Earlier this afternoon, as I’m sure you’re all well aware of by now, Microsoft lifted the curtain on the Xbox One, the next generation Xbox console coming to market worldwide later this year.
From a gamer’s perspective, the unveil event was a complete dud. I’d say at least 80% of the showcase was spent talking about social interaction and “transforming television,” with little time dedicated to actual games. There were some EA Sports games, the next Forza, a new IP from Remedy Entertainment called Quantum Break, and Call of Duty: Ghosts, but all were shown with teaser trailers that didn’t show any footage from a functional gameplay point of view.
Obviously it would have been foolish to expect a bombardment of game unveils, especially with the upcoming E3 being better suited for that, but it’s sad that not even a single game was live demoed. However, Microsoft did say that 15 exclusives, 8 being completely brand new franchise IPs, are scheduled for release within the Xbox One’s first year on the market. Hopefully we’ll find out more about those games in a few weeks.
In terms of hardware, the Xbox One will feature an 8 core CPU, 8 GB of memory, a 500 GB HD, USB 3.0, HDMI in/out, 802.11n built-in Wi-Fi and a Blu-ray drive. The system will also feature an enhanced Kinect sensor (which will be required to operate the system) and game controller newly outfitted with vibrating impulse triggers and an improved D-pad. As for the system itself, it’s a giant black box that makes the original Xbox and the PS3 fat look like slimline consoles. It’s not ugly, just bulky looking and lacking style.
Other important rumors have been cleared up somewhat today as well. The Verge is reporting that the Xbox One will not feature backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 games, and currently there are no plans to offer any form of digital download or streaming service to play older games without a disc.
Wired is also reporting that the Xbox One will not outright demand an always-online Internet connection, however developers are being encouraged to take advantage of Microsoft’s Azure cloud service to offload computing tasks instead of processing them on the hardware. If a game is designed to integrate with the cloud, it’ll require an online connection, even if it’s single player. It’ll be all up to the developers.
That same Wired story digs into used game compatibility as well. Xbox One games will be installed to the HDD (and play without need of the disc) and linked to the user’s Xbox Live account. If a second user wants to install the disc on their system, they’ll have to pay a fee to install the game and tie ownership of the title to their account. What’s not clear at this point is whether or not games will be able to run directly from the disc without needing to be installed, thus allowing for traditional used game sharing. Though it sure sounds like game installs will be mandatory.
Is console gaming as we once knew it on the verge of extinction? Sadly, I think it is. This is by far the least excited I’ve been for a new console generation, and not just Xbox One. The Wii U isn’t lighting the world on fire and I’m not gung-ho over the PS4 yet either. So for the next generation seems like it’s all fancy tech and all-in-one entertainment gimmickry, and little game innovation. The Big Three have a lot to prove at E3.
Update: Major Nelson has provided a tiny bit more clarification about how Xbox One will handle used games. From his blog:
“We know there is some confusion around used games on Xbox One and wanted to provide a bit of clarification on exactly what we’ve confirmed today. While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail.
Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios.
Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friend’s house – should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile.”
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
While I can’t say that I’m not impressed with some of the potentially cool functionality the One will offer, I can’t help but feel that this console is not intended for me.
I could give two shits about video Skyping. I could give two shits about browsing a web review of a sequel to a movie I’m currently watching.
Since I don’t subscribe to a cable service, being able to switch back and forth between gaming, TV/Movie watching, or video chatting does nothing for me. While the tech is cool, it is pointless.
I guess I’ll have to wait until E3 to see if Microsoft actually has anything game-wise that could even remotely interest me in paying for a One.
freemantim I feel the same way. None of the TV/media interaction interests me in the slightest. Are people really ADD enough these days that they can’t play a game without switching back and forth to TV and music and web browsing? If I’m playing a game, I can’t stand any form of interruption, but in the off chance that I do pause the game for a moment to browse around what’s on the tube I can already do so just as easily by picking up the TV remote and pressing the input button.
All of the voice commands and Minority Report style Kinect manipulation is cool tech, but to me it’s just an unnecessary replacement for things that already work. I thought it was funny when one of the presenters outright said something along the lines of the technology finally now just as fast as using a remote control.
Games are all that matter to me as I don’t care about having an all-in-one entertainment center. I want a gaming console to *gasp* play video games. I didn’t expect a whole lot and I’m sure MSoft will have plenty of goods to show off at E3, it was just disappointing how they seemed to fluff off games altogether today.
I think it’s been easy, especially given what the Xbox 360 has achieved gaming-wise in this generation (i.e. near-total dominance) to forget that this was Microsoft’s plan all along–to create that all-in-one box you mention, Matt (And get it to market ahead of Apple, Sony and Google, of course) It may not turn out to be as bad as it seems–I’m reminded of a couple of years ago, when Microsoft debuted Kinect to howls of outrage from core gamers who were sure they were being tossed under the casual-gaming bus.
The critical difference is that we’re going to be asked to pay another $300-400 to invest in a future that looks a lot more uncertain for gamers than it did last time around, a future that includes leaving behind a lot of things we’ve come to appreciate, like our current XBLA library and the ability to share used games. Eyes glued to E3 in hopes of being convinced.
ARConklin It hasn’t just been Microsoft’s plan. Sony has been trying to do the all-in-one box ever since putting the DVD drive in the PS2 and pushing its abilities to play CDs and movies in addition to games. And the PS4 isn’t going to be directly backwards compatible either (though Sony will at least use the cloud to make older games playable in some form that hasn’t been announced yet).
Both are guilty, but with Microsoft it just seems like they always prefer to put the ultimate entertainment center goal ahead of first focusing on the games. It’s shown over the previous two Xboxes when you compare how much stronger first-party development with Nintendo and Sony has been. This just gets masked because franchises like Halo and Gears are the bigger mainstream blockbusters.
Pricing is going to be the key. Frankly, I’ll be surprised if they can hit the $300-400 range. Current Xbox 360 bundles with Kinect are already in that same range. Xbox One is going to double the Xbox 360’s largest HDD, have greater system specs, and a mandatory (and improved) Kinect in every box. Hell, the technologically inferior Wii U Deluxe is damn near $400. I sure hope I’m wrong, but I think we’re looking at a price range of $400-500 for both Xbox One and PS4.
VGBMatt ARConklin If either of them sail toward $500, and that’s certainly a possibility considering what’s going to be under the hoods (not to mention Sony’s statement about not running a loss on hardware sales out of the gate this time) it’s going to be interesting. Overpricing the PS3 to push Blu-ray was one of the things that knocked Sony out of the driver’s seat at the outset of the last generation. If both consoles are equally pricey, it could be a wash, but it could also mean slow sales for everyone.