| Radeon 2006-02-25, 9:04 pm |
| http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14278
Microsoft confirms continued support for Xbox
Paul Loughrey 16:22 25/01/2006
Dismisses rumours of a manufacturing cessation
Microsoft has re-affirmed its continued support for the original Xbox
games console, dispelling rumours that hardware manufacturing for the
machine has now been officially stopped.
The rumour, which initially appeared on US website Kotaku.com, was
sparked by an email from an undisclosed source in the retail sector,
suggesting that hardware production of the original machine had stopped
and prompting immediate questions regarding the level of support for
existing customers, for both first and third-party games.
Microsoft had stated during last year's E3 expo in May that support for
the original console would continue in terms of hardware sales and
software launches, and it would seem reasonable to accept that the
focus of its attention has shifted somewhat recently, in light of the
continuing stock issues for its next-generation Xbox 360, which
launched in the US in November. However, that change in product launch
schedules and hardware support doesn't necessarily translate to
Microsoft's outright neglect of its original machine.
Gamesindustry.biz contacted Microsoft to clarify its position on the
Xbox, and a company spokesperson told us: "We remain very supportive of
the Xbox platform and there have been no announcements about plans to
cease or alter production."
"While we do not have other titles to announce at this time, we are
committed to providing existing Xbox customers with exciting gaming
experiences in 2006. There are 200 Xbox titles expected to ship this
year. It is the responsibility of the first party to create
genre-defining games for its platform and we are taking that stance
with both Xbox and Xbox 360. We feel we have an amazing ecosystem with
third parties providing content to Xbox at this time. We have done a
great job on the Xbox side with such franchises as Halo, Project Gotham
Racing, Fable, and Forza, not to mention our pioneering work we've
done for Xbox Live," the spokesperson concluded.
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