After years of rumors, Microsoft finally unveiled the newest Xbox at an event on the Redmond campus this afternoon. The console itself isn't called Durango or Xbox Infinity or 720. Instead, Microsoft has gone with 'Xbox One,' which signifies the all-in-one entertainment solution the new console offers users.
Aesthetically, the console is a pretty big departure from the current generation of Xbox 360. Instead of the sleek, almost hourglass curves of the Xbox 360, the Xbox One features harsh corners and a very box-like chassis. This aesthetic extends to the new version of Kinect, which will be included with every Xbox One that's sold.
Microsoft showed off the software first, highlighting the new dashboard and voice controlled actions. Xbox One is capable of switching from live TV, to gaming, to movies, to music and browsing with just voice commands. Not only that, but you can Snap secondary applications to the right-hand side of the screen while you're watching a movie. This means you can browse the web or watch movie trailers while watching a movie via Xbox Live. There's also a brand new TV Guide application (summoned with a 'Show me the guide' command).
The company also talked about games for the Xbox One, including a sneak peek of what we can expect from EA Sports on Xbox One as well as a trailer for Call of Duty: Ghost. Most notably, the company revealed that there are currently more Xbox-exclusive games in development than ever, and 15 of those titles will be released in the first year of Xbox One availability.
As far as hardware is concerned, Microsoft says the Xbox One packs 8GB of RAM, an 8-Core CPU, a 500GB hard drive, a Blu-ray drive, HDMI in and out ports, USB 3.0, 802.11n wireless, as well as a brand new version of the Kinect sensor. The company will likely talk more about hardware at E3 in a few weeks.
