Author: Fernando Villegas
Date: 10:35:27 11/16/01
Hi all: With respect to this grapevine-founded post about the likelihood of MS engaged in producing a chess program, I was interested enough to to try to get some light about it making good use of the fact that I am friend of some top-brass of MS in my country that, at his turn, are friends of some top bras in MS USA. So I made some calls and did some questions and they, my pals, promised me they are going to look at it and give me a more or less grounded version soon, except in the case it could be a tp secret proyect hidden even to them. Nevertheles, In the middle of the long talk with them about this issue, some things were said that now I expose here for your own ruminations and conclusions. First they -he- said to me that, in any case, an eventual proyect like that should not be measured just in terms of commercial sense. Gates is the kind of intuitive guy that more often that not has pushed proyects that seemed sheer idiocy to everybody else in his own company, they told me. In these very moments he has sold the first cube game device that was, in the end, the result of a decision he made, long ago, in order to engage MS in video games, no matter what. Second, besides the commercial succes they could get from a many times greater market IF they are the guys offering a chess program dued hoopla-ded, there is, they said, the great matter of prestige we should not forget. MS did not let IBM deep Blue adventure unnoticed. IF - he speculated or afirmed?- they can get the strongest chess program of the world, that, for simpletons like Joe, would sound as the pinnacle of intelligence and proficiency... and the same for video games as the cube console. Reasonning: if they can produce tye greatest chess program, then surely they have the very best video games... This will be an even more deadly fought market in the next years. Well, all this was said to me as a matter of sheer speculation. He insisted in that. The guy promised me FACTS if he can get them. Nevertheless, some things he said has intrigued me. First, they were just speculations of something else? And if just spec, does they have sense or not? They really need that monster chess program to sell best his games stuff? Or maybe a kind of CMaster market multipied by two or three is not despicable product after all, even for MS? Or its is just Gates that has fallen in another of his obsessions? Questions, questions. Fernando
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