Well, the Microsoft reveal of the new Xbox came and went under lackluster presentation and it seems to be my fair duty to give impressions on the event. To start, the name of the new system was a huge point of debate among the internet crowds over the past few months, ranging from numerical consistency such as the "Xbox 720" to the actual codename of the system which was, the "Dorango". There was even a rumor floating around that the new system would be called the "Xbox Infinity". This was coupled with an image that was reported to be a leaked mock up of the official logo. However, this was soon after revealed by the creator of the image to simply be a fake piece of photoshop that he felt like sharing over reddit. Score one for gaming journalism at its best.

So what is the name of this giant of the industry? This behemoth that will take the gaming world by storm later on this year? This titan that will change the way you play and think about video games? The Xbox One, of course. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "Huh. Xbox One ey? Sounds like they are trying to turn the Xbox into a dark and gritty reboot like so many comic book superheroes have been treated to over the past few years." You would be in a fair state of mind to assume so, good readers, but no. The purpose of this name is to exemplify the overall path that the Xbox has been following over the course of the 360's life span, moving towards a more unified entertainment system. The Xbox One isn't meant to be considered just a gaming device but rather the central hub of your living room. How do I know all this? Well, it was made painfully clear by the emphasis of the presenter to focus on how you could effectively change between video games, movies, music, and television simply by shouting awkwardly at your new Xbox One. Telling it such gems as, "Xbox! Television!" which prompted us to watch a few seconds of "The Price is Right" on CBS. Followed by, "Xbox! Movie!" which brought up a few clips of the first Star Trek reboot. This was no mistake as the presenter also took the time to show us how he was able to bring up Internet Explorer side by side with the screen of the movie playing. He then directed IE to the Star Trek website were he proceeded to use his smart phone as a remote control for the browser to order up a ticket to the nearest showing of Star Trek: Into Darkness. It was at this point that one of the commentators of the stream I happened to be watching noted, "Couldn’t you just do that from your smart phone directly anyway?" Yes. Yes you could, insightful commenter. You could indeed.

The fun didn't stop there, however. We were also treated to some awkward hand gestures the presenter used to show us how you could resize the screen you are currently watching and shape it to fit within your home page so you can bother with other browsing tasks as you watch whatever movie it is that you don't care enough about to focus on while sitting in your living room. Some people came out to tell us that you could use the Xbox One to watch sports and bring up an interface to show your fantasy football league stats change in real time while you "DOMINATE!" the show. Another person, some representative of CBS or Comcast Cable or whichever heartless corporation that has nothing to do with my gaming habits came on the stage to inform us that the Xbox One will be "the new water cooler" everyone will be talking about in their free time. She then proceeded to inform us that Halo will be coming to Xbox Live in the form of a new television show and that Steven Spielberg will be involved somehow. I'm not sure if he will be directing or simply producing the show as I'm not any kind of a real journalist and such facts don't concern me so much, but he clearly seemed excited about the project as his pre-recorded video speech about it suggested. I had to admit I was a little excited about it as well until I realized I would need to own an Xbox One to watch it. Oh well.

But I know what you are wondering about dear readers. You are wondering, "What about the games?" Well, "fuck games! And fuck you for asking!" was Microsoft's general response to that question. Oh, don't get me wrong readers, there were a couple of teaser trailers presented at this glamorous event, but considering how much focus Sony put on their PS4 reveal, it seemed rather weak of Microsoft to keep it so lite on the fun. I've been suggested to "keep it chill" until E3 where it's been said that Microsoft will focus more on the games but if that's the case, what the hell was the point of all this anyway?

Anyhoo, about the games. It seems Forza 5 will be a launch title for the system, so that's something. Remedy, the good folks behind the Alan Wake and first two Max Payne games teased a sort of cross over event game called Quantum Break. It wasn't confirmed and there was little information at all but from the teaser trailer it looks like it will be a cross over game with a television show in the same fashion as Defiance, the show on SyFy that crosses over with the MMOShooter of the same name. There was a teaser trailer from EA sports that had nothing to do with one sport in particular but basically showed some decent CG shots of various sports all at once, hinting that Xbox One is all about the sports! And finally there was a big hoopla about the new Call of Duty: Ghosts game. There was supposedly some actual gameplay being shown but it was all too cinematic and shot from various angles to be ACTUAL gameplay. It was basically cinematic images rendered within the game engine, which is NOT the same as actual gameplay Infinity Ward!

And that's it. Yea. Gameplay, surprisingly lacking from the revealing of a gaming console. There were a few more interesting tidbits of information that we learned after the show. For one, and perhaps the biggest thing made clear about the new system, it will not require an internet connection to always be active in order to play your games. This was, however, coupled with the news that you will need an internet connection in order for your Xbox One to work. Obviously there are some verification elements in play here. It should also be noted that the system is heavily focused on being a home entertainment system that utilizes the internet in big ways, so if you don't have a good, fast, reliable internet connection, you don't want an Xbox One. Plain and simple. Most damning of all the news brought to light, however, is the revelation from Wired.com that the Xbox One will have measures installed to block the use of preowned games. It seems that all games for the system require the user to install them on the HDD, exactly the way a PC requires you to do. The games are then linked to your Xbox Live account, much the way Steam links games to your account in order to download and enjoy them on your PC (seeing a pattern here). Microsoft has confirmed that there will be a system put into place that will allow a second party to pay a certain fee (the exact figure has not been disclosed) that will allow them to install a preowned game onto their system. Basically, they are placing an unnecessary barrier that will force you to pay them more money than they deserve in order to enjoy a game you wanted to pay a little less for and were willing to chance second handing it for that right (it is your right under law to be able to buy and sell used games without these restrictions).

So, my final thoughts on the matter. One, if you aren't interested in using your console to play games, watch movies, and surf the web, don't bother with the Xbox One. It is strictly for those who enjoy having it all in One. Second, if you enjoy owning your games in a way that doesn't restrict your decisions about them in the future (buying and selling them used for instance) don't bother with the Xbox One. Three, games. Well, not much was shown but it was said during the show that there are 8 new exclusive IPs being developed as we speak. That's a lot of exclusives for the Microsoft brand. Whether or not they will be any good remains to be seen of course, however, it does sound like the big M is bringing a little more weight to the table this time around. In my opinion, it's going to take some spectacular exclusives to get me to look past the Xbox One's shortcomings. We'll see if Microsoft can deliver.

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