GameSpy talked to everyone they could at the Game Developers Conference to learn all the info available regarding Microsoft's next console and they shared that info with their readers. Most of it is old hat; three 3GHz PowerPC cores, standard DVD drive, optional hard drive.. but some new hardware facts are that it will have 256MB of RAM, memory units varying between 64MB and 1GB in size, and a camera. The camera is USB 2.0 and can take 1.2 megapixel shots and act as a VGA webcam.
Microsoft is requiring all developers to make games be Xbox Live aware and "to plan their games for high-definition. The baseline is 720p at 1280x720 for gameplay and video clips, 16:9 aspect ratio, 5.1 Surround Sound, and anti-aliasing. These features are the current minimum requirement." All games can use custom soundtracks and support the MP3 and WMA formats. A profiling system is being put in place that tracks a myriad of items: controller settings, in-game achievements, parental controls, your Gamertag, reputation, among other stuff.
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