Software giant Microsoft unveiled its much-awaited Xbox One on Wednesday, ushering in a new era of gaming and stepping up the video game warfare among rival companies.
The third-generation console in the Xbox series is Microsoft's first gaming console in eight years and it took almost four years to be developed.
"Xbox One is designed to deliver a whole new generation of blockbuster games, television and entertainment in a powerful, all-in-one device," said Don Mattrick, president, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.
"Our unique, modern architecture brings simplicity to the living room and, for the first time ever, the ability to instantly switch across your games and entertainment."
Some of the main attractions of Xbox One are:
- Xbox One will provide a hub for living room entertainment while also catering to its main target - the mobile gamers who access video games on mobile devices.
- 15 game titles such as Activison's "Call of Duty: Ghost", "Halo" television series, National Football League (NFL), "Quantum Break", "FIFA 14," "Madden NFL 25," "NBA LIVE 14," "EA SPORTS UFC" and other popular titles.
- Ability to interact with television and respond to voice and gesture commands using the new-generation Kinect sensor.
- AMD 8-Core CPU, 500GB HDD, 8GB RAM and original programming content with Skype-the group video calling service.
- Full HD wide-angle Kinect camera.
Among the major competitors of Xbox One in the $65 billion computer game market will be Nintendo Co's new Wii U and Sony Corp's much-hyped PlayStation 4.
Xbox One will hit stores later this year, according to the company. The details of its pricing are yet to be revealed and which Microsoft is said to be 'still evaluating'. But its inclusion of Kinect sensor which comes around $100 in Xbox One is expected to inflate the overall pricing.
