Microsoft's Xbox One isn't pretty but it's powerful
Gaming console may 'change entertainment' by letting users flip bewteen games, live TV, films and music
MICROSOFT has fired the latest salvo in the games console wars, launching its hotly anticipated Xbox One to mixed reviews.
The latest version of the Xbox – which has reportedly sold more than 77 million units – is a voice- and motion-controlled device that integrates games, live TV, films and music. Its launch, at Microsoft's US headquarters in Redmond, Washington, follows the unveiling of new gaming machines from key rivals Nintendo and Sony.
The Xbox One is a "sleek black console" powered by an eight-core processor and 8GB of memory. It is fitted with a new Kinect camera sensor and game pad which allow it to "better analyse body movements", and it can even read a user's heartbeat when exercising, says the London Evening Standard.
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.
Microsoft has also added add a Blu-ray drive and Skype functionality to the console and says 15 "exclusive" games, including eight new franchises, will be available within the first year of its release. The Xbox One can "switch instantaneously" between games, films, television and the web, rent films, or play and record live television using an interactive TV guide.
The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones says Microsoft risks alienating hardcore gamers by trying to please the broadest group of consumers with an "all-in-one entertainment system for your living room".
He went on: "If my Twitter stream is anything to go by, many [gamers] were not impressed. My guess is that the Xbox reveal will be universally slated."
Alex Simmons, UK editor-in-chief of games website IGN, agrees, telling the Standard that Microsoft's plans for an all-in-one entertainment system were "ambitious". Xbox One will face stiff competition from "new, cheaper games available on tablets and smartphones", he said.
GQ.com said the Xbox One's "hulking box" was "not pretty, but powerful". The ability to "instantly flick" between playing a game such as Call Of Duty, watching TV, listening to music, or browsing the internet and apps, "might just change the entertainment industry".
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
-
Today's political cartoons - November 3, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - presidential pitching, wavering convictions, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
Who are the markets backing in the US election?
Talking Point Speculators are piling in on the Trump trade. A Harris victory would come as a surprise
By The Week UK Published
-
Microsoft's Three Mile Island deal: How Big Tech is snatching up nuclear power
In the spotlight The company paid for access to all the power made by the previously defunct nuclear plant
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Video games to play this fall, from 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 6' to 'Assassin's Creed Shadows'
The Week Recommends 'Assassin's Creed' goes to feudal Japan, and a remaster of horror classic 'Silent Hill 2' drops
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
CrowdStrike: the IT update that wrought global chaos
Talking Point 'Catastrophic' consequences of software outages made apparent by last week's events
By The Week UK Published
-
Why is Microsoft breaking up Teams and Office?
Today's Big Question The company had previously divided the software in Europe, but will now make this change globally
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2023: the year of the AI boom
the explainer This year, generative artificial intelligence bypassed the metaverse and became the next big thing in tech
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Inside Sam Altman's 'extraordinary firing' from OpenAI
The Explainer AI superstar joins Microsoft after 'philosophical disagreement' with his old board that stunned tech world
By The Week UK Published
-
Microsoft, Activision and the battle with competition tsars
Talking Point A giant gaming deal has highlighted the shifting attitudes of global regulators
By The Week Staff Published
-
AI and Big Tech: busted flush or next gold rush?
Talking Point Generative AI start-ups won $1.37bn in investment last year – almost as much as the five previous years combined
By Arion McNicoll Published