Post by Dan @ 02:49am 22/05/13 | 64 Comments
Australian's lucky enough to be awake with us at 3am AEST can watch the live stream along with us embedded below, on Xbox.com, or on Xbox LIVE, and if you're reading this at a more civilised hour, just read on below for a summary of what was unveiled.
Microsoft's Don Mattrick has revealed the name and hardware of the new Xbox console, named Xbox One.
With the ability to play games barely getting a mention at the start of the presentation, the new console was introduced with an array of Kinect-powered voice control features for watching live television and movies, and using Skype, emphasising Microsoft's strategy to position Xbox One as a central multimedia hub in the loungeroom with "instant switching" to jump between passive watching and playing games or using apps.
The console will feature an 8 Core CPU, 8GB Ram, USB 3.0, HDMI in and out, Blu-ray drive, a 500GB Hard drive, and an upgraded Kinect sensor now included as standard. The Xbox One Architecture is built around a 3 part operating system bridging the Xbox OS with the Windows platform for instantly switching between the different functions.
Xbox LIVE is also getting an overhaul, with the number of servers purportedly being doubled from over 150,000 servers to 300,000 to power new cloud services.
The first games officially announced for the console come courtesy of Electronic Arts, who confirmed new revisions of EA Sports staples FIFA, Madden, NBA Live and their first licensed UFC title --all powered by its EA Sports Ignite technology.
Microsoft boasted that they personally have more titles in development now than in any other time in Xbox history, with 15 exclusive games planned for the console's first year, eight of which are brand new franchises.
They kicked off their own new game announcements with Forza Motosport 5, the next addition to their successful racing sim franchise.
Forza Motorsport 5, from Turn 10 Studios, is the latest edition of the highest-rated racing franchise of the past 10 years. Forza Motorsport 5 sets a new bar for racing games. With the power of Xbox and the cloud, no game better delivers the sensation of being behind the wheel.
Quantumn Break, a new title from Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment was revealed with a cinematic trailer.
From the makers of Alan Wake and Max Payne comes Quantum Break, a revolutionary entertainment experience that blurs the line between television and gameplay, developed exclusively for Xbox One.
343 Industries didn't have a new Halo game to announce, but rather a live action Halo TV series, with the involvement of acclaimed film-maker Steven Spielberg.
A big deal was made about a partnership with NHL to develop a social-focused fantasy football experience with "exclusive and interactive content".
Activision and Infinity Ward rounded out the new game reveals with Call of Duty: Ghost, confirming that the new Xbox platform would once again be receiving exclusive timed content for the latest game in the blockbuster series.
In addition to promoting the graphical features of their new 'next-gen' engine, the developers confirmed new gameplay features, including mantling, leaning, and sliding. Multiplayer will feature dynamic maps, and a greater level of character customisation, and promises to retain 60 frames per second with low latency controls.
For AusGamers impressions from an advanced look at Call of Duty: Ghosts, check out this in-depth preview and developer interview.
No specific date was set for the launch of Xbox One, only that it would arrive 'later this year', presumably confirming a 2013 launch for North America, but leaving other territories uncertain.
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Posted 03:32am 22/5/13
Posted 03:43am 22/5/13
Ahhh are you still watching? I've been watching the last 15 minutes and it's been ALL about games, loads of new xbox only releases on the xbox, and loads of other new games that look sweet. Now they're talking all about live and internet TV on xbox.
Posted 03:50am 22/5/13
Would have liked a bit more info on the specs, they didn't even mention what graphics chipset it has. And their revolutionary new controller that has 40 revolutionary new features looks exactly the same as the 360 controller.
Oh great, now Steven Speilburg is trying to relate to the 'oldschool' gamers by letting us know he used to play Pong.
And wtf is with all the fantasy sports s***, this is the second time they've gone on and on about that. Who cares, I want games.
Posted 03:49am 22/5/13
Posted 04:05am 22/5/13
Posted 04:07am 22/5/13
Posted 04:08am 22/5/13
Posted 06:41am 22/5/13
Agreed, it's on the level with the Wii I think, trying to be a little too clever for its own good.
I really like the look of the tweaked controller, but the box itself looks really underwhelming, especially compared to the best of the Xbox 360s. It's like they're trying to go for a set-top box type feeling in the industrial design as well as in the functionality.
Posted 07:06am 22/5/13
Posted 07:11am 22/5/13
I guess E3 is going to be about the games, whereas this is just the fluff reveal piece. It's all about the games baby!
Posted 07:19am 22/5/13
Posted 07:19am 22/5/13
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=SNE
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=MSFT
Posted 07:22am 22/5/13
Posted 07:27am 22/5/13
http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-backwards-compatible/
Xbox One is designed, "to play an entirely new generation of games -- games that are architected to take full advantage of state-of-the-art processors and the infinite power of the cloud."
Infinite power of the cloud...bwhahahahaha!
Posted 07:35am 22/5/13
Looks like I'll be upgrading my PC instead.
Posted 07:52am 22/5/13
Here's some of my favourite console only games this generation:
Heavy Rain
Uncharted Series
Metal Gear Solid 4
Red Dead Redemption
Little Big Planet
Journey
Rock Band
Gears of War
Also, "The Last of Us" and Beyond: Two souls are coming out this year for the PS3 and they're looking pretty great so far.
Posted 08:02am 22/5/13
Posted 08:17am 22/5/13
the names kind of bad, they should have just called it xbox.
Posted 08:58am 22/5/13
Might want to fix that.
Posted 09:14am 22/5/13
Might buy one just for Forza 5, will definitely buy one if GTA V gets released on it and not the PC.
Posted 09:15am 22/5/13
Posted 09:15am 22/5/13
Posted 09:27am 22/5/13
Posted 09:41am 22/5/13
or it brings up skype.... awkward!
Posted 09:55am 22/5/13
Doesn't seem very practical.
Otherwise a bit meh in terms of games shown but I guess I'll wait and see.
Any word on how long the current 360 XBox Live infrastructure will persist for?
Would kinda suck if they disabled that too soon as I don't think I'll be racing out to get a 1 on release.
Posted 09:56am 22/5/13
If I were to base things solely on exclusives then the PS4 will likely win hands down as a core gaming machine.
The 360 had Gears of War and that was it for me in terms of memorable titles. The PS3 hit me hard with the Uncharted series, God of War, Heavy Rain etc and the goodies are still coming with The Last of Us soon to take up my couch time.
With a PC and a PS4 I'll be set.
Posted 10:25am 22/5/13
If I had a choice I would probably go with PS4 but I want the Xbox One controller to use with it. I will have to wait for 3rd party peripheral makers to make an Xbox style controller for me. Will the PS4 need a sub to play games online like current Xbox?
As for the name, I would have preferred Xbox 720 or Xbox 1080. Xbox one sounds lame to me. I do like the look of the console with its box shape and shiny plastic.
Edit: also found this http://i.imgur.com/xHzcyOV.png
Posted 10:28am 22/5/13
Thankfully, I'm pretty sure they already confirmed that it won't require a subscription for online functionality of games. (I still can't believe that every person playing online multiplayer on the Xbox 360 is paying a subscription fee for the "privilege", the concept seems crazy to me..)
Posted 10:28am 22/5/13
Posted 10:46am 22/5/13
You can be pretty sure they will have the Blu-Ray drive locked down solid this time round.
Posted 10:47am 22/5/13
Posted 10:57am 22/5/13
I give it 6-12months before something is cracked.
Posted 11:20am 22/5/13
When I read that, I can't help but think of it like this:
Infinite power... of the CLOUD! (waves jazzhands)
Posted 11:30am 22/5/13
Posted 12:03pm 22/5/13
Imagine if you bought a new computer and then Steam stopped working. Such an anti consumer stance. All the lofty words about new architecture and the power of the cloud belie the dollar signs in their eyes. You can bet they will be releasing XBLA "Classics" in no time flat, for a nominal fee of course. Prediction - First out of the gate - Shadow Complex, it's been a while since we all bought that, right?
F*** these new consoles, the last gen was really s***** for the consumer and gaming as a whole, and it doesn't seem like there's any change on the wind. It took 7 years for them to get to where PCs were in 2005, and look at the state of gaming as a whole, its all sorts of f***ed up and even the big players like Sony/MS have seemingly lost control. They're not learning, I'm not impressed with these closed systems and I don't want to buy their s*** again. As has already been said, these things won't even match the existing PCs on the market TODAY, hell, I bet the next phone I buy will have more power than either the PS4 or XBOX1.
The focus seems to be all business and even then I still don't believe they know wtf they're doing. I've never been less excited about a new gen.
/incoherent rant
Posted 12:03pm 22/5/13
I would suggest that a highly successful multinational corporation have a pretty good idea what they are doing. I also suspect that perhaps you are not the target audience.
Why compete with the PC market when you can't keep up in hardware? Not only that, you also have products in the PC market, so why take market share away from yourself? Better to focus on delivering a console that does everything a Home-theater needs whilst also retaining a sizable portion of the console market scene?
They don't want to cater to the hardcore PC enthusiast gamer with a console and that makes perfect sense as you probably wont pry them away from their PC's anyway.
On top of that you have to balance the idea of offering console power with the cost per unit. As the costs go up, the more casual end of the market drops off. A casual console gamer is not going to pay $600 for a console. This is partly why the Wii did so well, it was cheap.
Posted 12:07pm 22/5/13
I think this console looks pretty neat; I had low expectations as I do for every console (I almost certainly will never own another gaming console system). I'm surprised at how much disappointment there appears to be and it makes me wonder what people were expecting...?
From a gaming point of view, of course they're going to lead with Call of Duty, sports games, etc - they are the big names that drive more sales than many of the other games combined. The other features look like nice bells and whistles but I have no doubt that the Xbox One will continue to be a major power in video gaming.
The big question I suspect people will need to ask is whether or not they even need a big brand name console. The biggest threat to Microsoft isn't Sony.
Posted 12:28pm 22/5/13
Posted 12:31pm 22/5/13
Posted 12:52pm 22/5/13
Posted 01:05pm 22/5/13
Posted 01:26pm 22/5/13
Posted 01:30pm 22/5/13
Certainly the specs and the price didn't seem to stop people buying PS3s and 360s when they were first released, considering you could get an equivalent entire PC for the launch price.
Posted 01:32pm 22/5/13
As a console gamer ( FTR I game on all platforms), I too have low expectations but that may just be me being cynical, what I expect is for the faults and issues of the previous gen to be fixed and or improved on the next Gen, not just from a graphical hardware stand point but from a functionality stand point.
The new xbox has a new controller with 40 extra features most of which are fluff, but the new controller is being reported as being a lot better.
The new xbox alows for switching between application, this is something that is highly desired among console gamers.
Thats the positives out of the way,
The new xbox requires online connectivity (Not Cool), mandatory kinnect (not cool), inability to lend my friends games (not cool), Always on (not cool). No backwards compatibility for current gen games or market place purchases (REALLY NOT COOL).
What I would of like to see, backwards compatibility (even Sony let me down with this, though at least they admit to looking into doing it some way with either emulation or some other form). More gaming focused, they say its still a gaming machine at heart, but they sold a s*** ton of other features rather than gaming. More community access to user created content, from homebrew indie games to game modding and custom map creations.
I personally liked the idea of Sony focusing on a gamer style social network. I also like the way Nintendo does that and honestly that is what I want most out of the next gen, I want the next gen to be about community and sharing content and I personally think Sony is going to lead the way with this and Microsoft will be stuck playing catch up.
Posted 01:37pm 22/5/13
In regards to the whole "used games" debate, all I'm seeing at this moment is Microsoft's version of Steam albeit you can buy a code to play it second hand. Again, more details need to shared on this feature and to actually see it in action. Hopefully come E3 we will have a lot more focus on games for all three consoles, which should help push consumers to any and all platforms.
Posted 01:47pm 22/5/13
Making consoles require an internet connection is not moving console gaming forward.
I have never wanted to see or have a clone of steam or steam itself on consoles. I like being able to do what I want with my console games, trading with friends, lending to friends ect.
I'm not saying that digital distribution doesn't have a place on console, but I am very focused on consumers having a choice.
Posted 01:57pm 22/5/13
Well I'm not really that hyper pissed off about it. Annoyed yes because I have a good collection of 360 games so this decision will mean I probably won't upgrade to a One. Instead I'll look at getting the last release slim line if my current console fails.
I don't really see how this is a good marketing idea either. Surely they want consolers to upgrade to increase sales. Most would have vast game collections that are now useless if they buy a One which means unless forced by console failure not many people will upgrade. So why do this?
What's the difference between "always on" here and for a PC? What are the privacy issues? (note I haven't read articles or seen presentations yet)
Posted 02:01pm 22/5/13
I think the always on component is s***. Once again DRM that disadvantages legit customers is just insane and shouldn't be considered.
Backwards compatibility. You're crazy if you were expecting for this to be an option given it's always been hit and miss. I think it's a waste of time catering for it myself...I can see why some people are pissed, but for me, and I suspect the majority of other people it's a non issue. I'm really not surprised to see it wasn't included, especially given Sony said the PS4 won't offer it.
Posted 02:02pm 22/5/13
Always on in this case means the console sits in standby and can be activated by talking ot the connect eg Saying "Xbox ON"
The privacy issue is that if it's able to sit in standby and listen in than what's to say its not listening to me and the wife discuss the grocery list and that the next time I turn on my xbox I suddenly see a bunch of advertisements for Cheetos.
That might be some super paranoia but I use incognito browsing for my porn in chrome to prevent it showing up in my search history.
Posted 02:03pm 22/5/13
Posted 02:08pm 22/5/13
Posted 02:10pm 22/5/13
Bing fail....lol
Posted 02:47pm 22/5/13
Posted 02:48pm 22/5/13
Posted 03:19pm 22/5/13
Posted 06:34pm 22/5/13
Thats what has me most worried overall, I mean I want a gaming machine but in this case games seem like a secondary consideration. Sony got bagged out for their console reveal without actually having the hardware there, but they gave us way more information about it, from its specs, to showing people actually playing games, showing lots of gameplay from other titles they didn't have on display, and showing a bunch of game-related features like that spectator stuff. Microsoft showed us a couple of cinematics and some promises. Oh, and tv. It feels like they're more interested in making a motion-controlled Tivo box that also happens to play games, than a games machine.
I'm much more of a fan of the current XBox than the Playstation, and really wanted to like this, but I gotta say so far I'm pretty underwhelmed. I guess gamers aren't their target audience anymore :(
Posted 07:22pm 22/5/13
Posted 07:37pm 22/5/13
To be honest until I decided to upgrade my PC I didn't know d*** about hardware. Most confusing were ATI's range of video cards. Some cards had a smaller number than the other card, yet the card with the smaller number was faster. I also have to confess, I grabbed an Intel i7 CPU just because it was more expensive and had a bigger number. Only later did someone tell me that for gaming purposes i5s are pretty much identical. I probably would have actually researched but it was a gift from someone so I pretty much just looked at a catalogue and grabbed it because $300 was the price limit.
My point is, I think hardware might be a bit more confusing than it should be. I am up to date now but that's only because I have to be. A casual consumer should be able to instantly pick out the best product for themselves by just looking at a catalogue. I bet that's how the manufacturers would want it as well. Is a sleek interface and a pretty packaging the most important things to consumers now because of Apple's foray into the market with their products? There is no way I could tell you the hardware specs of the latest phones without looking it up. From memory for one of the iPhone releases they didn't even specify the speed of the CPU inside it.
On a personal level I am kind of disappointed by the latest console releases. I loved my Xbox and Xbox 360 and I actually felt kind of sad when I sold it. I didn't really have any need for it though because running games at 1080p on ultra detail at a constant 60fps was just so sweet. I thought games like Skyrim ran perfectly before but then I saw what perfect really meant. I was hoping for the next-gen of consoles to really spice it up hardware wise with some seriously high spec s***. I'd pay $800 easily for a console that was a beast. I guess on the brightside I won't have to upgrade again for like a year.
Posted 08:00pm 22/5/13
Posted 08:12pm 22/5/13
It's clear they have, and are continuing to, transition to a different audience then the hardcore PC gamer.
Without my pc gamer hat on it all looked ace and interesting. If it does next gen games, has better online game acquisition (ala MS Live/Steam) and loads more multimedia device features (the TV and social stuff they announced), then they're totes winning the battle for the living room.
I always used my xbox more as a sweet media center for live movie/tv streaming from online services, local movies, and live streams of news channels, etc.
Posted 08:22pm 22/5/13
Posted 08:56pm 22/5/13
I think for me this next-gen will be decided by price and whether the apps will be available outside of the US on launch (or near launch). Either way I'll be getting one or the other to complete the trifecta of PC, Wii U and next-gen console.
Posted 11:23pm 25/5/13
Posted 12:06am 26/5/13
And wow @ whoop's pic. References 5+6+7 are interesting plus i can foresee the s****torm once somebodys webcam gets hacked and they get posted online nude/wanking/having sex.
Wheres all the cool advances in game tech that ive seen snippets about- head units, back lighting for the wall of the room etc.