Update at 10:32, 20/06/2013:
Microsoft has made a dramatic U-turn overnight over its decision to impose pre-owned games restrictions and online authentication on their next generation console. But will they be able to win back the hearts and minds of gamers with this reversal?
Take a look at our article here.
Update at 09:10, 28/05/2013
Now that the furore surrounding the Xbox One reveal has died down, we’re going to be digging into some of the biggest questions that gamers are asking. Check out our short series of articles:
Original article at 20:15, 22/05/2013
After many months of speculation and countless rumours about its design and functionality, the new console from Microsoft is almost here. As every speaker at the Xbox reveal conference yesterday evening said, it’s going to change the way we watch TV and play games forever; but will it live up to the hype?
The reveal started off with a very cheesy video package of Xbox users around the world making comments like “It’s going to change our lives” and “It’s going to let us have a great relationship with our TV”. Fortunately things got a lot more stylish as it moved into Microsoft’s campus hall, where we were introduced to President of Interactive Entertainment Business Don Mattrick. He began by giving a brief history of how each of their consoles has ‘broken boundaries in entertainment’ before announcing the new hardware’s name; it wasn’t ‘Xbox 720′ or ‘Durango’ as previously rumoured but, quite simply, ‘Xbox One’.
He then showed a promotional video of the next-generation console in all its shiny glory. This was the moment that the world had been waiting for – we finally got to see what Microsoft’s new baby looks like – and we weren’t disappointed. It’s a perfect rectangle with clean lines and a black finish, and a disc slot instead of a tray; it may be a basic design but it certainly packs a punch.
Next to appear was Yusef Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Interactive Entertainment Business, who introduced many things to do with the non-gaming elements of the One including voice commandments. Users will be taken to their own personalised homepage where they can see all of their favourite movies, TV shows and games on one screen, and they can tell the console what they would like to play. A cool feature is ‘Snap Mode’ which essentially enables you to do two things at once; the example shown was Mehdi watching a film before shrinking the screen with a hand gesture, and then surfing the internet on the other half of the page. The fact that it was all working just a little too perfectly raised alarm bells for me, and I started to wonder if it was going to be like the launch of the Kinect: where it worked seamlessly during demonstrations but was unresponsive and frustrating when you actually got the thing home.
Vice President for Xbox LIVE Marc Whitten then talked about some physical features, such as the much-speculated Blu-ray player and almost-silent running (no need for those cooling fans this time around). The new and improved Kinect was next on the agenda and Whitten assured watchers that it has been totally redesigned with a sharper sensor to make it much more alert – but only time will tell on this one. Xbox LIVE has been changed too and will let many more players into online games, and a new edit and share feature will enable users to record gameplay and send videos to their friends. It will use over 3,000 servers to give online gamers the best experience possible; that’s a massive improvement on the 500 that the original Xbox started off with.
Next to the stage was Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President of EA Sports, who announced their brand new game engine – EA Ignite – which will supposedly “blur the line between reality and the virtual world.” He then showed clips from four new titles coming to Xbox One: FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14 and a new UFC game. Based on the videos displayed, the engine looks like it’s going to be something to get very excited about for sporting titles in the future.
There was great news for Halo (review coming soon) fans too: the franchise is expanding. Not only will it have its amazing games and series of books, but it’s now moving into TV also. An all-new live action series is going to be produced for Xbox LIVE and none other than Stephen Spielberg is involved with the project. No details of storyline or the number of episodes as yet but I’m sure it’s going to be blockbuster material; unfortunately however, this may mean that Microsoft is going to charge an arm and a leg for the privilege of watching it.
We then returned to Mattrick who confirmed that the console will be available to purchase later this year (no doubt in time for Christmas) and all other details will be announced next month at the E3 expo. Finally, a video showing the development process behind Call of Duty: Ghosts was played, showing off the highly-realistic character models of both human and dog; thanks to a new game engine, detailing on these was so precise that you could even see the slight scarring on the canine’s nose. This was capped off by the world premiere of the trailer and a clock counting down to E3.
One issue that has us worried is the used game factor, and unfortunately no mention of this was made during the reveal (what a surprise). On the day of the event Microsoft told Wired that second-hand users will have to pay a fee if they want to unlock the game on any pre-owned disc. Something as controversial as this is a complete deal-breaker when it comes to deciding which next-generation console to purchase and, in our view, it’s a very unwise decision by the corporation. Players will have to either buy titles new – which is an expensive option nowadays – or pay out for a used disc before paying out a second time to actually install the game. This smells of pure money-grabbing and we’re sure many gamers will show their disatifaction by converting to the new PlayStation 4.
So the final verdict is, to say the least, mixed. You have all of this great technology that looks amazing, seems to work perfectly and – to be honest – would only enhance your home entertainment experience; but the Xbox is a games machine first and foremost and this seems to have been somewhat forgotten. If you let users down on this front then I’m afraid the next-gen war may have been won by Sony before it has even started.
So what are your thoughts on the new Xbox One? Will you be buying the hardware or are you turned off? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
