Beating Sony And Beyond

Takahashi makes it clear that the minds at Microsoft didn't create Xbox to conquer the gaming world. Instead, the company realized that Sony was using PlayStation to "supplant the PC as the gateway to the living room" and make the console a dominant force for digital entertainment.

To defeat Sony, Microsoft had to make some big bets with 360, and "Uncloaked" shows how some of them paid off big time. In the chapter "Code Name Trinity," Takahashi describes how Microsoft researched and analyzed Sony's Cell microprocessor, and at one point, after reviewing Sony's patent applications, determined that Sony's design of the chip would be too costly.

The book quotes Jon Thomason, head of software at Xbox, on Sony's Cell: "It was a huge upfront capital investment and I didn't think that they would get their money back later when they were making masses of cheap chips," he said. Thus, Microsoft decided not to follow Sony's Cell strategy. Fast forward to today and Sony has been criticized lately for the high cost of PS3, the full version of which is $100 more expensive than the 360.

One of Takahashi's greatest strengths in "Uncloaked" is his ability to bring many pivotal figures to life, such as Fries, Blackley and Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer at Microsoft. But if there is one noticeable flaw in "Uncloaked," it's that Takahashi spends too many pages dwelling on the original Xbox and the early stages of the gaming project to set the stage for 360. Still, it's a stage worth reading if you haven't already read Takahashi's first Xbox book, "Opening the Xbox."

"Uncloaked" may be a little too long (the review copy provided to TwitchGuru was nearly 500 pages), but the narrative is fairly taut. Takahashi constantly illustrates the pressure the Xbox team was under from Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. Ballmer, as CEO, was concerned about all the money and resources being devoted to the gaming business and pushed the Xbox team to improve its bottom line. Gates, on the other hand, wanted to know how and when Microsoft would be able to put its flagship product, the Windows operating system, on the console (and thereby get into people's living rooms). Neither objective was reached for Xbox, but the issues were revisited for 360.

Takahashi leaves few stones unturned in chronicling the ups and down of Xbox 360. The author also uses the final chapters of the book to present his own views on 360 and the future of the console wars. But I won't ruin the surprises, because "Uncloaked" is worth the read.

Grade: B+

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