A few years ago, Microsoft told us a set-top box would change the future of television.

The company couldn’t have been more wrong or more right.

The box Microsoft was touting then was Web TV, a cut-rate Internet access tool that hasn’t exactly revolutionized our relationship with that big black screen in our living room.

But the company’s latest set-top toy, the X-Box, is likely to deliver on the promises its predecessor couldn’t keep.

The X-Box is a high-powered video game machine designed to compete with the Sega Dreamcast and next-generation consoles from Sony and Nintendo.

But even if the X-Box loses out to those experienced foes, Microsoft’s entry into the market suggests a new and exciting future for a genre of entertainment once dismissed as kid stuff.

The X-Box is basically a hot rodder’s version of a desktop PC, with the gaming equipment beefed up and everything else stripped away to lighten the chassis. It’ll have an Intel Pentium III processor, 64 MBs of RAM, an 8-GB hard drive and a DVD player.

It also comes with built-in connections for high-speed Net access and a custom 3D video engine capable of processing 1 trillion operations a second. Compare that to your boss, who is capable of performing maybe five or six operations in a given day, and you can see this baby’s gonna fly.

Revolution on the way

All this will be priced around $300, so the X-box can compete with similarly priced consoles from Sony and Nintendo. Sony’s Playstation II will be released later this year, while both X-Box and Nintendo’s “Dolphin” are scheduled for release next year.

At first blush, none of these machines seem all that revolutionary. After all, they’re built to play video games on the television, a practice that’s been around since the days of Atari. While young boys and high-tech columnists might get all geeked up about this sort of thing, most adults couldn’t care less.

But that will change. The combination of high-speed Net access with high-powered gaming consoles will eventually convince millions of once-passive TV viewers to begin interacting with the screen and each other.

The reason Web TV hasn’t made this happen is because Web surfing is, for the most part, a solitary activity. You read a page, then click somewhere else and read some more. There’s no reason to do this on a large, low-resolution screen, particularly when others in the room are forced to read over your shoulder.

Video games, though, are designed from the motherboard up as a shared activity. Friends can gather before a big screen and interact in meaningful ways particularly if you consider spilling someone’s digital guts all over the screen to be meaningful.

And for people stuck watching, at least the images on the screen are more entertaining than a static Web page.

Let the games begin

Adding Net connectivity gives gamers even more ways to socialize and gives more people reason to become gamers. If you’re sitting alone in front of the tube, you can share a game with others doing the same thing.

While the personal nature of online chat isn’t for everyone, the relatively low level of interaction required for Net gaming will be comfortable enough for most people.

It still might be too soon for any game console to carry interactive gaming into the mainstream. Until most homes are served by reliable, high-speed Net connections via cable, DSL or wireless links, consoles will be plagued by the same technical difficulties that drag down PC-based online games.

Game designers also must recognize the mass-market potential of these new consoles and design products that appeal to a wider audience. While people like me are happy to shoot zombies and race cars, more people might be drawn to board games, simulated tours and other more relaxing pursuits.

Maybe the next version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” will be a console video game, with a robotic Regis asking if you’d like to e-mail a friend.

Of course, video games will never replace television. No matter how creative game designers get or how good the technology becomes, people will still want to sit back and be entertained. But when people are ready for something a little more engaging, consoles like the X-Box can provide a level of interactivity not possible on a TV or even a PC.

Indeed, it won’t be long before video games are kicking some serious sitcom butt.

To contact Joe Salkowski, e-mail him at [email protected] or write to him c/o Tribune Media Services Inc., 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill., 60611.