XBox ONE revealed!

It's official! The XBox ONE has been revealed to the world as the new XBox that people have speculated about for the last I-don't-know-how-long (a long time)! It has been detailed with such things as an integrated and updated Kinect (as rumoured), voice-activation, the ability to recognize who you are and remember the last things you were doing, and almost instantaneous switching from one application to another.

During the demonstration, I was amazed at the graphics quality as well as how quickly this new hardware was able to switch to and from different applications and areas on the system with simple voice commands. "XBox: ON" turned it on. "XBox: Go Home" went to the home page within a couple of seconds at most. "XBox: Live TV" tuned in to a TV station within moments. The amount of integration this box is going to have will be incredible!

While the specifics of the hardware were not greatly detailed, it will obviously have HD graphics, some sort of built in cable tuner, I assume (based on the ability to connect to the local Cable and even bring up a guide), voice commands, cloud based storage of some sort, and incredible immersion. The Kinect camera can be used for Skype, and you can watch a movie and do other things at the same time with the new "Snap Mode" that allows you to "snap" a second application onto the screen that can be accessed with Smart Glass.

I will go into some of the things in more detail in another hub, but here is a breakdown of some of the features and details that were presented during this hour long reveal that was entitled: XBOX A New Generation Revealed.

• Name is XBox ONE
• Presented as an "All-in-One Entertainment System"
• Hardware is rectangular with glossy top on the left, matte on the right, matte on the front left and glossy on the front right.
• Kinect appears to have a sound bar built in across the bottom of the sensor.
• 8 Core CPU, 8GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, WiFi Direct (802.11n), USB 3.0, HDMI In/Out, and Blu-Ray drive
• Fully 64-bit architecture
• Can watch Live TV through system
• Snap Mode allows you to snap a second application onto the main screen
• Smart Glass integration should work seamlessly
• XBox Guide shows your local guide, trending movies and shows, and recommendations based on what you watch.
• Kinect responds to your voice and gestures, recognizes you and can react within 13 billionths of a second
• 2 Gb/second of data used for recognition
• 1080p camera
• New Kinect sensor can detect a lot more than 360 Kinect - can see the orientation of hands, determine muscles used and impact, depth, and better skeletal sense.
• Current XBox Live uses about 15,000 servers; new XBox Live will use 300,000 at launch (20 times the current amount).
• Can store content in the cloud
• Native editing and sharing tools to show off your achievements and gameplays
• EA Sports partnership will bring 4 new games at launch: FIFA 14, Madden NFL 14, NBA Live 14, and UFC 14
• EA's new Ignite engine will combine Human Intelligence, True Player Motion, and Living Worlds to more fully immerse players into their games
• Exclusives like Forza 5 and a new IP: Quantum Break were shown.
• TV will become more immersive
• 343 Studios, Microsoft and Stephen Spielberg teaming for a Halo live action TV series for XBox ONE
• Live action sports immersion with partnership with the NFL
• Call of Duty: Ghosts was shown and some information revealed.

This is just an overview of the details, and I will get into more later, but for those who want something now, here you go!

There was no release date specified at this time, but it was confirmed that the console will be released sometime later this year (2013). Most people would expect a pre-Christmas release date, and I would be willing to bet on that as well, possibly even pre-Thanksgiving (and that is US Thanksgiving, for those who know I am Canadian and we celebrate ours a month and a half earlier).

More details will be revealed in the upcoming E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) at the Los Angeles Conventions Center, June 11-13. I will be watching and looking for more information to come available, and will of course give out as much as I can find as soon as I find out!

What was your favourite part of the XBox One Reveal? For me, it was probably the new information on Call of Duty: Ghosts that I had been drooling for since the beginning of the month!

For more in depth coverage, check out: XBox One Details: The Multimedia Experience

Cheers!

Slyde