These Xbox One Features Make It Feel Next-gen

Nerdacy: Now that I've had a little over a month to play my not-so-shiny brand-new Xbox One, here are the features that have intrigued me, caught my attention, and the ones I've used the most, because they are the features that make it feel next-gen.

[christocolus]

Yeah..kinect is cool,i love using the upload studio alot and my family use the skype feature alot more than myself i also cant wait for MS to add more functionality via new updates. Want to try out twitch streaming and also i need more info on the post launch titles for the console especially halo5 and rares unannounced titles. The wait is killing me.

[Blaze929]

The Xbox One's UI is simply what makes it feel next-gen. The fact that Kinect works so well now is even better. It makes you feel like you really have a new piece of technology and you can see how it's going to constantly evolve.

I love having friends and family come over and I show off the Xbox One like I'm a Microsoft salesman. Seeing their faces, smiles, and amazement - it's really pretty awesome everytime.

Then I show them my PS4.

[ChillPill]

I like it so far and I think it will only get better.

[NeoTribe]

The latter half of your comment was cringe worthy. My buddy has an x1, theres nothing to show off or brag about lol. Ps4 has voice commands to, its nothing new.

[airgangstarr]

the upload studio is sweet i wish u could rate the clips and leave comments but im sure these will come down the road... the system has so much potential cant wait for spring titanfall should be a blast to edit videos

[Gozer]

I really like Upload Studio as well. I bought two X1s at launch(one for me, one for my son), and couldn't afford any games until my next paycheck. It was then that I fell in love with Upload, I watched hundreds of game videos before I was finally able to buy some games. Its a great tool for checking out games you might be interested in.
The actual video editing tools of Upload Studio are easy to use and surprisingly powerful. I have made several multi-clip videos and its really easy. They even added more skins recently. I have a BF4 montage with an old arcade machine as a skin. There are like 20 different skins to choose from now. I haven't tried the multi-screen video with commentary yet, but it looks cool as hell.

[SITH]

I bought an Xbox one for my son also. I like how Microsoft included an audio recording feature in upload studio. I hook up the mic, and put some music to my recordings.

http://youtu.be/3ObToDoXusI
http://youtu.be/7H21O7QHD6M

[JokesOnYou]

Yeah I don't really do much video editing but I saw a vid of the new skins, they look pretty sweet. Upload Studio is definitely a very nice feature on X1.

[Gamer666]

Take one look at Ryse or Forza 5 and you know the X1 hardware is next gen. Use Skype, snap, HDMI input/passthru, fast-switching, and game DVR and you will feel nextgen.

Whining aside about 1080p vs 900p and 60 fps vs. 30fps... When you look at the Ryse and Forza games in action, you know none of the previous generation of consoles can do that. Also, in DR3 seeing literally hundreds of zombies on screen at once makes it feel next gen because there is no way you could do that on previous consoles.

Yes, I know PS4 fanboys will jump in and say their specs are better, and they are correct. But, I doubt X1 owners are too disappointed after they have seen/played Ryse and Forza with the X1 capabilities. And I know PS4 fans will talk about the $100 price difference... But, for me, Kinect, snap, fast-switching, and the HDMI input make the console worth the extra money I had to shell out for my X1's. Essentially, X1 is effectively about 25% less specs than PS4, but it has a much more functional and better operating system, Kinect is a nice have in the package, and the HDMI pass thru makes backwards compatibility a nice to have instead of a requirement.

[UnHoly_One]

Agreed on all counts.

The funny thing is, I know that the PS4 is a more powerful console in terms of graphics, but using it doesn't feel like anything new to me. It's just a "better PS3". And there is nothing wrong with that, I'm just saying that is how it seems to me.

By comparison, using the XB1 feels like a whole new experience. Everything I do on it, even the simple stuff navigating the dashboard, I keep thinking "I couldn't have ever done that before".

[hazardman]

PS4 doesnt feel as next gen when it comes to features but playing the games sure does!!!

Edit: Playing games on Xbox One does to, just saying.
Didnt want you guys to think playing games on Xbox One wasn't next gen. Shit, I traded my launch PS4 for Xbox One so unbiased gamer here!!!

[UnHoly_One]

Yeah don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the PS4, I'm stoked to get my hands on infamous next year.

The console just doesn't feel like anything "new" to me, is all I was trying to say. Not sure how else to explain it.

[Callediceman]

@Gamer666---I liked where you where going until you said---
"(Xbox1) but it has a much more functional and better operating system"

I cannot agree with that, now i dont own an Xbox1 but my brother does and i have my time with the OS on the system and it is in no way better than the ps4. Maybe in time thru updates it will be possible because i do believe the Xbox1 has some serious potential in the future, but as it sits now its combersome, has about a 2-4 second delay on voice commands (sometimes they dont work) and is missing some key features, (battery life display, how much hard drive space is used etc.) w

--with that said i still plan on getting an Xbox1 in the future as i do believe its gunna do some really cool things in the future (im excited as to how they will work in the cable tv features, maybe a dvr option, and sports integration with tv, as well as titanfall of course!)

[Belking]

You make some excellent points. i said it before xb1 is a true next gen console with all the great features you mentioned. As far as the specs go i wouldn't say ps4 is better. It all comes down to how devs use the available tools. Its great to have raw horsepower but I think ms has more than made up for any differences with that with their RAM solution and balanced approach(GDRR5 wouldn't allow them to have the balanced games and OS the way DDR3 does and this is why you will continue to see MS do things with their UI that sony can't do because GDDR5 isn't optimized to do the things DDR3 can do when it comes to the os,)
and it more than makes up for the advantages GDDR5 has.

Even though GDDR5 is graphics RAM, MS still has more bandwidth with their solution. Its super balanced.

Games like Ryse and Quantum Break and Forza already show that the console is extremely powerful and it's definitely built for the future. You haven't seen anything yet. There is so much good stuff still to come. MS is smart enough to realize you don't become successful in this market on specs alone. xb1 will have the best games and will be around for the long haul. Technologically, it is superior. That's not talking just horsepower. It's the way the console was designed. development is much more efficient than the competition. devs are already starting to realize that.

xb1 is the better designed console. It's a true next gen while sony went the Raw power unbalanced approached. devs will continue to get more things out of xb1 over the years because of how it's deigned. Sony went with the simple design. Remember they only had 4Gb of GDDR5 at first then upgraded because they know that wouldn't be enough to do what they wanted. it was enough for game but their os would of suffered.

[IRetrouk]

How many devs have said the xbox one is easier to develope for? Maybe one or two at most, also where do you get that its technologically better? Worse ram, worse graphics card, worse multiplats and a bloated os is hardly what I call technologically better, although I do agree that we have seen nothing yet and games will only get better, on the one and the four.

[Gamer666]

@IRetrouk...

That sounds exactly like the PS3 argument last gen. People questioned Sony's hardware architecture and multi-plat games were generally inferior to X360 for the first few years.

Maybe we are witnessing the same this gen... Nobody knows for certain yet.

[IRetrouk]

@ gamer666
You could be right although last gen the diffrence was for and against both consoles, the 360 had a better gpu and ram allocation where as the ps3 had the better cpu and faster ram, well half of it anyway, this gen is a bit different, the ps4 has the better ram and the better gpu, nobody really knows about the cpu though, im not actually knocking the one in the least but what belking is chatting is a load of poop.

[edgeofsins]

@Gamer666

No it isn't going to repeat like last gen.

They reason it happened last gen was because of the processors being different and the PS3's being more powerful, though it was merely harder to develop for at first so it's potential wasn't shown near launch. This gen they have the same processor and both are easy to develop for. PS4 being more powerful is just fact.

It's mainly down to the games but honestly Ryse is way too short of a game and Forza has little content. Microsoft is charging more for a weaker console, neglecting releasing models with Kinect, and is skimming content out of games, and in Forza's case still offering launch day DLC for a game that has less content then 3 games ago in the franchise. Unless Microsoft actually puts what people want into games and puts passion into games and takes the 100% business model out of it then they aren't going to get far. What could they possibly do for the console after X1?

[BallsEye]

@IRetrouk

Do your research. RAM is not worse, it's different. Both GDDR5 and DDR3 have their good sides and bad sides. If GDDR would be so amazing we would use it as general memory in computers, but we don't. Instead we use DDR and will be always using it. DDR goes very well with ESRAM, giving it bandwidth of 272 gb/s where ps4 with gddr5 has only 176 gb/s. Educate yourself mate, before you post. It's all about making things work well together. Balance.

[IRetrouk]

@ ballseye, first its a known fact that gddr 5 is better for games, you know, the things we buy consoles for, second and this has been explained many times, you cant add the two numbers together to come up with 272, it does not work like that at all, but I will let someone with more technical knowledge than myself explain it to you, I think its you that needs educated......mate.

[Death]

It is not a known fact GDDR5 is better for gaming. Graphics Double Data Rate memory is better for graphics. GDDR5 is not better for linear CPU calculations which is why we don't see it used in PC's that aren't using APU's like the Xbox One and PS4. Sony relied heavily on graphics with the PS4 while Microsoft went with a more "balanced" approach mixing CPU and GPU functions more evenly. We have no idea how this will impact gaming since the generation is still very young.

With the PS3 RAM limited what the system could do which is why cross game chat never happened. With the PS4 the biggest crutch is the GDDR5 which will prevent OS heavy apps from hitting the system. Great for games, bad for features.

[Jessika_S]

That's BS you can't Skype while you play.

[Gamer666]

When did I say you can Skype and play? Not everything I said was in a gaming context.

Skype just rocks... It is the number 1 personal video and audio conferencing technology worldwide. No one can deny that.

[Bigpappy]

Yes. You can Skype while you play. You just Skype with no video.

[Jessika_S]

@Gamer666
I agree with you, I just thought they meant Skype Video Chat while you play. As of now it can't be done but I'm sure Microsoft is working on it just a few updates to the Xbox One Operating System and it will be great. The Xbox 360 came a long way so we can expect the same out of the ONE.

[BattleTorn]

I agree with much of what you said,

But as someone who owns both systems,

WHY WOULD I EVER BUY 3RDPARTY ON MY X1?

[thrust]

Because they run better on the x1?!?!!!!!

[malokevi]

I'm consolidating my 3rd party library on my X1 because I like having the games at my beck and call. I also have more faith in the X1 online infrastructure. To me, those are worth trading for a marginal difference in visual quality.

[Vames]

More next gen than the other console imo. For a long time, it's been Microsoft and Nintendo that are bringing new innovations to gaming, innovations these companies are not afraid to stand behind.

Nothing against Sony, but this company lacks the innovative mindset and just throws you the same old experience all the time. Even when this company innovates, it fails to believe in its own creation.

I hope both Microsoft and Nintendo find success because innovation push this industry forward into new and exciting things instead of forcing it to be stuck in the past.

[AceBlazer13]

There were consoles doing everything you think is innovative way before, the big 3 however refine these ideas and make them better. Sony makes the most new good ips with nintendo second and well microsoft making wat sells.

Smartphones must be alien tech for the author if skype and cameras is next gen

[mcstorm]

Vanes I kind of agree with you. Sony dropped the ball the beginning of last gen and the price was way too high for a gaming console and to get the cost down they took things out like backwards compatible, memory card slots, other os etc from the console. Also not having rumble in there controller was a mistake too.

This time round Sony have played it safe and created a ps3.5 in terms of what the console offers right now as out side of the dvr it offers nothing different to the ps3. I am also not saying this is a bad thing before all you Sony fan boys start crying I'm just saying Sony have taken it a step back this gen and looked at the side they lost out on which was developer support.

The Xbox one and wiiu interest me more as they build on there last consoles and add new ways to play.

I have not got a clue who will sell the most or if it will be close come the end of this new generation but one thing is good to see is that for the 1st time all 3 will offer different ways to play games out for the box and I think for the 1st time ill be more interested in 1st party games over 3rd party games this new generation looking how its started.

[hazardman]

Man I was hoping someone else wrote it before I did. Thanks!! Thats what I felt like PS4 was PS3.5DualSupercharged....nothi ng wrong with that. Its funny tho because the Dualshock 4/Playroom is only next gen thing on it, besides the graphics power!!!

[mcstorm]

Yea tags how a lot of people I know look at the ps4. Like I said not a bad thing but the Xbox one and wiiu at the moment in time offer a lot more.

[gcolley]

More next gen in everything but where it counts. As a longtime xbox gamer I am disappointed in how badly MS screwed this generation up, how badly they got it wrong. They just are not listening to their customer base, they are listening to executives who know nothing but act like they do. Their next-gen innovations have left the actual gaming machine well underpowered, surprising everyone with their lower resolution launch games. Kinect was never the answer to their greedy dreams. They did not innovate at all, they went after the casual nintendollar, you are delusional, it was al about making as much money as possible. Unfortunately they do not understand the only way to do that is by listening to you customers, not milking a short term fad like Nintendo did. Kinect brings nothing to the table for a gamer like me.

People do not want something already out of date performance wise, some people have had an Xbox 360 for 8 years before this came out. I do not see 8 years of performance gains in this machine.

They screwed up, we all know it, some accept it, some are in denial but the fact of the matter is... we expected more than they have on offer.

Where is the innovation. It has all been done before, and didn't last because it doesn't even compete with traditional gaming on consoles. They innovated nothing.

[Deltaohio]

I would argue the other way around. I got my X1 Monday and I have to say one of their biggest failures is not teaching ppl how to use it properly. Kinect is totally worth it. Does it cater to more casual? Yes but on some level we are all casuals. The level of potential for the X1 far exceeds the PS4. Not because the PS4 is not physically capable but because the PS4 will only be seen as a gaming machine.
As far as out dated hardware goes BOTH consoles are out dated. The PS4 is just not as out dated as the X1.
The X1 is only innovative because it does something most didn't care about and made it useful. I guess they can take the cake for the snap feature tho.
The X1 just offers more overall. The graphics may not look as good at the PS4 but does that mean they are bad? What does it matter if the games are fun in the end?

[Mikethejew]

I agree, the ps4 is awesome but it's just a hardware upgrade the xbone seems to be different in a good way.

[GodGinrai]

I been loving mine.never had a kinect before now, but Im glad MS chose to keep it. I dont think I would have chose it..but having lived with it for a while now, its actually really cool! And A few more of my x360 buddies got theirs over xmas, so Im even happier now. Forza 5 has been ace, and BF4 when its not acting up. loved AC4 and KI, still aint played Ryse. But im mostly pumped for titanfall now, that some more of my key friends have their XB1s. hurry up and release it in sweden, MS. I got friends waiting to jump in!

[Software_Lover]

And this is all that matters!!!! Bubble up for having fun with gaming and not your specs.

[sak500]

Off topic:

The question i asked above already but can u pls tell me if you have lap top counter in the hud in forza 5?

[Ashby_JC]

I haven't figured that out. It looks like they removed the hud along with telemetry during replays.

Really hope it's added because it was in previous Forza games

[Software_Lover]

I love the feel of my ps4 controller. The size is great. The triggers still feel kind of gummy to me, but it is 100 steps up from the ps3 controller.

Haven't had a chance to try an XBone controller but I'm sure it's great.

[Callediceman]

ive played on the Xbox1 controller and i was skeptical about the impulse triggers and the change to the bumpers but i must say i was pleasantly surprised. the rumble trigger effect on Forza 5 is pretty damn cool! and the controller fits well in hand. and the thumbstick feel really nice. oddly though it is a bit smaller that expected

[Bigpappy]

I have heard a few complaints about the bumpers, but I had zero trouble using them so far.

Haven't had a chance to use the PS4 controller yet. Don't know anyone who has one, and I have not gone to Gamestop since the new systems released. Went to Best buy to get a new dual band router, but did not think to go over to the kiosk ant give it a try. BestBuy store are huge.

[CYCLEGAMER]

I owned both (sold my ps4) but if I had to choose between the two, I would say the ps4 has the better feeling controller. It just feels better for me and my hand size, I loved it.

[JonnyBigBoss]

The Xbox One is just a really impressive technological device. I can't wait until it gets polished with patches.

[Ashby_JC]

It can only get better over time. This is my first launch console. Patience it's what I'm going with.

There are issues with the system but with time they well work then out.

[Livingon600]

Im the type that holds my opinion on these consoles after about a year once developers really get their hands on.

[corroios]

The americans are so gullible...

[Convas]

Yes, because there aren't any gullible people anywhere else in the world right?

[Max-Zorin]

It's almost 2014 yet people are still making stupid generalizations.

[CorndogBurglar]

Not being able to see how much space I have on my hard drive is totally next gen!

Yeah, I'm being cynical, but still. The XB1 has some crazy features...but they made some ridiculous mistakes. Like the aforementioned Hard Drive space issue, not being able to see my battery life on the controllers. The voice activations working only some of the time.

It just feels like the XB1 would have benefitted a lot more by having another year in development.

[SITH]

I agree with you, but at the same time you mentioned absolutely nothing that could not be resolved with a simple update. An inevitable update at that.

[SLUG]

i would like to see this too hope they fix this soon

[parentsbasement]

Oh, here's my favorite feature, when you need a replacement controller (even if you got talked into the extended warranty) YOU CANT GET ONE SENT TO YOU!!!.....until, you spend YOUR time and YOUR gas driving to ship it then YOUR money paying to ship it.....then , sometime later , they will get around to it and send you one at THEIR convenience....dosent matter (I was told) that you cant play it for however long (at least weeks im guessing)just deal with it or "buy" another one.....this has angered me greatly.....

[coopman300]

I'm loving the os and controller. I dont see how anyone can say the os is clunky and complicated, you can pin any app or game you want right to the home screen. Not to mention the ability to jump in and out of your game without having to completely close it.

[SLUG]

i like the os too just wish the external hard drive would come to the xbox one soon we need more memory