Xbox One Unveiling Impressions

These are my own opinions based on the information I have at hand, some of which may be incomplete, some of which may be erroneous.

First of all, from a press release/advertising perspective, what was the point of this event?!  Seriously, about the only thing we didn’t know that was “good” was the name itself.  “Xbox One” isn’t a bad name for their machine, especially when it goes along with the tag line “All in One”.

As for the bad:

• The main CPU is proprietary – they made their own chip.  Expect developers to have to struggle, at least a little with it.  Porting software will similarly have at least that one extra hurdle.  Proprietary chips have worked well for NO machines.  NONE.
• Xbox One offers no backwards compatibility.  All Xbox original and 360 games, including XBLA digital download games will not run on the new machine.
• Kinect is built in and always on.  This means two things:  1) it will be impossible to do with the Xbox One what 4GN is currently doing with four 360s, stacking them in the Man Cave, 2) I haven’t a clue how I will protect my privacy.  Kinect is a multi-spectrum audio and video capturing device, which, like all hardware will be “hackable”, potentially streaming all living room activity to whoever wants it.
• Games will be tied to accounts, not machines.  This is the same model as Steam, except that friends will not be able to borrow the physical discs and play them.  They will have to pay an “unlock” fee (the price of the game new) to try the game loaned to them by a friend.  So, not only will I not be able to “double dip”, but if I buy the next Batman game, I won’t even be able to loan it to the others in our Man Cave to play using their profiles.  If they want to play Batman, they will have to use my account.   This isn’t restrictive, this is a straight jacket in a rubber room.  Microsoft is already scrambling to do damage control and now saying that they are working on a plan so that we will be able to “trade” games.  Yeah, right.

There is more, or should I say less.  But at this point, it doesn’t even matter.  I will not commit myself to any future path.  I will refrain from making rash promises, but right now, I am not just uninterested but aggressively angry with the “features” announced at the unveiling.  Apparently, there are some improvements to the controller.  Woop De Doo!

There is no image with this post.  You do not want to see what I am thinking right now.

Microsoft Unveils Xbox One

The name is fine.  “All in One” is their slogan.  It will not require constant Internet connection.  It will not be backwards compatible.  All your 360 games including your XBLA library will be unplayable on the One.  I am not sure, but I think Kinect must be on.  Is it just me, or is this thing HUGE, and with sharp edges.  Like, bigger than the original Xbox.  Moving from 15 thousand servers to 300 thousand servers.  That might mean Live is a little more responsive.  In the presentation above, he spent the least amount of time describing the most important features for gamers (e.g., multitasking – have it matchmaking while you are playing a different game or surfing the web).  There are still so many questions.

PAR coverage:

“The Xbox One: the services, the hardware, the limited details“

“Microsoft is changing the definition of “used” and “new” games, and you’re not going to like it“

The Kinect is mandatory, and can’t be turned off: Welcome your new motion sensing, Xbox One overlord

Indie issues, Kinect concerns, and E3 yearnings: Ben and Andrew discuss the Xbox One announcements

 

http://penny-arcade.com/report/article/the-kinect-is-mandatory-and-cant-be-turned-off-welcome-your-new-motion-sens

Ty’s World with some solid opinion and excellent outside links!

http://www.saityrus.com/my-concern-with-next-gen-consoles/

http://www.saityrus.com/xbox-one-specs-revealed/

More videos after the jump.  Thanks to EvAv for heads-up on most of this stuff.

The Scientific 7 Minute Workout

Eating and working out feel like a big waste of time to me.  A while back, I read about a machine in an In-Flight magazine that could give you a high intensity workout the equivalent of an hour or two in the gym with a trainer and a full body plan.  Of course, the machine is hand-crafted and about 20 thousand dollars, so needless to say, I never picked one up.  Anyway, this time, some researchers have come up with a 7 minute workout that requires only a wall and a chair (that I can afford) and the plan is based on science, not testimony.  Perhaps this post is as much for me as for anyone.  The YouTubes above and below provide timed guides for the regimen. Cheers!

Smoke ‘em if ya got em.  ‘Suns.

One Of The Greats

Ray Manzarek passed away at the age of 74.  Watch the story of making Riders On The Storm above.  Great tale.

The Last of Us: Death and Choices

After Blankman’s heads-up on some gameplay videos, I did a little peeking around and discovered Naughty Dog just released another Developer Diary.  The tool/weapon crafting is really cool, but doesn’t impress me as much as the voice acting and storytelling as evidenced in the gameplay vids.  I cannot see how a fan of zombies won’t consider this to be one of the most important productions in the genre.  It is just a crying shame that Naughty Dog is Sony PlayStation exclusive.  Really, for all concerned except Sony, it is tragic.

Has Star Trek Lost Its Way?

So I posted mostly spoiler-free impressions of Star Trek: Into Darkness over at my blog. 3Suns made a great point and stated that he felt the movie probably doesn’t adhere to “The Principles of Star Trek.” That’s a lengthy, but great read if you have the time and interest. You can check out my latest post, which stemmed from that article here.

-ty

The Matrix Retold By Mom

 

Just watch it.