Introduction
You could argue that no one outside of Microsoft knows more about its Xbox game business than Dean Takahashi. A staff writer for the San Jose Mercury News, Takahashi has spent several years researching and writing about the Xbox, which has led to his authoring two books. The first, "Opening The Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan for an Entertainment Revolution," was released in 2002; it focused on Microsoft's initial foray into the gaming world. Now Takahashi has a new tome that documents the making of Microsoft's next-generation console, dubbed "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked."
The new book, coming soon to bookstores everywhere, details the making of the Xbox 360, and Microsoft's attempts to out-duel Sony. Takahashi probes every aspect of the project, from the departure of much of the original Xbox creative team, to the device's initial design phase and hardware engineering effort, to the ambitious and on-time launch of the console last year. Along the way, Takahashi interviews and profiles such notable figures as Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Ed Fries, J Allard and Robbie Bach. Takahashi, who will moderate a panel discussion at E3 on Thursday, May 11th, gives TwitchGuru his thoughts on the 360 and beyond.
Rob Wright: After writing two books on the Xbox, how different would you say that division and its people are from the rest of Microsoft?
Dean Takahashi: I think the Xbox originally grew up as a very different kind of business within Microsoft, but today it's a lot more like the rest of the company. With the development of the Xbox 360, there was much more corporate and cultural integration with the rest of Microsoft. For example, I think this book only has the F-word in it once or twice, whereas my first book had a lot more of that kind of language. The original Xbox team was different; guys like Seamus Blackley were more gaming people than Microsoft people. They raised a lot of hell and they almost always took action first and asked for forgiveness later. Today, the Xbox division is much more corporate.
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