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Microsoft Announces Xbox One S, Project Scorpio Gaming Consoles (engadget.com)
Details of Microsoft's rumored new console have dropped ahead of the company's conference at E3 tradeshow Monday. It appears the long-anticipated smaller and more powerful variant of company's current console is real. According to a leaked press render, Microsoft will be announcing the Xbox One S (where S stands for Slim) at the gaming event. The Xbox One S will be 40 percent smaller than the Xbox One, and pack in more powerful processing and graphics muscle. According to the render, the Xbox One S will come with a 2TB hard drive, and feature support for 4K video playback and High Dynamic Range. According to separate reports, the Xbox One S is likely to be priced at $399 for the 2TB variant. Update: 06/13 16:58 GMT by M : Microsoft has officially taken the wraps off the product. It will be available for purchase starting August. AnandTech has more details.Also at its event, Microsoft announced Xbox Play Anywhere. The Verge reports: It lets you buy participating cross-platform games once, and own them on both platforms. If you buy a game on Xbox One it will simply appear in your Windows 10 library, and vice versa, and your saved games, achievements, and other information will carry over between the two versions.Microsoft also unveiled "Project Scorpio", a high-powered Xbox One launching next year that is capable of supporting 4K content as well as virtual reality headsets. "We are creating more choice in your gaming experience than ever before," said Xbox chief Phil Spencer to open Microsoft's E3 conference. No word on its pricing yet.
they should make it 100% smaller and stop polluting slashdot
So Sony announced a 4K PS4 and Surprise! There's now going to be a 4K Xbox one. Well who didn't see that coming. Of course now they effectively both destroyed the console lifecycle I expect we'll soon see the law of diminishing returns kick in as people stop buying consoles because they're worried they might out of date in a few years rather than the usual 5 or more.
If credible reports are to be believed, the XB1-S is the first of two successors to the current XB1. There is a second machine, rumoured to have significantly upgraded internals, which is apparently due next year, to compete with the PS4 Neo. This might, of course, all be proven wrong within the next few hours following MS's E3 presentation.
But if the reports are correct, then things start to look very odd. The XB1-S described in TFA looks like a pretty normal mid-generation hardware refresh, similar to the 360-S or the PS3-slim from the last generation. It reduces the form-factor and apparently adds support for 4k Blu-Rays (the current XB1 can do 4k video output, but there is currently pretty much nothing that makes use of it), but doesn't do much else. So far, so sane. But then this is apparently only going to be given a few months on the market before a significantly more powerful "XB1.5" is released, which will offer a significantly bigger step up.
There's something not quite right with this current console generation. It's hard to put a finger on precisely what - the sales numbers (even for the XB1) are pretty great compared to the last generation - but there is definitely something that isn't quite gelling. Despite being over two and a half years old, the software libraries for the PS4 and XB1 remain fairly thin, being light on the major exclusives that have powered previous generations and heavy on "HD remasters" of old games. If, like me, you prefer to game on a PC, the reasons to own the new consoles look pretty thin (and I sort-of regret my own purchases).
I don't know whether there is something sinister emerging in the financials which the public can't see, but both Sony and MS seem to be spooked in a way that the numbers don't quite support (MS's position isn't what they wanted, but is also by no means bad). I still can't work out why, at a point in the cycle when they should be enjoying the huge third-party licensing fees that should be rolling in thanks to their large installed base, Sony are taking a massive gamble and splitting their user-base with the PS4 Neo. Slightly more understandable is why MS would feel the need to follow suit, but even that doesn't quite feel right. All the omens for Nintendo's NX look pretty dire, so I doubt it's that which has Sony or MS spooked.
As I say, hard to put my finger on it, but there is definitely something odd going on.
Microsoft originally intended to embed a unique serial # into each disc so that it became bound to the first account that played the game. A bit like a product code. Turns out people really hated that idea. It was partly this and the Kinect debacle that gave the PS4 an early lead.
Knowing what group of terrorists one is referring to is important. Were they Eco terrorists, anti-gov terrorists, radical Islamic terrorists, radical Christian terrorists or what?
Yes, if a Christian claims his faith made him do i'd call them radical Christian terrorists.
The games are all 50-60GB and very very few people have enough internet to handle that very well. Plus, physical media is great DRM.
If your machine lacks an optical drive, and the best home Internet connection in your area is satellite or cellular with a cap on the order of 5 to 15 GB/mo, good luck carrying your console and a monitor into town every time you want to install a game, even if you aren't using online multiplayer. Many rural users are in this situation due to the DSL distance limit. And in Seattle, Washington, the Director's Rule requires a supermajority of nearby landowners to approve any construction, where failure to respond counts as a no vote, and vacant properties also count as a no vote.
The problem with trying to stuff augmented reality and VR down our throats this early is that the screen door effect is still very prominent. The only way to get rid of the screen door effect is to provide a 5K resolution display per eye. AR and VR will fail because they tried to bring it out too early.
I have drunk the streaming Kool-Aid as has the rest of my family. Actually handling physical discs is rubbish, especially with young children.
However it's our "own" streaming Kool-Aid and as such we need physical CD's, DVD's and BluRay's to rip from. A good VDSL2 internet connection with lots of upload means we all share the same server despite being located all over the UK.
40% smaller in volume translates to 16% smaller in each dimension. Whoo hoo!! that's so exciting.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Why does anything need an optical drive in 2016?
There are no bandwidth caps on delivery through Amazon Prime. 4K Blu-ray quality HDR video with theatrical sound? Not a problem. Exclusive streaming-media deals? Not a problem if you pre-order the disk.