baylaust Reviews: X-Box One Announcement

[baylaust 2,531]

So, this is something rather unusual for me. Normally I stick with movies and games that I play, and not general events and stuff like that. But, this IS a major thing in gaming right now, and I do have my thoughts on it, so I decided I'd talk about it. This will be less formal, and will more or less just be me discussing my thoughts, with a rating at the end of it all. Now, since the PS4 was announced, Microsoft has been building up this day for a while. The day that the next X-Box would be announced to the public. Given how long this console generation has been going on, and how much people want something new, expectations are understandably high. Well, the next generation of X-Box was announced today. Was it worth all the height, or is Microsoft going to lose the foothold it's had over the last generation? Well, here are my thoughts.

 

A few things I'd like to clarify first. First, as usual, this is MY opinion, and your opinion may very well differ from mine. Second, my views are not finalized, as my opinion will likely change come E3? Third, this is my review of not only the CURRENT outlook of the console, but the announcement itself. And finally, while I will be the first to admit I prefer Sony over Microsoft, I am someone who not only enjoys the three major competitors in console gaming, but I own, play, and enjoy all three current generation consoles, so please don't accuse me of being biased for or against someone. These are just my overall thoughts. And on your part, please don't start any console wars.

 

. . .

 

Now, I'll start off with the name of the console itself. It was recently rumoured to be the X-Box Infinity, and unlike a lot of rumoured names, it was one that I actually liked. However, the name itself was revealedto be the X-Box "One." Now, not only am I not a fan of the name, but I find it absolutely hilarious that the name they went with was literally about as far away from "infinity" as they possibly could have gotten without naming it "Zero." Actually, now that I think about it, X-Box Zero wouldn't be a bad name. X-B0x.

 

I'll save all the talk about specs and stuff for people who are far better at understanding those things than I am, so I'll just focus on the features. The controller itself seemed like a refined version of the 360 controller, and honestly, I find the design just... off. I can't really put my finger on it, but there's just something about it I don't like. It feels like there's too much unused space for what's a large controller. On the plus side, the Home button was moved away from the center so it doesn't get hit accidentally, and the d-pad appeares to be much more refined.

 

To my knowledge, all these units will come with a Kinect 2. Which answered my first question of "Do people honestly still care about Kinect," but also leads into another thing: it's interesting why they would give the Kinect, a rather expensive piece of hardware, to the consumers for free. Well, here's the answer: without the Kinect, the X-Box One can't function. Literally. The extent of what this means is still unclear, but if it means exactly what it implies ("if your Kinect ever breaks or doesn't work, your console experience is boned"), this is a major problem in Microsoft's decision making. It's similar to how the Wii required a sensor bar to work, but the difference is that the Wii's motion control, though more limited, was more consistant and reliable than Kinect. Though it's definitely possible that they worked out the kinks for Kinect 2, so let's hope.

 

Speaking of Kinect, damn near everything about this console relates back to Kinect somehow, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Using voice control, you can switch between playing games, watching TV, using the internet or Skype, and you can even multitask. Now obviously this was all staged for the announcement, but if these features work as well as Microsoft made them appear to work, then that's definitely something that has me intrigued. The console also comes with a Blu-Ray drive, which there is pretty much absolutely no downside to, so that's a welcome addition.

 

However, all ofthis leads me to a MAJOR issue I had with not only the announcement, but what I've seen from the console so far, which was also something I was afraid of going into this announcement: the X-Box One is not a game console. Every generation of console has been about dedicated gaming experiences. In this current generation, this is still the case, but the PS3 and 360 ventured into also serving as entertainment centers. Despite this, though, they were still dedicated gaming experiences first, and entertainment centers second.

 

The X-Box One, however, is shaping up to be an entertainment center first, and is seemingly putting gaming on the sidelines. It was talking all about motion and voice commands, all about featured applications, all about Kinect, all about telivision and sports, all about Microsoft Smartglass (which is still a thing, apparantly), but damn near nothing about games. It announced that 15 games would be available at launch, 8 of them being new franchises. Which is cool enough. But what games did they decide to show off the power of the One (which sounds so dumb to say, I'll just say) with? A bunch of EA Sports games, Forza Motorsport, and a new game from the creators of Alan Wake (which admittedly looked interesting). And what was the "big payoff" for the entire press conference? God damn Call of Duty. It wasn't even a new announcement, the game has already been announced. Sure, DLC will come to the One early, but that's the case for EVERY CoD. This isn't news. Now, I expect for plenty more to come for E3, so my views will likely change by then, but for a console announcement, Microsoft didn't bring anything big, or even really good, to the table in terms of games.

 

Sadly, it doesn't get much better from here. One of the worst rumours going around for pretty much every next gen console was the fear of DRM, or as it's commonly known, "Always Online Functionality." The idea being, you need to have an internet connection to be able to play your games, which history has shown time and time again to be an absolutely horrible idea. Well thankfully, the X-Box One is not going to be always online, which is such good news. However, it fell to another pretty bad rumour, which was sadly true: the X-Box One is going to be trying to phase out used games.

 

Now, I'll go a bit more in depth with this. It doesn't mean that it will be locking games from being used on multiple consoles. What it is, is that all video games have a mandatory installation (which from my experience on PS3, is rather a pain in the ass). This, however, means that once it's installed, you can play it without using the disc. Which seems cool enough, but comes at a bad price: that disc is locked to your console. If you sell it to Gamestop / EB Games, or even so much as lend it to a friend, you have to pay a mandatory fee to be allowed to play the game. This was a rumour that everyone assumed was false because "no one would be dumb enough to possibly think that's a good idea." Well, Microsoft went through with it, and that REALLY turns me off from buying their next console.

 

Verdict

 

So, with all that being said, I sadly thought that Microsoft's X-Box One announcement was:

 

Bad!

 

Don't get me wrong, this isn't mindless bashing. There's still some promise to be found here. The potential for voice and motion control to effectively change your experience with ease is something that holds a lot of potential, there are some refinements in the console and controller alike, and the promise of a decent starting library is never a bad thing. However, the lack of focus on games, Microsoft seemingly trying to focus more on TV, apps, and motion control than gaming, the lack of any surprises at the conference itself, and their downright idiotic decision to charge for used games, all take a severe toll on the announcement. There are a couple more weeks until E3, and a lot can change then, but if I had to make an impression now, my hopes are not very high.

 

So, what do you think of the X-Box One? Was I too harsh or too leniant? Did I miss anything? Let me know?

 

baylaust out.

[darklunatic 81]

thank you for this great review my friend and its been a while since you where on

[Caity 3,946]

Microsoft has already stated they'll be showcasing the games at E3, so I see no point in getting upset over having no information now.  Sony took the reverse approach and showed us loads of games without actually showing the console.

 

I think their main problem, is in the soon to be previous generation, one of the PS3's advantages over the Xbox 360 was the fact that it was a gaming device, as well as a blu-ray player and multimedia centre (I personally haven't strayed from gaming on it just).

In their attempt to compete and show they now have the advantages of blu-ray they're also a home media device with additional services it didn't offer (something about tv).  But all their focus on this just makes it look like it's a broadband box that just so happens to play games.  I understand their logic but they focused on it too much it seems.

 

The phasing out used games is a horrible idea and has turned many people off.  Honestly, there's people who wouldn't be able to get a number of games at their RRP, I myself have bought a load of used games, I've also lent people games and borrowed games.  I would be pissed off if any system stopped me from using an old game.  What about games that become rare and are out of production where your only choice is to buy it used.  Silly Microsoft, silly silly.  To do this when you're trying to compete with superior hardware that features free online use, the cheaper console could end up costing you most if you planned on getting games 2nd hand or sharing them among your family or siblings.  

[Tails 6,690]

Awesome review Baylaust. I agree on everything you said.

[SinHeartlessAngel 555]

I agree with everything you said 100% I am 99% sure im not gonna but this console, just for the fact that used games are (technically) out. This bothers me to no end, they really blew it, in my opinion.

[WakelessDream 2,278]

Nice review! You seem to have summed up the reveal event nicely (which I needed because I haven't been following any of the news today about the Xbox One) so thanks for that. 

 

To be honest I wasn't setting my expectations too high for this, and from what you described in your review it's exactly that. It's only one announcement though, maybe come E3 or something else in the near future we'll know more about it and it won't be so bad. Highly doubt it.

[Oishii 3,987]

On the used games thing, apparently you can re-sell and buy used games from a used game retailer.  They haven't given any details on it, but I'm guessing businesses will have a way to "unlock" the games for resell. 

Source: http://gematsu.com/2013/05/xbox-one-announced

[143436611Xxcc 1,105]

I feel like gaming is going down the tubes.. like it`s just all turning to complete shit. Makes me want to travel back to 2004 or 2006.

[Amon 4,279]

PC Master Race time?

[baylaust 2,531]

PC Master Race time?

Well, the One is pretty much a PC with motion controls and less impressive specs, so...

[Weiss 8,279]

I've been looking forward to this. 

Very great review, Bay bAY

[KeybladeWielder_ 161]

Send it to the depths. Burn it with fire. and "one"? For real?