The trend started back when Microsoft launched the 360 nearly a decade ago, with the gradual inclusion of films and tv on demand, subscription based cable/satellite and so on. It seems such an inclusion has been beneficial to the teams at the tech giant, so much so that it has seen fit to launch a device which includes everything straight out of the box, at least so it would seem.
Whilst the event can be deemed a success, it also begs a lot of questions regarding the Xbox One's capabilities. It showed us live tv and the ability to switch seamlessly from it to games, to the music player, to skype and then back again, with little to no delay; all orchestrated using either the new Kinect's voice or motion control. Indeed, along with every Xbox and controller, a Kinect comes as part of the package. However, going back to the entertainment access, it is important to note Microsoft has given little to no clue as to how this will all be available. Supposedly one will have to connect whatever pre-existing top box already exists to the Xbox as well as pay a subscription for that service as well as Xbox's. Not altogether appealing but I'm going to wait before making assumptions. It does though seem like Xbox is tackeling the problem of the lost remote control, which isn't, let's be honest, a major problem.
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| Still not completely sold on the look - far from ugly though |
On the games front, very little was shown, probably in an attempt to keep viewers keen for E3, where Microsoft will undoubtedly reveal more. They said they had a number of exclusive franchises (15), 8 of which were new. Forza 5 which will ship launch day is a continuation of the popular racing sim, which from the brief demo looked astounding and Quantum Break, a new game from Alan Wake and Max Paye devs Remedy. The latter was a video partly filmed in live action and partly game (though I was unsure if it was gameplay). It looked intriguing but so little was shown its hard to get excited. And other than a demo of the new Call Of Duty Ghosts, that was it! Not to skip over the latter, Ghosts didn't seem as revolutionary as Activision were trying to make out. There is supposedly a deeper and more compelling story written by the writer off Traffic (?). The graphics looks... good, but not revolutionary. Interestingly they compared Ghosts to MW3, Infinity Wards last game and whilst there was a major improvement, I'd be keen to see the game up against the likes of Far Cry 3.
To go back to Kinect, whilst some will feel let down that what was an optional peripheral is now compulsory, it does seem to be a vast improvement on the last one. The developers seem to have take the criticism on board and launched at the very least, a decent product. Reports have said the camera picks up movement without delay and the voice recognition technology is so good it recognises voices, even in a noisy environment. Although some may be put off, I don't feel the camera is a reason not to buy the console. It can even be used for the integrated Skype App.
All in all, whilst some gamers may feel differently, the Xbox One appears to be an interesting device which has the potential to wipe its competitors aside, much like the Wii did at launch. It has an appeal that will attract those a little on the fence because of its multiple functions and unsure of whether to buy a dedicated full price console. Either way, its an interesting experiment from Microsoft, and whilst I'm not completely sold on it (as any rational person should be), I'm in no way keen to jump ship to Sony's initially rather bland and average new though dedicated 'gaming' console. At this moment, a little patience is required to discover more about both. I may even end up eating my words about the PS4.
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