The Xbox Takes the Stage
The day after E3. “It’s been a while!” Yoo Jae-won greeted the man warmly backstage at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the venue for E3. “Huh!” Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, who had been absorbed in final checks with about an hour left before the event began, turned his head at the sudden greeting and looked startled. Yoo Jae-won’s smiling face was the last thing he had expected. “Congratulations on your promotion to president as well.”
“Thank you! And congratulations on your marriage, Chairman.” Only then did Ken Kutaragi offer a proper greeting. It had been quite some time since Ken Kutaragi’s promotion to president, and even longer since the announcement of Yoo Jae-won’s marriage, yet this was the first time they were exchanging congratulations. They had not seen each other in so long that the moment felt almost unreal. Still, there was a trace of awkwardness in Ken Kutaragi’s voice as he congratulated Yoo Jae-won on his marriage. That was only natural. Ever since ID Group had announced its entry into the console business, Sony had been at war. Sony was determined never to let anyone catch up, while ID Group aimed to surpass Sony in a single stroke. They had been trading thinly veiled barbs through the press recently, so Yoo Jae-won’s friendly approach felt distinctly uncomfortable.
“Wow, the stage looks incredible.” In contrast, Yoo Jae-won felt genuine warmth toward Ken Kutaragi regardless of any media posturing, and he made no effort to hide it. He was the kind of man who could separate business from personal feelings without difficulty. That was why he could admire Sony’s stage preparations with pure appreciation. “Haha, we owe it to you, Chairman.”
Ken Kutaragi’s awkwardness seemed to fade with time, and he even managed a pointed joke. It was not entirely untrue, either. Yoo Jae-won’s influence was undeniably responsible for the stage being far more spectacular than any previous game show. After all, PlayStation 2’s original release date had been March of this year. By last summer, the hardware had been nearly complete. Then ID Group announced its entry into the gaming industry, promising extraordinary specifications at an ultra-low price, and Sony Computer Entertainment was thrown into chaos. The completed PlayStation 2 prototype simply could not match the specs Yoo Jae-won had previewed.
Ken Kutaragi knew exactly what had made the original PlayStation a success: superior hardware, high-quality games, and the right price. Those three elements had allowed Sony to win the fifth-generation console war. “I hear your Xbox is quite something as well. Thanks to you, we’ve had quite the struggle.”
That was why PlayStation 2 had undergone a massive spec upgrade. It had been no easy task for Ken Kutaragi. When Yoo Jae-won made a decision, hundreds of millions of dollars could be spent without hesitation, but Ken Kutaragi had to convince Sony’s top executives. Fortunately, he succeeded. The previous console’s overwhelming success had given him considerable influence within the group. Even so, the approved budget fell short of what he had hoped for. It was enough to compete with the expected Xbox specs, but not enough to surpass them. Working under limited resources to extract the best possible result had left Ken Kutaragi so stressed that he began losing his hair.
“Haha, I just have a bit of a passion for games. The fiercer our competition, the more joy it will bring to gamers.” Yoo Jae-won’s simple reply left Ken Kutaragi momentarily speechless. Passion for games, he thought. If that passion had been even slightly stronger, he might have been driven to despair. Yet he could not refute the statement. It was undeniably true that the more fiercely ID Group and Sony clashed, the greater the benefit to gamers. The final PlayStation 2 specifications were clearly superior to the prototype, after all.
“Ah, it’s almost time to begin the show.” Unfortunately, their reunion ended there. There was much they could have discussed as leaders of the gaming industry, but the conference was about to start, so Yoo Jae-won extended his hand first. “Yes, let’s meet again soon. I wish you every success.” Ken Kutaragi nodded and clasped his hand.
A short while later, an announcement echoed through the convention center: “Ladies and gentlemen, the Xbox conference is beginning on Main Stage A.” It was the signal that E3’s first major event had started.
When preparations for E3 had begun, there had been some maneuvering over the order of conferences. The belief that the final slot belonged to the star of the show existed in both Korea and the United States. That silent contest ended abruptly when Yoo Jae-won volunteered to go first. He was confident that the Xbox presentation would not be overshadowed by Sony’s closing slot. If anything, Sony would have to fight desperately not to be crushed beneath the Xbox’s momentum.
Buoyed by that confidence, Yoo Jae-won stepped onto the prepared main stage with his usual commanding presence.
The E3 main stage was packed to capacity. Every seat was taken, and the aisles and stairs were filled with people. Their faces were alight with anticipation. After all, the Xbox specs announced at last year’s IDDC 99 had been extraordinary. Even now, building a PC with equivalent performance would cost at least six hundred dollars. Moreover, the video game console market, long dominated by Sony, had begun to feel stagnant. ID Group’s decision to position itself as a rival had injected fresh excitement into the scene, and the crowd’s enthusiasm was palpable. When Yoo Jae-won appeared on stage, the cheers erupted without end.
“Everyone~! I can’t begin the presentation until you settle down.” The roar showed no sign of stopping, so Yoo Jae-won had to wave them down. He knew full well that if the presentation fell flat, that enthusiasm would cool instantly. Though filled with confidence, he was not arrogant. That was why he had spared no expense in staging the event. The stage was dressed in Xbox’s signature white and vivid fluorescent green, with the X logo artistically incorporated throughout. For the main screen, four state-of-the-art laser projectors had been deployed to create an enormous, crystal-clear display.
“Now then, let’s begin the show with the prepared video!” As the audience’s cheers subsided and they leaned forward in anticipation, Yoo Jae-won called out with a confident voice, “Showtime!”
In an instant, all the stage lights dimmed to their lowest setting, plunging the world into darkness. A deep electronic hum resonated through the hall. Cracks began to appear on the black main screen, and green light seeped through. The cracks spread until, with a resounding crash, the black world shattered and the Xbox X logo emerged. What followed was a promotional video for Xbox, rich with artistic CG.
The highest-quality CPU from AMD was delivered, followed by a GPU with powerful 3D processing capabilities. High-grade components from numerous suppliers came together on a green circuit board to form a complete, standalone gaming system. Then the Android robot, now a global icon, appeared and leapt into the CPU. Artistic mechanical arms materialized and began attaching peripherals: a DVD-ROM drive, heat pipes paired with thick heatsinks, low-noise fans forming the cooling solution, and a hard disk for data storage. With each added component, the Xbox took clearer shape. Finally, the casing was fitted. Once again, mechanical arms moved to assemble the four-piece shell. The result was a sleek, elegant form in clean white with refined green accents that would look at home anywhere.
“This is the Xbox I promised to the gamers.” As the intro video ended, Yoo Jae-won reappeared on stage, holding an actual Xbox identical to the one shown on screen. A pre-positioned HD camera captured the moment and displayed it in large scale. Ironically, the HD camera itself was a Sony product. Japan had pioneered analog HD broadcasting around 1988 and was actively preparing for digital HD as well. Their strength in broadcast equipment was particularly notable; they had produced a high-quality 720p HD digital camera. True to Sony’s preference for proprietary standards, it used DV tape as the storage medium. Still, it remained the finest ENG camera available, perfectly capturing the Xbox in Yoo Jae-won’s hands.
It matched the console seen in the intro video exactly. Yet compared to the unreal, CG-rendered version, the physical unit in his hands felt slightly less luxurious. That was inevitable. The casing was the component most exposed to cost-cutting pressures. Yoo Jae-won had wanted a design elegant enough to stand out in any living room, but elegance came at a price. In the end, he had been forced to compromise, resulting in a white and fluorescent-green plastic shell. The final shape diverged significantly from the original concept. Even so, Yoo Jae-won could confidently declare that it achieved a level of design refinement far beyond Microsoft’s original Xbox. What had once resembled bulky industrial equipment had been transformed into a form that would feel perfectly natural in any living room.
Yoo Jae-won placed the Xbox on the prepared table. Staff members in black moved swiftly to connect the necessary cables. Once the OK signal was given, he continued.
“It was difficult holding back all this time, but I’m truly delighted to finally be able to speak to you with confidence.” The gamers in the audience leaned in, curious about what he would say next. “The Xbox had a target. The very specifications I announced myself at last year’s IDDC 99. But true innovation isn’t about being satisfied once you reach that line. It’s about surpassing it.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. “That’s right. The final Xbox has not only reached its target but exceeded it by 120 percent.”
At the same time, the retail version’s specifications appeared on screen. For easy comparison, the specs announced at IDDC 99 were shown on the left, while the retail Xbox specs appeared on the right. The most striking difference was in the CPU. Originally planned as an 800 MHz dual-core AMD chip, the retail model had been upgraded to 900 MHz. The GPU had also changed. A custom chip based on NVIDIA’s GeForce 3 had been planned, but it was replaced with a custom chip based on ATI’s Radeon R200. Yoo Jae-won had initially intended to use an NVIDIA GeForce-based chip, but ATI had been far more aggressive. As a latecomer compared to NVIDIA, which already dominated the PC market, ATI had placed a massive bet, unwilling to fall further behind. Unlike NVIDIA, which had been reluctant to develop a custom chip exclusively for Xbox, ATI had been extremely proactive and accommodating during price negotiations. In the end, ATI won the contract.
The GPU ultimately adopted for the Xbox was the custom chip R200X, running at 400 MHz with 128 MB of dedicated video memory. Even among PC graphics cards released in the 2000s, it ranked as mid-range or higher, capable of stable 60 frames per second at 720p resolution in most games.
“Some of you may be wondering whether the improved specs will raise the price. Let me assure you that won’t happen. Promises aren’t made to be broken; they’re made to be kept. That’s why the recommended retail price of the Xbox remains $299.99.”
The figure $299 appeared prominently on screen. The audience, which had been holding its breath, erupted in cheers. Higher specifications had been achieved while honoring the promised $299 price. It was a bold strategic decision by Yoo Jae-won, who was willing to absorb losses to dominate the entertainment market. Surprisingly, however, ID Group’s losses were not as severe as feared. They had braced for a $200 loss per unit, but the actual production cost had been brought down to the mid-$100 range. This was the power of mass production. A single order for the CPU alone had been placed for ten million units. With ID Group’s massive order eliminating concerns over excess inventory, AMD had focused on dual-core production. As manufacturing scaled, the process became familiar, defect rates dropped, and yields rose. Price competitiveness improved, which in turn drove costs lower. If Xbox sold tens of millions of units, component costs would fall even further, eventually allowing profitable sales.
Amid the enthusiastic reaction, Yoo Jae-won paused to catch his breath. The presentation was not over yet. “But is raw power the only virtue of a game console?”
After a few seconds, he resumed, and every eye and ear in the audience focused on him once more. “I know that isn’t the answer. I can say with confidence that securing first-party and third-party support required just as much effort as building the Xbox itself. So, shall we take a look at the launch titles prepared by Xbox’s first-party studios?”
As Yoo Jae-won finished speaking, the main stage fell into darkness. Moments later, a deep synthesizer tone, an upbeat guitar riff, and a harmonious, androgynous vocal filled the air. A sky-blue title screen appeared. It was the historic debut of Halo, Xbox’s eternal partner.