Last night Microsoft finally announced their next console which they’ve called the Xbox One. Microsoft streamed the event live for all to see and weren’t shy in showing off their new console.
Here at Geek Squad we're hugely excited for any new technology especially Agent Collins and Agent Novelle who were avidly watching and gave us a rundown of what exactly went on.
Design
Unlike Sony’s PS4 announcement we actually managed to get a glimpse of the Xbox One, the new Kinect sensor and the control pad. The design of the One seems relatively standard coming in looking like a slightly larger and more refined Xbox 360 Slim, but with the addition of some amazing new hardware, we're not surprised the console is a little bigger. The design of the Kinect has been changed to match the design of the console with a rectangular body and a glossy black finish. The whole package looks really neat and will match up quite well with most peoples home entertainment systems.
Hardware
Microsoft have pumped some pretty intense hardware into the One, proving they are holding nothing back when it comes to the console market. Let’s run through the specs so we can see just what they are building us up for:
- Rumoured 8-core AMD processor
- Blu Ray
- 8GB RAM
- 500GB HDD
Although Microsoft didn’t go into as much detail as we would have liked, we are still extremely impressed with what we do know. One change we were all expecting was the addition of a Blu Ray player and it seems we got what we wished for. With 8GB of RAM we expect the One will have no problem running any future games, including the intense Kinect based games we are expecting to see. As the One will be combining gaming with an all-round media experience we expected to see a decent capacity when it comes to the hard drive, although 500GB isn’t huge with current technology and we hope they offer an additional hard drive or even a higher tier model.
Kinect has played a big part in increasing the life-span of the Xbox 360 and Microsoft have now taken it to the next level by improving on what they had already done. The Kinect we find with the One has been improved drastically and now provides heartbeat detection, joint rotation, eye movement, individual finger movement and even how many calories are being burnt whilst using the Kinect. Now that is impressive. Also with Kinect, when you turn your console on and pick your controller up it will automatically launch to your latest saved game. Handy.
Microsoft have taken what they called ‘the best control pad in the world’ and have made it better. We personally feel as though it's something out of a futuristic sci-fi movie, but with this, it’s not about the design, it’s about the features. What Microsoft have done is essentially stuck little motors behind each trigger so that you feel the response of every action in game, giving it a realistic feel. Also changed is the Directional Pad, which doesn’t play a huge role in a lot of games these days, but when it is needed it is nice to have it working properly, and this has not been the case with previous controllers. What Microsoft have done is simply made it a four point D-Pad with no additional rounding of the edges, simple and to the point, similar to your old Super Nintendo. The battery pack has been sunk into the back of the controller and seems to host two AA batteries, although we foresee this changing before the final release. On top of the device is a micro USB port, which we believe will be used for charging, and an accessory port on the bottom, much like the Xbox 360 control.
XBOX Live
Xbox Live always undergoes a huge change when a new console is released and Microsoft have not held back with the launch of the One. For starters your membership will stay exactly the same but you will gain access to a whole world of fantastic new features. More than 300,000 servers will be powering the phenomenal service that comes with the One and it is going to need it, especially with some of the new features that Microsoft have announced, some of these are:
- Dedicated DVR
- Cloud Storage
- Skype
- Improved matchmaking
- Larger online games
Halo and Call of Duty fans will know all about having a DVR built into your game, but now you have the pleasure of getting this amazing experience across all content allowing you to show off your incredible game footage to the whole world. Combined with the DVR is an in-built editing tool, allowing you to ensure your videos are tip top before publishing them to the world and showing off your impressive skills.
Microsoft have already started to open up the cloud storage capabilities on the Xbox 360 by allowing you to store your saved games on the cloud giving you access to them on any console you log in to, but now they have also added the capability to store movies, music and even your own games. This could be the start of some interesting concepts where you have the ability to walk to a friend’s house and continue where you left off without moving your console, controller or even taking your physical copy of the game you want to play.
The Xbox One isn’t just a games console, it is going to be an all-round media centre allowing you to watch movies, TV, listen to music and even make videos calls using Skype. Whilst viewing your favourite content you will be able to simultaneously search for a match in your favourite online game, which means there will be no more waiting around bored while searching for an online game which sounds good to us.
The achievement system has been redesigned and is no longer a list of things you have done in the game but it now tells a story as to how you, as a person, play. This will make earning your achievements a whole lot more fun since it will be based solely on your playing style, for instance if you are an online gamer, you will earn achievements based on your skill sets online.
Media
Microsoft have taken their media services one step further and have created Xbox Entertainment Studios. Xbox Entertainment Studios will be working to produce exclusive and original content for Xbox users, a personalized TV experience with recommendations of shows tailored completely to your preferences and also a social TV aspect. The goal of Xbox Entertainment Studios is to completely rethink how we view and experience content such as dramas, comedies, competition shows, sports, live events and even digital shorts.
We were only shown a short preview of one of Microsoft’s original series, which is going to be based on the award winning game, Halo and is being created by none other than Steven Spielberg,
Games
Microsoft announced that they will be hosting 15 exclusive titles for the One, with 8 of these being new franchises that are all set to launch in the first year of release. With the huge success of previous franchises such as Halo and Gears of War, we are excited to see what will be produced. We managed to get a glimpse and Forza 5 and the quality of play and graphics are absolutely phenomenal. Also announced was Quantum Break, from the creator of the Max Payne series, and this futuristic game will be an incredible addition to Microsoft’s ever growing library of content, just from the previews we have seen I really cannot wait to see the ideas that Microsoft will throw out there, but we will have to wait until E3 in June to see more. Microsoft have managed to bag big game developers EA on-board, this will mean we see some great new games including popular sports series such as Fifa, UFC and NFL. Along with this Andrew Wilson showed off a new game engine called Ingnite. We were delighted to see a preview of the up and coming Call of Duty game, Call of Duty Ghosts. The footage we saw of this shows just how powerful the One is going to be, the detail in the graphics was so incredible that it could easily be mistaken for real life.
Agent Reactions
A tech announcement like this is always met with a huge variety of responses, and when it comes to games consoles even more so with people instantly trying to side with one camp or another. One feature Agent Lawton has noticed which was absent from the presentation is the disc install system, which will only work once per disc and charges a small fee to work on another console. This has been a controversial issue and the announcement didn't really do much to explain this.
Here’s what some of our agents had to say:
Agent Collins
I’ve been an avid Xbox fan for many years now and I was extremely excited about this announcement but Microsoft have left me wanting more, although I can definitely say they have shown enough information for me to instantly become hooked. I am happy to see the addition of the Blu Ray player, something that was definitely missing from the 360 though I am disappointed with the inability to continue playing my back catalogue of games. Overall I am pleased with what has been announced and I am now looking forward to E3 a whole lot more than I was, but from now until the release date later this year I am expecting quite a few changes to happen. I am extremely excited and cannot wait to get my hands on the console.
Agent Novelle
Now I’ve always been a through and through PC gamer and except for the odd God of War or Pokemon game, not many things have enticed me away from my beloved keyboard and mouse. The Xbox One does look pretty slick though but I do find myself somewhat unimpressed. I’m not saying that there aren’t some great ideas in here but it’s not enough yet to prize me away from my PC. On the whole Microsoft did a pretty good job of actually showing off the console and games like Forza and Quantum Break looked pretty sweet. Overall it was more than I expected, but with no titles that really grab me, I won’t be lining up for one just yet.
Agent Plummer
A beautiful glossy piano-black box punctuated only by Xbox logo and disk slot. The controller looks better than the PS4 controller, however I am slightly biased being a 360 man. I think hardware-wise Microsoft have nailed it. In terms of content, after the initial hardware reveals I think it went slightly downhill. The hardware specs were nice to listen to, though I don’t think they quite showed just how much of a massive improvement in terms of speed and performance the One is over the 360. The other big part for me came close to the end – the Xbox One will launch later this year. While not giving an exact date, I will be shocked if this thing isn’t out by the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, and I think it’s definitely going be here in the UK by Christmas.
Agent Hall
As a lifelong fan of the Sony PlayStation range, I can honestly say that I am intrigued by Microsoft’s announcement of the Xbox One. Microsoft are trying to make the Xbox One the centre of your home entertainment experience, making it something that you automatically turn on just as you would your TV. The PlayStation 4 also has media streaming capabilities with apps like Netflix and network media playback but this is definitely secondary to the games. From what I’ve seen of the Xbox One, it is the other way round with games taking a back seat to media. I think I’m still more attracted to the PS4, but as a home cinema buff, the Xbox One has definitely grabbed my attention. I guess I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and buy both.
Agent Coates-Whitham
The new features of the Xbox One are a big improvement on what the 360 has to offer. The design in both hardware and software is sleeker and has advanced to a more personal experience for the user. The voice and gesture commands look like they’ve been improved which is good to see, and after seeing the level of the graphics I have to say I’m impressed.
Well, that’s all we know. Reactions online have been mixed, with most saying Xbox haven't announced anything ground breaking. Microsoft still have time before the end of the year to make some changes but we now have a much clearer idea of what we’re going to get. Let us know what you thought of the announcement and what you’re looking forward to with the Xbox One in the comments below.