Sitting down with Xbox’s J Allard six months ago, at the 360’s unveiling, two things became very quickly apparent. The first was that this was a machine built around a philosophy, not a set of tech specs. The jargon of an ‘interactive entertainment experience powered by human energy’ and the ‘iconic gesture of a martial artist drawing in breath’ has been lampooned enthusiastically enough, but the idea of tailoring the machine to fit the user’s needs, rather than just maximising the possible processing power, has produced a very distinct console. The second was that, despite leading a project whose stated goal was to produce a machine that would appeal to as wide a demographic as possible, it was clear Allard had built a machine around a very personal vision. So, as it readies for launch, we spoke to him again to see how well it lived up to his expectations and to hear where he thinks it leaves his competitors.
|