The Xbox One might only have been out for a couple of weeks, but it was always inevitable that a system update would not be too far behind. With the console now in the hands of millions of users, the process of refining the experience can finally commence, and as per a blog post by Major Nelson, there are plenty of tweaks and alterations with the Xbox One's inaugural system update.
The renewed console war has officially begun, with both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One having released across several major markets. Having already heard that Sony managed 2.1 million consoles sold in just a couple of weeks from its launch in November to the end of the month, figures shared by Major Nelson suggest that Microsoft is right on its tail.
Microsoft's decision to not offer any kind of backwards compatibility with the Xbox One undoubtedly ruffled a few feathers. The decision is entirely understandable from a business perspective, but it has definitely left a bitter taste in the mouths of many users who will go to great lengths to try and "enable" compatibility with older Xbox 360 games, even if it means putting their console at risk. Larry Hryb - better known as Major Nelson to most - has taken to his official Twitter timeline to warn Xbox One users of the dangers involved in enabling the built-in developer mode on the console in the hope of playing those old games.
Microsoft's Xbox One is the console that the company hopes will carry it through to 2020 and beyond, but while all the talk is often about how powerful these new game consoles are and whether they will usher in a new era of hyper-realistic games or not, often one of the important aspects of a new console is overlooked - how does the thing look?
Even though the Xbox One bears many striking similarities to the 360, it's still a new interface and an entirely new console, with many more powers and facilities than its predecessor could ever have offered. To help Xbox One owners with the settling in process, Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson has released a three minute clip detailing some neat tips and tricks that you mightn't have discovered already, and with insight into some of the gestures as well covering the many ways in which the Dashboard can be manipulated to suit your needs, it's a fairly thorough video.
The Xbox One finally made its debut in several major markets almost two weeks ago, and since then, gamers have been busily familiarizing themselves with the new Dashboard interface, increased power, and generally reveling in that new-console feeling. The special Day One Edition of the Xbox One was offered by Microsoft in the run-up to the release, and brought with it a series of perks reserved only to those who pre-ordered it. Here at Redmond Pie, we managed to reserve our own limited Day One Edition Xbox One, and naturally, felt compelled to give it an elaborate, snap-happy unboxing for your viewing pleasure. Check out the photos of the grand unveiling after the leap!
You may remember Richard Ryan from RatedRR as the enthusiastic individual who decided to see how a brand new PlayStation 4 fares against a .50 caliber rifle. As you might have guessed, it turns out that Sony didn't build the PS4 to withstand relatively close range, high-powered rifle shots. With the Xbox One now widely available, it seems only fair for Ryan to put Microsoft's console through the same test, albeit with the addition of 16-foot detonation cord and a new "drag-race" setup.
For some people gaming is a way of life. For those gamers there's nothing more exhilarating than getting the latest and greatest video game title to be released, mastering all of the functionality and then heading over to online multiplayer to show the world just how honed your skills are. Xbox LIVE lets you actually record the live gameplay and upload it to Microsoft's servers as evidence of superiority. Although this remains as popular as ever, Microsoft has been quick to confirm that a number of unhappy users have lost their Xbox LIVE privileges due to their videos on the Upload Studio containing consistent profanities - something that Microsoft is looking to eradicate.
The Xbox One has been on the market for just four days, and while the vast majority of those in ownership of Microsoft's latest and greatest console have been pleased with their purchase, a small faction have encountered the issue of grinding disc drives, or the dreaded "Sorry, We Can't Play This Disc" error. As we reported over the weekend, some Blu-ray drives start making clicking noises when attempting to load a game, and as a result, the Redmond outfit has begun the process of replacing them. It has now emerged, though, that the issue in some units can be solved, and whilst hardware fixes are often daunting or overly technical, this fix required little more than a couple of good, old-fashioned whacks.
The Xbox One, as most of you will already know, retails at a full $100 more than its Sony-made rival - the PlayStation 4. The early PS4 teardowns suggested that its Japanese creator was making no money on the console itself, since the raw material cost was predicted to be in excess of $380, and considering a retail price of $400, it would be hard to glean much by way of profit. With the Xbox One shipping the new Kinect sensor, it was always going to be more expensive to produce, and with the first teardown now in, it seems that the Redmond's next-gen machine costs a full $90 more than the PlayStation 4.
