Microsoft has unveiled details of its successor to the Xbox 360.
Scheduled to launch worldwide before the end of the year, the XboxOne has a strong focus on TV and digital entertainment as well as video gaming.
The machine, which uses a Blu-ray disc player, looks similar to a black Xbox and is designed to be laid horizontally. It is packaged with a redesigned version of the Kinect motion sensor that Microsoft claimed was more responsive and could distinguish a single voice even in a noisy room. The Xbox controller has been improved with “40 technical and design innovations”.
Among the features introduced with the machine are voice activation – saying “Xbox On” launches a personalised Home screen and shows what is popular on TV and the latest gaming achievements of the user’s friends. Microsoft claimed the more you use the machine the more it gets to know you and learns what you like. It is also possible to do two things at once on the console, such as talking with friends on Skype while watching live TV.
Among the video games that will be available on the machine are new titles in established franchises including Forza Motorsport, Call of Duty and FIFA. Developer Remedy Entertainment is producing new property Quantum Break, which is described as “blurring the line between gaming and TV. How you play the game impacts the show, and the show informs how you play the game”.
Microsoft also announced that Steven Spielberg will executive-produce a live-action TV series based on the blockbuster Halo videogame franchise, with exclusive interactive content available on the Xbox One.
The Xbox Live multiplayer system is being overhauled for XboxOne with features including Smart Match that Microsoft claimed would “virtually eliminate” waiting in lobbies, a new system for recording and sharing gaming video, an expanded achievements system and an upgrade to SmartGlass that allows multiple devices to connect.
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