American software giant, Microsoft has officially announced that the company's flagship gaming console Xbox One will be released in India in three months time.
The news was revealed at the ongoing international gaming convention E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2014, Los Angeles. Microsoft in its press briefing confirmed that the eighth generation gaming console Xbox One will be released in India on 23 September for ₹39,990 and also added that the consumers can purchase the console with Kinect system bundle for ₹45,990.
The package will include one Xbox One Wireless Controller (with four-way design with impulse trigger motor) and a free 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new member.
Xbox device packs 8-core AMD processor (two quad-core jaguar modules) - X86 PC style architecture backed by AMD Radeon, Direct 11.1 graphics with 32MB embedded ESRAM, 8GB DDR3 RAM and built-in 500 GB HDD support, where as the Kinect is wide-angle camera accessory, which boasts of motion sensor to take user's gesture as input.
Microsoft will also offer Xbox One experience such as:
Game DVR/ Upload: this will allow users to record their greatest gaming moments and share (via Upload Studio) it with friends and their gaming community.
Apps: Users can use Skype (to video-communicate with loved ones straight from Xbox One console), and make use of One Drive (cloud storage), Internet Explorer, Twitch (video-game streaming app), and other apps include Machinima and IGN.
TV on Xbox One: Users can use their gaming console as an alternative set-top box and make Xbox One their home entertainment system via HDMI-pass through.
Updates to Xbox One: worried that you'll be deprived of premium service (entertainment experience), which are provided to Xbox Live Gold members? Fret not as Microsoft has promised to provide timely update delivering new features and platform experiences for all those who own the Xbox One console.
"The Xbox One gaming launch line up in India will be colossal, bringing the best line up of exclusive blockbusters, including AAA titles like 'Forza Horizon 2' and 'Halo: The Master Chief Collection,' which comes with the highly anticipated 'Halo 5: Guardians' multiplayer beta," said Anshu Mor, Director – Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft India.
Though it sounds like a good news for Xbox gaming fans, many believe Microsoft is a bit late to arrive to the market as arch-rival Sony Computer Entertainment launched its new PlayStation 4 console way back in January in India (and other markets as well) giving a head start over its competitors. The early launch has reportedly helped the company to topple long-time leader Nintendo as the top gaming console seller after a gap of eight years.
As of now, Sony PlayStation 4 is also priced ₹39,990 (MRP) in India, but can be purchased for little less in some online shops and brick-and-mortar stores.
Key Specifications of Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4:
| Model | Microsoft Xbox One | Sony PlayStation 4 |
| Generation | 8-generation | 8-generation |
| Processor | 8-core AMD processor (two quad-core jaguar modules),X86 PC style architecture | Semi-custom 8-core AMD x86-64 CPU architecture |
| User-Interface | Xbox OS with Windows custom kernel and hyper visor (provide virtual operating system platform support) | Customizable PlayStation Dynamic Menu |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon, Direct 11.1 graphics with 32MB embedded ESRAM | Semi-custom AMD Radeon GPU, contains 18 computing units which can top 1.84 TFLOPS (Tera-Floating-point Operations Per Second) |
| RAM | 8GB DDR3 (5GB available while playing games) | Advanced GDDR5 (unified ) 8GB RAM |
| Storage capacity | 500GB HDD | 500GB HDD, with options for upgrade |
| Camera | Wide-angle full HD Kinect camera with motion sensor to take user's gesture as input | PlayStation 4 comes with two HD 1280x800p cameras with motion sensors, aperture f/2.0, 85-degree field of view, (optional accessory) |
| Video support | Full HD (1920x1080p) as well as 4K (3840x2160p) video resolutions | Full HD (1080x1920p) as well as 4K (3840x2160p) video resolutions |
| Video player | Blu-Ray and DVD | Blu-Ray and DVD |
| Add-ons | Controller having four-way design with impulse trigger motor , Three USB v3.0 ports, HDMI v1.4 port, Wi-Fi (802.11n), Wi-Fi Direct, Xbox Smart Glass (allows Windows Phones and Tablets to act as second screen) | DualShock 4 controllers with built in two capacitive touch pads with light-bar with number of colours to signal player's health as such, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR, USB v3.0, optical S/PDIF, HDMI port |
| Price | Only console: 39,990/-Console with Kinect: 45,990/- | ₹39,990/- |
