My Cart - Yesterday’s blog was about what we could expect from the next Xbox, and now we know! We’ll know even more in another month or so, after E3, but Microsoft’s launch of the Xbox One yesterday has soundly set the ball rolling, so here’s a rundown of everything we’ve learnt.
Firstly, that it is indeed called the ‘Xbox One’. There had been much talk about the name; Infinity, 720, Durango. In the end, Microsoft have gone for the nascent ‘One’, something that stands in direct contrast to Sony’s continued chronological progression with the Playstation 4. The name is meant to connote Microsoft’s sustained dedication to synergising all home media platforms, bringing together gaming, television, blu-ray all in full 1080p HD.
The new console continues updated specifications and hardware as outlined in yesterday’s blog, but how does this translate to the user? One of the big things Microsoft were keen to show off was the vastly updated Kinect capabilities. The advancements mean that the new Kinect can now track up to 6 people in the same room, and can more accurately monitor any individual, right down to face-tracking, eye movement and even monitoring heart rate. The Kinect will also be integral to Microsoft’s new Skype integration and intuitive interface.
Equally impressive, the Xbox One boasts a ‘snap’ feature first seen in Microsoft Windows 7 and updated in 8. With the console, the feature allows players to run two programs simultaneously by simply snapping them to opposite sides of the screen. The console has been called a ‘massive, massive upgrade’ by TechCrunch, because of its improved responsiveness to hand and voice controls.
However, there are a few areas of concern. Reaction has been mainly positive, though many gamers have frowned at the total integration of different media, stating they would rather prefer a dedicated games console. The One is also not backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games, and it seems very unlikely that pre-owned games will work on it, due to a new licensing system that binds games to individual machines.
Regardless, here at Electronic World we are incredibly excited to see how the Xbox One will shape up when it’s released in November. Our great range of LED TVs, LCD HDTVs and full HD 1080p LED TVs are perfect for displaying the console’s graphical prowess and we can’t wait to see how the first batch of next generation games will look.
For the most up-to-date information on the Xbox One and all things Electronic World follow our Twitter. In the coming weeks we’ll have the report from E3 on both the Xbox and Playstation so stay tuned!
