The Xbox One.

The future of our living rooms in an old school black box. And that was the moment I fell in love with Xbox all over again. Now, before I get carried away with my geekness and Xbox fangirling, let’s start at the beginning.

The Xbox One isn’t just a games console. This is going to be a new way of life. A new religion for the living room of houses worldwide.

And it all starts with a simple command “Xbox on”.

For real. That big ol’ black box is gonna recognise your voice…all the time. The future is here.

The new “More responsive. More intuitive” (Xbox.com) Kinect was needed, I mean Kinect is good but better is, well, better. It’s going to be able to pick out your voice in a crowded room; it will read the tiniest gestures; it has a bigger field of vision. So say goodbye to having to find the sweet spot in the Kinect bars line of sight.
I remember trying the demo version of Kinect in store…my mind was blown and I was kayaking in on dry land with a growing audience. This time I want my world to shake and the walls of my expectations to crumble in awe at the amazingness of this new ‘Real Vision/Voice/Motion’. To say I’m excited is an understatement – gimme the ‘The Minority Report’ interface now please!

The aesthetics of the Xbox One is my next port of call. People all over the Twitterverse have been bashing it already, comparing it to the VHS players of old (yes, there are many of us who know what a VHS player is), calling it ugly and a rehash of the first Xbox. But I like it. This is the next generation of Xbox and in celebrating their future they have designed a beautifully retro piece of kit. Another complaint is that it’s big. Yes it is, but it’s going to do a lot. Remember that Microsoft sees this as the hub of the living room…One box for all?!
As for the controller I was worried. I won’t deny that I really was panicking that they’d change it too much and I would lose my favourite extension of my arms. But they’ve taken care not to change it too much, they’ve simply streamlined it and for me that’s all that was needed.

I don’t really do technical jargon but here’s a little (just because it’s WOW). The Xbox One will house an 8 core x86 processor…yuh. Don’t ask me what that translates to specifically. What I do know is that bad boy is going to allow you to jump from playing a game to watching that all important football game with a simple voice command and seamless transitions. Apparently you’ll also be able to Skype while watching movies and such…that’ll be nice for the social people with friends won’t it?!

A great new feature for me is the ‘Auto-resume’ option. As a mommy gamer I’ve had to drop my game on occasion (to collect my bubs from nursery etc…) and one is not always at a save point, which can really piss one off. This feature will save me Hulk Out moments. That’s a good thing.

Another feature I’m really impressed with is the addition of game DVR. Oh, yes. The Xbox One will record your recent gameplay so you can share your playtime with your pals…or record that kiss with Kaidan in ME1 and keep it on cloud forever…ahem. Where was I?

Smart Match. Yes, the days of playing with peeps way under, or over, your gaming abilities look to be gone. Smart Match will link you up with gamers in the same league as you. Happy MP for all!
The new Achievement system sounds confusing at the moment. The Xbox One’s Achievements won’t just be locked to a single game; they will be based more on how you play not just what you do in game. Right… Anybody else see this pissing off Cheev hunters worldwide? Yuh.

So, down to the games. Hmm, what games? I hear you all ask. We didn’t see any gameplay to comment on but you know what? I don’t care!
‘The Reveal’ was so named to reveal the new Xbox console. And it did just that.
We saw the hardware, the controller, the Kinect bar. We got to know what made it tick and we saw it’s potential.

But they did throw us a bone. They threw in some footage of new EA games and announced their mega partnership with the NFL. They even provided us with some Forza 5 footage because we all know a console launch needs a racing game! I know, poor right?

But then they promo’d two awesome looking games.
‘Quantum Break’ and ‘Cod: Ghosts’.
And Maker, they were pretty weren’t they?! No, it wasn’t actual gameplay that they showed but I was satisfied with the footage they teased us with.
They announced that there would be 15 ‘exclusive’ titles in the Xbox One’s first year – 8 of those being NEW franchises. That makes me a happy geek – 8 new franchises! Squee!

I can wait a couple of weeks to see the games at E3. I didn’t need to see them at the unveiling of the new console…I needed to see the console at the unveiling of the new console.
And I did. And I love it. And I am happy.

Take my monies Microsoft! Take it!

Reveal Trailer:

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Behind the Scenes Preview:

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A new vision for the future comes to life today as Microsoft Corp. unveils Xbox One, the all-in-one gaming and entertainment system created for today and the next generation. At Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., the company showcased how Xbox One puts you at the center of all your games, TV, movies, music, sports and Skype.

“Xbox One is designed to deliver a whole new generation of blockbuster games, television and entertainment in a powerful, all-in-one device,” said Don Mattrick, president, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Our unique, modern architecture brings simplicity to the living room and, for the first time ever, the ability to instantly switch across your games and entertainment.”

Introducing Xbox One

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With Xbox One, games push the boundaries of realism, and TV obeys your commands.1 Say “Xbox On” to launch your personalized Xbox One Home screen, discover what is popular on TV or see friends’ latest gaming achievements all using the most natural interface — your voice. The more you interact with Xbox One, the more it gets to know you and learns what you like. Some of the breakthrough Xbox One features that put you at the center of your living room entertainment include the following:

· TV on Xbox One.1 Navigate and watch live TV from your cable, telco or satellite set-top box through your Xbox One. Microsoft is committed to bringing live TV through various solutions to all the markets where Xbox One will be available.3

· Home. Turn on your entertainment system with two powerful words, “Xbox On,” and a custom-tailored Home dashboard welcomes you with your favorite games, TV and entertainment.

· Snap. Do two things at once on the biggest screen in your home. Use Snap to jump into a multiplayer battle while watching your favorite movie, talk with friends on Skype while watching live TV, or track your fantasy team on TV as you watch the big game and more.

· Skype for Xbox One. Specially designed for Xbox One, talk with friends on your TV in stunning HD, or for the first time ever, hold group Skype calls on your TV.

· Trending.1 Stay on top of what is hot on TV by discovering the entertainment that is popular among your friends, and see what is trending within the Xbox community.

· OneGuide.1, 2 Find your favorite entertainment easily, searching by network, name or time, all with the sound of your voice and presented in a tailored program guide.

To create the most advanced Xbox system ever designed for games, TV and entertainment, Microsoft created a state-of-the-art gaming operating system and fused it with an equally amazing entertainment platform, so you will not have to switch inputs to watch TV or play a game. An eight-core, x86 processor and more than 5 billion transistors helps make lag and load times a thing of the past, so you can instantly jump between a game and your entertainment at lightning speed or run a host of apps right alongside your game with no loss in performance.

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Introducing Xbox One titles and exclusives

Gaming on Xbox One immerses gamers in cinematic worlds that look like real life, with characters that feel more human than ever before. AAA blockbuster titles unveiled for Xbox One include the following:

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· “Forza Motorsport 5” from Turn 10 Studios is the latest edition of the highest-rated racing franchise of the past 10 years.3 Built from the ground up to take advantage of Xbox One and the infinite power of the cloud, no game better delivers the sensation of being behind the wheel. “Forza Motorsport 5” sets a new bar for racing games and will be available exclusively for Xbox One at launch.

· “Call of Duty: Ghosts” is the next generation of “Call of Duty” and a stunning leap forward for the franchise. It delivers an all-new world, an all-new cast of characters and an all-new story, built on a new, next-generation engine. The next-generation technical innovations built to support the incredible gameplay advancements make this the most beautiful and immersive “Call of Duty” experience yet. Activision and Microsoft also announced the renewal of their close partnership that will see both the return of the “Call of Duty® Championship,” presented by Xbox, as well as all-new downloadable content debuting first and exclusively on the Xbox platform.

· “FIFA 14,” “Madden NFL 25,” “NBA LIVE 14,” and “EA SPORTS UFC” from EA SPORTS will change the way consumers experience and play sports games. Driven by the new EA SPORTS Ignite engine, these new EA SPORTS games will deliver massive innovations in human intelligence, true player motion and living worlds. Adding to its commitment to Xbox One, EA SPORTS also announced the promise of exclusive content to be revealed in the coming months.

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· “Quantum Break” from Remedy Entertainment is a revolutionary entertainment experience from the creators of “Max Payne” and “Alan Wake” that blurs the line between gaming and TV by integrating drama and gameplay into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience. How you play the game impacts the show, and the show informs how you play the game.

In addition to the amazing lineup of games coming to Xbox One, Microsoft unveiled exclusive content partnerships with some of the top names in TV, sports and entertainment.

· “Halo” television series. Award-winning filmmaker, director and producer, Steven Spielberg will executive-produce an original “Halo” live-action television series with exclusive interactive Xbox One content, created in partnership with 343 Industries and Xbox Entertainment Studios.

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· National Football League (NFL).1 A multiyear, landmark partnership will deliver the ultimate interactive NFL television experiences for the next-generation Xbox One and leverage Microsoft devices and services to evolve both in-game and on the sideline. The NFL on Xbox will redefine broadcast experiences through innovations around Skype, Xbox SmartGlass and player-worn technology; add an all-new fantasy football solution for the biggest screen in the house; and create a personalized NFL destination only available on Xbox One.

Introducing a new generation of Xbox Live

Xbox One is built to amplify an all-new generation of Xbox Live that is more powerful, more personal and more intelligent. Unleashing the virtually unlimited power of the cloud makes everything more convenient and accessible, from allowing games to be installed in segments so that gameplay can start quickly to updates downloading in the background. Save and store your personalized profile, games and entertainment in the cloud to access them anytime, from any Xbox One console.4 In addition, existing Xbox Live Gold Membership for Xbox 360 will seamlessly carry over to Xbox One.5 Xbox Live takes you deeper into the games you love with all-new features.

· Smart Match. A new Smart Match matchmaking system virtually eliminates waiting in lobbies by estimating wait times and finding people you want to play with while you are enjoying other activities — reputation fundamentally matters and helps find best matches.

· Game DVR. A dedicated Game DVR captures and accesses your magic moments, all saved to the cloud. Along with sharing tools, you will have the most amazing bragging rights with Xbox Live.

· Living Games.6 Dynamic, living worlds evolve and improve the more you play, and advanced artificial intelligence can learn to play like you, so friends can play against your shadow.

· Expanded achievements. A new and expanded achievements system captures video of your epic moments, continues to grow a game’s achievements over time and rewards you in new ways, and your Gamerscore carries over from Xbox 360.

· Xbox SmartGlass.6 Xbox SmartGlass is natively part of the Xbox One platform, built in from the beginning with the ability to quickly render content directly onto your device, and now more devices can connect at one time for multiplayer and shared entertainment.

Introducing the Xbox One look and feel

New Xbox One hardware is sleek and modern and complements any décor. The console is shaped in the 16:9 aspect ratio and employs a horizontal orientation optimized for its high-speed Blu-ray™ disc player. It is molded in a deep and rich liquid black color and includes a distinctive beveled edge.

The completely redesigned, revolutionary 1080p Kinect is more precise, more responsive and more intuitive. Its unparalleled vision, motion and voice technology let you reach into games and entertainment like never before by dramatically expanding its field of view and fidelity. It works in nearly any lighting condition, recognizes precise motion control from a slight wrist rotation, and distinguishes your voice even in a noisy room using advanced noise isolation.

The class-leading Xbox controller is refreshed with more than 40 technical and design innovations. Updated directional pad, thumb stick and ergonomic fit immerse all gamers in ways that are uniquely Xbox, and precision and control have been dramatically increased with all new vibrating impulse triggers.6 The Xbox One Wireless Controller is designed to work in concert with the new Kinect, allowing the two to be paired automatically to create seamless player syncing.

Xbox One will launch in markets around the world later this year. Visit the new Xbox Wire blog at http://news.xbox.com for in-depth features on the new system, including photos and videos from the unveiling event and new and rotating content from Xbox. More details about Xbox One and blockbuster games will be explored at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June.

¹ Live TV with Kinect navigation, Live TV with OneGuide, Trending, and NFL on Xbox available in U.S. at launch; anticipating global scale over time.

² Kinect voice functionality only available in supported locales and languages.

3 At launch, Live TV will require a supported receiver device with HDMI output (sold separately).

4 Subject to geographical content restrictions.

5 Some Xbox Live content and features available on Xbox 360, including avatar content and some apps, are not available with Xbox Live on Xbox One.

6 In supported games.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced today that it has developed EA SPORTS™ IGNITE, a new game engine that will power EA SPORTS games on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation®4.  Fueled by EA SPORTS IGNITE, EA SPORTS games will be alive with players who think, move, and behave like real athletes and dynamic living worlds, transforming the way people play and experience games on next gen consoles.  Created with the EA SPORTS IGNITE engine, Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, NBA LIVE 14, and EA SPORTS™UFC, will each launch within the next 12 months.

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EA SPORTS IGNITE blends new technology with the best rendering, run-time physics, animation, intelligence, locomotion, and online systems from across EA into one powerful, new engine. Athletes will possess human-like intelligence for advanced decision-making, players will have the agility required to change speeds and directions with true athletic motion, and living worlds will make the game experience as rich and dynamic as real-world stadiums and arenas.

“Through years of investment and innovation, we have built technology across EA SPORTS to create a game engine that will deliver stunning accuracy, realism and experiences that we previously could only dream about,” said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President and Head of EA SPORTS. “With EA SPORTS IGNITE and the power of next generation consoles,ourgames will come alive—with more authenticity, more emotion, more connectivity, and more fun.”

Athletes in EA SPORTS next gen games will be able to make intelligent decisions with human-like reaction times. EA SPORTS IGNITE computes four times more calculations per second than previous consoles, unlocking nearly infinite potential for how players think, and enabling them to make more difficult decisions faster. Players are alive with contextual awareness and instincts—thinking, anticipating, and reacting—just like real athletes, and players are conscious of their environment. In FIFA 14, for example, a player’s sense of urgency increases as the match draws on and a goal is needed, rushing to take a free kick, corner, or goal-kick if time is running down.

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EA SPORTS IGNITE will deliver the dynamic movements and biomechanics of the world’s best athletes. With 10 times more animation depth and detail than previous consoles, and thousands of new sport-specific animations to drive new locomotion systems, players now plant, pivot and cut, quickly change speeds, and shift momentum with the agility and explosiveness of superstar athletes.

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EA SPORTS games for the next generation will have stunning accuracy and visuals. By creating living worlds, the in-game environment is now as dynamic as real-world stadiums and arenas that change throughout a match.  For the first time ever, 3D crowds and dynamic sidelines will impact the experience, and rich sports atmospheres will change organically based on the progress of a match.  Player actions will change depending on the situation, and crowds will have an expectation of how a game is likely to play out, and react accordingly.

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Madden NFL 25, FIFA 14, EA SPORTS UFC and NBA LIVE 14, will release worldwide within the next 12 months on Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Madden NFL 25 will release in North America on August 27 and worldwide on August 30 on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. FIFA 14 will also release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, PC and additional platforms.

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*All thanks goes to RetroMags. No copyright infringement intended, Magazine Monday is simply to appreciate the print magazines of days gone by that can no longer be purchased*

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