Microsoft Rumored to Have Worked on Cross-PC/Xbox Connection

Between Games for Windows and the Xbox 360, Microsoft has been able to lay claim to supporting two rather similar (in some regards) platforms at once. And while some things were able to be cross-integrated into both, the ability to play a game online between the two has not one of them. However, according to Voodoo PC founder and Hewlett-Packard’s Chief Technical Officer of gaming, Rahul Sood, it came very close to happening.

He writes on his blog of a rumor that Microsoft had been working to get LIVE going between PCs and Xbox, allowing the two parties to communicate and play against one-another in games such as Unreal or Gears of War. Unfortunately, they ran into a rather heavy deterrent which led to the cancellation of the entire project.

In testing the idea, they gathered some of the best console gamers they could find to play against some mediocre PC gamers. And that’s when things went south…

The console players got destroyed every time. So much so that it would be embarrassing to the XBOX team in general had Microsoft launched this initiative. Is this why the project was killed Who knows, but I’d love to hear from anyone involved — what happened?

Sood adds that he is disappointed that they didn’t push forward with the project anyway, as it might have helped to keep the now-floundering PC market’s head above water, with developers and gamers alike paying more attention to a medium which seems to be succumbing to piracy and developer/publisher disinterest.

Of course, there are keyboard and mouse solutions for the Xbox 360 readily available out there. The question is, would gamers who had been trounced by their PC brethren opt in for the better interface, or simply stick to competing against their fellow console gamers?

Source: via GameSpy