In een gesprek met Electronic Gaming Monthly liet Microsoft topman Bill Gates zich uit over het ontwikkellingsproces van de nieuwe Halo 3,de Revolution controller en het grote verlies op het maken van de Xbox 360. Hier onder is het gesprek te vinden, lees snel verder.
Electronic Gaming Monthly: You told Time magazine, “The day Sony launches the new PlayStation, they walk right into Halo 3.” Is Bungie Studios OK with the development timetable you laid out for them?
Bill Gates: Well, they will set their own timetable. [Laughs] I don’t get to decide in a creative process like that exactly when things come together. Obviously they’re working hard on another breakthrough-as soon as that thing gets done we’ll put it out. We do think it’ll be a great Xbox 360 title, but the timing on that won’t be dictated by a competitor.
EGM: Isn’t there a bit of you that would like to tell Bungie, “You know, it’d sure be nice if you could get Halo 3 done in time for the PlayStation 3 launch….”
BG: No, no, no…it’s nice to have things ready for holiday seasons, so a bold executive might say to them, “Hey, you know, give it a shot for such and such a holiday season.” But really…I was just overebullient when I made that comment.
EGM: Microsoft has lost roughly $1 billion a year on the first Xbox since it launched. Was that worth it?
BG: We knew going into the original Xbox that we would lose…a lot. Or you can say, invest a lot-that’s the nice way to say that. And we knew the only thing we’d get out of that first generation was the learning and credibility that came with that experience.
EGM: If you lose money on the Xbox 360, will there be another successor?
BG: Of course! I mean, geez-it was my decision to get into videogaming, so we’re going to make that look like a good decision no matter how long it takes. [Laughs] But we feel very good that we’ll make money this time around. The things we got wrong last time, we’ve learned from.
EGM: 360’s graphics aren’t mind-blowing, especially without an HDTV…
BG: Well, the Xbox 360 graphics are amazing, and that’s where the high-definition generation really comes in. With Xbox Live [on the original Xbox] we made a big bet on broadband, that the penetration would come up. Here again, we’re making a bet that high definition becomes more prevalent. As you say, you don’t get the full benefit of the amazing graphics until you get up to HD, and then when you see that, it’s pretty stunning…
EGM: But broadband penetration when Xbox 1 launched was much higher than HDTV penetration is right now…
BG: I think that’s right…but the prices are coming down and the availability’s going up. So that is a bet that we’re making. In terms of our graphics pipeline, we actually think it’s better than what Sony will come out with.
EGM: Do you wish Microsoft had come up with the idea for the Nintendo Revolution controller?
BG: Uh…no. [Laughs] We’ll watch and see. Holding two different things like that? Anyway, Nintendo…you’ve got to give it to them. They march to the beat of a different drummer. Sometimes that makes them incredibly right and sometimes that makes them incredibly wrong. They’re certainly making a very different bet in terms of how much they’re putting into the graphics this time. I do think there is a question as to whether they can get outside the young age bracket at all. That’s been tough for them.
EGM: Who would serve as better backup, Master Chief or [crazy-ass Microsoft CEO] Steve Ballmer?
BG: You know, I don’t know how to give a serious answer to that… Master Chief is very good looking, he’s…
EGM: You know, we haven’t seen Master Chief’s face…
BG: Well, he’s kinda got this mysterious thing going on. There are some similarities…maybe he is Steve, for all we know. Steve sneaks off from time to time… Both are hardcore guys. 😛
