Just a couple of hours ago Microsoft Corp. unveiled Xbox One, the all-in-one gaming and entertainment system created for today and the next generation. At Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., the company showcased how Xbox One puts you at the center of your games, TV, movies, music, sports and Skype.
“Xbox One is designed to deliver a whole new generation of blockbuster games, television and entertainment in a powerful, all-in-one device,” said Don Mattrick, president, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Our unique, modern architecture brings simplicity to the living room and, for the first time ever, the ability to instantly switch across your games and entertainment.”
Some of the breakthrough Xbox One features include the following:
- TV on Xbox One.1 Navigate and watch live TV from your cable, telco or satellite set-top box through your Xbox One. Microsoft is committed to bringing live TV through various solutions to all the markets where Xbox One will be available.3
- Home. Turn on your entertainment system with two powerful words, “Xbox On,” and a custom-tailored Home dashboard welcomes you with your favorite games, TV and entertainment.
- Snap. Do two things at once on the biggest screen in your home. Use Snap to jump into a multiplayer battle while watching your favorite movie, talk with friends on Skype while watching live TV, or track your fantasy team on TV as you watch the big game and more.
- Skype for Xbox One. Specially designed for Xbox One, talk with friends on your TV in stunning HD, or for the first time ever, hold group Skype calls on your TV.
- Trending.1 Stay on top of what is hot on TV by discovering the entertainment that is popular among your friends, and see what is trending within the Xbox community.
- OneGuide.1, 2 Find your favorite entertainment easily, searching by network, name or time, all with the sound of your voice and presented in a tailored program guide.
Besides the multimedia features Xbox One brings with it a new HD Kinect sensor with voice controls and auto-recognition on offer, a new wireless controller and packs a 500GB hard drive, 8GB of RAM, a Blu-ray optical-drive, USB 3.0 connectivity (three ports) and dual-band Wi-Fi. There’s also Gigabit Ethernet for wired-networking and flash cache memory on the SoC. It’s not backwards compatible with your old Xbox titles unfortunately. It is, however, 4K ready.
A bunch of AAA blockbuster titles were also unveiled for Xbox One that include, Thief, Eidos Montreal’s reboot of the much-loved stealth series, Forza Motorsport 5 from Turn 10 Studios, Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA LIVE 14, and EA SPORTS UFC from EA SPORTS, and Quantum Break from Remedy Entertainment.
Xbox One will launch in markets around the world later this year. More details about Xbox One and blockbuster games will be explored at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.
