XBLAFans_Newsbits_XboxOne

  • Microsoft Studios vice president Phil Spencer stated you can expect the availability of the Xbox One to “feel a lot better than it did for 360,” in an interview with Game Informer. He went on to say that although the pre-order numbers of the Xbox One have outpaced those of the Xbox 360 in the lead up to its launch, it’s about making sure there’s enough for everyone. “There might be a line, but I don’t want it to be that if you didn’t pre-order in September, you can’t get one. That doesn’t feel like a great consumer experience.”
  • In similar news comparing the upcoming console with its predecessor, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer Yusuf Mehdi confirmed Microsoft will break even with the Xbox One at launch, potentially turning a profit. As reported by GamesIndustry International, Mehdi made the statement during last week’s Citi Global Technology Conference, stating the larger plan is to cost-reduce the console over time, allowing for more competitive pricing down the line. By comparison, Microsoft operated at a loss on both its previous consoles for some time after intitial launch.
  • Yusuf Mehdi went on to reveal the Xbox One processing speed had been given a bump, reports Polygon. “We’ve had real good progress on the system,” he said. “In fact, we just updated the CPU performance to 1.75 GHz.” The improvement over the previous processing speed of 1.6 GHz comes on the heels of last month’s announcement from Marc Whitten, revealing Microsoft had, “tweaked up our clock speed on the GPU from 800 Mhz to 853 Mhz.”
  • In another newsworthy note from Whitten, the Microsoft VP confirmed the Xbox One will incorporate digital updates and downloads without user input. Citing Whitten’s personal Twitter account, Gamesbeat noted that the ‘low power mode’ available on the console will allow it to perform a number of functions in the background with limited power. Software updates and downloads will be automatically directed from the cloud network to your console.
  • Microsoft has revealed the Xbox One will support up to 8 wireless controllers. The info comes from an Xbox overview of the next-gen peripheral, spotted by CVG, which boasts over 40 innovations above the current 360 controller, including an operational wireless range of 30 feet.
  • Xbox Wire, the official news arm of the Xbox empire, has further detailed how SmartGlass will function with the new Xbox One. Through a variety of improvements in the way the software and hardware interacts with your tablet or mobile device, the speed and connectivity of the standalone app will be “immediately noticeable.” SmartGlass will also benefit some of the upcoming games in the Xbox One lineup. Referencing Dead Rising 3, the player would be able to use SmartGlass to start new missions, find hidden in-game content and earn in-game rewards “like an airstrike that they can call in with SmartGlass to clear an escape path if they’re stuck in a zombie horde.”