The next generation of game consoles is in full swing after Microsoft unveiled their plans for their next game console. The console will be called Xbox One, and hopes to be the center of every entertainment center in households.
Xbox One was unveiled today at an event held on the Microsoft campus in Seattle, WA. The event showcased the new features of Xbox One, highlighted by instant app switching and integrated television services. Each Xbox One will ship with a Kinect, and is required for the console to work. Users will be able to switch instantly between apps just by saying the phrase “Xbox,” followed by app name. The feature was demonstrated by Don Mattrick, the president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. He showed how quickly the Xbox changed apps by switching between the Dashboard and a television program.
Mattrick continued his demonstration by introducing the snap feature to the Xbox One. This allows users to access more than one app at a time. Mattrick showed off this feature by watching the first Star Trek film by J.J. Abrams on the screen, then brought up Internet Explorer to search for showtimes for the new Star Dark: Into Darkness film. He then demonstrated Skype on Xbox One. Mattrick did this by watching live television while carrying on a Skype video chat with another person.
Also demonstrated was the television guide integrated into the Xbox One. The console will act as more than a video game console, incorporating music, movies, television, and films into one box.
It took about 30 minutes before the first video game footage was shown. EA Sports’ executive vice president Andrew Wilson took the stage to show off what EA Sports has planned for the next generation of consoles. They announced that four sports games, Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, NBA Live 14, and EA Sports UFC will be released in the next 12 months for Xbox One. These four games will run on a new engine that EA has developed for sports games called Ignite. It was revealed that these four games will be released for next-gen consoles in the next 12 months.
Three other games were shown off at the event, including Forza Motorsport 5 and Call of Duty: Ghosts. The third game was a new IP from Remedy titled Quantum Break. Not much was shown off about the game except for a ship crashing into a bridge. It was announced that when Xbox One is released, it will have 15 exclusive games with eight of them being new IPs.
The conference continued with an announcement about a Halo television series that will involve Steven Spielberg in some way. Microsoft also announced a deal with the NFL to stream games to Xbox One, and the ability to check fantasy scores while the game is on the screen.
Xbox One will be released later in 2013. No definitive price or release date was announced. We could see these details at E3, but later this fall seems more likely when that information will be announced. Check out some screens below of the console and the first look at the dashboard.
