Microsoft's Xbox video game console is part of a "broader concept," company chief executive Mr Steve Ballmer has said in a hint the company may try to turn the machine into a wired entertainment hub.
Microsoft originally intended to pitch an all-in-one device that could handle games, interactive TV and computer functions, but that concept was slapped down by software makers, Mr Ballmer an investment conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
"We went and said, hey, we have some ideas for an all-purpose box, kind of a PC, kind of a video game machine, kind of a set-top box. You know what they said? They said 'Get outta Dodge, we're not going to write software for that thing'," Mr Ballmer said.
"We came back a year later and we said okay, we're going to start by doing the world's greatest videogame machine, and they said 'okay, let's talk'," Mr Ballmer said yesterday.
