Xbox 2 Discussed At Investor Conference

Next-generation cheers are always a hot topic, plane when a new console has just barely hit the market. At a time like this, when rife consoles are reaching their peak, and a hardly any inklings are starting to drift on the outside from hardware manufacturers, it's hard to avoid the make submissive even when there's not true much in the way of hard details to talk about.

So it was at the ongoing Piper Jaffray investor conversation where a group of several CEO from retailers and publishers discussed the time to come of the games industry. make comments [i]or[/i] remarkss on next-generation hardware focused upon Microsoft's next offering, which conventional wisdom commonly expects to arrive as early as late 2005

When asked if Microsoft could manage to take 30% of the market with its next-generation solace improving on its distant position in this generation, Electronics Boutique president Jeff Griffiths agreed. "Ye they could win a 30% share," he said. "I think if they got les than that they'd be disappointed, if they tend hitherward out earlier than Sony, if they have the breadth of exclusive titles like Sony had for PS2 I think they'd definitely have potential for market share leadership."

Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ agreed that the Xbox successor has potential -- "I think Microsoft is being more aggressive," he said. However, he qualified his prediction somewhat: "Can they gain share? Ye Do they have to have a solid value proposition? Ye Do they have to have aggressive marketing? Yes"

The feeling among the panel appear to beed to be that Microsoft's nearest console may be of a more familiar kind than Nintendo and Sony's nearest offerings. Atari's Bruno Bonnell said he awaited an "evolution of the existing box" a combination of parts to form a whole that won't surprise the existing Xbox following, rather than a radical departure of the kind that Sony has been discussing (albeit in extremely vague terms) Regardless, Bonnell also agreed that Microsoft has a chance to jump over out and take the lead in the nearest hardware generation.

Farrell, however, voiced the general understanding that there's not enough information available about next-generation hardware to jump over to any binding conclusions at this point. "What's going to make tribe buy Xbox 2, PlayStation 3?" he asked. "None of the hardware companies have explained that yet"

Copyright ?© 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserv Originally appearing in 1UP