Microsoft Announces Next-Gen Xbox Details at GDC:

Now if only the actual story were as compelling as the headline. :(

J. Allard issued a press release today before he gives his GDC keynote, announcing a few details on what is being called the "HD Era" of gaming, which meshes with some of the information that GameSpy claims are the current slate of specs for Xbox 2 (codenamed Xenon).

The key here is that the hardware is being designed with the software in mind, which strikes me as a departure from how Sony has designed their consoles. More specifically, it seems to me that the hardware is being designed with ONLINE software, specifically Xbox Live, in mind. According to the press released, voice chat, Friends lists, and custom playlists are all supported at the chip level.

Obviously, there isn't a lot of news that is appealing to gamers directly here, but it will be interesting to see how the developers respond. What concerns me is that the "announcement" of these sort of features seems to be coming late, very late for a console launching this year, but many developers have already been working with early hardware specs and assumptions on final specs. I've heard developers saying very positive things about Xbox 2, so it seems Microsoft is making some correct choices right now. We'll just have to see if the early launch pays off.

Update: One detail I managed to leave out ... Microsoft is mandating that EVERY Xbox 2 title be Live-Enabled. Looks like Microsoft's going to defend their claim to the online console space rather vigorously.