox 2, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer mentioned in a Japanese interview that the Xbox 2 would be ready in time for the next World Cup. I think this was a joke, and shouldn't be taken as a confirmation by any means.
	Sanity Don't Suck The first reviews from Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem are popping up online tonight...you can find ones at IGN (now unlocked), GameSpot and PlanetGameCube, and all three are overwhelmingly positive (and loaded with spoilers). The game is also available in our ShackReviews database, although no reviews have been submitted as of yet (hint, hint).
	From Xbox to GBA? In a very strange turn of events today, THQ announced that they will be "porting" several Xbox games to the GameBoy Advance. I use quotes, because there's no way that any Xbox game is going to make it without being completely written from scratch. These won't be ports by any means. More details (including confirmation that Halo isn't one of the games on the way) can be found at CNN/Money.
	Project Ego Diary After a brief period of being locked, Xbox.IGN's Project Ego diary is now available to the general public.
	PlayOnline Q&A A brief Q&A with Square's Toshiyuki Inoue can be found at XenGamers tonight. The questions deal with Square's ambitious PlayOnline service, with comments on other versions of Final Fantasy XI after the PC and PS2 (no plans) and the chances of third party games supporting POL (likewise, no plans).
	Golden Sun Q&A Also at XenGamers is a Camelot Q&A, talking with two members of the development team behind Golden Sun: The Lost Time, the sequel to the original Golden Sun.
	Soul Calibur II Soon Well, in Japan anyway...Namco has announced that Soul Calibur II will hit arcades across Japan on July 5th.
	XenoSaga Preview GameForms has posted a new preview of XenoSaga, which unfortunately still has no firm North American release date.

Console Game of the Evening (continuing Crossover Classics Week): Capcom vs. SNK for PSOne, PS2, Dreamcast and others. It's really amazing that this game exists, as it represents a dream come true for fanboys of both companies.

jason bergman

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