Microsoft revealed the Xbox One, its next-generation entertainment console, during a presentation on Tuesday at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
Don Mattrick, ‘s president of interactive entertainment business, called it an “all-in-one home entertainment system”.
He said the company has spent the past four years working on the next-generation Xbox.
The console was demonstrated using voice control to seamlessly switch back and forth between watching live TV, listening to music, watching a movie, browsing the internet, as well as simultaneously running apps.
“You can switch to your game like it’s a TV channel flip,” said Marc Whitten, Microsoft’s chief production officer of interactive entertainment business.
He called it a “lag-free instant experience”.
Microsoft also unveiled a new version of its camera-based Kinect system with better motion and voice detection.
It’s been eight years since the launch of the Xbox 360. The original Xbox debuted in 2001, and its high-definition successor premiered in 2005.
For the past two years, Microsoft has led the gaming industry in console sales with the Xbox 360.
In recent years, Microsoft expanded the scope of the Xbox 360 beyond just games, adding streaming media apps and the family-friendly Kinect system.
Xbox has been the exclusive home to such popular gaming franchises as sci-fi first-person shooter Halo, racing simulator Forza and alien shoot-’em-up Gears of War.
In recent years, Microsoft expanded the scope of the Xbox 360 beyond just games, adding streaming media apps and the camera-based Kinect system.
Nintendo kicked off the next generation of gaming in November with the launch of the Wii U, the successor to the popular Wii system.
The Wii U features an innovative tablet-like controller, though its graphics is on par with the previous-generation Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3.
Nintendo said the console sold just 3.45 million units by the end of March, well below expectations.
Sony was next, teasing plans for its upcoming PlayStation 4 – without showing the actual box – at a February event in New York.
The reaction to that console, which featured richer graphics and more social features, was mixed.
Microsoft didn’t waste any time showing off the Xbox One console, new Kinect sensor and Xbox controller at the beginning of Tuesday’s presentation.
Pre-Order the Xbox one
You can pre-order the new Xbox one through Amazon here. The display price is 599 Euros but the price may change when the actual release of the Xbox one console comes out. However if you order through Amazon now they guarantee you a best price. There is no official shipping date but Amazon says 31 December so let’s hope.
Xbox One Specs
The One has a lot of powerful specs, including a 500 GB hard drive, Wi-Fi direct, 8GB of RAM, and a Blu-Ray player. There is a 1080p camera for HD video chats, and Skype is built in for group video calls.
A cable box can be plugged into the One, which downloads program information.
The console has separate processing channels for games and other functions allowing multitasking.
The One is designed to meld with your media systems. It also will meld with your PC. Microsoft has said the Kinect motion detection system will work with Windows PCs in the future.