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?
Here's how you can enable or find free Xbox One game demos to download and try on your shiny new console before making an actual purchase of the full version.
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!
When Microsoft announced the Xbox One some people were disappointed to learn that there was no user replaceable hard disk, whereas the PS4 makes things nice and simple by having a trapdoor for easy access. Once Xbox Ones started being taken apart after its big release it was found that inside that big black box was a standard 2.5-inch laptop hard disk, the likes of which can be bought from any self respecting computer outlet. Almost immediately, the prospect of adding new, larger disks to Xbox One consoles became a possibility.
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.
It's been largely good news for Microsoft on the Xbox One front since its release not very long ago, what with the Redmond firm announcing that it sold a million units within the first 24 hours of the console's lifecycle. Still, as with most big new hardware releases these days, it's not all been rainbows and sunshine in the world of Xbox, especially for some of the platform's early adopters.
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.
Microsoft has announced that the launch of its new gaming console has marked the biggest launch in Xbox history. The Xbox One went on sale in multiple worldwide markets at midnight last night with the Redmond based company confirming that more than one million consoles were sold within the first 24-hours of sale.
Following on from the release of the PlayStation 4 last Friday, the Xbox One has today finally made its eagerly anticipated launch. But as fans of the Microsoft console flock to collect the next-gen Microsoft machine, reports are emerging of issues related to the device's disc drive.
If you're lucky enough to be able to pick up both a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox One this holiday season then there's one party trick that is sure to have your friends green with envy, and if we're honest you can probably put us in that bracket too.
