Five unanswered questions about the Xbox One - CNET

Just like the PlayStation 4 and Wii U, our first look at the new Xbox leaves us with more questions than answers. (Credit: James Martin/CNET) With the pre-E3 announcement of Microsoft's next living room video game console, the parlor game of speculation about all the missing details can begin. As with the Nintendo Wii U and Sony PlayStation 4 before it, the new Xbox's first foray into the public was a carefully choreographed tease, with just enough information to get industry watchers and game fans on the hook for the next step in the long roll-out plan. The following step will no doubt be an expanded preview at the annual E3 video game trade show in June, although even then, important price and availability details may be left out. For now, we know that the new system -- Microsoft's third Xbox console -- will be named Xbox One. It will, like the Xbox 360, be firmly rooted in games, but also have a huge multimedia and family entertainment footprint, with streaming services, apps, and a bundled-in version of the Xbox Kinect motion-control camera. For full details on what we already know about the Xbox One, read our initial impressions here. The following are the most important things we still don't know. How much will the new console cost, and how many versions will there be? So much has changed since the last round of living room game consoles were released in the mid-2000s. Fully featured touch-screen laptops are available for less than $600, and game-playing Android tablets are under $200. Can a standalone game console, no matter what extra features it offers, entice gamers at $499 or above? The current business model seems to be to have a basic model, with less storage space and fewer features, and then a "premium" console, for at least $100 more. But, the less-expensive versions, especially in the case of Nintendo's Wii U, seem to be there just to hit a set price, and the premium version is a much better deal on paper. The final price and bundle specs for the Xbox One may come at E3 2013, or may come at some point after that, but $399/$499 seems to be a smart bet. When and where will the Xbox One be released? We don't have a final release date yet -- that may come at E3 2013 in June -- but the smart money is on somewhere between September and December 2013. In a welcome change from past console releases, we're not seeing a teaser glimpse of new hardware, then told to come back in 12 to 18 months for the final product. Hardware development cycles are faster than ever, and with consumers expecting new products to be available shortly after being announced (if not same day), you can't get away with telling people to wait for holidays 2014 for the next Xbox or PlayStation. How big a part will streaming games play versus retail discs? Unlike Sony, Microsoft made no mention of the future of streaming games, either as downloads, or more importantly, as directly streamed experiences (as with OnLive or Gaikai, the latter now owned by Sony). But, the conventional wisdom says that the old model of putting a $60 plastic disc in a box and driving it to a store to sit on a shelf is on the wane, and with its interest in streaming video and entertainment, one would hope that Microsoft is planning for the future. Will nearly every online experience required a paid subscription to the Xbox Live online service? The current Xbox Live requires a paid $59/year subscription for access to many of its online services, including online multiplayer games. You also need to be a paid member to use other services you already pay separately for, such as Netflix and HBO Go. There's no reason think the new Xbox Live will be any different, including the impressive-looking interactive sports features, but exactly which features and functions are behind the paywall is still unclear. Which cable/satellite providers will enable live TV viewing on Xbox One? The example used at the Xbox One press conference was Comcast, and the current Xbox Live service has live viewing apps from Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, and others. To fully compete as essentially a cable box replacement, and your main device for interacting with your TV, a large majority of Xbox One owners will need to be able to access their subscription cable services from within the Xbox One environment. See our full Xbox coverage here. We'll be updating this page with new questions, and any answers we find, so check back, and add your must-answer questions in the comments section below. Bonus questions: Will there be any way to play my old games? While not mentioned during the Xbox press conference, we're now told that the new Xbox One hardware will not be backward compatible with Xbox 360 game discs, because it uses a different (AMD x86-based) architecture (Sony faces a similar problem with the PS4). But, will there be some workaround for existing games? Possible options include case-by-case software emulation for older games, or new Xbox One versions offered as digital downloads (although importing your saves would be yet another technological hurdle). Microsoft unveils Xbox One, with new voice control via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF64cNCE5zmUi3afrYjlELw-etDGA&url=http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-9020_7-57585390-222/five-unanswered-questions-about-the-xbox-one/

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