Ars Technica review of hardware:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/11/xbox-one-rev...

The good

System is nearly silent when running.
Relatively energy efficient.
Great looking lighting effects and detailed characters.
Redesigned analog sticks, shoulder buttons, and d-pad are incredibly comfortable.
Improved rumble motor and new rumbling triggers.
Instant-on mode goes from power button to loaded game incredibly quickly.
Clean, sparse menu helps you find what you need efficiently.
Voice can be extremely efficient for launching games and apps and searching.
Snapping video is the new picture-in-picture.
Switching between apps is fast and snappy.
Upload studio is a great little clip editor.
TV pass-through is lag-free and easy to use.
The bad

Case is boxy, heavy, and about as big as the original Xbox.
Many launch games don't pack much of a visual punch.
Controller still uses AA batteries and proprietary headsets.
Voice commands fail a good 10 to 20 percent of the time.
System requires incredible precision in what voice commands it will take.
Voice is cumbersome and annoying in many apps.
Most apps are nearly useless in snap mode.
The ugly

Kinect auto-login works inconsistently.
In-game recording was largely busted on my review unit.
Switching from game to game can delete unsaved data without warning.
Kinect IR remote doesn't have a learning function for unsupported hardware.
Verdict: Buy it if there are exclusives that appeal to you, not for the bells and whistles. Otherwise, save $100 and get


My 2 cents. Good fair review. I was on the fence about PS4, and Xbox One, and went with the Xbox ONE. I think both will be fine machines... looking back at
Joystiqs throwback article on Xbox 360 launch titles... http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/19/joystiq-streams-... the future is bright for Xbox One and PS4. It seems a lot of my Xbox friends moved over to PS4, but even more stuck
with the Xbox ONE. When MS did a 180 on used/traded/rental games, that made my decision tougher, I had decided to go with PS4, after the sucky e3 from MS.

I'm excited for what the future holds for Xbox One. I hope with upgrades, patches, disk fragmentaiton etc, that it continues to run smoothly and quick as it will the first month. I can see it plodding along, when the HD starts getting full, etc. Remember the blades on 360... I actually kind of liked them.

These meh launch titles on both PS4 and Xbox one... remember the PS3's and Xbox 360's launch titles? Nothing stuck out for me on Xbox 360, except Call of Duty 2. I was blown away by it back in the day...

I'm also betting that MS will get its Kinect 2, as far as voice recognition and flow, to running more smoothly over time... at least that is my hope. I worry a bit, because they never went back and did much with Kinect 1.0

X1 voice commands.

http://vimeo.com/79823117

I notice this guy has a slight pause after 'xbox' command, this seems to work much better.

Voice input is only going to be truly viable/enjoyable when machines can understand natural speech. We're not there yet.

X1 voice commands.

http://vimeo.com/79823117

I notice this guy has a slight pause after 'xbox' command, this seems to work much better.

I'm a bit surprised people find this UI appealing... its basically windows 8's tiles, which are awful.

http://anandtech.com/show/7528/the-xbox-one-mini-review-hardware-analysis

The Xbox One - Mini Review & Comparison to Xbox 360/PS4

Basically a good review, digs into the technical. Delves into power consumption, frame rate, UI, etc.


Big note of the reviewer, is that games look basically the same, except when it comes to anti-aliasing, and the PS4
on launch titles that are cross platform the PS4 has much better AA, and the PS4 is
obviously less expensive.

I love the flow of the UI, much better than any of the other game consoles previous UI's.

Forza getting good reviews as expected.

Polygon - 9/10
GameReactor UK - 9/10
GamesRadar - 4 stars
Digital Spy - 4 stars
Joystiq - 4 stars
GameSpot - 9/10
VideoGamer: 9/10
Destructoid - 9/10
IGN - 8.8/10
Eurogamer Germany: 10/10
Eurogamer - 7/10
Rev3/Sessler - 5/5
Escapist - 3.5/5
Eurogamer Italy 9/10
EGM - 6.5/10
USGamer - 4.5/5
CVG: 7/10
OXM UK: 8/10
Game Informer 8.8/10

In order to give you a preview of what you're downloading, we've supplied performance analysis of the gameplay video, proving that Turn 10 has done it again in providing a faultless 60fps experience. We're currently working on a more detailed critical appraisal of the technology in the new Forza, which we hope to run in the next couple of days.

Spencer said not to expect any major game announcements on the eve of Xbox One's launch. Instead of aping Sony's approach — the company announced a new Uncharted game and Towerfall Ascension for PlayStation 4 last week — Microsoft plans to focus on its launch lineup.

"This week it's really about what people can play at launch, and the excitement that the fans will have," he said. "I look at launch as more of a celebration with the fans than any kind of big breaking news."

Instead, look toward Spike's VGX awards presentation, airing Dec. 7, where Spencer said, "We'll have some things to say there." From there, next year's Game Developers Conference and E3 will likely be where the majority of Xbox One announcements will hit.

Spencer couldn't provide updates on 343 Industries next-gen Halo or Black Tusk Studios' game — "We really just wanted to announce [at E3] that the studio was up and running and they were doing something." But he did tease more information about Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break coming soon.

"We did a pretty deep dive [on Quantum Break] last week while we were in Europe, and I'm feeling really good about the creative. It may be before the end of the year when we talk more about what the story and the gameplay is... We have a pretty good piece that I'm trying to coerce people into putting out before the end of the year ... showing the full Remedy vision, with Sam [Lake] giving a pretty good description of how the game works with some new gameplay footage.

"Maybe VGX would be a good place for that."

Additionally, Insomniac Games' Sunset Overdrive, also announced at E3 2013, is playable and "passed its vertical slice" that illustrates how it will play.

"We're playing a full section of the game and feeling really good about the open world gameplay that they've put together," he said. "I like the investment around new IP at the launch of a new console."

this^^

the idea of talking to a peice of metal and plastic is bad enough at the best of times, but having to talk...like...a...ro...bot, with perfect yet completely unatural enunciation just kills any chance of it taking off in a massive way.

I wonder if they'll allow access to a HDD wirelessly on either console. It would be cool to save movies and music on it.