Jay G.

Super Meat Boy is already backwards compatible, but Xcom is a new BC title.

davidh777

My kids have been wanting to try Goat Simulator.

Decker

Ugh, already bought The Crew during a sale. Played it once. At least Goat Simulator is something I don't own. Super Meat Boy and X-Com were already PS Plus freebies.

Dan

Brad Sams (of thurrott.com) is doing a live video right now (update: OVER). Of all the MS reporters out there, Thurrott/Sams are a pretty reliable team.
https://youtu.be/dze5fpnJbx8

He's claiming:
- XBox "Mini" is real (A discless version? Roku-style, maybe plays Windows Store games that are not hardware intensive. $100 or $175)
- 2 new "Xbox" models, including the above?
- a LARGER unit than the original (WTF? Is this the "Elite"?)

- 4K unit. Probably the one above. Not 4K gaming, but 4K video/upscaling.

- Xbox will be pitched as a "Platform" as we've kind of seen. Xbox/MediaCenter interface to go to PC.

- MS Dedicated to PC gaming, still ( they always say this)

- possible MAJOR Xbox hardware change in 2017. One person asked about "10 teraflops" and Brad said he could not comment on that number.

- Microsoft MIGHT allow for 3rd party "Xbox" systems. That sounds... interesting, but it'll turn into a dumpster fire.

(my thought, not his: Xbox discs working on PC, too, using the Xbox interface?)

Looks like that's it.


edit: Tom Warren (The Verge) says "New Xbox at E3 will be 40% smaller..."

Adam Tyner

A little more from Kotaku:

Jay G.

This could work, if MS requires certification of the devices to make sure they're up to snuff. Hell, they could require the same AMD APU be used.

Xbox One games are not going to work on a general "PC," as they're tied to much to the specific hardware and it's performance (the 32MB eSRAM on the APU is one glaring example).
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6972/x...laystation-4/3

However, I could see "Xbox One Certified" PCs being made available that run compatible hardware, that are able to switch between Windows and an "Xbox Mode" that recreates the dedicated hardware VM that XB1 games need.


I wonder if these means the games will be the "forward compatible" titles such as rumored with the PS4K, where it's the same disc for both systems, but the newer system has specific features/improvements, or whether they mean they'll release two versions, like separate 360 and XB1 releases now.

Dan

Yeah, with SteamBox pretty much being a failure, MS has to be careful with this approach, if they're interested in doing that. I'm skeptical... but it could work.

Ah yes, that damn eSRAM.

Definitely the first option. Separate discs would be a mess. I would expect the disc to have the main bits including the ability to run the games, but the day-one downloads could have the extra bits that optimize the game for the hardware-iteration being used. Maybe not that scenario exactly (or at all) but something like that. Digital downloads are obviously the "long term" solution, I would think.

fumanstan

I'm going to feel so inadequate with my old XBox One and Playstation 4

Kedrix

Same here, and I only got my Xbox One late last year. I mean to be frankly honest, I just got settled in. And heck it was just last Christmas when I got my 13 year old nephew an Xbox One for his present. We are not upgrading anytime soon and I have a feeling we are far from alone. So I have the feeling that this is going to kick MS and Sony in the butt. We shall see I guess.

RichC2

Possible.

The Playstation came out in 1995, the Playstation 2 came out in 2000.

The Xbox came out in 2001, the Xbox 360 came out in 2005.

The PS4 came out in 2013, so these new consoles need to wait until Fall of 2017 to keep in line, at the soonest. Of course making them go the "upgrade path" seems fair.. or something. I got nothing.

Jay G.

There's plenty of people that haven't bought an XB1 or PS4 yet, including some who haven't upgraded from the previous generation yet. Maybe some felt that there weren't enough of an improvement, but the 4K and VR capabilities of the upgraded consoles could interest them enough to buy.

There's people that upgrade their iPhone every year. Those people will buy the newer console, possibly selling off their old one, enlarging the market for used consoles.

Previously, as the generation went on, the only option was to go cheaper. Now both sides have an opportunity to sell at the "premium" price again, while still offering less expensive options. These upgraded consoles have to potential to both improve the manufacturer's profit margins and expand their overall console penetration.

It's not a guarantee, and there is the potential of alienating the existing customer base, but it's not necessarily fated to fail.

mattysemo247

I still think they could make it work if they had some trade in or upgrade path for existing customers. I would trade in either system (even though I don't have 4K yet) if it were a $100 deductible or something reasonable. But I'm not about to take a $200+ loss by going through Gamestop or something similar.

hail2dking

Actually, Gamestop may be the route to go. They are currently giving $250 for an X1 or PS4 towards a new PS4.

davidh777

Yep, got my 360 and PS3 at pretty much the same time, but got an XB1 a year and a half ago. I'm ready for a PS4 now that Uncharted 4 came out, but am waiting for the upgraded version.

fumanstan

Honestly even though I whined about it in that last post, I really don't care. I for one am fairly supportive of iterative models.

House

My Xbox One won't read discs unless I hold the front end of it up while it reads the disc. So I would definitely buy this new Xbox One.

davidh777

I use the trick mentioned earlier in which I insert the disc and hang onto it while the drive tries to pull it in, then release it. I seem to have better luck that way.

Rob V

Ditto... and SUCH bullshit that we have to do that. When I sent mine in for repair, MS claimed it was working fine. My discs load about 25% of the time if I don't use that little delay mechanism you described.

Decker

Heads-up : Week of 6/5-6/11 Best Buy will be giving $20 off ($25 off with GCU) one year of Xbox Live Gold. Really good deal at $35.

Schloob1

Sweet, thx will pick up for sure at least one if not 2 at that price.

Adam Tyner

Pre-E3 price drop to $299!

The 1 TB bundle is $319, and the Kinect bundle is $349.

davidh777

I wonder if people will really go for the smaller hard drive just to save $20. I suppose they could just apply that to an $80 2TB external drive.

Decker

In other news, the Wii U is exactly the same price as the day it launched!

Adam Tyner

The premium model is $50 less than it was at launch, and the low-end launch model that was $300 has been discontinued, but...yeah, the cheapest new Wii U is the same price now as it was in 2012. I really don't think it's a console a meaningful number of people want at any price, and a drop will only make so much of a difference. Nintendo only expects to move 300K consoles over the next year, so it sure doesn't look like a price drop is in the wings (or if there is, they don't expect anyone to give a shit).

The Xbox One drop is great news, though. I think we're about to have the fourth one in our extended family. (Me and my wife, my kid brother in Charleston, one set of in-laws, and probably my father-in-law this summer. He's getting a knee replaced and will be immobile for a while, and Maggie and I thought that'd be a fun way to help him pass the time. Sorry, I get that no one cares. I'm just bored.)

nickdawgy

Goat Simulator was disappointing. What a terrible and boring game. People paid for this?