Let's be honest, those who are managing to hold down a steady job should class themselves as extremely fortunate. Those who get up each morning and walk through the employment doors of prestigious companies like Microsoft, even more so. If you take away the regular salary bank deposits and the respect that comes with working for a huge corporation on extremely popular products, then just what's left? It seems that employees of the Redmond based company are left with access to an exclusive employee-only white Xbox One, and we couldn't be more envious.
The battle for supremacy in the next-gen console wars is really heating up, to the point now where every day, either Microsoft or Sony has something to reveal regarding their respective consoles. With the latter having disclosed the PS4 release date for the whole world to drool over, today is Microsoft's turn, and the Redmond company now has the Xbox One on display for all to see at it own retail outlets. Unfortunately, they're securely housed within the confinements of glass boxes, but with many consumers still on the fence with regards to which console they will eventually choose, a close-up look at the new design could tempt some into going ahead and pre-ordering.
It's a well known fact that Europeans love their football, or soccer, as it known in some parts of the world, and as a sweetener, Microsoft is throwing in a free copy of FIFA 14 with every Xbox One pre-order. The move, which is an overt attempt to pull in consumers tempted by the PlayStation 4, was announced by the Redmond company at the Gamescom trade show in Germany, and will be available to all pre-orderers while stocks last.
Microsoft may have announced its Xbox One console significantly later than Sony did the PlayStation 4, but the software maker appears to be making up for lost time in spades. Today, the company has announced a boatload more games heading to its forthcoming console, bringing the current total up to fifty. With more on the way, we're finally getting down to the really tantalizing bit as far as the gaming community is concerned, and with such a wide variety of games now confirmed for the Xbox One, there's something for everyone.
The Xbox One will go head-to-head with the PlayStation 4 when it releases later on this year, and thanks to some confirmation straight from Redmond, we now know exactly where the forthcoming Microsoft console will be launching initially. Unfortunately, the company's claim that the Xbox One would be releasing in 21 countries from the get-go was actually a bit of an ambitious target, and today, it has emerged that only an initial 13 markets will see the third-generation Xbox.
One of the most exciting things about a new tech product is the process of unboxing, and thanks to sites like YouTube, we can get a taster of that feeling through the scores of videos detailing the wonderful process of opening up a brand new gadget. In the case of the Xbox One, we needn't wait for the release, for Microsoft’s Larry Hryb, better known to most as Major Nelson, has just released a clip showing his very own unboxing video of the forthcoming Microsoft console. You can check the video out right after the jump!
As many a hardcore gamer will tell you, no endless kill-streak on Call of Duty, perfect goal on FIFA, or snipe on Halo is worthwhile if it cannot be recorded, shared and relived time and again. The Xbox Game DVR allows users to do just this, but according to Xbox LIVE's Marc Whitten, the resolution will be restricted to just 720p/30p, irrespective of the resolution of the game.
Microsoft's Xbox One will serve as one half of the next-gen games console battle, and while many fans of the powerful upcoming machine have been busily deciding which launch titles to select as the holiday release draws ever closer, the folks of T3 have instead been dreaming of a smartphone built with the new console in mind. Justifying its 'Xbox One smartphone' concept, T3 imagines a device born through lack of Windows Phone apps and CEO Steve Ballmer's "one Microsoft" mantra, and with a typically solid-looking Nokia build and a set of eye-watering features to match, we actually kind of wish this were a real product.
When you stack up the graphics prowess of the PlayStation 4 against the Xbox One, there's no doubt that the Sony console is reflected favorably, but as we know, there's a great deal of difference between the on-paper checklist and real world gaming. The PlayStation 4, overall, offers around 50 percent more GPU power than its Redmond counterpart, you can't really draw any firm conclusions from these figures alone. Eurogamer, in collaboration with Digital Foundry, has sought to compare the two unreleased machines by mocking them up using parts similar to those announced, offering a relatively strong idea of what we can expect from each.
Just as the console wars were beginning to cool down, Microsoft and Sony set about getting everyone hot under the collar by announcing the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. We're just a little bit giddy about both, and for different reasons, and we know you're all counting down the days until you can pick your next generation console of choice off the shelves too.
