The Xbox will become more powerful over time?

On 05/23/2013 at 03:25 AM by asrealasitgets

A word of warning- This all might come off just a bit like an official press release from Microsoft, but I did my best to absorb the article, which in itself might just be a glorified press release. I am not a tech expert.

Now that we’re at least 24 hours removed from the reveal of the XBOX ONE console and it seems that the dust from the fallout refuses to settle making it difficult to assimilate all of the facts, I seemed to have missed out on a somewhat important detail related to the hardware architecture of the new console- cloud computing. What is it and how will it work? Not much was revealed behind closed doors after the big reveal party, but apparently cloud computing is built into the new systems architecture as a sort of necessary Trojan horse or Pandora’s box to be unleashed on an unspecified date. The plan is logical; as the XBOX ONE hardware ages over the years, and it’s processing power becomes obsolete, it is possible for the console system to off load it’s processing power to the thousands of servers on the ‘Live’ network to give your game an extra push in graphics, for example. Of course, in order for this to work, it would require a high bandwidth internet connection, and developers would have to figure out how to best implement this feature down the road, which hasn’t happened yet. So in the meantime, Microsoft is making a push for an always-on connected console in preparation for the bigger plan.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Well it should, the PS3 and its cell processor was created with a similar vision of ‘tapping’ into the full power of the cell in the future and off loaded most of the research and design over to software developers which sort of pushed them over to the XBOX360 dev side and tipped the game industry over in their favor. Only a few companies, mainly first party, were able to fully tap into the full potential of the technology. I don’t think that the PC architecture of the “Cloud” network is as complicated as maybe the “cell processor”, but then I’m not really an expert in this matter, and Microsoft has already been using this cloud computing technology for a while now.

I just thought this information was interesting and added something new and cool to the gaming technology of the future, and XBOX, that I wasn’t aware of before. I’m all about retro games and keeping it old school if you know what I mean. Oh, you kids and your fancy gadgets.

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/21/xbox-one-to-become-more-powerful-over-time-via-cloud-computing

Super Step Contributing Writer

05/23/2013 at 03:52 AM

Yeah, I think this could potentially mean getting a lesser experience playing single-player with no online connection though.

But you could probably still play that lesser version of the game without ever being online. I think this might be where all the rumors and confusion about always-online are coming from.

On the other hand, maybe they realize more people will have an online connection down the line, and can create more longevity for the console this way, while having the initial titles be complete or mostly so without it.

Interesting.

asrealasitgets

05/23/2013 at 04:31 PM

Not just any connection, but a fast connection would be required. It might just all be marketing words.

Cary Woodham

05/23/2013 at 06:11 AM

When the Xbox One has enough good games on it that I want to play, then I might be more interested. I love my 360 and PS3, but even I didn't get them right away. Only when they had enough games I wanted.

05/23/2013 at 04:32 PM

Same here. I bought PS3 and 360 a few years after their release. Ended up with many games on sale during my purchase.

Chris Yarger Community Manager

05/23/2013 at 06:18 AM

I heard rumors a long time ago that the new Xbox would be able to become more powerful at some point, but speculations ran wild from there. My thought was interchangable parts, which in my opinion would have been awesome.

If they would've given me a console that had slotted components I could swap in and out as the graphical necessities increased, then they could have truly made the last Xbox ever needed. But.. We'll just have to wait and see what happens now I suppose.

05/23/2013 at 04:34 PM

There isn't a lot of info about this. I suspect that at some E3 down the line they'll come out with this "hey look you guys, cloud computing is the future and it's already in your console".

Homelessrook

05/23/2013 at 08:02 AM

I can do that with a computer. They are really trying LOL.

BrokenH

05/23/2013 at 12:38 PM

I like Chris's idea concerning interchangeable parts. Aka, it would increase the life expectancy of a console tenfold.

I'm hoping a lot of the more negative rumors about the Xbox One prove to be false down the line but I'm skeptical on account MS has not been entirely forth coming.

Bigger plan aside, MS isn't gonna sell me on the prospect of being online all the time. (And by extension my console needing a constant online connection just to play games like it's supposed to.)

Yes, it's true most of us have internet connections anyway but I'd like to play my games anywhere and at any time. (Even when the internet is down or is absent for whatever reason.)

We're also talking about a system that potentially becomes a useless paperweight after MS decides to no longer support it online.

Yeah, a new pc is looking much more enticing to me right now!

05/23/2013 at 04:36 PM

Well you're probably supporting Microsoft either way, buying a PC or X1. You could swap out the X1 with a PS4.

Chunopo

05/25/2013 at 05:33 AM

High level bandwidth is what troubles me the most, after making the move to australia it has become apparent that internet over here is about 10 years behind the rest of the world, I'm not convinced that Aus can handle or support the new X box. I have no other experience of other countries other than the UK (which was ok if you were in the right place) either way perhaps Microsofts new baby is just too much ahead of its time.

05/25/2013 at 05:57 AM

The cloud computing thing seems more like bullet points in a brochure. It was being discusses as an excuse for "always-on" design, but as things are panning out it's more likely that xbox one will have licensed software model like steam on PC, and the game you buy in store is nothing more than an install disc. MS is just afraid to admit it.

PixlBit