Yesterday Microsoft had it’s big reveal where it showed off Xbox One to consumers. I’m not much of a gamer (unless it’s Lego Harry Potter), but I am excited about this new Xbox. I already use my Xbox to watch Netflix, HBO, Hulu Plus and sometimes ESPN, so I’m happy to see that TV/entertainment is taking a bigger role in the newest version of the system. To access all the features, you’ll still need a subscription to Xbox Live Gold, which is about $40-50 for a year.
So, what’s new? Well for one, it looks like Microsoft is planning on working with your cable provider to provide you with a better user experience while watching TV. They showed off capabilities to watch live TV on the system, TV guides, and switching instantly between channels. You can save favorites, or say things like, “watch Law and Order SVU” and Xbox will find it. Since the Xbox One requires Kinect (more on that later), everything can be done by speaking to the Xbox. Watching the reveal I thought, “What, Xbox is replacing my cable box?! FINALLY!” But that sounded too good to be true… because it is. You’ll still need your ancient cable box from your provider, the Xbox will plug into it to access cable. And all these features are for LIVE TV, meaning, if you normally DVR your shows, you’ll still have to use the cable box for it. OK, I can live with that (for now). I think even though you need still go through the cable box, it will make day to day TV watching better and more user friendly.
Because the Xbox will be connected to internet, when you’re watching live sports games, you can pull up your fantasy team on the side of screen. And Microsoft teamed up with NFL to bring exclusive content to the Xbox and interactive experiences, although we don’t know what those are yet. Since Xbox One’s UI is similar to that of Windows 8, you can actually use “snap mode” through the whole system. Snap mode allows you to multi-task by docking one app on the side of your screen while another app takes over the rest. You can use it watching sports, like I mentioned above, watch the game and have your fantasy team docked on the side. Or you can watch a movie and have Internet Explorer docked on the side the screen and pull up the IMDB page. Play a game and have Skype docked on the side so you can chat with a friend. Oh, did I forget to mention now you can Skype via Xbox? Silly me, because it’s awesome!
Much like the other features, Skype will work via Kinect. Kinect used to be an optional add on to the Xbox for certain games and other features. Now all Xbox Ones will require Kinect, which seems to freak some people out. It’s basically a camera that can see the whole room, recognize your face and can be voice activated. I think some people are afraid about invasion of privacy, since the Kinect is always listening (you can now turn the system on by saying, “Xbox on”). Personally, I’m not concerned about it, I’ve actually had the Kinect since it first launched in 2010. I’ve actually gotten so used to watching movies with Kinect, that sometimes watching TV I’ll say “Xbox, pause” when I have to get up. We live in a world so integrated with technology, Kinect and items like Google Glass are pushing the privacy limits, it’s up to each individual if they want to embrace it or steer clear of it. But if you’re OK with it, Microsoft has improved the Kinect features, which were already pretty good to begin with. Now if you’re working out with Kinect (perhaps using the Nike Training “videogame”), Kinect can even monitor your heart rate.
Along with improvements to Kinect, the new Xbox hardware has been bumped up. It’s much faster and boasts 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. It has USB 3.0, and 802.11n Wi-Fi (if you know what that means). The controller has been made sleeker and easier to hold, the directional (D) pad has been changed up a bit. I just hope it still comes in pink!
Now, you’re probably thinking, “Wait a minute Ang, isn’t the Xbox for games?” Yes, yes it is. While Microsoft revealed a few games (another Call of Duty, big surprise…), they keep promising to reveal more at E3 in a few weeks. The down side to gaming on the Xbox One, is that you can’t use all those Xbox 360 games you already bought (so much for Lego Harry Potter!). Because they changed the hardware, the system won’t be able to run the games designed for the previous hardware. BOOOO! As E3 comes, I’m sure Microsoft will clear up questions consumers have about games. Perhaps they will take the Playstation route of making those games available for streaming via the cloud. Also, there has been confusion about whether you need an internet connection to play your games. This is because Microsoft designed Xbox One to download the game in the cloud when you first insert the CD, so you never have to insert the CD again. And since it’s storing it in the cloud, you’ll need internet connection to access the game. They claim it will still work if your internet connection is dropped, but there aren’t any details as to how often your Xbox will have to connect to the cloud (once a week? day? hour?).
Overall, the Xbox One looks pretty cool and I know I’ll have one pre-ordered when it becomes available. As a non-gamer, casual Xbox consumer, I love all the entertainment stuff they’re doing with the system. As for gaming, I’m sure I’ll still hold on to the Xbox 360 to use for all my old games and hopefully Microsoft will clear up some of the confusion surrounding games soon.
“They showed off capabilities to watch live TV on the system, TV guides, and switching instantly between channels.”
Instant changing of channels, eh? We truly live in a wondrous era.
But in all honesty, this is an interesting perspective from seemingly the exact audience that Microsoft is attempting to target. Whether you’re/they’re willing to fork over $400+ to have an enhanced NFL or GoT watching experience is another issue entirely. Seems reasonably insane to me.
For people who actually care about games though, I must imagine that this whole unveiling was a massive letdown. To steal what the co-creator of Super Meat Boy tweeted, ‘So as someone who doesn’t play Forza or any EA Sports game and already has a computer hooked to my TV, what does Xbox One offer me?’