Xbox One

  • Article

Just in case you didn't hear,  the Xbox One was launched last Friday and I managed to pre-order one.  There have been countless reviews on the hardware and games so I am not going to cover either of those,   instead I am going to share with you some of my observations thus far.

More than just a console

One of the keys things about the Xbox One is that its not just a console,  it's an entertainment device,  in fact if I remember correctly it's called Xbox One because of 'Input 1',  the sacred slot in your TV where you put your TV signal,  and now hopefully your Xbox One.  With this in mind,  I connected the Xbox One to my TV my Humax FreeSat box and started it up.  After a small update and few settings screens,  I was up and running.  That evening I downloaded Skype,  Xbox Video and Xbox Music and a whole host of other applications.  I managed to have a Skype call with a friend of mine and then when my wife came home we watched a little TV before popping out for the evening.  The next morning,  my friend and I watched a few new episodes of 'Fresh Meat' from 4OD and I then took him through our photos from Vegas.   On Sunday,  after a jam packed weekend I finally sat in front of the Xbox One and realised I had not yet played a game.  Some might say this is a bad thing as it obviously wasn't enticing enough for me to jump on a game straight away,   I don't think that's the case for me (certainly made up for it since).  Instead I see this as proof that Xbox One is more than just a console,  it's a device for the center of your home where you can share, watch and sometimes play games if you want.   It's therefore a device for all the family,  not just for the gamer!

Casual gaming meets hardcore gaming

Anyone who loves to play console games will have heard the phrase "How on earth do you have time to waste playing games?" a thousand times.  As people lives get busier,  with tweets,  emails and Facebook notifications,  it's a wonder how most people have any time for gaming.   Because of this,  we have seen a rise in 'casual' gaming on smartphones where you can play a game for a few minutes and then put it down when you get to the front of the queue in Starbucks or finish your 'morning routine'.   With all these interruptions,  how does anyone find the time to start up the console,  insert the game,  wait for it to load and then play the level/track to at least the next time you can 'save'.  I myself fell foul of running out of time and my Xbox 360 was rarely switched on in the end.  Things have changed.

As you may know,  the Xbox One is always 'on' which for me means I can very quickly get into a game.   Currently my game of choice is Forza 5 and I like to make my way round a few tracks when I have a space moment.  The difference now though is that when we sit down for dinner,  watch TV with the wife or do something else I can simply press the XBOX button on the controller or say 'Xbox watch TV' and straight away it pauses the game.   In fact,  as I type this blog we have the TV on and 'Forza 5' is sitting in the background waiting for me to take a Focus ST for a spin round Silverstone.  Once the programme is over we will jump back into Forza and continue through the game ..... casual gaming is back and it's via a console in the home !

But it's still just for gamers though right?

The Xbox One hasn't been out long enough for me to find anyone except gamers that have purchased one.  I am however intrigued to see how many casual gamers buy an Xbox One primarily as entertainment devices and secondly as a games console.  This got me thinking,  if I wanted to buy the features in an Xbox One without buying a console,  how much would it cost me? P.s. I realise a PS4 can do some of this too,  this is comparing console vs separates.

The total comes to £394, so for an extra £40 you get a console thrown in!

It's worth noting I haven't taking into account the extra Skype minutes you get,  but as a rough calculation its not actually a bad deal.  If you don't need any of the above then I can see that Xbox One is just a games console to you,  but if you use Skype,  want a 'smart TV' and a Blu-ray player then the Xbox One is a quite a good deal.

Time will tell

I realise that as time goes by my gaming habits might change and a certain amount of the novelty of the Xbox One might fade.  I also realise that over time the Xbox One will be updated,  with new apps coming to the store which may build on its entertainment qualities.

Hopefully it's clear that the Xbox One isn't just a console,  it's an Apple TV,  a smart TV adapter,  a blu-ray player and Skype system all in ond.  It's for hardcore gamer and the casual gamer who only has a spare five minutes here and there.

For this reason it's certainly promoted to 'input 1' on my TV and I can't see it getting demoted anytime soon.