Zune announced, gaming bits not

  • By Jim Welte, Tim Surette, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 21, 2006 2:56 pm PT

Microsoft confirms its digital media player is in development, but gaming potential is just that for now...potential.

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The battle for digital music supremacy officially began today with a song from NYC antifolk singer Regina Specktor.

Microsoft finally confirmed today its plans to launch its own digital music project, dubbed Zune, with a company statement and a Flash-animation teaser site featuring the song "Us" by Spektor. The line of would-be iPod/iTunes killers (and possible threat to the PSP and DS) has been the worst-kept secret throughout the electronics world, but Microsoft had so far declined to comment on the rumors of its move to take on Apple, Sony, and Nintendo.

"Today we confirmed a new music and entertainment project called Zune," Microsoft GM of marketing Chris Stephenson said in a statement. "Under the Zune brand, we will deliver a family of hardware and software products, the first of which will be available this year. We see a great opportunity to bring together technology and community to allow consumers to explore and discover music together."

As for the gaming prospects of Zune, nothing has yet been announced. When asked about the chance that Zune may compete with the PSP and DS in the portable gaming sector, Microsoft wasn't exactly forthcoming. "While we do not have specific details to provide, the primary focus of Zune is to deliver great music and entertainment experiences."

All that has been declared is that the Zune brand will encompass "a family of hardware and software products" and will incorporate various digital entertainment services. But confirmation that the first Zune product will be music-centric and that other entertainment services are on the map, as well as Microsoft's push towards its Live Anywhere service, definitely leaves the door open to another Zune down the line being a portable game player.

Microsoft's penchant for such teaser sites is notorious: Earlier this year, its Project Origami site helped build hype for its line of "Ultra-Mobile" PCs. In 2005, it used a series of mysterious games on ourcolony.net to slowly unveil its Xbox 360 game console. (Microsoft has since sold the ourcolony.net URL to a Florida real-estate developer.)

For more on Zune and Microsoft's plans for the device, head over to MP3.com.

101 Comments

  • ewmgreendawg

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 11:14 pm PT

    i hope ms gives apple some competition in the portable music market. i'd really like to see these prices come down on mass storage portable players.

    too bad its called zune. why dont they just call it the dicknose? that would sound just as lame but get more attention.

  • Game13a13y

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 12:11 pm PT

    the teaser video is so lame....

  • Kfoss

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:29 am PT

    what is it with names these days Wii and now Zune?....GAG! MAN

  • tuff_gong92

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 9:09 am PT

    Wii sound awsome compared to "ZUNE". I hate M$ even more for this.

  • pwnr

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 7:23 am PT

    Zune? AHAHAHAHA.

    Must be a plug into xbox or it wont work thingy

  • LordBraz

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 7:20 am PT

    Who are the ad-wizards behind this one? If they hope to comnpete with the DS they will fail. If they cimpete with the iPod, they will fail. If they keep coming up with dumbass teasers like that, they will fail. Anyone else think the man petting the bunny looked like a sociopath?

  • 0diablo0

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 8:14 pm PT

    can it get any worse??????

  • SnakeVenom3000

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 7:28 pm PT

    IT will have gaming similar to IPOD I bet. But we can onlyhope they make it a gaming machine also.

  • toadster101

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 6:01 pm PT

    Well it will be crap then cause some of Microsofts franchises are gettin games on the DS

  • jasonmacrillo

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 3:06 pm PT

    great flash... turns me off completely.. some one should get fired for that one

  • UzEE

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 2:56 pm PT

    man i'm already having trouble choosing between PSP and DS

  • spikeydude97323

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 8:03 am PT

    I liked the flash, bunnys are exciting!

  • monkkito

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 2:23 am PT

    WTF!!! that teaser was a bit disturbing

  • grnidbandit

    Posted Jul 23, 2006 1:20 am PT

    hey everyone their not trying to sell you an MP3 player, their trying to sell you a bunny? and the way how they procreate, there will be as many as Windows

  • chickenoverlord

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 8:45 pm PT

    hmmm... there is definitely something very disturbing about that flash animation... better apple are scared of bunnies...

  • SARSROX

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 8:14 pm PT

    Could be interesting to see a third competitor in the portable gaming industry.

  • SARSROX

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 8:13 pm PT

    Could be quite interesting to have a third competitor in the portable gaming industry.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 7:24 pm PT

    i wonder how they got zune

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 5:40 pm PT

    That picture is odd. It's like a threesome between one small guy, one large guy, and a rabbit. The Flash cartoon almost justifies my theory of a threesome.

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 1:47 pm PT

    handheld market is tough to get into right now unless you have some nice games to go along with your music/video playing.

  • shasam712

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    Pretty much anything that Microsoft do in Handhelds won't perform well against the DS unless they do something completely unprecidented. And as far as mp3 players go, ipods have the formula pretty much down...

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 11:11 am PT

    I hope this will be good and if it cost less than iPods then it has a chance.
    But there is tough competetion in both handheld gaming and music player market.........

  • Agreb91

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 10:15 am PT

    As we learned from the PSP, Nintendo is still in control of the handheld market and probably always will be. As for it being the iPod killer, this "Zune" has a challenge ahead since iTunes and Apple already have a huge cusumer base already.

  • mjc0961

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 10:06 am PT

    *presses the pause button on his CD player*

    Huh? New MP3 player? Already lost my interest.

    *presses play on CD player*

  • Andron666

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 9:32 am PT

    Yeah, but I still buy CD's so everyone can just keep their download services.

    And why try to cram everything in one box ?

  • wave1000

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 9:11 am PT

    If they can't take over the gaming market how could they take over the
    ipod market?

  • Leick3

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 8:02 am PT

    That clip just freaked me out so much that I will never buy that thing

  • mamodoking

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 7:25 am PT

    I like bunnies

  • jkr2krz

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 6:51 am PT

    Someone needs to bash in some heads at MS's ad department...like this second...

  • seg555

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 6:00 am PT

    One word that describe the flash video. Freaky.

  • Quiiick

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 4:39 am PT

    Ohhh, jeeez!
    Another MP3-Player ...
    Well done, Microsoft!

  • Nawras

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 2:12 am PT

    They have to ruin everything do they

  • rvinsc

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 1:32 am PT

    Its gonna suck.

  • immortalevilguy

    Posted Jul 22, 2006 12:50 am PT

    Bet you it is going to be huger then your monitor.

  • assassinX01

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 11:37 pm PT

    bet you its friggin huge.

    I still might get one though; I've been waiting two damn years for someone to allow music transfer using wifi and not just cords.

    That was the most worthless flash I have ever seen, though.

  • thestickman

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 11:29 pm PT

    WTF HAHAHAHAHAHA That Flash makes NO sense XD

  • nintendorocks

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 10:11 pm PT

    Oh, man...So this "Argo" now Zune will not be gaming systems after all. That really sucks. I would love to see Microsoft get into the handheld business. But the chance of it being a "I-Pod killer" has even less of a chance as someone making a World of Warcraft killer.

  • i-ninja-u-dead

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 10:04 pm PT

    After watching that Flash, NO ONE can complain about the name "Wii"

  • JaMeS4418

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 9:52 pm PT

    Microsoft can't beat apple. And wtf was that flash video that made no sense. That doesn't make me wanna buy an mp3 player.

  • mrgokugf

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 9:37 pm PT

    my best advise to microsoft is to target the fact that apple releases 4 new Ipods every month, let this zune thing have an update maybe once a year and they might have a chance

  • drew08867

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 9:10 pm PT

    WTF is that teaser?!?

  • dadeisvenm

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 8:56 pm PT

    I see a creepy pedophile... the poster is eerie

  • ultimate_zero

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 8:49 pm PT

    not another mp3 player...

  • 7_armageddon_7

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 8:30 pm PT

    Is the picture depicting a guy and a bunny?!?

  • taekwondodude7

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 8:16 pm PT

    There is a chance that the Zune could replace the market leading iPod just like how Nintendo was thought to never lose its position at the top of the gaming market; however, apple could just create a new ipod a few years later and take the market it again, just like how Nintendo has an overwhelming chance to retake the gaming market with the Wii. No company is truly invincible but also no company as big as Nintendo or Apple can be completely destroyed by competitors.

  • Shtinky

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:37 pm PT

    I don't have an ipod, if this thing is really awesome i may consider it....

  • RunnerGunner480

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:35 pm PT

    YES!!!!! I hate iPods and am looking for an MP3 player to buy. If it has wi-fi downloads and Live Anywhere, I'm in!

  • Bloodoflamb

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:26 pm PT

    "Damn I wanted a portable Xbox, oh well some day one will come out."
    Maybe in 7+ years or something along those lines. Microsoft is allowing THEIR OWN franchises to appear on the Nintendo DS, and they are letting THEIR OWN developers create games for it. Microsoft currently has ABSOLUTELY NO PLANS to create a portable gaming device. Period. End of story.

  • Mit_Man

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 7:15 pm PT

    Give it up GameSpot, Zune is not going to play games, probably ever >_> It's designed to compete with iPod, not DS and PSP. The portable market is already a little crowded even with just PSP stepping in, and chances are, Microsoft would do even worse than they are doing with Xbox money-wise in that market, and I don't think they feel like losing any more money than they already have to over games.



    And to you doubters of this Zune series, you are going to find yourself wrong. It's probably going to launch with the same capacity as iPods, at the same price, with more features, and best of all, the ability to better interact with windows, and do stuff like put .wmv movies on it for free, with official free software (unlike Apple, who tries their hardest to get you to pay for all of your visual media, and makes you pay for their program to convert your own videos to iPod format, which is still a bit shaky). That, and all Apple haters and casual electronics people, will look at an iPod and a Zune, and go for a Zune because it's Microsoft. It's a genious market for them to go into, and it will be iPod's first seroius competitor for sure.

  • MysticGenie

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 6:58 pm PT

    I think MS forgets that what sells the iPod is not just the fact that it's a pretty decent MP3 player that has tight integration with its software (iTunes), it's that the iPod has become a status symbol. The iPod is cool. It's the same reason people buy Nike shoes over whatever the KMart special is, it's because they want to be seen wearing Nikes. With the exception of the Xbox (and the "coolness" of video game consoles is debatable, at best) MS has never really made a product that has become a pop culture phenomenon like the iPod has.

    I think its going to be a serious uphill battle for MS to dethrone something that has become so engrained, like an iPod. That name really isn't helping either...

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