Xbox One: The only 4 sentences you need to read
The console goes on sale Friday, Nov. 22, for $500

We've already taken a look at Sony's PlayStation 4. Now it's Microsoft's turn.
Reviews for the Xbox One, Microsoft's hulking and powerful next-gen console, are flooding tech and video game publications. Like the PS4, they are all incisive and thoughtful deep-dives into the machine's many nuances and hiccups, and I encourage you to read a few yourself if you're considering purchasing one. Here, here, and here are good places to start.
Indeed, the technological advances make the One a fine piece of machinery worthy of the Xbox name. Its controller is superb — potentially best in class. Kinect's motion- and speech-sensing capabilities are more accurate: Barking, "Xbox, on!" beats reaching for the console. Games even resume instantly from the home screen.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While the PS4 is focusing more on the hardest core of gamers, the Xbox One is keen on reaching a wider audience. Its goal is to become the all-in-one entertainment center of the future.
The question inevitably becomes: Should I purchase one right away? Of all the reviews I read, I found this four-sentence critique by Greg Kumparak at TechCrunch to be especially insightful:
If you already have a 360 and aren't absolutely dying for any of the launch titles, I would say hold off for now. Give developers a bit of time to figure out the console's inner workings. Let the must-have titles get made. If your 360 is on its last leg or you skipped the last generation, however, it's a solid buy as is. [TechCrunch]
Like the PS4, the Xbox One is a platform with huge potential. If money's tight and you can wait a few months (or, if you're like me, years), you're okay holding off for a bit.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why Rikers Island will no longer be under New York City's control
The Explainer A 'remediation manager' has been appointed to run the infamous jail
-
California may pull health care from eligible undocumented migrants
IN THE SPOTLIGHT After pushing for universal health care for all Californians regardless of immigration status, Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest budget proposal backs away from a key campaign promise
-
Is Apple breaking up with Google?
Today's Big Question Google is the default search engine in the Safari browser. The emergence of artificial intelligence could change that.