What is this I don’t even...
If you’re even tangentially involved in gaming, you likely heard at least something about Microsoft’s new system yesterday. Previously referred to as the Xbox 720, Nextbox, and Xbox Infinity by gamers, has now materialized as the Xbox One. Confused? I know I was, considering this is more like the Xbox 3 and we kind of already have an Xbox 1. However, that’s simply something we’ll have to get used to. What might be a little harder to swallow are the details about the system and the role it wants to play in your living room.
It’s been happening fairly gradually, but it should be abundantly clear at this point that your gaming device is not just for gaming any more. Microsoft is taking this pretty seriously with the Xbox One, now offering an all-in-one entertainment device that brings many different functions to your living room via your television, hence the “One” in the console name.
Browsing the internet, watching TV, playing games, and Skyping with friends are now all functionalities you’ll get out of the box with the Xbox One. With the new “snap” functionality (as seen in Windows) gamers can now be simultaneously bombarded with stimuli from multiple concurrent functionalities.
Oh, snap.
“Have you ever wanted to do more than one thing at a time when watching TV?” “Of course you have,” purports Microsoft. According to the Redmond giant, we all are entirely too ADD to simply focus on just one thing at a time. Microsoft also assumes that at this point most people who watch TV don’t already have a much more apt device to perform these extraneous functions while consuming their favorite TV program. Devices like laptops, tablets, and smart phones, all built with these specific functionalities in mind.
If my distaste hasn’t been completely obvious to this point, let me concisely state my opinion: the Xbox One is not what I’m looking for from the next generation of gaming. I’m perfectly happy with my gaming device performing only one function, as long as it does that well, and that’s playing games.
Of course, this shifted focus towards watching TV through your Xbox and playing fantasy football during games, and multitasking through your television is hardly the biggest problem demonstrated by yesterday’s conference.
Hello, always online.
The system will continue to implement more and more restrictive DRM. Some games will be always online, specifically those that take use of Microsoft’s Azure computing cloud. If you think for a moment that publishers won’t leverage this as an excuse to ensure you’re connected to the internet whether or not they need the processing power, you’re out of your mind. I won’t say that all games will definitely use it, but I suspect that the AAA titles are sure to integrate it for some trivial reason.
Sound bad? Well it gets worse. In this brave new world of gaming, all games must be installed to the hard drive, making your physical copy of the game little more than an install disc. The great thing about this install disc is that once it’s installed to your system, it can’t be used on another without incurring a fee. Or does it? Microsoft has been pretty wishy-washy on the whole thing since they initially made the claim, but I expect that whatever their “solution” to pre-owned games is, it’s not going to be in the benefit of the consumer.
I have to imagine these guys are a bit... concerned.
Oh, did I forget to mention that the Xbox One won’t be backwards compatible at all? Anything you may have purchased through the Xbox Live Marketplace won’t work on the Xbox One, which calls into question how long Microsoft will continue to support that content on the Xbox 360 after the One is released later this year. Conceivably, you could lose your entire digital catalog if your hard drive or console dies and Microsoft has pulled the plug on 360 support.
The final, fantastic and not unexpected piece of information revealed yesterday is the absolute necessity of Kinect 2.0. It must be connected to your Xbox One at all times in order for the system to function and based on the presentation, it will have you yelling commands at your TV in order to perform system functions. Given how poor the original Kinect was for playing games, I can only assume that this new peripheral will only be relevant for OS-type functionality that you probably would rather not use anyhow. I mean, I can't possibly see anyone being a dick and messing up your game by casually yelling commands at Kinect while you're playing.
Oh, right, games. COLLAR DUTY.
Now that we've gotten all that out of the way... games! Right, that thing game systems are supposed to do. Based on what little we saw, things are definitely looking a bit sharper graphically, but the returns are certainly diminishing. Forza Motorsport 5 looked sharp, Collar Duty Call of Duty: Ghosts, marginally better than Modern Warfare 3, and those EA Sports titles I guess are looking decent enough, but is any of it that much better than the current generation that we’re willing to accept the oppressive DRM?
I know I’m not. The PlayStation 4 reveal was already underwhelming for me, if not slightly concerning; however, the Xbox One event yesterday has me questioning if I want to even be a part of this next generation. Somewhere along the way it seems like the focus in gaming was lost and the territory being tread these days isn’t ground I care to cover. For now, I think I’ll stick with my Wii U and head to the PC for the rest of my gaming needs – that indie crowd seems like my kind of people.
I wonder if they decided to leave most of the destails hazy, so that they can easily sell the console to uneducated masses.
I will be getting a wii u at some point, but I am still uncertain as to the other consoles. The only problem is that I really want to play CD Projekt Red's games, but am not sure if I want to deal with building and maintaining my own PC.
Trust me, it's really not that hard. You can get whole systems from custom sites as well as retailers like Newegg.com and Micro Center, then upgrade the parts over time as needed.
Seeing how this next generation of consoles is panning out, I'm glad I've put down money on upgrading my PC. I've already been getting a lot out of it while my PS3 has collected dust for months.
I actually almost built one a couple of months ago, but I just prefer my consoles. I cannot quite explain it.
Once you're finished making your own system, it feels like one of the best accomplishments. I highly recommend it. One of my favorite moments and an absolute labor of love. Go for it!
The hazy part:
We don't even know for sure that the demonstration of the hardware on stage was actually real? Most game news outlets are just rehashing talking points from a bullet list on a brochure for XB1. The demo went over a little too smoothly. Suspicious.
There are some things that are very vague, and that is a little disconcerting. I could have missed some information somewhere. The whole used game thing has missing information. I know that somebody said that you have to connect online on a daily basis, but he sounded unsure.
I think XB1 needs more Price is RIght.
So yeah, I REALLY don't like the lack of focus on games. There was no really big exclusive reveal for a new title. Yeah its the most we've seen of CoD:G yet, and they announced exclusive content. The only thing I like is the expanded XBL servers, and I hope smart matchmaking works well. I"m tired of being paird up with annoying 12 year olds or professionals that pummel me in CoD.
Ultimately? I think you called it with PC and Indie.
Thankfully, traditional gaming isn't going to die because of systems like this; worst-case scenario, we find other means of fulfilling our gaming tastes. I've been out of touch with recent indie stuff, but following the home page of TIGSource on a daily basis is arguably a more interesting pursuit than following console launches - at least in terms of upcoming games.
If anything the Xbox One is geared towards people that watch a lot of TV, and play games occasionally. Since I am not the case, I know I'm not getting this system even if I had the financial means to do so.
Yeah, it seems geared more towards the sports fan that happens to play games now and then.
The other side of this "please the Masses, not the core audience" coin is this talk of more people playing on portable devices vs console. I really like my DS but I hardly play it. I prefer to play on a console. I can use netflix on my PS3, but thats maybe 10% of the use, the other 90% is on games. Alternate uses are a nice bonus but they are not the core purpose of a GAMING CONSOLE. Apparently Microsoft has lost touch with just who their clientel actually are. But sadly some folks are born suckers for gimmickrey and smoke & mirrors showmanship.
What about people who have a speech impediment? Or strong accent? They may find themselves out of luck. Forcing people to use Kinect seems to be their way of saying"See? We were right all along with this!" to gamers. It should be an optional way to turn the system off and on. I hate the fact they are trying to run Gamestop out of business. Without them we will be at the mercy of Wal Mart and Best Buy.
Wow, this is exactly what I was talking about on the latest episode of Nerds Without Pants. Everybody needs to slow their roll and calm down.
As far as I'm concerned, the Xbox One is still pure potential, because Microsoft didn't actually show anything yet. Was it a bad reveal? Yes. Should they have been more aggressive? Hell yes, especially since it seems like Sony is spoiling for a fight. But we haven't seen much of the games yet, and I'm going to seriously disagree with Nick here, because Ghosts looks a helluva lot better than Modern Warfare 3. That underwater level made my jaw drop. Sure, it's Call of Duty, and I'm not a Call of Duty fan, but it looked great.
Basically, before you all start dropping to your knees and tearing your robes in anguish, remember that the next generation isn't here yet. At least wait until E3, and if they really screw that up, then you can make with the rage and frustration. If you really must.
I agree. It is way too soon to start judging too seriously. That said, I don't like some of the things im hearing. Games being locked to accounts, and the confusion about always online has me worried. That said, if they show me some games that I want to play, I'll be more than glad to invest. E3 will be a pretty interesting indicator.
I agree that patience is a virtue. I'm not flying off the handle yet (and won't) but what I will state is that there are rumors that will be deal breakers for me if they come to fruition. I don't care if the games are awesome, somethings I just will not be willing to justify on principle alone. I have no problems fulfilling my time with an extensive back catalog anyways. Please don't take this as a rant or quick reaction to rumors. I'm simply stating if things take a direction I am not comfortable with, I will simply go elsewhere to fulfill my needs.
Well stated. This is exactly the way I feel as well.
JD wrote a nice blog about his thoughts on it and I'm going to take my comment I left him and repost it here as well.
I told Julian on twitter this morning that I'm not down on One, I'm actually quite impressed by it, I'm just not interested. We still have to see all the games at E3, but at the moment I'm certainly leaning towards picking up PC gaming as well as a PS4.
Kinect 2.0 and the multimedia speed and accuracy is beyond impressive, it's the kind of stuff that a lot of people will really enjoy and use. It looks like a fantastic multimedia living room device, it's the type of thing Microsoft has been trying to do this whole time. It isn't a fight for games alone, M's strategy has been a fight for entertainment in a broad sense and it's a fight for the living room and they are succeeding at it very well. It's a strategy we have all known about since before the launch of the 360, but people seem to have forgotten about it or tried to pretend Microsoft didn't "mean" it. Anybody who has been following Microsoft's foray into gaming and entertainment since the original Xbox shouldn't be surprised by any of this, they've been very clear about this overall war plan for a long time. The One device is the kind of thing that Apple has been trying to create to dominate the living room but hasn't quite been able to do yet, the One might be attractive enough to a lot of people to actually be that trojan horse to dominate their living room and entertainment needs. The 360 was already that type of device for a lot of people, and now the One is a more refined and aggressive attack into that strategy.
It could end up working out really well for Microsoft, because these days the sales of PCs are way down, meaning sales of Windows is probably down as well, and it sounds like they need to adapt to a changing market. The Xbox One could be a really profitable idea in the adaptation. Lots of people want that kind of simple, single, sleek (note that I didn't say attractive, I don't think it is) multimedia device in their living room that works incredibly fast and does any random thing they tell it to do on the fly. It's very tech heavy and forward thinking, it seems like the kind of thing kids and many adults will eat up and learn to use very quickly. It isn't for everybody but it seems like it'll sell really well if the price is right and the marketing is good come later this year.
It isn't for me, but it is really impressive, and it seems like it'll be an excellent way for Microsoft to continue their long known strategy to be the go to device in people's living rooms.
As soon as the Xbox One has enough good games on it that I want to play, then I'll be interested in one. I love my 360 and PS3, but even I didn't get them right away.
At least I'm not the only one looking to the future with dread. Why not learn a new language? Like Japanese? There's 30 years of games you could import if you did. Since I can read it, that's probably what I'mma do.
I'm in this for a gaming machine. Period. I want a system that has games I want to play and games I actually own. If I can't have both, then I'm out.
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