Microsoft yesterday unveiled the next generation of Xbox at its Redmond campus in Seattle. However, despite giving us plenty to look at and a brief run down of the specifications, the company didn't offer any specifics on a release date or pricing. While we know the console will be out at some point this year (and have known for a while), Microsoft hasn't elaborated on how much we can expect to pay for this all-in-one entertainment device.
Despite there being no release date or price to speak of, retailers in the United Kingdom are already taking pre-orders for the new Xbox console. Pocket-lint reports that both Game and Blockbuster have the Xbox One up for pre-order. Customers looking to pre-order the console will have to put down a £20 deposit to secure their unit and presumably will be notified of the release date when it is made known. Unfortunately, while Blockbuster's pre-order page seems to be in fine working order, Game currently has the device listed as out-of-stock, so all you can do is sign up for a stock-alert. Bummer.
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 new Kinect model will ship with every Xbox One unit sold, so we're assuming that will drive the price up somewhat. We'll keep you posted on that one.