Rating: 
Summary: A must read for any XBOX fan or business professional!
Review: This is a great book! Author Dean Takahashi gives a detailed insight as to the development and marketing of the XBOX from its early conception right up to its high profile launch! Being an XBOX fan, this was just the book to read to help dispel some of the myths that were floating around when the XBOX was being developed. You also get a good idea of how the Microsoft corporation thinks and operates not just in the video game market, but throughout all of their business ventures. Interesting theories as to why Microsoft entered the console market in the first place are discussed (one theory is that the XBOX is Microsoft's act of "revenge" against Sony when it looked elsewhere for it's PS2 development systems!). I highly recommend "Opening the XBOX" to anyone who enjoys video games in general or for someone who is looking for a book that's different than all the other business books currently in stores. Well worth the price and a very insightful look into the strategy and culture that is the Microsoft Corporation.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Insights
Review: This is an excellent book on at least two different levels. First of all, it is an easy and fascinating read about a rapid development effort accomplished with virtually unlimited resources. Secondly, the author provides a view of the dynamics of Microsoft's motivation and behavior in moving against a well entrenched competitor in an interesting new market, namely games. The tactics perfected in unhorsing Apple, WordPerfect, Novell, and Netscape from their dominant market positions are well demonstrated in the Xbox effort detailed in this book. The only missing piece for me was a careful examination of the hardware, software and developer support trade-offs between the Sony PlayStation2 and the Microsoft Xbox in contrast to earlier Microsoft predations. However, such a detailed examination would have bored most readers so I can't complain. Anyway, those insights are available elsewhere. On the whole, I was well rewarded with the book because of its "view-from-the-inside" as opposed to the externally obvious facts. I think this is a "must" read for anyone expecting to participate in the games market either as a consumer or provider, and for that matter, anyone who expects to provide services or products to Microsoft, sell or use their products or compete against them. Clearly, Microsoft is a tenacious competitor with virtually unlimited resources. Beware Nokia!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Insights
Review: This is an excellent book on at least two different levels. First of all, it is an easy and fascinating read about a rapid development effort accomplished with virtually unlimited resources. Secondly, the author provides a view of the dynamics of Microsoft's motivation and behavior in moving against a well entrenched competitor in an interesting new market, namely games. The tactics perfected in unhorsing Apple, WordPerfect, Novell, and Netscape from their dominant market positions are well demonstrated in the Xbox effort detailed in this book. The only missing piece for me was a careful examination of the hardware, software and developer support trade-offs between the Sony PlayStation2 and the Microsoft Xbox in contrast to earlier Microsoft predations. However, such a detailed examination would have bored most readers so I can't complain. Anyway, those insights are available elsewhere. On the whole, I was well rewarded with the book because of its "view-from-the-inside" as opposed to the externally obvious facts. I think this is a "must" read for anyone expecting to participate in the games market either as a consumer or provider, and for that matter, anyone who expects to provide services or products to Microsoft, sell or use their products or compete against them. Clearly, Microsoft is a tenacious competitor with virtually unlimited resources. Beware Nokia!
Rating: 
Summary: NonInteresting
Review: Thought the book talked about the technical aspects of the XBOX.
It did not! It gave a boring historical time line of how the idea of the xbox started and nothing more. Alot of words about nothing of interest. No pictures or diagrams of the XBOX, in or out. It explained nothing at all about how it worked!
If you like history buy the book, but if you want information, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: three-and-a-half stars
Review: What the book is: An interesting look at how projects evolve inside a company like Microsoft and how that evolution effects subsequent strategy. It makes an interesting point of comparison for similar projects in other companies. A good look at how Microsoft is responding to the question of games and the gaming industry. What the book is not: Particularly well-written, at least in my opinion. The writing felt clunky, too much like an extended magazine article and not enough like a book. Well documented. I expected more than interviews and anecdotal evidence.
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