{"id":2238,"date":"2020-02-06T10:39:47","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T10:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/35.94.173.37\/blog\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2024-11-04T10:50:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T10:50:00","slug":"ni-labview-and-pxi-modular-instruments-help-microsoft-with-xbox-360-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/ni-labview-and-pxi-modular-instruments-help-microsoft-with-xbox-360-gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"NI LabVIEW and PXI Modular Instruments Help Microsoft with Xbox 360 Gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Together, Microsoft\u2019s Xbox and Xbox 360 formed a legendary cornerstone in the gaming world. While production of the platform was discontinued in 2016, ending an 11-year run, the gaming system remains in popular use today. In fact, out of more than\u00a022 million game consoles<\/strong>\u00a0sold, estimates state that well over half remain in regular use, thanks to the continuation of Xbox Live.<\/p>\n

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While tech aficionados rohttps:\/\/www.ni.com\/en-us\/shop\/product\/labview.htmlutinely expect to see\u00a0National Instruments<\/a>\u2019 products used in high-tech aerospace, defense, automation, and other industries, many may be surprised to discover that NI software and instruments were crucial components that helped to rocket the Xbox and Xbox 360 to such popularity. Specifically,\u00a0NI solutions<\/strong>\u00a0were used for production testing and measurement operations on wired and wireless controllers, as well as other\u00a0USB interface peripherals<\/strong>, such as steering wheels and dance pads.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Pixabay<\/p>\n

NI Gets into the Game<\/strong><\/h1>\n

In the original\u00a0Microsoft Xbox<\/strong>\u00a0gaming system, functional testing protocols were developed using NI\u00a0LabVIEW<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0PXI modular instruments<\/a>. This testing system measured levels of communication between the gaming console and controllers, including voltage levels, draw of current, and response times. With the introduction of the Xbox 360 came new demands for testing USB interface peripherals.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This required similar controller tests, but with the ability to capture high-performance signals from the wireless controllers to the console. Without such high-performing signal connections, the user experience would suffer, especially with newer, first-person perspective action games. Again, Microsoft used\u00a0NI modular test instruments<\/strong>\u00a0that were easily compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft SQL Servers.<\/p>\n

Microsoft engineers built their own test system in their design validation lab for the\u00a0Xbox 360 controller<\/strong>\u00a0before deploying it into production. D.J. Mathias, Lead Development Test Engineer for the Xbox accessories group, said, \u201cUsing LabVIEW, we\u00a0created more than 100 tests<\/a>, implemented Ethernet communication, developed programmatic interaction with ActiveX controls and incorporated a data storage interface to our Microsoft SQL Server database.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s NI testing solution using LabVIEW and\u00a0PXI components<\/a>\u00a0tests every function of the controllers, including signal levels, audio, push button functionality, and joystick control. As part of continued quality control testing, the system uses LabVIEW to transmit over 100 test measurements from each completed controller in production to a\u00a0Microsoft SQL Server<\/strong>\u00a0for continued analysis and future research.<\/p>\n

NI Enables a Superior Gaming Experience<\/strong><\/h1>\n

With first-person digitalized gaming, experience is everything. Games and platforms that perform sluggishly or experience other poor user interactions are quickly discarded for better options. In order to stay competitive in the huge gaming market, Microsoft Xbox 360 had to raise the level of\u00a0user experience<\/strong>\u00a0for newer and more complicated games. NI functional testing solutions helped them to succeed.<\/p>\n

Microsoft representatives expressed enthusiastic satisfaction with the NI-based testing solutions they were able to create, citing a \u201c50% reduction in overall test time<\/a>\u201d and a \u201c100% increase in test throughput per test station<\/a>.\u201d Such astounding results enabled Microsoft to make high volumes of quality game platforms available to consumers, resulting in massive sales and overwhelming\u00a0customer satisfaction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While the Xbox 360 may be out of active production,<\/strong>\u00a0NI\u2019s legacy lives on in the more than\u00a011 million platforms<\/strong>\u00a0that are estimated to still be in use. High-level testing enabled Microsoft to produce superior products that continue to stand up under years of use.<\/p>\n

More information about National Instruments and Microsoft Xbox 360 can be found in\u00a0this case study<\/a>\u00a0on the NI website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Together, Microsoft\u2019s Xbox and Xbox 360 formed a legendary cornerstone in the gaming world. While production of the platform was discontinued in 2016, ending an 11-year run, the gaming system remains in popular use today. In fact, out of more than\u00a022 million game consoles\u00a0sold, estimates state that well over half remain in regular use, thanks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[393,413,467,574],"class_list":["post-2238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-instruments","tag-national-instruments","tag-national-instruments-pxi","tag-ni-pxi","tag-pxi"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2240,"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions\/2240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apexwaves.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}