phyzik
07-12-2011, 05:43 PM
Rumor: Windows 8 to Bring Xbox 360 Games to PC
http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/118/1181844p1.html
Kernel code suggests Microsoft is working to integrate PC and Xbox 360 in unique ways.
Since Microsoft first revealed Windows 8 last year, it has pitched the upcoming operating system as a catalyst that will help reposition the company at the forefront of PC gaming. And according to today's rumors, the new OS could actually allow PC gamers to run and play Xbox 360 titles.
Various reports, including one by Engadget, indicate there are references in the Windows 8 kernel code that link the OS to the Xbox 360. Exactly how the OS will be connected to the Xbox 360 is all speculation, but bits of code like "XBOX_360_SYSTEM_CRASH" are leading some to make the 360-games-on-PC conclusion.
Others suggest Microsoft will use Windows 8 to create cross-platform multiplayer gaming between the Xbox 360 and PC. If that sounds familiar, it's because Microsoft attempted to do the exact same thing back in 2007 with the launch of Windows Vista, promising to change online gaming forever with cross-platform multiplayer FPS, Shadowrun -- a doomed game that only highlighted the difficulty in bringing the two platforms together.
However, according to Voodoo PC founder and former CTO of HP's gaming arm, Rahul Sood -- the man who became Microsoft's GM for System Experience in the Interactive Entertainment Business in late 2010 -- Microsoft continued to experiment with cross-platform integration after Shadowrun.
In a post on his blog last summer when he was still with HP, Sood lamented that Microsoft killed another cross-platform project when it discovered in various tests that PC gamers easily defeated their console counterparts in online battles.
Sood wrote: "I've heard from reliable sources that during the development they brought together the best console gamers to play mediocre PC gamers at the same game... and guess what happened? They pitted console gamers with their console controller, against PC gamers with their keyboard and mouse. The console players got destroyed every time. So much so that it would be embarrassing to the Xbox team in general had Microsoft launched this initiative."
Sood went on to state that he was disappointed the project was canceled as it might have pushed developers and gamers alike to pay more attention to PC gaming. A few months later, he was hired by Microsoft.
Microsoft has thus far detailed its re-imagined interface for Windows 8 without getting into details about the gaming aspects of the operating system. The software is expected to launch in early 2012.
http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/118/1181844p1.html
Kernel code suggests Microsoft is working to integrate PC and Xbox 360 in unique ways.
Since Microsoft first revealed Windows 8 last year, it has pitched the upcoming operating system as a catalyst that will help reposition the company at the forefront of PC gaming. And according to today's rumors, the new OS could actually allow PC gamers to run and play Xbox 360 titles.
Various reports, including one by Engadget, indicate there are references in the Windows 8 kernel code that link the OS to the Xbox 360. Exactly how the OS will be connected to the Xbox 360 is all speculation, but bits of code like "XBOX_360_SYSTEM_CRASH" are leading some to make the 360-games-on-PC conclusion.
Others suggest Microsoft will use Windows 8 to create cross-platform multiplayer gaming between the Xbox 360 and PC. If that sounds familiar, it's because Microsoft attempted to do the exact same thing back in 2007 with the launch of Windows Vista, promising to change online gaming forever with cross-platform multiplayer FPS, Shadowrun -- a doomed game that only highlighted the difficulty in bringing the two platforms together.
However, according to Voodoo PC founder and former CTO of HP's gaming arm, Rahul Sood -- the man who became Microsoft's GM for System Experience in the Interactive Entertainment Business in late 2010 -- Microsoft continued to experiment with cross-platform integration after Shadowrun.
In a post on his blog last summer when he was still with HP, Sood lamented that Microsoft killed another cross-platform project when it discovered in various tests that PC gamers easily defeated their console counterparts in online battles.
Sood wrote: "I've heard from reliable sources that during the development they brought together the best console gamers to play mediocre PC gamers at the same game... and guess what happened? They pitted console gamers with their console controller, against PC gamers with their keyboard and mouse. The console players got destroyed every time. So much so that it would be embarrassing to the Xbox team in general had Microsoft launched this initiative."
Sood went on to state that he was disappointed the project was canceled as it might have pushed developers and gamers alike to pay more attention to PC gaming. A few months later, he was hired by Microsoft.
Microsoft has thus far detailed its re-imagined interface for Windows 8 without getting into details about the gaming aspects of the operating system. The software is expected to launch in early 2012.