Xbox

Microsoft made a brave, if not reckless call in the run-up to the release of the Xbox One, and in honesty, the decision to bundle the Kinect peripheral in as a standard feature was just one of many suspect choices that might have contributed to Sony's early lead with the PlayStation 4. The fact that Xbox One owners got a motion-sensing camera that they didn't necessarily want was not the main issue, but rather the price - at $100 more than the PS4 - made the normally arduous decision for fence-sitters just that little bit easier. After stringing it out for a few months, the software giant finally caved in and offered the Xbox One sans Kinect for a price comparable to that of its major competitor, and as of October 7th, those who'd retrospectively like to buy the popular accessory will be able to.

Microsoft's Xbox One will today receive an update that will bring new features as well as tweaks for existing ones. The update, available to all Xbox Ones that are connected to the Internet worldwide, will be a free and automatic update for all.

We've reached the Gamerscom stage of the bustling list of exhibitions and conferences in the gaming calendar, and Microsoft has taken the opportunity of the occasion to outline a particularly exciting update for Xbox One owners. Pretty soon, early adopters of the new-ish console will be able to stream TV directly to their smartphone or tablet, adding yet another feature to the already expansive list of entertainment-specific perks.

Microsoft has added a Digital TV Tuner to the Xbox One's repertoire of accessories, with the add-on set to launch in October. As we know, consoles today are more than just mere gaming machines - a point that the Xbox maker made rather too keenly for some gamers at the One's announcement last year - and below, you can find all of the relevant details on the Digital TV Tuner component including specification, price and availability.

The Xbox 360 may have arrived in white, well, off-white originally, with Microsoft adding a darker model at a later date, but this time around, the console sports a shiny, jet-black finish. Obviously, some prospective Xbox One owners were hoping for an alternative to the rather understated aesthetic of the software maker's latest entertainment machine, and this fall, the white color option will arrive as a part of the Sunset Overdrive bundle in October.