The Xbox One Thread

[apsham]

Suck it PS4 nerds, we're getting Soda Drinker Pro.

[Dan]

Just a heads up to UK people. £50 credit is currently going for £30 on eBay.

Got myself MGSV, Trials Fusion and the Peggle 2 DLC for £30 and still have a couple of quid credit left over.

[Your Mom]

On June 9th we are finally getting an Xbone without a kinect! $399!

[Ruki]

On June 9th we are finally getting an Xbone without a kinect! $399!

I might be able to play Dead Rising 3 sooner than expected

[Dan]

Boooo.

On the positive side of things, they've got rid of Gold being needed to use apps and they're bringing in a PS+ free games system in for gold members starting with Halo: Spartan Assault and Max next month.

[Maxx]

This is the first I've heard of this.

[Baddar]

On June 9th we are finally getting an Xbone without a kinect! $399!

So that's a similar price to the PS4 upon release, no?

If I've got money this time next year, I'll get one. It's just impossible at the moment. At least then, games like Forza and DR3 will be cheaper too. None of the other exclusives interest me.

[Dan]

It's all on www.majornelson.com now.

[King Ellis]

Wasn't expecting this glut of news before E3. Positive steps though, even if it's another case of making them contradict themselves over stuff like 'you can't just turn off the [DRM]' or 'there wont be a One without Kinect'. It's 'only' Arcade games on offer for free but that's on par with Sony ATM, albeit they've been doing it longer. I'll hold out hope that the Halo one somehow lets you get it for 360 too but, since they've already announced the 360 titles for that month, I doubt it. Just hope I'll be able to add the free One titles in the same way I can do for PS4.

The hardware being cheaper is nice, especially as a 'next gen fence sitter', but I'm not overly sold on either right now.

EDIT: I say cheaper, they've seemingly said it's going to be £350 for a One without Kinect over here. It's £380 on Amazon for one with Kinect. That and you could get the Titanfall bundle recently which has the One, Kinect and the game for £350. Fuck off.

[Dan]

£350 RRP. The RRP of the Kinect model is £430.

Retailers will offer discounts once it's released no doubt.

[Your Mom]

By the time we buy one the kinect version will probably be pretty cheap anyway. I don't want a kinect at all but if the price difference is that small I don't see any reason not to get one. $100 difference is a big deal though.

But PS4 is still the best!

[TCO]

So has Microsoft reneged on everything that distinctly differentiates it from the PS4 now?

Big win over all for consumers this

[zero]

Short-term thinking has doomed this generation to any sort of innovation. I still think Microsoft's stance on DRM and used games was pretty stupid, but they backpedaled before they could even clarify how it really worked. Now they're effectively killing Kinect, the only thing that made them unique over the more powerful, and currently better selling, console.

Kinect still has so much potential, certainly not with "on-rails" games, but by making it mandatory, someone would've figured out the "a-ha!" moment that would've made it an integral part of console. The voice command stuff opens up so many possibilities. But this move pretty much ends that. Developers aren't going to touch the thing if it's not something everyone has.

I really, really hate this generation of gaming.

[TCO]

I'm a bit underwhelmed by it all too. Saying that though I believe the generation will pick up and it was never going to be as big a step up the 360 and PS3 were from their predecessors.

The whole Kinect thing is huge though. It was basically a big fuck you to the Xbox One's early adopters and regardless of how they paint it the Kinect is now dead. I worry for the Xbox One because they're progressively stripping it to compete with the PS4. The Titanfall bundle and now this screams desperation. I'll never get one because I think it's inferior and I don't trust Microsoft but I'd like to see it do better than it is because competition breeds quality an price cuts.

[King Ellis]

On the voice command front, I think I saw some interview yesterday with the guy running the Xbox division and he was saying there are other ways they can approach it sans Kinect, like using an app on smartphones/tablets etc. Which, I suppose is nice that they're looking at different ways to improve things but it does again paint the Kinect as entirely useless.

[apsham]

Err - right so, some of this conversation seems a bit off?

I mean - the Kinectless option is something that people were clamouring for, so Microsoft ended up giving people what they wanted. And that's fair I suppose. It doesn't make it "more like the PS4" - it makes it less expensive and more available to the people who misunderstand what the Kinect is doing. That's fair. This generation has been rather slow out of the gate, and lets not pretend that's just a Microsoft thing of course - Sony too, but all of this news has been positive to me. Games For Gold coming to the console, along with sales specific to it? Apps without needing to be a Gold member? Cheaper console with a broader audience eventually? Hell yeah.

Then again it's likely going to be like this every time a new generation launches from this point out. I think people are looking into the whole Kinect aspect of this FAR too much.

[Dan]

If they kill Kinect off then it'll be a terrible decision but if they keep working on it then it's great.

The voice commands are really great, it'd be a shame for them to ditch it.

[TCO]

But all those features you listed are all pre-existing PS4 features. Paying a subscription for Netflix and the like was never a thing on Playstation, they're giving their version of PS+ and they're matching the PS4 price as well. All their steps whatever way they paint it is moving towards homogenising their console with Sony's. Essentially admitting they were wrong with almost everything they've done so far.

Kinect is dead in the water. There'll be a huge wave of gamers come June that'll happily be without it and no 3rd party will touch it in fear of limiting their target audience.

[Dan]

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/05/16/halo-the-master-chief-collection-revealed

Halo 1,2,3 and 4! Awesome stuff.

Infact, this deserves its own thread.

Edited May 16, 2014 by Dan

[Dan]

Another update coming in June. I love how they're still bringing monthly updates.

Also, Skype just updated the other day so you can snap it and use it while you game.

Easily Increase Games Capacity with External Storage Support

It couldn’t be easier to increase your storage capacity of games and apps with the external storage support features we’re bringing in June. Your Xbox One system will soon support up to two external hard drives at once. Simply plug in your 256 GB or larger USB 3.0 external hard drive and once formatted, copy and move games, apps and game add-ons to increase your storage capacity at home.

This is also a great way to take your content to a friend’s house and get straight into a game directly from an external drive. You’ll need to sign in to Xbox Live if you’ve purchased your content digitally or insert a disc to verify your game ownership when you take your content on the road. The great benefit here is there’s no need to wait to re-download your game and all the DLC. With external storage support in June, you can also choose to copy full games and all of the associated content in one easy step.

Real Names Makes it Easier to Identify Friends

With Xbox One you can have 1,000 friends and infinite followers, but as these lists grow it can become increasingly more difficult to remember the people you know by their gamertag alone. Now with real names feature you can recognize people on your friends list and more easily discover people you already know who are on Xbox Live.

Most importantly, we heard your feedback that to make this most useful you need full control. You’ll be able to share with all your friends, a subset of your choosing, friends of friends or none at all. The choice is yours. Also, your name doesn’t show up in games, and you can change your settings any time from your profile and when adding new friends.

SmartGlass Provides Access to full OneGuide and Universal Remote Control, Pin Reordering and More

We’ve made a ton of changes to your SmartGlass app for Xbox One. After getting great feedback from our SmartGlass beta, we’re thrilled to be bringing the entire OneGuide experience and Universal Remote Control to SmartGlass. Now in supported markets you can view all of your TV listings on your SmartGlass device and set and view your favorite channels and app channels on your smart phone, tablet or PC. With the Universal Remote Control, you can also easily switch channels, set new recordings and select and control recorded content from your DVR. Another great companion feature now in SmartGlass is pin reordering. With the touch of your finger you can easily organize your pins in categories or favorites based on your preferences and have those changes refresh to your console.

Other improvements to SmartGlass will help you stay current on what you and your friends are up to, even when you’re away from your console. We’re bringing hero stats and activity feed front and center, and adding more ways for you to compare achievements via SmartGlass whether you’re on a friend’s profile or viewing a game from the activity feed. Just like on the console, you can choose to get notifications on your smart phone, PC or tablet when a favorite friend signs into their console or starts broadcasting a game. For many devices, you can even choose to start watching the broadcast wherever you are.

Expanded TV and OneGuide Soon Available in More Markets

The TV and OneGuide features we began sharing with select Xbox Live members in April will be available in June to everyone in Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The update will bring OneGuide, alongside Favorites and App Channels, for people in these markets who have their TV connected to Xbox One via HDMI-in. Additional features in these markets include Kinect voice commands for controlling your set-top box and other AV equipment. We’ve also updated TV and OneGuide settings to provide better power management and control of your devices and improved compatibility with more devices.

New Gold Membership Benefits, Access to Apps for All and More

With this update, you’ll find a new hub in Xbox One for exploring all of the great benefits available to Xbox Live Gold members, including Games with Gold and Deals with Gold. Also, with the Xbox Live Gold changes announced last week, shortly after the Xbox One system update becomes available in June all Xbox Live members will be able to access popular gaming and entertainment apps without a Gold membership.

Finally, we’ve made it possible for you to choose an account for automatic sign-in on your Xbox One – another much-requested feature from fans like you.

Coming soon, these features will be available to members previewing Xbox One system updates as they help us work through final improvements. This system update will become available to the full Xbox One community in June. We look forward to hearing what you think and keep the feedback coming.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dan