Xbox One and press event impression.

     The Microsoft 5/21 press event has come and gone. The internet is once again buzzing with the news that was just announced yesterday. Some people are excited, some not, and most people are just wanting more news. After watching the press event a couple times and having a chance to sit back and think about it, I'm ready to write about my thoughts and feelings on what Microsoft announced yesterday. So here we go!

     First off let me briefly talk about the name, Xbox One. Out of all the possible names that floated around the internet I did not see this one coming. Microsoft has clearly used the premise of having an "all in one" console as the drive behind this name. Also stating that their console is the one for games, the one for entertainment, etc. So even though I'm not crazy about the name, I think it's a good fit for their vision of the Xbox One.

     I was actually surprised that they showed what the console, controller and new Kinect sensor looks like. Of course Sony showed their new controller back in February, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised by this. At any rate, if you look back at the photo above you can see what all three pieces of hardware look like. To me, the console itself looks a little large but also has a sleek look to it. It looks very similar to the cable/dvr box I use to have when I had cable, but maybe that's the look they were going for. I like the design of the controller because they kept most of the same design as the Xbox 360 controller. Obviously there are some new buttons, different d-pad, sturdier thumb sticks, and the rumble feature in the triggers.

     Then there was the redesign of the Kinect. The new design looks pretty sleek, but the real draw of it is the new features it will offer. The new Kinect will feature better depth of field, more accurate motion tracking, and can even function in low lighting or in the dark. Microsoft was not shy on showing how focused they are on integrating television and movies to the Xbox One. That was the majority of their press event. They showed off being able to turn on the Xbox One and seamlessly switch between games, television, movies, music, etc. all with voice command. Of course using swiping and grab motions to navigate the dashboard was shown too. I did like how the interface itself looked pretty familiar to what we are seeing on the Xbox 360 and Windows 8 devices. One cool thing was the snap feature. This allows you to have multiple apps running at the same time. They showed watching a movie and then being able to open up another app to buy movie tickets to the side. Or watching a NBA game while checking your fantasy league stats to the side of the screen. I have a Surface tablet and using this feature is really cool and nice to have.

     Another big segment of the press event was Microsoft's partnership with EA. This of course was all about sports. For me personally, I'm not a fan of sport video games, and I only watch certain sports on television at times. So this whole segment was a wash for me, but for sport fans I can really see the draw and potential. Also, I have never used Skype so the ability to use it for video and chat is another cool feature, but I wasn't impressed or drawn to it. The announcement of a Halo television series (with Steven Spielberg as exec. director) was an interesting thing. It's one of those things that could be really good or end up being a dud. 

     Finally I want to talk about the games...or lack there of. It didn't surprise me that Microsoft didn't show off many games. I'm pretty confident they are going to hit hard on the gaming front in a couple weeks at E3. Other than the sport titles, Microsoft showed off trailers for Forza Motorsport 5, a brand new game called Quantum Break, and of course ended the press event with Call of Duty: Ghosts. I would have liked to have seen actual gameplay other than trailers or tech demos, but again, Microsoft will most likely do all that at E3.

     Overall I thought the press event was okay. I think Microsoft accomplished what they wanted to do. Announce the Xbox One, show the specs and design of the hardware, show off the television and Kinect features, and give a little bit of information on games. A lot of people are confused at where and who Microsoft is targeting with the Xbox One. Things are still murky as far as the Xbox One being always online or being able to play used games. Core gamers are afraid the Xbox One will be too focused on the media side and not on games. I can totally see where they are coming from. However, the technology presented yesterday clearly shows the Xbox One is a powerful and innovative console. I'm still very anxious to see what is announced at E3. Hopefully after that more light will be shed and more information given to help everyone have a clearer decision.

Written by: Alter Ego 83