Much has happened in the Xbox camp since the book's release; do you now feel some parts of the book now read a little outdated? In hindsight, do some passages in the book now standout as pure marketing hype or do you feel Microsoft has lived up to its original vision of "games first"?

I have done a new chapter for the Japanese edition, which is releasing in November. In that, I pretty much said they did great with the U.S. launch and screwed up in Europe and Japan. At the end of the original book, I had to finish after the U.S. launch and before the other launches. That's why the future looked so bright for Microsoft. But I pretty much said there was no way for Microsoft to catch up to Sony, and that holds true. I don't think any of the passages in the book are marketing hype. Remember, I'm a journalist. I report what they say and I analyze it. The notion that they were going to change gaming—that is what they believed. I reported that, but I wouldn't say I endorsed that. Over time, I think they will have an impact and advance the art form. Right now, I only see their achievements as evolutionary. That's why the Xbox, for the moment, is much better used as a DVD player than a game player. When Halo 2 comes out, I may change my mind. Somewhere along the line, art will come.

Since you brought up the notorious 'a' word, let's discuss art and videogames a little further. Gamers and developers seem torn as to whether or not games should be considered art. Even respected developers like John Carmack and Shigeru Miyamoto have gone out of their way to distance themselves from being referred to as "artists." Why is there resistance to accept games as an art form? What needs to happen or change for videogames to be elevated to a higher cultural status?

This is one of those essay questions. I think it takes bigger and bigger hits, as well as deeper and deeper games. How to get there? I don't know. But as many artists say, when I see it, I'll know it. I think that the more the younger generation takes over in positions of power, in places like the media and in government, the more likely that games will take a higher place in culture. We're at the beginning of demographic changes. Some 80% of kids aged 8-12 play games. I don't think they're going to stop gaming. And many of the non-gamers over 40 are going to be a dwindling part of the population. Places like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have to run game reviews in the arts/weekend sections where the rest of the art reviews run. It's a slow process, but I see it as inexorable.

Opening the Xbox is a remarkable achievement on many levels. That said, do you have any regrets or was there something you would have done differently in hindsight? What is the most important thing you learned from the project?

My only regret is that the book could have been more complete if I had succeeded in attaining more interviews earlier in the process. I would have been delighted to interview Steve Ballmer, Rick Belluzo, and Bill Gates as well as many more people who were tangentially part of the Xbox, and even people like Ken Kutaragi. But time was pressing and the PR staffs kept me away from most of these people. Next time, I'll find ways to reach them if I try something like this again.

Now that you are no longer with Red Herring, what's next for you?

As of Monday, September 9, I'm starting a job as a staff writer at the San Jose Mercury News, where I have many friends and worked from 1994 to 1996. I'll be covering hardware, some chips and some games. I might do a book one day in the future, but I have to find the right story first.

We'd like to thank Dean Takahashi for taking the time to talk to us.

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