Well remember it's a female that wrote that, so it's likely the stuff that has little to no weight to people here on this forum will be of much greater importance and significance to her.
- Status
Well remember it's a female that wrote that, so it's likely the stuff that has little to no weight to people here on this forum will be of much greater importance and significance to her.
I don't know, Gamespot has a hands-on too:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xbox-one-will-reinvent-the-living-room/1100-6416064/
Interesting...
From what I could gather from people's feedback, the initial negative reaction towards the Xbox One is dissipating, especially when they are able to get their hands on the console.
The general reactions I am reading from people are very similar to this.
It's a solid device as a games console, it has an IR Blaster, all kinds of media support -probably Miracast too, no support for Blu-Ray disc 3D for now though, which is a bummer- you can control the rest of your devices with it at home and the interface seems to be slick and functional. Full voice integration is also a great thing -more on that later-.
Btw, this girl is holding 3,2 Teraflops worth of hardware and she isn't complaining about it.
As I said before though, surely the best strategy for MS should have been to release a CE device, and not piggy-back their console? There's an extra $200+ of hardware in there not needed for the non-gaming services. They could produced a discrete CE device that'll appeal to the average household, and a far cheaper ($300) or more powerful console for their XBox audience, with specialist synergy with the CE device should they choose. XB1 seems an awkward fusion. I mean, it's great if you want both the console games and the CE experience, but if you just want the CE experience and don't care for COD, it's overkill. And if you just want AAA games and don't care for TV connectivity, it's a waste of resources. So XB1 as it is reduces it's appeal to a subset, rather than broadening to everyone, IMO. It's audience is the union of those who want AAA games (and are willing to take a sacrifice in quality there) and those who want a new, innovative interface for TV entertainment. Two discrete products could have covered both audiences and the crossover.
They built the xb1 to be able to downscale costs rapidly. Keep in mind that some markets are willing to spend far more money than typical console gamers do, meaning that for all we know it will sell like hotcakes at $500 once people see it in action. If it does then cool, they are in a good shape. If it doesn't then they can drop price rapidly as the consoles build and design allows for that.
Additionally I'd argue that people want one device that does it all, they don't want multiple devices, ui's, remotes, inputs, etc. If they can pull off the fusion of game box, casual box, tv box, etc then it will be a huge win for them, one which I bet you'll see integrated right into tv's in the far future once costs come down somewhat more.
Additionally I'd argue that people want one device that does it all, they don't want multiple devices, ui's, remotes, inputs, etc. If they can pull off the fusion of game box, casual box, tv box, etc then it will be a huge win for them, one which I bet you'll see integrated right into tv's in the far future once costs come down somewhat more.
Well, as fate would have it, just ahead of the release of the Xbox One I have been talking to a friend -a childhood friend, to be precise- on Xbox Live using Kinect, as I usually do.
I have it powered on all the time and I use it to chat and not having to wear headphones.
Thing is that I was in the Xbox dashboard and at some point I said Xbox while chatting with him.
Then a menu of voice commands appeared over every image on screen with the corresponding voice command activating the function you wanted to use.
One of the voice commands allowed you to enable an Eurosport -a TV channel- special offer, which comprised the use of the service during a month for free if you are a gold user.
I just had to say something like -if my memory doesn't fail me- "The gold deal of the month", so I said that and the console sent me straight to the offer and asked me to download the app. I am going to wait til Xbox One is released before using it -the special offer is available until December 8th-.
That was a nice touch and I told my friend about it. In fact he could hear me saying "The gold deal of the month" -or something similar-.
So, he went...: "Are you talking to the console?".
Me: Yes, I am.
So I began jesting with him and saying things like: "Xbox, send ********* to hell".
We laughed out loud the whole time. There was a moment I said one of those weird sentences to the console and it got me wrong, it began searching for "read dead" on Bing. :smile: I couldn't stop laughing.
At some point my friend said, just in order to wind me up:
"Do you hear my voice clearly at the other side?".
" Yes, I do", I replied.
So he mistakenly thought the console could hear him without knowing that the sound from the TV is actually cancelled.
Then he replied to me.
"Okay...."
"Xbox... Off!!"
He tried to turn off the console from the other side, just to annoy me.
The thing is that he doesn't speak English but he actually said that in English.
It didn't work, of course, because of the noise cancellation from Kinect, but I was crying out with laughter, I gotta admit.
Additionally, this was just a coincidence and I have been using voice commands for over three years, just not on a daily basis.
It was a nice reminder of what you can do if the console understands what you say.
Aside from that, it was tremendously fun because some of the searches when I was fooling around gave some unexpected results, which made it even funnier.
I have it powered on all the time and I use it to chat and not having to wear headphones.
Thing is that I was in the Xbox dashboard and at some point I said Xbox while chatting with him.
Then a menu of voice commands appeared over every image on screen with the corresponding voice command activating the function you wanted to use.
One of the voice commands allowed you to enable an Eurosport -a TV channel- special offer, which comprised the use of the service during a month for free if you are a gold user.
I just had to say something like -if my memory doesn't fail me- "The gold deal of the month", so I said that and the console sent me straight to the offer and asked me to download the app. I am going to wait til Xbox One is released before using it -the special offer is available until December 8th-.
That was a nice touch and I told my friend about it. In fact he could hear me saying "The gold deal of the month" -or something similar-.
So, he went...: "Are you talking to the console?".
Me: Yes, I am.
So I began jesting with him and saying things like: "Xbox, send ********* to hell".
We laughed out loud the whole time. There was a moment I said one of those weird sentences to the console and it got me wrong, it began searching for "read dead" on Bing. :smile: I couldn't stop laughing.
At some point my friend said, just in order to wind me up:
"Do you hear my voice clearly at the other side?".
" Yes, I do", I replied.
So he mistakenly thought the console could hear him without knowing that the sound from the TV is actually cancelled.
Then he replied to me.
"Okay...."
"Xbox... Off!!"
He tried to turn off the console from the other side, just to annoy me.
The thing is that he doesn't speak English but he actually said that in English.
It didn't work, of course, because of the noise cancellation from Kinect, but I was crying out with laughter, I gotta admit.
Additionally, this was just a coincidence and I have been using voice commands for over three years, just not on a daily basis.
It was a nice reminder of what you can do if the console understands what you say.
Aside from that, it was tremendously fun because some of the searches when I was fooling around gave some unexpected results, which made it even funnier.
That is certainly true for me. In fact I want a future device where I wouldn't need a remote at all and just use voice and/or hand gestures. Wouldn't it be cool if instead of using a touchpad like an Ipad you would just swipe the air using your fingers to navigate the Metro menu? That would be awesome. I think the X1 already allows this but I want to try it out for myself to see how easy/difficult it actually is.
Last edited by a moderator:
i think your logic here is inverse to what people actually want. XB1 is the smartphone of the console world. Much like people dont want individual phones, SMS senders, music players and cameras anymore.
On another note, Phil Spencer said that there will be reboots of old franchises in the future that will get people so excited.
I hope that they release a new Grabbed by the Ghoulies game and another Blinx. Another Buffy title would be also welcome, but that one while excellent wasn't an exclusive title.
I hope that they release a new Grabbed by the Ghoulies game and another Blinx. Another Buffy title would be also welcome, but that one while excellent wasn't an exclusive title.
Last edited by a moderator:
Do we know if Skype is going to require a Live gold subscription? That's pretty much the deciding factor for me in getting the one or not.
You wouldn't get that with Windows Kinect Experience + Xbox 3. It'd provide a coherent interface and seamless transition (connect the two with a tiny Ethernet cable perhaps). You'd get exactly what you have now. The console could be designed to fit snugly under the Kinect Experience box. The end result would be no different. Perhaps a bit more expensive for the two devices instead of one, but MS wouldn't alienate the pure gamer crowd. Maybe the price drop will get the console to mainstream CE device (which a by-the-by game feature), but a CE device price ($200 ish) would generate a load of buzz.
On the flip side, if MS release the Kinect Experience later, they can sell the premium $500 experience that people are wanting but can't justify the cost at a new entry-level price, which may be good for image. There's certainly nothing wrong with the launch price.
Woah! I'm not saying that at all. I'm a huge advocate of the one-device solution, as it's just software. I've said this many times before on this forum. What I'm saying here though is that the hardware is overkill for the CE experience, and to sell that, for which there's clearly a market, MS have increased the price. They've also increased the price of the core gamer experience, and provided a less potent core-game experience than many of their current fanbase would like. One device to rule them all would be a very expensive monster console. By splitting it into two devices, which can have a seamless synergy and run of the one interface and controller (it's controllerless!), MS can cover all bases. The core gamers would have a device they wouldn't be whinging about being underpowered, the CE consumers would have a cheap super TV interface, and those who want both can buy both (and have them elegantly stacked into a singular box if designed right).
AH ok. I personally wish the xbox one gpu circuitry was more powerful (ie ROPs and Stream processors). There was no need to cede that to Sony. Im not convinced that the "good enough" plan of the Xbox team for mixing TV and VG by making making the VG side weaker, will be good enough for them to keep up with their competitors this generation.
It would have been one thing for them to match on the base GPU and go exotic with RAM but to not match plus get exotic probably wasnt a good idea. What i do know is like what the xbox one represents: a move away from multiple discrete types of entertainment boxes under my TV to a consolidated approach. Apple tv hasnt done it, Google TV hasnt done, web tv by MS hasnt done it. Heres to Xbox one becoming the iphone of the videogame world.
The point at which that would become an issue is if/when Sony bring the VitaTV to the west. They would then basically have the system that Shifty outlined with additional benefits like the second screen and remote play etc. MS needs to step up the game with Surface et al.
You still need the video tuner thing. I don't see it replacing anything. Currently the norm is a TV box and a console, and XB1 doesn't change that. It solves multiple remotes with a unified interface, but not multiple boxes.
I don't know to be honest. The service is free -but it's also free on the PC of course-, according to the news:
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/artic...eo_calls_100_free_worldwide_minutes_per_month
If you are a Gold subscriber though, you get 100 free worldwide minutes per month for calls to mobiles and landlines in over 50 countries and 6 months of free Skype group calls.
EDIT: Xbox.com UK has a FAQ on this and many other features:
I think they made the best of a very bad situation. NO ONE can beat the service providers. There are too many providers and the service types and geographical control areas are too varied. The US is about the size of Europe with much more homogeneity legally, linguistically and technologically than Europe could ever possibly have, and taking the tuner out the equation is still currently impossible.
I think providing the choice for the user of any device with an HDMI out is the best we could have hoped for. The only other option was to essentially OEM the XO motherboard to cable and satellite providers and have them provide the box in lieu of of their current solution. Which could still happen.
Xbox One is named after an All-in-One device, and it makes sense when they decided to choose that name.
If someone wants their multimedia needs covered, they could go either with the WiiU if they only wanted a typical console.
The PS4 has it all covered, too, because it is the most powerful console of this generation and this lets them to increase the multimedia services with additional apps, because they have a hardware which is capable of that.
Even the WiiU isn't a console with Spartan features as the Wii and the GC were. I remember being frustrated when I purchased the GC 'cos my Xbox played DVDs and the GC didn't, so when friends came over I could watch a DVD movie with them at home using the Xbox, but the GC seemed useless for those cases.
There are advantages to the Xbox One -for those expecting a more purist console experience the Wii-WiiU might be a better alternative, if they don't mind the gap in capabilities- in many ways, some of them unexpected.
I.e. I like to watch videos on Youtube. Well... I recently found that the Youtube player of the Xbox 360 is like 100 times better than the Youtube webpage when it comes to playing content. It plays it directly in HD resolutions and it looks awesome at full screen on the TV.
I can't write my opinion on a video but if I truly wanted to I still have the PC.
Days ago I just found out that I could calibrate my TV without having to use a single cable using DLNA over the Xbox 360. That was awesome, really impressive.
The TV supports DLNA but when trying to calibrate the image I had to press the Home button to access the setup options and it made me leave the Network input no matter what, which meant I couldn't calibrate the TV's picture.
Since the Xbox 360 supports DLNA I could complete the whole process via the HDMI input, and it also let me compare the results between different RGB reference levels.
Kinect's voice recognition and not having to use a headset to chat with others is a big plus as well. I can speak to a friend or group of friends while moving around the room and not having to carry the gamepad and the headset cable around with me and all that jazz.
In my opinion, trying to adjust to your point of view, the biggest mistake Microsoft made is not in the design of the console but how they wanted to publicise it. People only got the TV message, but missed the whole picture because of a rather disastrous PR.
Going back at the pre-E3 presentation event back in May, they missed a great opportunity to show what the console is capable of.
I mean, for me the most impressive hardware in the console is SHAPE. :smile2: Well, that and the rest of the sound block.
This is an essential feature for me, because the original Xbox was my first console ever, I purchased it back in 2004 with Halo 2 and it had a dedicated sound chip with 5.1 sound and Aureal 3D sound. That was awesome for a 2001 console.
Then the Xbox 360 came out, the PS3 was released afterwards, and I was very very disappointed -something I talked about in a different thread of the forum time ago- they weren't too hot in the sound department.
Not having a dedicated audio chip was my main disappointment with the Xbox 360 and it was at the basic level my main gripe about the platform.
The Xbox One was meant to please the mainstream crowd, which I am okay with. However, if during their pre-E3 presentation Microsoft said something extra about the hardware, even if they just showed a couple of games like they did, the message between the hardcore would be very different.
Say... they gave some actual details about SHAPE -which we had to learn through bkilian, this could resonate with the core, because they'd think: "Darn, the console has one hell of a sound chip".
Or if they said... The console has a 8-core CPU, a DX 11.2+ GPU and 15 coprocessors in total. I know this statement is kind of strange because the 15 coprocessors thing is relative, but they would actually mean the console's core hardware -CPU, GPU- is getting a lot of help.
This gave them a slight disadvantage with the core crowd and now people are beginning to think that perhaps, just perhaps, it might be a pretty good all around system. :smile2:
Like the saying goes; a bad workman blames his tools. But the tools are pretty good, it was Microsoft who didn't do the right job presenting them.
So having a games console which is fitted with some of the most modern and recent technologies is not a bad idea at all, and that's what I find the most exciting -SHAPE aside- about the Xbox One.
I think WiiU still has a long way to go, and that the PS4 might be the console selling more units in the next gen. Even so, from a core gamer perspective it feels kinda odd I don't feel envious of the more traditional approach of the WiiU and the extra power of the PS4.
I remember not many years ago I wanted consoles to impress PC gamers so they could see the light -think of Davros,
- and admire consoles at the same time -especially my console of choice-, but I think that having something unique you can't have elsewhere -be it exclusive games and stuff- is the way to go.In that sense I think Microsoft got it right and I hope the console sells at least a good 50-100 million units in its lifetime.
All apps (except system apps) are behind Gold membership.
Shifty, they already have a cheaper product that can fill the CE experience: Xbox 360 with Kinect. Now the rumor was that they had planned a Xbox TV device, but since they were behind with XB1, they decided to put it on the back burner. I see them returning to it early next year especially if VitaTV comes to the US.
Tommy McClain
Tommy McClain
I wish they would push media center again . XBOX 360 SOC has got to be tiny at 22nm and should be getting dirt cheap. Get rid of the dvd drive and make a tiny console with a small tuner in it and let it connect into the xbox one. That would be killer. Then add in the ability to stream your tv to your windows products anywhere would get things really going
- Status
Similar threads
- Sticky