Talking to leading French financial newspaper, Les Echos, Microsoft boss Bill Gates let slip some of the features to be included in the Xbox 2 and how it will launch its assault on the living room.
Bill Gates stated that "the next-generation Xbox will feature digital media capabilities such as video and photo editing in addition to games."
Despite repeated assertions that Xbox is "just a games console," this moves it even closer toward the complete Home Entertainment System ideal. It appears the way forward is for this to be fully connected on a wider network, a linked home system that does everything except pull the flush.
As Bill Gates suggests, the Xbox 2 will feature "Internet capabilities without the need for direct connections through Wi-Fi."
All these bells and whistles aren't as unusual as they sound for a game console, as DVD instead of CD was a surprise inclusion at the time of the PS2 announcement. Don't be surprised if Xbox 2 also has video recording like Tivo, as well as complete digital image editing and exchange via the internet compatibility.
News source: Computer and Video Games
