![\"johnny-mnemonic-big\"](\"http:\/\/www.legeekretrogaming.com\/geekblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/johnny-mnemonic-big.jpg\")
<\/a>The fancy TV integration is some cool tech, like\u2026science-fiction movie cool.\u00a0 But once the glow wears off, it seems more a nice add-on, than a system seller, and they didn\u2019t go \u201call-the-way\u201d and replace the cable box.<\/p>\nHaving a mandatory Kinect camera pointed at me \u201call the time\u201d is CREEPY.\u00a0 And, other than moving menus around, what does the new Kinect offer gamers?\u00a0 Unless there is some mind blowing Kinect stuff at E3, they\u2019d better be giving the camera away for free.<\/p>\n
Using XBL servers for cloud based improvements to graphics and physics, could be cool\u2026I guess, but it better be optional, or at least scale back gracefully.\u00a0 If games lock up or stop working if and when the service gets spotty, it won\u2019t be worth the backlash.<\/p>\n
Xbox Live Arcade on the 360 has been a real success for Microsoft and personally–with over twenty five titles\u00a0purchased (heck, I bought and enjoyed Game Room)–it\u2019s probably my favorite and most highly used service on the system. Yet, the poor way they\u2019ve reportedly been treating successful developers, including rumors of developers jumping ship for Steam, Sony and even Nintendo, it seems Microsoft is content to let this business go to its competitors.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not a clear answer on used games yet, but if you sift through the rumors and half-truths, it sounds like there will be some way of deactivating your \u201clicense\u201d and allowing you to trade-in your disc.\u00a0 Will this only work at GameStop?\u00a0 This is another area where Microsoft is taking total control of the ecosystem.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s a lot of stuff that consumers don\u2019t particularly want for what\u2026Slightly Shinier Gun Shooting and More Realistic Car Racing Game?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure there will be new experiences coming, as the original Resident Evil was on Playstation, or as Mass Effect was on the 360, but those games are rarely at launch.\u00a0 And what is this going to cost?\u00a0 Even if the Xbox One costs the same as the PS4 (let\u2019s guess $400), all Sony has to do is be LESS Orwellian to its customers, and they\u2019ve \u201cwon\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure there are Xbox loyalists out there who will buy this thing \u201cno questions asked\u201d, but most gamers in their right mind will be happy to skip Halo 5 to avoid this crap that Microsoft is trying to pull.\u00a0 And I say this as a gamer that has played 360 more than PS3 or Wii this generation.<\/p>\n Look, I get it.\u00a0 AAA Games cost a lot to produce.\u00a0 Studios close when they fail to sell multiple millions of copies of their titles.\u00a0 HD gaming may not remain sustainable as a business unless companies can figure out the equivalent of movie theaters overcharging for Coke and popcorn.\u00a0 But if this is the price for shinier cars and fluffier dogs, I think I\u2019ll pass.<\/p>\n<\/a>Always online is another murky area.\u00a0 It seems the machine will need to check in at least once every 24 hours to continue working.\u00a0 This may seem reasonable, but all I know is in ten years or so, when Microsoft turns off the servers, this thing will be a doorstop.\u00a0 In a telling comparison, the same day of the presentation, I finally received the Dreamcast homebrew, Sturmwind in the mail.\u00a0 I placed it in my 14 year old launch Dreamcast and it played with no problems.<\/p>\n