Mystery Block Tuesday

July 1, 2008

Today marks the creation of a new feature for this blog of mine, known as Mystery Block Tuesday! This column will commentate on the latest gaming rumors and speculation on the net. And what better way to start this endeavor than with a personal crackpot theory.

________________________________

Theory: Computers will gain the ability to play Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3 games.

Evidence: Two weeks ago a crafty Neogaf forum poster had cracked the login screen to a Microsoft marketing website. The contents of the site were PR statements on unannounced games, questionnaires pertaining to these titles, and details regarding additions to Xbox Live! Services. Intellisponse the marketing group behind the site has yet to comment on the leaks. This site however has been a Microsoft affiliate for numerous years; which gives the information credibility. The leaks primarily concerned Activision games, fourteen Spiderman game concepts and a 360 balance board Tony Hawk, but the most interesting leak was a software/hardware item labeled Trioxide.

First reported on gaming blog Kotaku, the PC product Trioxide allows gamers to play all current generation consoles on their desktop. Further details are sparse, the item would come with two different price tags; a $49 dollar edition and a $299 version. Why such an immense gulf between the prices? An even better question is whether this is a hardware or software peripheral? The very best question being how this product could avoid a barrage of legal suits?

I scoffed at the idea when I first read the news two weeks ago, but after some candlelight pondering, solutions to these issues began to formulate in my mind. Maybe Trioxide isn't nearly as impossible as it first seemed.

The first question to be resolved is in what form Trioxide would arrive. Are users going to install the software on their computer and then emulate the games, or could the device plug into your computer? The software route when evaluated is the least likely. Emulation software is an inadequate process of running console games on PC. Transforming the hardware framework of a modern console to run on a computer framework eats processing power, and even the best emulation suffers countless software errors. If someone is forking over nearly 300 rupees for a product, it should work out of the box. Of course a hardware solution also features numerous issues. The product would still be incompatible with most computers and there is also the legal matter of whole-sale replicating hardware without permission.

Unless, of course, you were given the legal go ahead to reproducing the hardware. Now presenting Exhibit A. Electronic Gaming Monthly's rumor section is a well-known article for posting more fact than fiction. Most gaming sites post information from the EGM rumor mill as fact. For those too lazy to click upon Exhibit A, the article reveals that the magazine's rumor section claims that Microsoft is allowing third-party Xbox360 production. This opens the opportunity for a company to produce the Microsoft console after monetary values are settled.

This wouldn't be the first time a hardware device allowed users to play console games on their computer. The Sega CD for instance was manufactured into IBM computers. The $299 also falls in line with the most basic version of Xbox360 hardware. But then what does the $49 version include you ask? My guess is that the device is a capture card. These wonderful usb devices allow a console to plugged into the usb adapter and then be routed to the PC. The bonus of such a setup is the ability to play on a computer monitor. For those less tech savvy, monitors feature HD-quality displays. A high-def experience without the expensive television.

Another key issue to address is Xbox Live! Services. Multiplayer is a big focus for Microsoft's Xbox360 and to lose a portion of their audience to a device would be counter-productive, but even this has a possible fix. Welcome to Games for Windows, Microsoft's software community service which is attached to all computer products. Users signed up to this service play and communicate much in the same way as Xbox Live!. Perhaps the services could combine into one network. A big endeavor for a third-party console producer, but Microsoft would receive a few benefits. For example, Games For Windows was created by the corporate giant to revitalize the somewhat debilitated PC games market. What better way to bring more gamers into the PC fold than by attracting console gamers. This would also increase the Xbox360 software market for potentially increased revenue.

A few questions remain. How would the Wii or PS3 be included with Trioxide? I haven't a clue, but perhaps the product was never meant to include all three at first release. And lastly, how would Trioxide function on diverse computer hardware? Certainly not every PC would be capable of using this hardware, but then why take the financial risk if this is true.

I've done my best logical deduction to uncover the possibilities of Trioxide's existence, but it remains a very unlikely prospect. This argument has been fabricated on conjecture, rumor, and speculation of other sources; which devalues all of the above, but remains worthy of consideration.

Possibility of Being True: 40%

Note: No mathematical system exists for rumor debunking.