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Xbox One: The next gen is on its way
Microsoft unveils new console that goes way beyond gaming to redefine home entertainment
By Tom Travin May 21, 2013 3:54PM
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You may never want to get off the couch again. With the Web ablaze today with Microsoft’s big Xbox reveal — the unveiling of the new, do-everything, be-all-toeveryone Xbox One — that may be the most important takeaway from the slick, hourlong presentation streamed live from Redmond this morning. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Popware is an MSN blog, which means we’re owned by Microsoft. But you knew that already, right?) The next-generation console is a gaming platform, for sure. But it’s much more than that. Today’s event maddeningly left as many questions unanswered as it provided answers, yet one thing is for certain: This device is designed to take control of your entire home entertainment experience.
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http://social.entertainment.msn.com/blogs/blog--xbox-one-the-next-gen-is-on-its-way?_blg=12[10/2/2013 3:24:09 PM]
Xbox One: The next gen is on its way
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Microsoft rolled out the heavy hitters for this one. An opening reel featured Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Bill Gates (natch). Don Mattrick, the company’s president of Interactive Entertainment Business, came out to describe Xbox One as “the ultimate all-in-one entertainment system” that’s “built to amaze from day one.” OK, standard marketing hyperbole. What does this thing do that makes it so transcendent? First off, as Yusuf Mehdi, a senior veep at the Interactive Entertainment Business, pointed out, it will change the way we watch TV. Controlled by voice commands and gestures via Kinect, it turns on the set (no more digging the remote out from under the snoring dog on the sofa), then controls all of your entertainment options. Say, “Xbox on.” It immediately opens to your profile, and remembers what you were last doing. “Xbox go home” takes you to the home screen. “Xbox watch TV,” and it flips on a channel for you. It features “instant switching,” with which you can say, “go to game,” “go to Internet Explorer,” “watch movie” or whatever. And it has something called “snap mode,” which allows you to run multiple programs alongside one another by opening windows next to the main screen. And this isn’t done by pressing those highly annoying directional arrows on your remote; it’s done via Kinect, where you can “grab” the screen and shrink a window simply by moving your hands closer together. It offers instant access to Skype, so you can put your buds in a side window and watch the same show or game or movie together and keep up the running commentary while making fun of the bunny slippers your friend is wearing. It all comes in 1080p HD, of course, with what Microsoft is calling “the best living room camera available.” A feature that will send fantasy sports players into throes of ecstasy allows you to track your fantasy players in real time while watching the game. So if Percy Harvin goes deep for a TD (sorry, we’re Seahawks fans here), his stats will be updated faster than you can watch the replay from 15 different angles. All kinds of stats and league standings will be available in the side window too. (The Skype feature will allow you to taunt your fellow fantasy team owners, but be careful that you don’t jinx your QB into fumbling on the next play.) For people who just want to watch TV, there’s a guide that features voice control search and navigation of listings. There’s a “trending” option that lets you see what all the other Xbox One users out there are watching. And there’s a favorites section so you can pin the shows you love into a queue for easy access. Hardware geeks will appreciate the 8 gigs of RAM, a Blu-ray drive (useful until everything goes streaming in, oh, a year or so), a redesigned Kinect sensor that’s more sensitive to specific gestures, the aforementioned 1080p highdef capability (time to unload that old console Zenith, grandpa) and a controller that sports 40 innovations but, quite frankly, doesn’t look all that different from the old one. Between the SmartGlass, the new Kinect and the new controller, it’s supposed to provide much more precise response than the 360. Just for good measure, there will be more than 300,000 servers running the cloud-based infrastructure. Oh, yeah. There’s gaming, too. EA Sports and Microsoft now have an exclusive partnership. “Madden NFL 25,” “NBA Live 14,” “UFC” and “FIFA 14 Ultimate Team” — “the most popular sports game in the world,” according to Andrew Wilson of Electronic Arts — will all be on the new Xbox. Expect lots of refinements, including “true player motion,” about which Wilson went on at length. In a surprise to absolutely no one, Activision’s “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” the latest in the venerable first-person-shooter series, will debut exclusively for Xbox One. It has really advanced graphics, the trailer told us, and a dog that’s said to be a big improvement over the last dog. Not sure what that means, but hey, we’ll run with it. It’s written by Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for writing “Traffic” and wrote and directed “Syriana.” All told, there will be eight new game franchises and at least 15 games are in development now. “Forza Motorsport 5,” which from the presentation will have pretty awesome graphics, will be available at launch. Remedy Games, which produced the “Max Payne” titles, is releasing “Quantum Break,” some story-based game about jumping through time and space (the trailer was a bit vague on this one). Somehow it’s going to tie in to a TV series. There’s also going to be a TV series built around “Halo.” Spielberg is involved (of course). Why not? With countless video games made into movies and the apparent success of Syfy’s “Defiance” as both a TV show and a game, it was inevitable that such cross-platform tie-ins would become the norm. Well. That’s pretty exhausting. But there’s a lot we don’t know, some of which likely will come at the E3 extravaganza in LA next month.
http://social.entertainment.msn.com/blogs/blog--xbox-one-the-next-gen-is-on-its-way?_blg=12[10/2/2013 3:24:09 PM]
Xbox One: The next gen is on its way For instance: How much will it cost? Nobody’s saying for the record, but there’s a lot of speculation out there, most of it falling in the $399 to $499 range. That a lot of clams, considering that the Xbox 360 can be had for less than $200. But this has double the RAM, with obviously infinitely more capabilities. Twitter was agog this morning over whether previous version of Xbox games, such as for the 360, will play in the Xbox One. Again, nobody’s talking officially, but the best guess is they won’t. There may be workarounds for some titles on a case-by-case basis, or perhaps digital downloads compatible with the new “Ignite” gaming engine, but a lot of diehard gamers are going to be pissed about this. And perhaps most important, when is it coming out? This morning’s event offered a vague “coming later this year,” which is the oldest tease in the book and, truthfully, kind of insulting to people who are likely to shell out for Xbox One. Do we really need to be that coy? Maybe Microsoft will have a firm date by E3, maybe not. It’s just one more question, along with how the device will affect the future of disc-based games versus streaming (the momentum is definitely there for the latter) and how many hidden costs are involved. It’s currently $59 a year for an Xbox Live subscription; will that go up? Will other premium services pile on the charges as well? How will this affect cable and satellite fees? So we got some answers: Yes, it’s a cool device. Yes, it could very well change the way people experience home entertainment. Yes, it could be a cash cow for Microsoft and its partners. But we still have questions. We’ll pass along more info as we get it. Contributing: Mark Brown, Jennifer Worick, Travis Hay Here's Microsoft's trailer that started this morning's presentation:
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Xbox One: The next gen is on its way
Microsoft unveils new console that goes way beyond gaming to redefine home entertainment
By Tom Travin May 21, 2013 3:54PM
Share
0
Tweet
1
Share
4
don't miss
Aha! Moments
Find out the life lessons that shaped their music
50 Stars, 50 States
Find out the home states of these famous musical artists
Kasem family feud
'NCIS' departure
You may never want to get off the couch again. With the Web ablaze today with Microsoft’s big Xbox reveal — the unveiling of the new, do-everything, be-all-toeveryone Xbox One — that may be the most important takeaway from the slick, hourlong presentation streamed live from Redmond this morning. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Popware is an MSN blog, which means we’re owned by Microsoft. But you knew that already, right?) The next-generation console is a gaming platform, for sure. But it’s much more than that. Today’s event maddeningly left as many questions unanswered as it provided answers, yet one thing is for certain: This device is designed to take control of your entire home entertainment experience.
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Bieber's bodyguards carried him up the Great Wa
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http://social.entertainment.msn.com/blogs/blog--xbox-one-the-next-gen-is-on-its-way?_blg=12[10/2/2013 3:24:09 PM]
Xbox One: The next gen is on its way
Follow MSN Entertainment on Twitter
Microsoft rolled out the heavy hitters for this one. An opening reel featured Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Bill Gates (natch). Don Mattrick, the company’s president of Interactive Entertainment Business, came out to describe Xbox One as “the ultimate all-in-one entertainment system” that’s “built to amaze from day one.” OK, standard marketing hyperbole. What does this thing do that makes it so transcendent? First off, as Yusuf Mehdi, a senior veep at the Interactive Entertainment Business, pointed out, it will change the way we watch TV. Controlled by voice commands and gestures via Kinect, it turns on the set (no more digging the remote out from under the snoring dog on the sofa), then controls all of your entertainment options. Say, “Xbox on.” It immediately opens to your profile, and remembers what you were last doing. “Xbox go home” takes you to the home screen. “Xbox watch TV,” and it flips on a channel for you. It features “instant switching,” with which you can say, “go to game,” “go to Internet Explorer,” “watch movie” or whatever. And it has something called “snap mode,” which allows you to run multiple programs alongside one another by opening windows next to the main screen. And this isn’t done by pressing those highly annoying directional arrows on your remote; it’s done via Kinect, where you can “grab” the screen and shrink a window simply by moving your hands closer together. It offers instant access to Skype, so you can put your buds in a side window and watch the same show or game or movie together and keep up the running commentary while making fun of the bunny slippers your friend is wearing. It all comes in 1080p HD, of course, with what Microsoft is calling “the best living room camera available.” A feature that will send fantasy sports players into throes of ecstasy allows you to track your fantasy players in real time while watching the game. So if Percy Harvin goes deep for a TD (sorry, we’re Seahawks fans here), his stats will be updated faster than you can watch the replay from 15 different angles. All kinds of stats and league standings will be available in the side window too. (The Skype feature will allow you to taunt your fellow fantasy team owners, but be careful that you don’t jinx your QB into fumbling on the next play.) For people who just want to watch TV, there’s a guide that features voice control search and navigation of listings. There’s a “trending” option that lets you see what all the other Xbox One users out there are watching. And there’s a favorites section so you can pin the shows you love into a queue for easy access. Hardware geeks will appreciate the 8 gigs of RAM, a Blu-ray drive (useful until everything goes streaming in, oh, a year or so), a redesigned Kinect sensor that’s more sensitive to specific gestures, the aforementioned 1080p highdef capability (time to unload that old console Zenith, grandpa) and a controller that sports 40 innovations but, quite frankly, doesn’t look all that different from the old one. Between the SmartGlass, the new Kinect and the new controller, it’s supposed to provide much more precise response than the 360. Just for good measure, there will be more than 300,000 servers running the cloud-based infrastructure. Oh, yeah. There’s gaming, too. EA Sports and Microsoft now have an exclusive partnership. “Madden NFL 25,” “NBA Live 14,” “UFC” and “FIFA 14 Ultimate Team” — “the most popular sports game in the world,” according to Andrew Wilson of Electronic Arts — will all be on the new Xbox. Expect lots of refinements, including “true player motion,” about which Wilson went on at length. In a surprise to absolutely no one, Activision’s “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” the latest in the venerable first-person-shooter series, will debut exclusively for Xbox One. It has really advanced graphics, the trailer told us, and a dog that’s said to be a big improvement over the last dog. Not sure what that means, but hey, we’ll run with it. It’s written by Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for writing “Traffic” and wrote and directed “Syriana.” All told, there will be eight new game franchises and at least 15 games are in development now. “Forza Motorsport 5,” which from the presentation will have pretty awesome graphics, will be available at launch. Remedy Games, which produced the “Max Payne” titles, is releasing “Quantum Break,” some story-based game about jumping through time and space (the trailer was a bit vague on this one). Somehow it’s going to tie in to a TV series. There’s also going to be a TV series built around “Halo.” Spielberg is involved (of course). Why not? With countless video games made into movies and the apparent success of Syfy’s “Defiance” as both a TV show and a game, it was inevitable that such cross-platform tie-ins would become the norm. Well. That’s pretty exhausting. But there’s a lot we don’t know, some of which likely will come at the E3 extravaganza in LA next month.
http://social.entertainment.msn.com/blogs/blog--xbox-one-the-next-gen-is-on-its-way?_blg=12[10/2/2013 3:24:09 PM]
Xbox One: The next gen is on its way For instance: How much will it cost? Nobody’s saying for the record, but there’s a lot of speculation out there, most of it falling in the $399 to $499 range. That a lot of clams, considering that the Xbox 360 can be had for less than $200. But this has double the RAM, with obviously infinitely more capabilities. Twitter was agog this morning over whether previous version of Xbox games, such as for the 360, will play in the Xbox One. Again, nobody’s talking officially, but the best guess is they won’t. There may be workarounds for some titles on a case-by-case basis, or perhaps digital downloads compatible with the new “Ignite” gaming engine, but a lot of diehard gamers are going to be pissed about this. And perhaps most important, when is it coming out? This morning’s event offered a vague “coming later this year,” which is the oldest tease in the book and, truthfully, kind of insulting to people who are likely to shell out for Xbox One. Do we really need to be that coy? Maybe Microsoft will have a firm date by E3, maybe not. It’s just one more question, along with how the device will affect the future of disc-based games versus streaming (the momentum is definitely there for the latter) and how many hidden costs are involved. It’s currently $59 a year for an Xbox Live subscription; will that go up? Will other premium services pile on the charges as well? How will this affect cable and satellite fees? So we got some answers: Yes, it’s a cool device. Yes, it could very well change the way people experience home entertainment. Yes, it could be a cash cow for Microsoft and its partners. But we still have questions. We’ll pass along more info as we get it. Contributing: Mark Brown, Jennifer Worick, Travis Hay Here's Microsoft's trailer that started this morning's presentation:
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