The Xbox Reveal Round Up!

So you missed out on the big announcement of the new Xbox? We’ve got you covered with a big round up of all the details, including the name and specs! First off, the new Xbox is called the Xbox One. Check out the trailer to see ports, and will use Blu-Ray discs. The layout of the menus looks similar to the instead of the left. With the console is a new controller that looks similar to designed analog sticks and d-pad, and “impulse triggers.” A newly redesigned intergrated into the Xbox One.

With Kinect being a part of every Xbox One, various voice commands and motion controls were on full display. Because of the way the hardware is designed, most if not all of the voice commands are instantaneous and the presenters boasted how you could switch to gameplay, TV, music, movies, Internet Explorer, and more like you could a channel change. Multiple programs can also be accessed with Snap Mode. This means you can browse online or bring up Xbox music while watching a movie or playing a game or whatever you may be doing at the moment. Your smartphone can also be used as a remote control.

In terms of entertainment, Microsoft has made partnerships with ESPN and NFL for exclusive content and features via their apps on the Xbox One. Xbox Entertainment Studios was also announced and their first project is a Halo TV series helmed by director Steven Spielberg and Halo developer 343 Industries. A native Xbox TV Guide was also introduced and will feature both TV channel listings and the most popular shows on Xbox One. Skype will also be available for voice and video calls and can be automatically accessed with Kinect.

If it seems like I’m not talking very much about video games, that’s because gaming was not very prominent in the presentation. What we did see is exclusive content in the form of a Ultimate Team for FIFA 14 (which was not detailed) as well as the announcement of Madden 25, NBA Live 14, UFC, and a new service from EA Sports called EA Sports Ignite. A sizzle_reel of the various EA Sports titles coming out was also shown. A new game from Remedy called Quantum Break was also shown via a_cross_live_action_and_in_game_cutscene_trailer, as well as a trailer for the new Forza Motorsport 5, which will be available at launch. Call of Duty Ghosts will have its DLC first exclusively on the Xbox One and features a brand new game engine. A trailer was shown off as well as a developer diary video of sorts. Microsoft is boasting that they will have internally 15 games released in the first year, with 8 of those games being brand new titles and not part of an existing franchise. Finally, the ability to record footage of your gameplay is available with the Xbox One’s hard drive serving as a DVR and it being possible to be uploaded to the Xbox One’s cloud saving service. The Xbox One will be released this year but no price or release in three weeks.

Following the presentation, the following details were given. Assassin’s Creed IV, Destiny, and Watch Dogs have all been confirmed for the Xbox One. In addition, your achievements and Gamerscore will carry over to the Xbox One. whether the purchases be on a retail disc or online download. So Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Live Indie Games titles will not work on Xbox One.

There has also been rumors that the Xbox One will require all games to install a portion of the game onto the hard drive, which will also lock that software to the console. While this won’t eliminate used games, there are rumors that there will be a fee for pre-owned titles. Another rumor is a Q&A post asking if the console needs to be online to function was answered with Xbox One “does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet.”  However, a conflicting report says that no connection is needed at all. The Xbox One will also require the Kinect to function, though it comes with all Xbox One consoles sold. 4K resolutions are also confirmed to be
supported.

So what do you think of the new Xbox One? Leave a comment below and let us know!


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