Microsoft took the wraps off of their offering with the announcement of the Xbox One. The system, as you can see above, is a sleek, minimalist design with a redesigned controller and Kinect 2.0 coming packed in with the system. No release date or price point was given, but there is plenty of time for that with E3 only a few weeks away.
The system is quite the powerhouse with an 8-core CPU and 8GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, USB 3.0 using a Blu-Ray drive.
The controller looks slightly larger but looks to have a flatter feel from the side. It has an integrated battery (finally!) and new d-pad which I pray feels better than the 360.
The new Kinect has a 1080p camera and USB 3.0 for a better field of vision and the voice controls are being made more of a focal point in the operation of the system.
The Xbox One can play live TV, games, music and movies all controlled with the voice feature on the new Kinect. During the press conference they demonstrated by saying simple commands like “watch HBO” or “watch CBS”. Not sure how it will work when I say “play College Asian Slumber Party 9”, but we will see.
We will have much more coverage on the Xbox One coming so keep checking back!
Of the litany list of rumors about the next Xbox, the main one that has people talking or growing wary about Microsoft’s new console is the possibility that it could require a constant internet connection. Microsoft has been quiet on the subject while we wait for their May 21st reveal of the system to find out their plans, but an email uncovered by Ars Technica may pull a quick reverse on the subject.
This is an excerpt from the email:
“Durango (the codename for the next Xbox) is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today’s Internet. There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should ‘just work’ regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game.”
Now this is not calling the issue of always online dead. This is still pure speculation until Microsoft goes live on May 21st and unveils their new system.
Emails were sent out this morning inviting everyone to come and see the unveiling of the next Xbox on May 21st. The event will take place on Microsoft’s Xbox campus in Redmond, Washington. The event will start at 10AM PDT and you can watch it on Xbox.com, Xbox Live or on Spike TV.
No announcement has been made if a hobbit will be hosting the event.
We will be updating you as more information comes in. Until then have fun going through our most recent set of Xbox rumor mill items here.
Researchers recently created the first qubit (quantum bit), a critical ingredient in building quantum computers. You heard me. The epic computers of your favorite sci-fi fantasy are going to be here faster than 1980’s Scott Bakula can put on a white leotard and be engulfed in blue flames.
Somehow these scientists figured out how to manipulate the direction electrons flow within a single atom. So instead of the binary code computers use now that’s built of one’s and zero’s, the quantum computer would use the electron flow directions; up, down… or both. So the qubit has 3 possible states, where the classic bit has only 2. (Face melts.)
That jbberish just means these quantum computers will be extremely fast. Watch this video and it’ll make sense:
With this breakthrough, plus recent advances in battery technology, we’re getting closer to a world where Tony Stark’s inventions could come alive and the Xbox will start to look more like the holodeck.
Here are the details first then I will let you know what this most likely means.
Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat gave an interview with The Guardian and was asked if the gaming community was ready for a console that is always connected to the internet.
“Well, that’s a question you should put to Microsoft and Sony! I would say that a lot of people are already always online through other devices – I would suspect that the audience is ready.”
Now Mallat could just be playing it safe and saying that we would have to ask either Microsoft or Sony, but I am assuming as the head of a major game development studio that he may actually already know if the next Xbox will be always-online or not. Sony has already announced that the PS4 will not require it and there is too much smoke around Microsoft’s camp to not say there is fire somewhere. I am not saying Microsoft will do it, but I am thinking there has been more than serious discussions about it and who knows, maybe their delay in announcing the new Xbox could be a rethinking of strategy after the negative reception to the possibility.
I am not in the practice of posting articles for every single Xbox rumor that passes in front of me. I like to wait and let them marinate and then serve them to you on a nice place setting and watch as you take tiny bird bites and see how you like them. Let’s go over the last few that are making the rounds. Need a refill before we begin?
1. The next Xbox will need to be online. As in always online.
This is the biggie that has everyone up in arms. I am not leaning one way or the other honestly so I will try and give you an objective opinion about both sides. Always online is going to be the future. It is undeniable. There will come a time when almost everything short of a refrigerator or toaster is going to need an internet connection. Microsoft was ahead of the curve when they introduced Xbox Live over ten years ago and made it require a cable internet connection leaving all the 56K users out in the cold. They knew that to have the speed needed it had to have a fast connection and Microsoft also saw that 56K, while being in the majority of homes, was on borrowed time. It was a gamble that paid off, but this is a different gamble altogether. If this rumor is true, Microsoft is hedging their bets on the future of the Xbox brand on it. I know that consoles will eventually require an internet connection for functionality, but I hope that Microsoft is not a generation too soon with it.
The outcry over an always online Xbox may seem like internet fanboy complaining and I hope that is all it is. But there is still a large part of the country that has spotty internet or no internet at all. Hard to believe in this time, but Microsoft has to realize this. I believe that is why Sony has already announced that the PS4 will not require an internet connection to play. They are placing their bets that some people will be turned off by Microsoft making them be online to play and will be waiting on them with arms wide open, ready to accept them into the Sony family. This is not a far-fetched idea when you think about it.
I get the feeling that Microsoft is feeling like Sony after the success of the PS2. They feel they can do no wrong and people will follow no matter what. Sony learned a harsh lesson about that in the first few years of the PS3. They learned they were not invincible and it looks like they are trying to correct a lot of this with the PS4. Be wary Microsoft.
2. The next Xbox will cost $500 straight up with a second model at $300 with a subscription fee.
I think this is a rumor you can go ahead and count on being true. It was most likely the whole reason why they tried the approach last year with the Xbox 360 where you get the console for $99 and agree to a two year subscription to Xbox Live. I think it will be a harder sell for the next Xbox, but that’s not to say it won’t be a success. A $99 360 is an easy sell to some, even with a subscription model. Now, asking $300 for a new console AND a two year subscription may be a bit more of a stretch. If I am going to save and spend $300 on a console I, personally, would just get 200 bucks more and buy my console outright. However, we do buy phones like this so I can see where Microsoft would think this is a viable option.
3. The next Xbox will essentially become your cable box.
This goes back to #1 on the list. Rumors are that the system will be able to connect with your cable boxes and communicate with them. This would fit in with Microsoft’s mission to make the Xbox the entertainment center of your living room. How Microsoft will make this a unique experience like Nintendo TVii remains to be seen. There will need to be some kind of special feeling to this to have some people (me) adopt it. I am sure that Microsoft has some tricks up their sleeve for this.
4. Microsoft is shooting for a late-May announcement for the next Xbox.
May 21 is the date that rumors suggest when the big event will happen. If this is true then it means that Sony will have had three and a half months of time for people to learn the ins and outs of every bit of PS4 info they can find. Did Microsoft wait too long? And because Sony had such a great announcement and Microsoft waited so long, are the expectations unattainable? If they do wait till May 21, why not just do it at E3 a couple of weeks later? Microsoft has wasted valuable time while many have begun to question items about their next console. Let’s hope they blow us all away.
Microsoft are taking so long to announce the new XBOX that Ubisoft will have announced 3 more Assassin’s Creed games by the time they do it
The WWE is continuing their slow crawl into every avenue of digital media with the release of a WWE app for Xbox 360. Fans will be able to watch this Sunday’s Wrestlemania 29 and every monthly PPV after on the app from your Xbox 360. You will still pay the normal PPV cost of the event, but it is an alternative for people who are without cable.
It is a shame that they are launching the app in front of what may be the weakest built Wrestlemania in years. It is a yearly event for me, but this year has gone so vanilla and by the books that it feels like we may be in for the weakest entry since 2000.
Xbox Live is having another sale and there are some great XBLA titles available for 50% off. With all these sales over the past few months it’s almost like Microsoft is realizing how right Sony has been getting it with their Playstation Store sales. No complaints on this end, especially when I can get Mark of the Ninja or Deadlight for half off.
Check out the list of titles that are getting price reductions from Microsoft Studios:
Do you have an important function to go to? A nice dinner or maybe a wedding of a person that you don’t really consider a friend, but know well enough to put on a suit? Are you actually a very lonely gamer and sometimes you dress up while you play Dead or Alive and pretend that you are on a date with one of the chicks in the game?
Well Bazinga Jewelry is looking to cater to you. They are offering these video game controller inspired cufflinks for the man about town…and games. Each set will run you back $19.99 and they have choices that include the NES, SNES, Genesis, Xbox 360 and Playstation.
At the very least you could buy a set for that one magical day when you have to wear a nice suit and people will notice your mad cufflinks. So go buy them and call your grannie to see how she is feeling.
Everyone’s favorite Marvel multi-personality anti-hero is back and he is showing off some more footage from his new game brilliantly titled Deadpool. The game is being developed by High Moon Studios and already seems to have the merc’s signature mouth down to a science. Now let’s just hope the controls and gunplay can live up to fan’s expectations.
There are many things to like about this trailer and one thing to love and you will realize it when I type the next sentence.
Deadpool motorboats Cable’s massively Rob Liefeld-like man boobs.
Go and watch to your heart’s content.
Deadpool releases this summer for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
