News & Rumors: Xbox One (codename Durango)

[XpiderMX]

Looks like I(we?) was wrong about WiFi Direct. Looks like it's only for Smartglass according to Major Nelson. The controller is still using a proprietary wireless tech. Bleh! Guess all that crap about the 5.1 headset audio was crap? Anybody have the original source where we got the WiFi Direct info? I'd like to post it to Major Nelson to see if he can find out for sure.



http://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/comments/1l5rhj/wifi_direct_for_controller/cbw26g1?context=3

Tommy McClain

I don't know if it is the original source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4350578/the-new-xbox-controller

Microsoft says the new controller is designed to work closely with the new Kinect, "allowing the two to be paired automatically to create seamless player syncing." That synchronization will be enabled by Wi-Fi Direct technology that pairs the controller with the new system.

 

[AzBat]

Wifi hardware, non-standard protocol?

There is standard WiFi Hardware & it does use WiFi Direct, but evidently the wireless controller technology is proprietary. They don't say if it's based on a non-standard WiFi protocol or what. For all we know it's an upgraded version of the tech that the 360 is using.

Tommy McClain

 

[XpiderMX]

More new titles at PAX?

And of course there will be other surprises at the booth, including games that I’m not at liberty to divulge . . . yet.

And we will see BF4 running on Xbox One:

Battlefield 4: Known for their world-class multiplayer, DICE is bringing Battlefield 4’s epic 64-player battles, vehicular combat and all-out warfare to North American fans this week. Gamers will have a chance to go hands-on with the “Siege of Shanghai” beta launching in early October. With the release of Battlefield 4 this holiday, players will experience an all-new level of destruction and dynamic environments with a game-changing concept called Levolution, and for the first time for Battlefield console gamers, 64-players running at 60 frames-per-second on Xbox One. #BF4

1080p? Sub-1080p?

http://majornelson.com/2013/08/27/xbox-one-at-pax-prime-on-august-30-september-2/

 

[Silent_Buddha]

There is standard WiFi Hardware & it does use WiFi Direct, but evidently the wireless controller technology is proprietary. They don't say if it's based on a non-standard WiFi protocol or what. For all we know it's an upgraded version of the tech that the 360 is using.

Tommy McClain

Non-standard is better in order to better withstand wireless frequency crosstalk in a busy wireless environment (apartment building, for example). It will still have to deal with other wireless signals in the area, but if it is using proprietary encoding and possibly transmission protocols then it becomes easier to single it out amoung the other wireless traffic in the area. That should allow for a more consistent (and consisitent high bandwidth) connection than just using wifi-direct.

And, of course, they'd want to be able to inhibit the ability of certain individuals or companies being able to make counterfeit controllers.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 7537]

Microsoft has recently lowered its Xbox One shipment forecast for 2013 from seven million units originally to 6.2 million due to poor yield rates of the device's camera module, optical disc drive (ODD) and related assembly, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report citing market watchers.

Related upstream suppliers such as Global Unichip, Nuvoton Technology and Newmax, are expected to be impacted by the lower shipments, the report added.

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/8/27/microsoft_lowers_xbox_one_shipment_forecast.htm

6.2 million by the end of the FY seems quite low.

Edit: Well, the article comes from the DigiTimes guys, so i wouldn't trust what it says.

 

[Tap In]

More new titles at PAX?



And we will see BF4 running on Xbox One:



1080p? Sub-1080p?

http://majornelson.com/2013/08/27/xbox-one-at-pax-prime-on-august-30-september-2/

they already said PS4 and Xbone is currently less than 1080P some think 720p but a dev tweeted less than 1080 but more than 720 so 900p maybe? on both consoles

also this...

The PC version of Battlefield 4 will look better than the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, executive producer Patrick Bach has suggested, telling VideoGamer.com that DICE is "doing as much as [it] can" with the next-gen versions, "but we need to compromise in some places".

http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/battl...d_to_compromise_in_some_places_says_dice.html

 

[Rangers]

What? Reading the internet you'd think PS4 was a supercomputer and never needs compromising anything

6.2 million by the end of the FY seems quite low.

Err, it's HUGE. By comparison, 360 shipped 1.5m by the end of 2005, and PS3 shipped 1.7m by the end of 2006.

So if they were to hit that it would mean Ms shipped over 4 times as many One's as they did (admittedly heavily constrained) 360's..

That would be HUGE type of numbers.

If MS and/or sony really are aiming for that type of number (and I suppose it's possible), it's, well very very different from 360/PS3 launch, a sea change. I guess it would mean those small SOC's paid off big time.

Edit: Oh you said fiscal year. Well, 360 shipped 5.0 m it's first fiscal from Oct 2005 through June 2006 (and PS3 over the corresponding launch period Oct 2006-Jun 2007 shipped 4.2m, though Sony's fiscal year is not aligned with MS's), so that's much more reasonable, though it would still be a decent increase on 360 numbers.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Non-standard is better in order to better withstand wireless frequency crosstalk in a busy wireless environment (apartment building, for example). It will still have to deal with other wireless signals in the area, but if it is using proprietary encoding and possibly transmission protocols then it becomes easier to single it out amoung the other wireless traffic in the area. That should allow for a more consistent (and consisitent high bandwidth) connection than just using wifi-direct.

And, of course, they'd want to be able to inhibit the ability of certain individuals or companies being able to make counterfeit controllers.

Regards,
SB

To extend on that, one of the slides (http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/img/pcw/docs/612/762/html/08.jpg.html ) seems to indicate that of the dual WIFI chips, one is dedicated solely to the Xbox game controllers.

That should allow for more than enough bandwidth to support 5.1 channel sounds on controllers if they want. Even with multiple controllers attached and even while streaming wifi-direct or any other networked wifi traffic.

That should also allow them to potentially make custom alterations (either to the software driver stack for that WIFI chip or to the hardware itself) to better deal with wireless traffic and crosstalk.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 7537]

What? Reading the internet you'd think PS4 was a supercomputer and never needs compromising anything



Err, it's HUGE. By comparison, 360 shipped 1.5m by the end of 2005, and PS3 shipped 1.7m by the end of 2006.

So if they were to hit that it would mean Ms shipped over 4 times as many One's as they did (admittedly heavily constrained) 360's..

That would be HUGE type of numbers.

If MS and/or sony really are aiming for that type of number (and I suppose it's possible), it's, well very very different from 360/PS3 launch, a sea change. I guess it would mean those small SOC's paid off big time.

Edit: Oh you said fiscal year. Well, 360 shipped 5.0 m it's first fiscal from Oct 2005 through June 2006 (and PS3 over the corresponding launch period Oct 2006-Jun 2007 shipped 4.2m, though Sony's fiscal year is not aligned with MS's), so that's much more reasonable, though it would still be a decent increase on 360 numbers.

Well PS3 and 360 are not the best example, both had incredible amount of problems having enough units for launch and the months after. But, the numbers are probably fake so : P

 

[Bagel seed]

I guess 6.2m by FY end should still be considered 'poor yields' even compared to 360, seeing as how it's 8 years of tech and manufacturing advancements later. Anyways, NPD and other trackers will tell the tale

 

[Rangers]

I guess 6.2m by FY end should still be considered 'poor yields' even compared to 360, seeing as how it's 8 years of tech and manufacturing advancements later. Anyways, NPD and other trackers will tell the tale

?

If anything I would think it gets at least a little harder because every process node gets more like pulling teeth in terms of difficulty to pull off.

Plus the Digitimes rumor said it's Kinect components causing the issues, so consider that as well. Now they've got to source a bunch of super sophisticated camera components which they didn't have to deal with in 2005.

Anyways either the demand is lower for One or they've got more supply (or both), because at least in USA preorders have lasted a lot longer than PS4.

 

[dobwal]

Yeah consoles typically pull off way more than 6.2 million consoles in the first 7 months after launch. Never mind that outside of the Wii you won't readily find a past gen console that's done it.

 

[Bagel seed]

?

If anything I would think it gets at least a little harder because every process node gets more like pulling teeth in terms of difficulty to pull off.

IIRC 90nm was less mature of a process than 28nm is now. Plus nowadays, companies like Foxconn have got manufacturing and assembly (dem slaves!) down pat producing millions of whatever latest hot CE device like it's nothing. I'm thinking good yields should be much higher than 6-7 mil for 10 months of production, if they started in Aug.

If there's issues, I wouldn't doubt it'd be a combination of Kinect parts plus the SoC itself rather than just one or the other.

But as far as demand goes, if either console ends up selling 8-9 mill by June they would have to pretty satisfied, supply issues or not.

 

[Rangers]

IIRC 90nm was less mature of a process than 28nm is now. Plus nowadays, companies like Foxconn have got manufacturing and assembly (dem slaves!) down pat producing millions of whatever latest hot CE device like it's nothing. I'm thinking good yields should be much higher than 6-7 mil for 10 months of production, if they started in Aug.

If there's issues, I wouldn't doubt it'd be a combination of Kinect parts plus the SoC itself rather than just one or the other.

But as far as demand goes, if either console ends up selling 8-9 mill by June they would have to pretty satisfied, supply issues or not.

I just dont see any particular reason to think chips yields have continually gone up from node to node. Never heard that one before.

8-9 million by june is wii numbers. But the Wii was prior gen tech no doubt a huge advantage.

 

[Bagel seed]

I just dont see any particular reason to think chips yields have continually gone up from node to node. Never heard that one before.

8-9 million by june is wii numbers. But the Wii was prior gen tech no doubt a huge advantage.

I'm not saying yields go up node to node. I'm saying IIRC 90nm was less mature in 2005 than 28nm is now. But I guess it's all moot anyways because of the 363mm2 die size.

 

[Bagel seed]

Nov 8 is off, from Kotaku.

Yesterday, we heard from a source at a marketing company who had seen documentation pencilling the Xbox One in for a tentative, unconfirmed November 8 launch. Today, a source close to Microsoft tells us that's not the case.

The source says to expect the console at a date later than November 8, though obviously still in the month of November, as that's the release window Microsoft has promised for some time.

http://kotaku.com/the-xbox-one-will-not-launch-on-november-8-after-all-1211069173

 

[temesgen]

Nov 8 is off, from Kotaku.



http://kotaku.com/the-xbox-one-will-not-launch-on-november-8-after-all-1211069173

If I were MS I'd want to get it released prior to Thanksgiving. Lots of free advertising to be had if relatives see the newest game console in front of the TV and it not only has incredible graphics but voice controls. The hype of the new interface/voice and gesture controls could help if the extended family gets enthralled by it all for a few hours.

 

[Rangers]

Be disappointing if they launch Nov 15 or later, but wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Will they consider a non-Friday release? With November 15th already taken, and the week earlier is now off the cards, that leaves the 1st, or the 22nd or 29th, or a non-Friday. That points to 22nd. They can't launch directly alongside PS4 - that'd be mayhem for the BnM retail chains - and 29th misses Thanksgiving. The 22nd gives a week of sales to get XB1's in homes as temesgen recommends. PS4's will be in homes getting that free WoM advertising.

 

[Deleted member 7537]

Will they consider a non-Friday release? With November 15th already taken, and the week earlier is now off the cards, that leaves the 1st, or the 22nd or 29th, or a non-Friday. That points to 22nd. They can't launch directly alongside PS4 - that'd be mayhem for the BnM retail chains - and 29th misses Thanksgiving. The 22nd gives a week of sales to get XB1's in homes as temesgen recommends. PS4's will be in homes getting that free WoM advertising.

Xbox 360 launched on Thursday (November 22nd, 2005).