Microsoft reveals the Xbox One

Victor Barreiro Jr.

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The Xbox One aims for supremacy in the battle for home entertainment

XBOX ONE. The Xbox One aims to be an all-in-one entertainment system for everyone. Screen shot from Xbox.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – At a reveal event on May 21 (May 22 Philippine time), Microsoft revealed the Xbox One, Microsoft’s newest consoles to gamers and technology enthusiasts worldwide.

Microsoft is touting the Xbox One as a single device providing for all of a user’s entertainment, combining it with the console features to provide a more interactive experience. The Xbox One appears to allow for connectivity to other Microsoft-based devices and programs, such as Internet Explorer and Skype.

Voice controls allow for users to access their entertainment system and games and other programs. From the demonstration, it seems all users gain a personal login screen that remembers the state a user was in previously. With the help of camera-viewed gesture and voice controls through a new Kinect Sensor, users can also access other aspects of the Xbox One without touching the controller.

Other features include:

  • Instant Switching – switching from Xbox One games, to TV watching, to music playing, to other functions.
  • Snap Mode – multiple programs can run simultaneously.
  • Xbox One Guide and Trending: two features that allow for more accessible usage of the Xbox One’s functions as a game console and an entertainment system.

The Xbox One’s architecture sports 8GB of RAM, a 64-bit architecture, USB 3.0 and WiFi Direct capabilities, a Blu-ray drive, and multiple power states with silent operation. Xbox One also consolidates 3 operating systems in a single system: the Xbox operating system, the Windows operating system, and an operating system that connects the two seamlessly.

The Verge notes that the Xbox One will not be backwards-compatible with Xbox 360 games. In an interview with The Verge, Microsoft Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten, confirmed this. He explained that the Xbox One’s system “is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn’t really work from that perspective.”

In an article detailing some of the features of the Xbox One, Wired reports that the new console “will utilize a few different methods to deliver live TV to the Xbox universe.” 

Wired adds, “Chief among those – at least in the US – is HDMI pass-through, in which the cable box, satellite box, or similar device (e.g., the aforementioned cablecard-equipped TiVo ) connects directly to the Xbox One, which then passes the mediated signal to the television via an HDMI-out port.”

With an improved controller, cloud storage capabilities, and a built-in digital video recorder and editing system for your gameplay, the Xbox One looks to be an exciting new entertainment addition to the home.

The Xbox One is slated for release around the world later this year, though no price point was announced at the reveal event. More information should be made available regarding what the console offers and what it will cost at the E3 Expo from June 11 to 13. – Rappler.com

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Victor Barreiro Jr.

Victor Barreiro Jr is part of Rappler's Central Desk. An avid patron of role-playing games and science fiction and fantasy shows, he also yearns to do good in the world, and hopes his work with Rappler helps to increase the good that's out there.