FollowThe Xbox One’s $499 price tag announced by Microsoft at the swanky E3 event on June 10th is apparently higher than gamers’ expectations. The console is slated for a November release in 21 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it will cost £429. Its price is higher than that of the current Xbox 360, but it will include the Kinect unit for hands-free playing.
The latest Xbox One is competing with the next gen consoles of Sony and Nintendo in the evolving video game industry. Given that Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 are closest competitors, gamers cannot ignore that the former’s $499 price tag is approximately $100 more than the latter’s price. Nintendo’s new console costs just $300.
Among the exclusive game titles for the new console, Microsoft announced Minecraft and Halo to be released next year. Ryse: Son of Rome, Killer Instinct and Project Spark are other historical games that will debut on Xbox One. The event included demos of Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall, a multi-player shooter game.
The company highlighted the immersive experience rendered by cloud computing. To this end, the E3 event featured demoes of third-person open-world games, such as Dead Rising 3, a zombie-fighting effect, and Sunset Overdrive, a cartoon shooter game. Forza MotorSport 5 will feature “drivatar,” which can imitate gamers’ driving and play them offline.
Voice control is a vital component of the Xbox One package, allowing gamers to switch on the device by just pronouncing commands like “Xbox on.” Microsoft expects the Xbox One platform to equip developers to explore new realms in the gaming world.
Microsoft’s current Xbox 360 is the best seller in the United States. The new console, though expensive, calls itself the “all-in-one entertainment solution for the living room,” and boasts the Kinect motion sensor. Its market performance remains to be seen.
