Microsoft has just taken the lid off the new Xbox at a live media event which was streamed throughout the world.
Called simply the Xbox One, this new device appears to be powerful, exciting and about as interactive as it is possible to get.
After today’s event there can be no doubt that anyone who thinks of the new Xbox as simply an updated games console, is hopelessly outdated.
We were only a few seconds into the event when we were hit with a big, bold claim from Microsoft.
They simply had to offer something amazing from this new device when we were told: “For the first time you and your television are going to have a relationship, stop just watching and start feeling alive.”
Don Mattrick, the President of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, looked genuinely excited as he told the audience: “Your TV becomes more intelligent and all of your entertainment comes alive in one place.
“Team Xbox is on a new mission to design and build a new system…that must be simple, instant and complete.
“Today we unveil the ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system that makes your TV more intelligent…the one system for a new generation…the Xbox One.”
Senior VP Yusuf Mehdi demonstrated the voice and gesture control capabilities of the new Xbox One.
There is no leaving your seat to switch it on, no hunting for the missing remote control, just say “Xbox on” and it instantly powers into life.
It will also remember what you were last doing and the home screen (accessed any time by the voice command “Xbox go home”) shows the last things you had on screen such as the game you were playing, the channel you were watching on TV or the web page you were browsing.
Medhi showed how easy it was to instantly switch between functions by issuing simple voice commands such as:
- Go to TV
- Go to music
- Watch TV
- Go to Internet Explorer
- Watch movie
The new Xbox One will also allow multiple modes on one screen such as the game you are playing, the sports on TV and your web browser.
Similarly if you don’t feel like talking to your Xbox One you can use a series of hand gestures to get it to show you what you want to see instead.
The new device has also been integrated with Skype and will allow group video calls via your TV and you can start and end calls with voice commands too such as “Xbox answer call,” or “Skype end call.”
Medhi said the biggest challenge facing TV viewers today was finding what to watch and keeping up to date with what programs were available and he certainly has a point.
XBox One also has a solution and with the command: “Xbox show the guide” you can see what is available. See something you like than just say “Watch MTV,” or “Watch CBS” and you will be taken to the channel of your choice.
“What’s on HBO?” will take you to the program schedule for that channel and you can also see what’s coming up on TB based on your favorite channels or, interestingly, the favorite channels of the entire Xbox community. Just say: “Xbox trending” and you will see what the current favorite channels are, should you want inspiration for what to watch.
As for the specifications, then there are some pretty impressive numbers surrounding the new Xbox One, such as:
- 8 Core CPU
- 8GB system memory
- 500GB HDD
- Blu-ray drive and
- 5 billion transistors making it all work
I’m sure I heard Microsoft’s Marc Whitten say that when you were exercising, that it could read your heartbeat and he certainly said that what they had built was “rocket science level stuff.”
For example the cloud-based system needs a lot of servers to ensure it all works smoothly for Xbox One users throughout the world. So Microsoft let it be known that they 300,000 servers for the Xbox One…more than the entire computing power of the planet in 1999. Wow!
When the device launches later this year – there is no official date yet – there will be 15 exclusive new games rolling out in the first year, including eight new franchises and there was a special announcement for Call of Duty fans.
Xbox One is getting an entirely new version of Call of Duty with a brand new world, a brand new narrative and all new characters built on an all new Call of Duty engine. Watch out for Call of Duty Ghosts.