Introducing The Xbox One

Almost eight years after the Xbox 360 was announced, Microsoft recently revealed the new Xbox One. Originally rumoured to have the working title of ‘Xbox 720’, and following much speculation, the successor to the popular 2005 Xbox 360 has been officially named. The recent announcement seems to have left gamers largely disappointed, however, by focusing the ‘One’ on hardware functionality and the machine’s transition from console to media hub.

Total Integration With Kinect

The headline improvements over the 360 include total integration with a refined version of Kinect. The demonstration at Microsoft’s Redmond campus showed the body mapping technology (which as yet may be subject to a name change) recognising minute wrist movements and reportedly detecting heart rate. ‘Snap Mode’ is a new feature offering split screen and multi-tasking alongside games, TV and browsing. This couples nicely with the inclusion of Skype, providing an opportunity to video chat and game simultaneously on the same screen.

The hardware specifications, although obviously improved, are not exceptional, furthering early critics’ claims that Microsoft are shifting their focus to the more lucrative family market as the gaming landscape changes. 8GB RAM, native 64-bit architecture, 500GB on-board hard drive and an 8 core CPU will run three operating systems (one for the developers, one for users and one to tie them both together). Interestingly the optical drive will be Blu-ray following HD-DVD’s demise shortly after the 360 backed it several years ago. Connections will include support for USB 3.0 and HDMI in and out and ‘pass through’ for other devices cementing the console as the central or, ultimately, only home entertainment system.

Xbox One Moves Online

Microsoft expect a large portion of a user’s experience to be spent online and as such, the Xbox One will need to be permanently connected to the internet although exceptions will be made for temporary drop outs. As yet the ability to stream games has not been announced unlike Sony’s rival console, the PS4, however, Microsoft are dedicating 300,000 servers for online support – more than the entire world’s computing power in 1999. Online profiles, game saves and data sharing continues the global push into the cloud heralded by Apple’s operating systems and compounded by broadband provider TalkTalk’s expectations that by 2015 the cloud will also be supporting 14 million jobs worldwide.

As well as the meagre amount of games initially announced yesterday (although more are expected at E3 next month) the Xbox One has attracted criticism for some of its other features, or lack of. Most notably the console won’t be backwards compatible with either of its predecessors. According to Mark Whitten, Vice President Of Xbox Live, “The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn’t really work from that perspective” (source: The Verge) although music and video content downloaded from Xbox Live will be compatible. Microsoft’s addressing of the second hand game market hasn’t won them many fans either. Initial speculation suggested that pre-owned discs could easily be detected and would require an ‘activation fee’ in order to work. Subsequent updates point to the likelihood that games will have to be fully installed on the hard drive and activated uniquely via the disc. Using that disc in any other console would void the install on the original machine, hence the reliance on a 24/7 broadband connection.

Xbox One Signals Move To Content Creation

Unexpectedly, the Xbox One announcement was accompanied by the news that Steven Spielberg will be directing a TV series based on the Halo games which will be exclusive to the console. It positions Microsoft as a content creator alongside the likes of Netflix (with House Of Cards, Arrested Development etc.), YouTube, Amazon, TV/Broadband suppliers and National broadcasters and creates yet another exclusive content channel. The machine’s broadcasting capabilities and programming schedule appear to signal an intention to replace set-top boxes as well as Blu-ray players and, with Kinect’s voice recognition, possibly even Smart TVs.

Despite an expected release date later this year it is still early days for the Xbox One and whether it will be a success will rely largely on content – and in particular the games on offer. It will be interesting to see how Sony reacts to this recent announcement.

For more information visit the Xbox One Website.