The X-Box and the what?

Just so I don't lose you, you should know what the X-Box is up against. Yes, what the X-Box is up against. Whilst most of us wait with bated breath for the release of what is largely touted to be the biggest revolution in gaming since Atari (Do you remember Atari? I do.), the work of a Malaysian company in the field of convergence technology is going to give the X-Box - and PlayStation 2 - a run for their money. The D-Box by Cuzzy Advanced Convergence Laboratories (M) Sdn. Bhd. is much more than just a gaming console. It is a PC at heart - and that is what makes the D-BOx different.

This means that the D-Box also runs computer programmes. Everything that you do on your desktop can be run on the D-Box: Photo and video-editing software, Internet Explorer (yes, it does connect to the Internet) and email programmes, and, just to make this completely clear right from the start, computer games. But not only computer games. But not only computer games. It also runs most Sony PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast games. Like your PC, you can also watch VCD movies, and have multiple windows open for you to watch the eight o'clock news whilst checking your email. Oh yeah, it also lets you type a letter with your favourite word processing software, too.

This is simply because the D-Box runs on Windows. Something which Microsoft cannot do with the X-Box.

But they're Microsoft!

I know. Multi-billion dollar conglomerate, right? A market leader on the technology front, right? Enough resources to do something like this easy, right? Yup. Correct in all cases. Except for the sticky problem of Windows, Microsoft's flagship product. It's a matter of conflict of interest, really. Let me explain.

Who are Microsoft's biggest customers? Computer manufacturers. The guys who make the hardware. The love-hate relationship that exists between PC manufacturers and Microsoft os evident. Users want Windows, PC manufacturers want users. They bundle Windows OS into their products, probably getting a real good deal from Microsoft for the software.

So what happens if Microsoft were to make the X-Box a PC? It's not that they don't have the technology; of course they do! It's simply because that if they did, no one would really need to buy a PC from Dell or Compaq anymore. So what happens? Microsoft loses their biggest customers overnight. And no matter who you are, you don't bite the hand that feeds you!

So whilst Microsoft is spending loads of marketing dosh convicing people that X-Box is not a PC - that it does not run on a PC platform, that it is just a gaming console - the makers of the D-Box couldn't care less (being small, and hardly one of Microsoft's "key accounts"). But before we go there, let's give the X-Box its due, and see what it is.

What is X-Box?

The X-Box is a gaming console, so says Microsoft. Of course, it's not any ordinary console. It's got some pretty neat features, like broadband connectivity via an Ethernet port and a NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU) that claims to deliver more than three times the graphics performance of other consoles. It also runs with an Intel 733MHz processor, which is supposedly the most powerful processing unit of any gaming console. And it has an internal hard drive to store game information - a first in the console gaming industry.

Sounds like a PC to me. But the X-Box also has a "multisignal audio-video connector". that allows it to be hooked up to televisions and home theatre systems. A powerful device, without a doubt. Everyone knows that computer games deliver so much more quality in the gaming experience than console games. Graphics ar more realistic. Games can be more complicated, with more features. Gaming consoles. thus far have not had luxury of being able to handle the magnitude of information associated with full- fledged PC games.

Gameing with the X-Box will also bring online gaming into the living-room, via it's broadband connectivity feature. And although us unlucky surfers in Malaysia may have to wait a little before broadband actually becomes cheap enough (and available enough!) to subscribe to, we will get there eventually. Microsoft has already introduced several gaming titles to be played with the X-Box like Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding (in which you can actually snowboard in your living room on t he peripheral), Blood Wake and Fusion Frenzy, which are engineered specifically for the high processing-power of the X-Box. Other gaming companies are courting Microsoft too, most notably Sega and God Games with their versions of shoot-em'up games for the X-Box.

X-Box has a lot going for it, namely, the name Microsoft, and the biggest launch that the company has ever decided to undertake. Many, many gaming firms are going to make their games if not exclusively for, at least comptible with the X-Box in anticipation of how big the console will be.

When Sonly released PlayStation 2, demand was so good that they limited the number of Playstation 2 units per household to one. They still reserve the right not to entertain multiple unit purchases. Demand for the X-Box is thought to be somewhat similar, which is why they have been holding back the release - because they're afraid of being unable to meet expected demand. The X-Box is powerful - that, at least, is certain. Hmm... could that be because it's really running on a PC platform.

What is the D-Box?

A question not easily answered. At first glance, it is a gaming console. Switch it on, and it's a PC. Hook it up, and it's a tuner. Play it, and it's a Vcd player. Wht is it not?

None of the above, if I had my choice. In essence, what the D-Box has done is take away the need for multiple boxes. Put yourself in the shoes of a manufacturer: Why offer consumers an all-in-one-product, when you could sell them individual appliances? In a few years time, with the advent of digital broadcasting, HDTVs (High Definition Televisions) are going to become standard living-room equipment. Everyone is going to need to have one if they still want to watch TV. In the words of one observer, "The television is obsolete". The D-Box - like the X-Box - changes this; I'll tell you all about that later. First, a look at the D-Box as a gaming console.

For the test, I asked myself what the most demanding game (in terms of system requirements) is out there on the market. I came up with the answer: Serious Sam. With recommended requirements of Windows 95/98/ME; Pentium III 550 MHz; 128MB RAM; video card with 32MB video memory; sound card; 8X CD-ROM drive; 450MB hard drive space, it is a game to be reckoned with.

If you're running a PC, you should have no problems with this game. With graphics that defy the imagination (in particular the sunrays - cool!), Serious Sam is what one might call a high-end PC game. The D-Box is also compatible with most PlayStation and DreamCast games, and this is what sets it apart. A software called Bleem, downloadable from the Internet, is used as an "emulator" between the PlayStation and DreamCast formats and the personal computer. With it, you can now play most titles from these other guys, and Cuzzy says that soon, Nintendo, too. The need for separate is eliminated by this technology, and serious gamers will probably appreciate that.

I played Championship Motorcross for PlayStation on the D-Box, with visibly less detail than Serious Sam. This is because - as any avid gamer can tell you. PC games are far more higher-end compared to console games. Playing MotorCross with a keyboard was quite challenging, however, buy switching to a gamepad easily rectified this.

(Bleem was involved in a major lawsuit because of this software with Sony (PlayStation), but won the case).

I used a wireless keyboard for the endurance test, the D-Box also allows for hook-ups with game pads, joysticks and other gaming devices which are USB connectible. Four USB ports are available for use; which brings me to the next point.

Cuzzy claims that their endurance testing was conducted over a week: The D-Box was left on with 30 applications running simultaneously over five days. Running on Windows 98 (they say it's most stable Windows OS to date), there were no system crashes of any sort.

Easily hooked up to home theatre systems too, the D-Box is connected via a series of loops to the TV. The aerial-VCR-D-BOX-TV loop ensures that you still get to watch Tv and VHS, and more. The nifty piece of equipment can record up tp 20 hours of full audio-video material, so even if you don't have a blank tape to record on, you can still record to your hard disk. Record from the VHS, even. Seeing as it's a PC, it also plays VCD movies. Hook it up to a printer/scanner, and you can use it for video conferencing. Essentially, everything you've ever wanted your PC to do, which it couldn't, the D-Box can.

Cuzzy believes that what is going to turn their customers on is the ability of the D-box to hook-ip to hi fis. Play MP3s or even your favourite CDs on it, and blast it through your system... while surfing. Here again, computer gaming will never be the same - no more 100 W desktop speakers for me!

Personally, I never thought I'd have much fun surfing in the living room. But armed with a wireless keyboard, I don't think I ever had so much fun doing so. Even the World Wide Wait became bearable, since I was prostrate on the couch. Pictures were larger and clearer and for the first time in I don;t know how long, I actually took the trouble to scroll down to the bottom of the homepage of Yahoo! just to see what was there.

If all this wasn't enough already, the D-Box (and X-Box, mind you) has something else that is going to save people a ton of money in th future. The fact that HDTVs are going to become living-room standards in the mid-future is scary; HDTVs are expensive, and can set you back by a few thousand at the very least. But it's either that, or you don't watch TV anymore as broadcast signals turn digital.

Digital-analogue decoders are nothing new, and this is what the D-Box uses to make that your current TV doesn't go the way of the dinosaurs before its due time. This converts digital signals back into analogue ones, so that existing TVs still understand the broadcast, giving it at least a couple mre years to go.

What the D-Box does, in essence, is do away with the need for multiple boxes/consoles to do different things. Instead of one VCD player, one gaming console, one broadband converter, one decoder and still the need for one storage unit, the D-box brings it all in one.

And - this is going to get your attention - because it's actually a PC, you can buy it through the EPF scheme.

There have benn many, many times when I wished that I didn't have to traipse all the way upstairs to boot up my desktop just ot check my email after a day's work. And there have been many times that I wished I could watch my pirated VCDs on the telly downstairs, lying comatose on the couch instead of upright in the study (I don't own a VCD player).

It's hard trying to convince someone to learn how to use a computer; but if it is actually a gaming console, or a TV-"enchancer" for that matter, they may show a little more interest.

Then there is always the question of priority. There is a TV is almost every Malaysian household; but PC penetration rates in Malaysia remain one of the lowest in Asia. Do Malauysians value entertainment more than knowledge? Maybe, but whatever the case, a neat kid like the D-Box makes that idiot box smart. And that must be a good thing. Parents may not have second thoughts about buying a computer like this one since it's so much more, and kids are going to have a much easier time convincing their parents that their gaming console is whoops! - It's a PC!

X-Box vs D-Box

Okay, so this is what it all comes down to. Mono-e-Mono; One-on-One;X-Box vs d-Box.
The X-Box is powerful as a gaming device. It's got technology previously unavailable to gaming consoles (we know why, of course), and is ready for future developments in the gaming experience like network/Internet multiplayer gaming and the inevitable arrival of HDTVs.

The X-Box also has a lot of indirect benefits. Because they're Microsoft, possibly every gaming centre that has an ounce of common sense is going to make games for the X-Box; there will be plenty of support readily available; lots of fanzines and websites will be dedicated to it (there already are). So the X-Box will certainly attract the best of the gaming world to it like bees to honey.

The D-Box, on the other hand, cannot yet claim the status or the apparent popularity that the X-Box does. Games will not be designed for the D-Box - at least not yet - and a worldwide presence like the one the X-Box has is going to be difficult to attain. But it does have one distincht advantage in terms of gaming: Its games range covers almost all PlayStation, DreamCast, and soon, GameCube games; and, it also runs the best games of all: PC games. This is where all the hype about the X-Box fails. Though the X-Box will have Sega games compatible with it, it will never be able to offer the usability or utter cross compatibility that the D-Box can.

The D-Box does not pose any threat to Microsoft - It's hardly going to put X-Box out of business! But it does pose a small threat to other PC manufacturers, especially the independents. It's something people have been dreaming about for years - a computer, TV-playback, gaming console, whatever... all in one - and now it has finally arrived, there could be a little confusion. Perhaps (hopefully), competition will set in, and that can only be good for the gamer and consumer, as companies up the ante and offer higher-quality, more feature-packed boxes in order to get ahead. Already Nokia has a similar set-top box that promises to bring broadband Internet to the living room (it is not a gaming console, though).

As a PC, the D-Box is sound. Shipping with 30GB of hard disk space, capable of multi-tasking, also broadband and HDTV ready, and scaleable, it's as good a PC as any. The advantage of it being able to hook-up to any TV without too much fuss is what is going to help it fly with the older generation. The price-tag - about RM3,000 - might give people headaches deciding between it and an oridnary consoles like the X-Box.

But that's small price to pay to be part of the future.