Hardware wise: HOLY GUACAMOLE! the numbers that matter to me are the 8 GB of RAM and 5 billion transistors. Means a whole lot more room to play.
The biggest surprise to me was the BLU-RAY DRIVE! I didn't expect Microsoft to put Sony tech into their new console. I didn't even expect Sony to allow Microsoft to use that technology. Guess Sony took a bigger hit to revenue than I thought.
The Forza 5 demo they showed definitely puts the graphics in the right direction, but I still noticed a few things that bugged me. Like any console launch, show the prettiest thing first. But like any console launch, the games always look...not unpolished...but not fully realized. Just like when the Original Xbox games discovered the "shiny filter" I call it (play Splinter Cell: Double Agent and you'll know what I mean), there is a smooth texture vs hard vs bumpy texture thing going on. They look like different materials lego'd together instead of seamless meshing of components. I know it doesn't completely show off the capabilities of the console, but it always irks me. The Call of Duty demo wasn't any better. I'm not saying they reinvented the wheel with the graphics in any of their titles, but I gotta admit. Their execution of improving the little things and focusing on the gameplay is what has pushed the franchise.
OK. Halo...Steven Spielberg. what? Television Series? what? that's it? I find it almost insulting not to just say there will be a Halo launch title. Most would assume it was a given that every Xbox would launch with a new Halo game. It's like a new Nintendo Console without a Zelda/Mario/Pokemon launch title.
quick note: why the hell are we combining live action with video game graphics? we did that years ago. It was a cop out to deal with the fact that we couldnt possible emulate human reaction and story telling with the technology back then. Nowadays, I see better acting and story telling out of Gears of War than ALL 5 of the Twilight "films". And to be completely honest, Gears of War is in no way original, it's just told REALLY well.
I don't give two shits about fantasy sports, but the integration of it into the Xbox One must be a godsend for those who actively do so. It will definitely open it up to a WIDER audience than a football jock who has half an idea how to use a computer. Now a 35yr old father who played football in high school can now play and follow fantasy football
They haven't laid it out in black and white like everything else, but they did talk about the cloud alot and day one content download for the new Call of Duty. I'm hoping that they will take another great idea from Sony (the few that they have) and provide Day One Download of newly released video games. That way you can just pay and play straight from the hard drive and don't need to wait in line outside a gamestop in the rain only to find out that the games needs to be patched more than the hole in your heart over how bad it is. The only thing that would make it better is if they marketed and sold their products like they do in the Steam market. So more dynamic sales and free weekends. But most importantly, I WOULD LOVE to be able to get a refund on shitty games i've paid for in the past. NOT INDIE GAMES, because you get what you pay for and it should be expected to be a continually growing product, but those Triple A games that end up being CRAP. They could wipe out Gamestop if you could buy a new game for $60 and get a refund if you haven't finished the game fully. Even if they only give back $50 or even pay you back in Points (AKA fun bucks), it keeps the money invested in their market and away from buying used games which hurts publishers a lot.
Prediction: They HAVE announced they will be releasing it "later this year". If they follow the pattern of past releases, it will be released around Christmas.
"How does this apply here? I thought this was a Xbox 360 Minecraft Blog?" Welp, good news everyone. During the reveal, they mentioned that they will have 300,000 servers for xbox live, more computational power than back in 1999. The biggest thing was during talking about matchmaking. Not only is that improved, there is asynchronous matchmaking. Meaning that it will look for matches whilst you are browsing IE or watching a movie. BUT THE BIGGEST THING is that they discuss "Persistent Worlds". That is the buzz word for me. That implies that there will be some servers dedicated to continually running a specific game or a few continuously. That would work perfect for Minecraft. You can be damn sure I will be all over that like white on rice.
Watch the whole thing here: http://www.xbox.com/en-us/hub/reveal
(they should have it on demand either in the above URL or on xbox.com somewhere else)
For a more polished and informative article: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/05/xbox-one/
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