Xbox One review: all-in
Xbox One is meant to be your "all-in-one entertainment machine," not only revolutionizing the way you play games, but TV and movies as well. Does it succeed?
Kinect is so large and heavy, it's unlikely to be mounted atop anyone's TV
It's incredibly easy to connect your Xbox to your TV
Snap lets you run a game and an app at the same time
Your Dashboard Pins are saved to the cloud, letting you retrieve them from any Xbox console
Upload Studio is one of my favorite features of Xbox One
Xbox Live for Xbox One revamps Friends with Followers
Xbox One Day One Edition
- Assassin's Creed 4 - 8
- Call of Duty Ghosts - 6
- Crimson Dragon - Review Coming Soon
- Dead Rising 3 - 6
- Forza Motorsport 5 - Review Coming Soon
- Killer Instinct - 7
- LocoCycle - 3
- Need for Speed Rivals - 9
- Ryse - Review Coming 11/21
- Zoo Tycoon - 7
This Xbox One review was based on a 500GB debug system provided by the publisher. Ozzie Mejia contributed to this report.
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Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Xbox One review: all-in.
Xbox One is meant to be your "all-in-one entertainment machine," not only revolutionizing the way you play games, but TV and movies as well. Does it succeed?-
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I remember seeing an article they did consider an assymetrical layout for the sticks but higher ruled against it. Probably because it would be a sign that they were wrong the whole time.
Would have been cool if you can detach the D-pad and Sticks to swap them instead. So it's more like, "You can do what you want! We care more about your the gamer!"
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I think the XB1 is designed to be on all the time for its entire lifespan.
Sticking in a giant fan probably helps to address heat dissipation and noise issues that will arise when a device is on for a very long time. Downside to a giant fan is that it's a giant fan and you can't make something slim and sleek with a giant fan inside. -
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I don't think I'm alone on this, but what is the big deal of the entertainment features if I don't see the value in cable or satellite anymore? I have been without for over three years now, saving myself a good $100 a month. I can pay for $7 for Netflix, have Amazon Prime that is $80 over 12 months(Approximately $6.67 a month) with free Amazon shipping, and can get almost every network TV show streamed day after. If I really want something day one, can find a Redbox with it for $1.50. Plus most of these apps are available on anything. I'm still saving myself $80 a month here, and can't use any of these features with Xbox One's digital only in with my antenna for local HD. I still intend to have a Xbox One in my house by next fall for the exclusives like Quantum Break, but the entertainment side is a no sell for me.
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I do watch TV as I have time, rather than live. I only watch it live if I'm home when it airs. Breaking Bad I've only watched the first three seasons up to this point. I've been watching Sleepy Hollow on Hulu in bursts. There are a few shows that I find a way to watch near when it airs, like say Doctor Who, but nothing is too urgent to me. I find there is so much TV to watch that it is just another backlog, "pile of shame" that I watch as I have time. It only hurts as a sports fan, that I only catch games when I go to them live occasionally, NFL is still regularly on FOX, CBS, and NBC, or happen to be out where they have it on.
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That's not what others are saying
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-what-happens-when-you-plug-ps4-into-xbox-one -
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Well, here's the blurb about HDMI-in latency / lag from Eurogamer:
While you can feed in other consoles, it's not the best idea to do so as there's a clear additional level of latency added to the display chain. It's not severe at all - you're unlikely to notice it skipping through channels using your remote - but it is definitely noticeable during gameplay.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-xbox-one-hardware-test -
There is some lag as demonstrated in this IGN video when playing a game from the Wii U: http://ca.ign.com/videos/2013/11/19/playing-super-mario-3d-world-on-xbox-one
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Nice review Andrew. Cancelled my PS4 order after hearing about the day one issues with the hardware. No way can I go through another Xbox 360 style launch where all I do is worry about it breaking whilst using it. I'll grab its second iteration on price drop and get an Xbox One for launch. I didn't like the look of the PS4 UI either, it looked a little bland and it seemed as if most features were missing. The video editing software for the Xbox One is pretty awesome from what I've seen. Oh well, roll on Friday!
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Sony is expediting replacement of any faulty launch units, exactly because they don't want gamers making snap decisions on reports of launch defects.
"SCEA is exchanging units with new replacements for those who call our support line," a Sony rep told GameInformer. "The exchanges are immediate with expedited shipping."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-20-sony-is-exchanging-faulty-ps4s-asap
Also, the PS4 probably isn't going to be dropping in price for a while, considering that they're making a small margin on the MSRP. The PS4 isn't the Wii U.
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The 10 seconds it takes me to swap in a fresh set of rechargeable AA batteries is a small sacrifice to make so that I can use the same batteries in several devices around my house and never worry about having to charge something. Just have 2-4 extra ones sitting around and never worry. Why would you prefer a proprietary non-replacable product over a universal replaceable one? I'm honestly curious.
The quality of modern rechargeable batteries is so good that I can't fathom why people are still buying standard batteries for everyday use. Between remotes, game controllers, flashlights, work tools, etc., I use a lot of batteries and I haven't bought a single one in over 6 years.-
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That's fine! I've never had to replace a PS3 controller in five years, and my couch is close enough to my 50" plasma that I can keep my seat while the controller recharges. The wife and I keep them charges, though, so I don't have to keep them tethered to often.
I just find it easier to plug in a cord than fuss with batteries.
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Rechargeable batteries lose their effectiveness over time. I have Eneloop batteries which I keep charged and use between my 360, Wii, and other devices. If I need new ones it's much easier and cheaper to replace those (still Eneloop batteries are very good still) but non-replaceable means you have to replace the entire thing. Also swapping batteries means I never have to worry about plugging in a cable to play while it charges or forgetting to plug it in after I'm done. It's easy to remember to plug in rechargeable batteries since you take them out after they are done.
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Good enough!
I'm genuinely curious: you seem like a diehard supporter of the Xbox brand, and I'd like to know what brought you there. I don't dislike Xbox, nor Sony. I'll own both consoles eventually. The only brand I feel anything for is Nintendo, and that's because I grew up playing their games and still feel they're the best GAMES around. So I enjoy learning about what connects other gamers to their favorite consoles, brands, franchises, etc. -
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My PS3 controller that I use more than my second lasts about 4-5 hours on a full charge where the other I rarely use (which I'm switching to now) lasts 6-7 hours before it bothers you about low battery.
This was very apparent when my friends and I were doing a hotseat coop marathon for The Last of Us.
I've had both controllers since the MGS4 Bundle came out whenever that was.
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There's nothing to "fix" as far as I'm concerned. I absolutely love the batteries in controllers. I don't want more cables around my living room. In fact I haven't plugged in a 360 controller since 2007.
If that's what you prefer though, the $11 play & charge kit allows you to do just that. With this setup you have the option to do both.
It really sucks that the DS4 gets 3-5 hours before needing to be plugged in to recharge. The Xbox controllers do 40+ hours on one set of batteries.
Buy an eneloop starter pack, and never look back.-
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The Amazon batteries are cheaper but they don't come with either a charger or spacers, so my recommendation for people starting out is always the $20 Costco eneloop pack that comes with 10 batteries, a charger, and C & D spacers.
Once you've got that, sure, the Amazon batteries are probably a better buy :)
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Buy these and stop worrying about it. http://www.amazon.com/eneloop-2000mAh-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B004UG41W8/
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It's absolutely a cheap tactic. Why should I have to pay for XBL Gold, a video-game service, to use Netflix and other services that have NOTHING to do with gaming? It makes no sense in a day and age when consumers can stream Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and other streaming services from practically any device at no additional cost.
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basically it's 'because they can'. i agree it is disappointing. i turned on my 360 a few nights ago and wanted to play some call of duty online just for shits (since i haven't played in a while). then remembered i let my gold subscription lapse, so i can't use it. or netflix.
but i just accept it , and accept that i will probably buy an xbox juan, and pay for gold. ms loves me :(-
There's certainly more value to Gold now than there was as little as two years ago. I dumped Gold long before I dumped the Xbox brand (two RRODs; "fool me twice" and all that) because I could watch Netflix, at no additional charge, through my PS3; and because I don't care for multiplayer. Gold Games or whatever they call that aspect of their service adds considerable value, or at least it will. They've got to hustle to catch up to the trove of games available through PS+.
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I'm just very unimpressed with both the xbox live and psn store interfaces. I absolutely love how you can download stuff to android from the browser, you read an article about something and there's a link right there to instantly download it. Imagine IGN or kotaku reviews having links right there for you to click. It's a lot more seamless and makes sense.
Yes the consoles should have a good refined UI for finding stuff to play, but meh, I prefer tablet/PC for browsing for content. A lot of people have tablets these days as part of their living room, to have with them for walkthroughs or looking up stuff for games.-
I absolutely love how you can download stuff to android from the browser, you read an article about something and there's a link right there to instantly download it. Imagine IGN or kotaku reviews having links right there for you to click. It's a lot more seamless and makes sense.
The 360 lets you do this today I'm fairly sure, it has for awhile. Buy stuff on Xbox.com and your console will download it. Problem is the console hardware was not designed to be always on, now it is. -
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The only reason I can think of from a MS perspective (as opposed to a consumer perspective) is that MS hosts everything in their data centers. As far as I know everything runs inside their network so all of that processing and bandwidth comes out of their pocket. I think Sony's approach is a bit more modular where they have their stuff and they let vendors and partners host their own shit and they work to get thier stuff talking to eachother as smoothly as possible. MS's approach is what makes their service so nice though because since it's all in one environment, everything works together and follows similar rules and standards etc. Sony's approach is easier for them because it's less work and cost less money to run... but it means more is left up to the 3rd parties to keep their stuff up to quality and working with everything else. I might be totally wrong about this, but that's how I always imagined it based on what I've read.
From a customer's standpoint.. none of this matters because they just see they have to pay money to use Netflix... which I think everybody agrees; just sucks.
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I disagree with this. Xbox Music Pass is robust, and as people have pointed out pair it up with all the devices will work with (phone, tablet, pc) and it's a solid service. I absolutely see the reasoning why it's peeled off from the Gold subscription. I just wish there was a lump package that would give it all to me.
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I've been thinking the same thing. I don't mind swallowing the live pill at all to be honest, but I would like to start seeing more things added to it. I'd actually prefer that over them trying to give out free games like Sony is doing. Give me some sky drive space, xbox music, xbox fitness (free for the first year, but costs extra after that) for one fee. Heck, make it $100 a year and give me all that and I'd be happy even.
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This is why they put Netflix and Hulu behind the paywall to make you feel like you're getting more than what you are. It doesn't really bother me to be honest because I'm quite happy to always have Live anyway. Plus if they do get better apps for Netflix etc with full voice support that would be cool.
Also you do apparently get Xbox Fitness free up to December 2014 so that's neat.
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Good God, the .gifs from this neogaf thread showing graphical differences between the ps4 and bone are brutal if accurate. There's just real AA going on in the xboxone :(
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=719483-
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I just find in it interesting that in a nut shell's it's being tacitly accepted that its 1.) PC 2.)PS4 3.)Xbox One in terms of image quality. So the selling point for the Xbone becomes the exclusives alone, because it *appears* so far that the PS4 will probably always have the technical/image quality advantage.
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The XBOX One is here guys!! Check out this awesome review along with its cool new features right here!! http://goo.gl/7bCFNT
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"At GameFly, there were quite a number of people checking out the system. But the moment I walked in front of the TV, it instantly recognized me and said "Welcome Andrew" and logged me into my Dashboard."
To me, that sounds fucking scary! It's one thing if it recognizes you at home because it stores your face on your console... it's another if you're walking around and it detects you personally somewhere else (e.g. a store).