Microsoft Unveils Unified PC-Console

Microsoft Corp. announced it is taking steps to merge the graphics software environments of PC and its XBox game console into a set of middleware services and tools it calls XGA.

The move brings Microsoft’s DirectX graphics applications programming interface from the PC to the XBox for the first time, essentially letting game developers write one title that can be used on PCsand XBox machines.

The move could help attract more game developers to the XBox where it currently lags in number of titles behind Sony Corp.’s Playstation and Nintendo’s Gamecube.

“This is how Microsoft gets bigger [in consoles] fast,” said Rick Berman, chief operating officer for ATI Technologies that makes graphics chips both for PCs and the next-generation XBox. “This is a shot across Sony’s bow,” Bergman added.

Read more at EETimes