Xbox One Revealed…

Jonathan Amarelo SigSo yesterday Microsoft tried to explode our minds with the awesomeness that is the Xbox One.  Did they succeed?  Well… kind of.  Some people’s minds are completely shattered and they are majorly jonesen for the latest iteration of Microsoft’s console while other’s minds only partially got blown.  I am in the latter half of that crowd.

*Side Note*On behalf of the internet that won’t completely appreciate a huge troll post, I’ll give my honest opinion and not bash it for funzies.

I did actually appreciate Microsoft’s presentation.  They did a great job hyping their new console.  It’s sleek, fast, and has a lot of nifty features.  I can’t say I wasn’t impressed by the show they did, I can’t.  It almost had me saying, “Well I need one of those, it does all those things so well!  It’d be super convienent!”  Then I realized that I didn’t really care about most of the features.

Shown so quickly in the presentation, it's almost as if they were just sticking it to Sony.  Other than that, it's a very nice looking machine.  It's on the rather large side, but my first Blu-Ray Player was a beast so I can't really argue too much since I was ok with that at the time.
Shown so quickly in the presentation, it’s almost as if they were just sticking it to Sony. Other than that, it’s a very nice looking machine. It’s on the rather large side, but my first Blu-Ray Player was a beast so I can’t really argue too much since I was ok with that at the time.
The new controller.  It has force-feedback on the triggers and looks a little different, but not completely.  It's thinner and the jumbo battery pack is gone (thank goodness), but other than some aesthetic/cosmetic changes... personally it looks the same.  It changed about as much as the PS4's controller did.  If it's more comfortable than the 360's controller though, that's good enough for me.
The new controller. It has force-feedback on the triggers and looks a little different, but not completely. It’s thinner and the jumbo battery pack is gone (thank goodness), but other than some aesthetic/cosmetic changes… personally it looks the same. It changed about as much as the PS4’s controller did. If it’s more comfortable than the 360’s controller though, that’s good enough for me.
Ah the Kinnect 2.0 or whatever they end up calling it officially.  I didn't really catch if they did give it a new name though.  Either way, it is way superior to the previous version.  That being said will it be good for games or just a super convenient TV remote control.  Only time and will tell if game devs can actually make a AAA game that will appeal to people that don't want to dance, flail, or exercise... just say'n.
Ah the Kinnect 2.0 or whatever they end up calling it officially. I didn’t really catch if they did give it a new name though. Either way, it is way superior to the previous version. That being said will it be good for games or just a super convenient TV remote control. Only time and will tell if game devs can actually make a AAA game that will appeal to people that don’t want to dance, flail, or exercise… just say’n.
Here's the rough breakdown of the Xbox One.  Like I said, it's got a lot of shine in it.  A lot.  So this will definitely be a console with some rather shiny games I'm sure.
Here’s the rough breakdown of the Xbox One. Like I said, it’s got a lot of shine in it. A lot. So this will definitely be a console with some rather shiny games I’m sure.

So to restate my impression, they did a great job introducing the console.  I was impressed by it’s capabilities and realize that the games will be shown at E3 much to my chagrin.  It was all about the console.  It did a lot of stuff with TV that I don’t watch and sports that I don’t watch.  Skype is neat and I don’t really use it.  It has a lot of features they are trying to get all into one box.  They did a great job.

What they needed to do is somehow convince me to buy this instead of making a new PC.  Can I use a keyboard and mouse will the games I want (i.e. shooters)?  They said nothing.  As of right now, it’s pretty, but I’m probably going to pass.  Most of the games I want will be more convenient for me on the PC.  The exclusives could totally sell me, but that’s for E3 to change my mind.  Nice looking machine though.

Big Brother is always watching... always.
Big Brother is always watching… always.

Below is the video from IGN.  Before the actual presentation is some pregame show and after is some post game show filler… Since that’s a lot of stuff you probably don’t want to see and stuff I didn’t care to watch, I’ve written a timeline breakdown for the things I found interesting if you didn’t want to watch the whole thing.

1:29:00  Dan Mattic arrives to start the whole thing off.  Here’s a great chance to look at the console and listen to some hype.

1:35:00 Yusuf Mehdi gives you the fun aspect of the console showing off how fast it is the watch TV/movies/Skype and seemlessly switch between the two and/or do them at the same time.

1:45:00 Marc Witten of EA comes on and describes how amazing EA’s next rehash of all of their sports franchises will be. Pardon my not caring, but I really don’t, but it’s here if you want it. I have plenty of buds that love the snot out of their Madden, this Bud’s for you.

2:00:00 Don’t want to listen to Marc talk about the games and just want to see what they will possibly look like, go here.

2:01:00 Phil Spencer says that they have “more new innovative games” for the Xbox One as well as some sequels to already existing franchises. Apparently they have about 15 titles they are working on and I believe he said that they have 8 new IP’s. That is very freak’n impressive. Hopefully they don’t suck and… well let’s just give them the benefit of a doubt eh?

2:05:15 Phil give a teaser trailer for Remedy’s Quantum Break game. It doesn’t show much of anything, but it looked pretty soooo there’s that at least.

2:08:30 Nancy Teller comes on and says how TV with Xbox One will be amazing. Oh and she dangles the proverbial Halo carrot.

2:10:45 Bonni Ross (no relation to Barney Ross of the Expendables) comes on as 343’s hype girl. Quick summary, Halo’s awesome and we’ve made a lot of money from it. They also announce, with the help of Steven Speilburg, a live action Halo TV show. I hope it’s not only for people with an Xbox One though. While some people may not give a crap, a good Halo show would be awesome.

2:13:30 Dan Mattic returns saying again that it’s all about everything being in one box and that the Xbox One comes out later this year. Games will be shown at E3.

2:19:00 Eric Hirshberg gives the world premier of Call of Duty: Ghosts. I’ve not loved the latest CoD’s as much as the originals, but Infinity Ward’s have been my favorite. This actually looks pretty sick.

2:27:30 This is where the movie made with gameplay trailer is for Ghosts. Let’s be honest, you came for this anyway. This sure beats the crap out of D3 being on the PS4.

Last thought:

Why couldn't this guy take his elbows away from his chest the whole presentation... it was creepy!
Why couldn’t this guy take his elbows away from his chest the whole presentation… it was creepy!

3 thoughts on “Xbox One Revealed…

  • May 22, 2013 at 13:18
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    I’m one of the people that are quite excited for this. But hey…I was excited about the Steam Box concept too.

    Being that the majority of my console playing is XBox, the VAST majority of my console friends are XBox, and I already enjoy quite a few console exclusives (e.g. Forza, Halo, Gears), and I am a big fan of popping in a game and instantly playing (without fiddling around with settings), I’ll prob end up buying this day “One” (pun intended).

    I’m glad they did not change the controller all that much. In the console world, it is the most preferred controller, and I can vouch that it works quite well ergonomically. I’m sure this one with force feedback (which is utterly amazing as this thing is quite small and wireless), will be just as easy to pick up and use.

    The voice and motion recognition look like they’ll have been fine tuned, and will be the future of remoteless media devices (if you choose).

    For me, I’ll always play PC and Console games because both appeal to me. I’m not sure if they’ll ever be an out and out “winner” with gaming, but I think both Sony and Microsoft are heading in the right direction to encompass all people types, which…with so much going on, XBoxOne may be quite appealing to them over customizing a new laptop or pc. (Or building one if you like to have challenge and fun wrapped together with hair loss and life expectancy lowered)

    I too think they did a really good job with the presentation and I’m satisfied with the specs of the machine. I will say that I’m not that hip with what it looks like, but whatever…I guess the 80’s VCR look is making a comeback. It was short and sweet. They didn’t drag it out too long, and got to the point.

    Will it work with major satellite providers though? This is a good question. I would use maybe 50% of the sports apps (fantasy football), and would love to use the xbox to do what they showed on the conference. I have Directv, and the receiver has a similar technology for fantasy teams, but it’s so wonky-clunky…or clunky-wonky…or perhaps wunky-clonky, whatever it sucks.

    I too wanted to see the games. It is a gaming console foremost right?!?! But I can wait for E3. I too hope that they have been working on a good grouping of exclusive games, as well as those that are not the a-typical (read: COD, Battlefield, Halo, fps in general). I’d be cool with a little more “Press X to Jason” types.

    Here’s me being helpful; how about I buy one, keep it, use it, kiss and hug it, play some games on it, use some apps, what have you, and I’ll let you know how awesome it is…or possible is not? Deal?

    Reply
    • May 22, 2013 at 13:45
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      As long as you’re not expecting me to foot the bill for your new shiny we’re solid.

      I think this is a great new gadget and it does a great many things well. But first and foremost it is a gaming console isn’t it? E3/Console reveal or not, they should have shown a few more games. It’s neat how different it is, but for a person like me who doesn’t totaly follow sports or watch a lot of tv (about 2-3 shows a week if there are that many good ones), it didn’t really grab me. Without having a ton of buds with a 360, saying that I can connect with them and see what they are watching just doesn’t help.

      I’m sure it will be great and make great stuff happen, but they are in the same boat as the PS4 right now. They have the upper hand with how smooth it all works and numerically how many games they’ve got coming. However, that will also depend on if they are good or not. I’ll take a PS4 with 3 must have titles over and Xbox One with 17 games that I don’t care about or could play on my PC.

      E3 will be the end of me with all the goodness that it should have…

      Reply
  • May 23, 2013 at 19:52
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    I like your opinion actually. I too wish they would have spoken more on a few “other” games and not CoD. Sheesh…really? CoD?!?!??!? Oh well, I know I’ll buy it and play the haydes out of it, but still. E3 can’t come soon enough.

    Reply

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