We are barely into experiencing DirectX 10 / 10.1 games with proper levels of detail with upcoming titles demanding hardware, and Microsoft already has plans for DirectX 11, the next big version of this API set. Microsoft will show off DirectX 11 at the XNA Gamefest which is scheduled to take place on July 22 and 23 in Seattle, United States. This year's Gamefest is to be centered by DirectX 11 and the advancements that are proposed to be brought about.

Thankfully Microsoft isn't doing a 'Vista' this time around, this new multimedia and gaming API will be built for both Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows 7 operating systems. The API could be released to public anytime in late 2009.

There are several implications of this:

• Poor-adoption of DX10: DirectX 10 has received a lukewarm response at best. With surveys already showing the market share of Windows Vista being a dismal 16%, it also hints at the poor-adoption of DirectX 10 since it's exclusive to Windows Vista.
• Everyone runs for benchmarks: Let's face it, benchmarking is fun. Those who buy expensive hardware have even more fun in showing off their…DirectX 10 benchmark scores. But mainstream gamers (who aren't prepared to spend over $250~$300 on video-hardware) simply aren't able to enjoy DirectX 10 titles with the level of visual detail the API originally promised. With mainstream hardware, at best you could run a DX10 game at reasonably high resolution but toned down visual detail. This is an important factor pushing video-gamers to seek other forms of gaming, such as console gaming, with Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii eating into PC gaming share. Even CryTek, whose DX10 title, Crysis, earlier given a 'poster-boy' status for DirectX 10, has received lukewarm market response and CryTek admits to that. Vista came with a "passing the cost to the consumer" approach in term of hardware performance as the operating system was burdened with DRM in too many stages; the climb in system requirements was too steep.
• Quantity makes up for Quality: Microsoft learned from its mistake of letting a version of Windows, the Windows XP live on in the market for close to seven years, enough time for users to get attached to the OS and bring about an 'incumbency-factor' when it comes to moving on to another OS of the same make. With Windows 7 already slated for late 2009, we can say that it's back to having a desktop Windows version every 2~3 years or so. And, what's more, a new DirectX every now and then. While DirectX 10.1 is said to have fixed some issues with several daughter-APIs (such as Direct3D), hardware manufacturers have played a certain role in limiting DirectX 10.1 from reaching out. NVIDIA plans to release a DX10.1 supportive GPU only late this year / early next year, which even the likes of S3 Graphics (VIA) has adopted the API and made compatible hardware. If a major-player acts reluctantly in embracing a new technology, its ill-effects reach far out. A lot of time has been wasted. No 'seriously awesome' title a-la Half Life-2 for DX9 has come out based on pure-DX10 yet, reason being only 16% of all Windows PC users use Vista. Why would a developer risk tons of production budgets on that 'minority' of users? Rather make games for consoles?

Anyways, it's in a way good for the industry to plan-ahead. Assuming DX11 is announced end of this month and technical know-how passed on to hardware manufacturers, they get a solid year and a half to devise hardware. Microsoft, NVIDIA and AMD/ATI could start talking about DirectX 11 at conferences such as Siggraph 2008 (August 11-15) and NVISION '08 (August 25-27). The world economy isn't in a very happy state right now, and people in general wouldn't like to spend as much as US$ 1900 to get the most out of a $50 game title.With inputs from TG Daily