Monday, March 31, 2014

Xbox One - Awesome or Not?

Xbox One is a video game console developed and marketed by Microsoft. Announced on May 21, 2013, it is the successor to the Xbox 360 and is the third console in the Xbox family. It directly competes with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U as part of the eighth generation of video game consoles. Xbox One was released across North America, several European markets, Australia, and New Zealand on November 22, 2013, and is scheduled for release in 26 other markets, including Japan, the remaining European markets, and the Middle East, sometime in September 2014. Microsoft and various publications have classified the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", making it a competitor to other home media devices such as the Apple TV and the Google TV platforms.

Moving away from the Xbox 360's PowerPC-based architecture and back into the x86 architecture used in the first Xbox, the console features an AMD processor built around the x86-64 instruction set. Xbox One places an increased emphasis on entertainment integration, offering the ability to overlay live television programming from an existing set-top box, split-screen multitasking of applications, and improved second screen support. The console includes a newly upgraded Kinect motion sensing peripheral, previously an optional attachment for the Xbox 360. Microsoft is emphasizing the Kinect's integration with Xbox One through features such as a built-in Skype client for videoconferencing, user recognition and tracking, and the ability to use voice commands and gestures to navigate the console's user interface. New gaming functionality includes an expanded Xbox Live service, improved Kinect functionality, cloud computing, the ability to automatically record and share video highlights from gameplay, and support for live streaming gameplay online.

Upon its unveiling, Xbox One was criticized for its initial digital rights management policies (including a requirement for a periodic connection to the internet, and ambiguous restrictions on the resale and sharing of previously-purchased games), along with Kinect usage requirements and higher price than its competitors. In response to the criticism, Microsoft dropped these restrictions prior to releasing the console.