Carl Ledbetter:
It’s 11:47 p.m. on a Thursday, and Carl Ledbetter is 29th in line to buy a new Xbox One.
Which is kind of funny, considering he designed it.
“How could I resist? You spend years working on something, so it’s pretty special to be there at the moment it’s launched into the world,” Ledbetter said. “It’s cool to be around other people who are as excited as I am.”
The Nov. 22 waiting-for-midnight launch line goes out the door and around the corner of Seattle’s University Village Microsoft Store. It’s freezing – verifiably so – and the crowd’s collective puffs of breath hang in the air like a foggy force field. A force field that smells vaguely of … Cool Ranch Doritos?
Christopher Dring of MCV questions Carl Ledbetter on the design of the Xbox One.
Not really, but it feels kind of chunky in comparison to the PS4. I was at a friends dorm, and the Xbox One took up a sizable portion of his desk.
It doesn't matter how they look. MS and Sony make their consoles look beast!
Non of them are beasts though.
I don't mind a big console.
I don't mind a small console.
I just hate bad games.
Ps5 will look like wireless router and people will say its to small an not bad ass looking..
Gonna trade them both in at the end of the 6 year generation anyway so meh.
No way am I buying a new xbox just because its slim...
Add more power then sure.
A new case for $400? Lol
Well, it just looks clumsy it's so big. Can't stand on end either, which would have negated some of that size. And it's fragile. I heard my disc beating against something while spinning the other day, only to find out it was because I had my spare controller sitting on the console, which must have been just enough for gravity to push in on the top of the box and cause the disc to sputter while spinning.
A smaller, more compact, sturdier and less static design would be appreciated... Compared to my PS4 standing next to it, it looks bulky. Sitting next to my petite little Wii U makes it look unnaturally gargantuan.
^You cant stand it vertical??? Did not know that. Then again, not sure if i tried to make my PS4 stand up vertical either. I'll try it after work.
I hate how bulky the Xbox one is. Nothing is subtle about it.
Thanatos - sure you can. If you're like me and only buy digital, anyway. I wouldn't recommend putting discs in like that, though.
All the more reason to believe in there being a slim version that is 2/3 the size.
size is another thing but what is with people in this thread spreading "quieter than the PS4" thing? the PS4 is quiet like a mouse and the sound you make pressing the triggers are way louder that the PS4 itself.
sure, the Xbone might be super quiet or whatever, I don't know because I don't have one but the PS4 is quiet too. the Xbox only gamers might find it amazing that the Xbone is quiet relatively in comparison to the loud 360 but the PS4 being quiet is something that people take for granted because last gen the PS3 is quiet too I guess.
It is big and bulky because of a 1 billion $$$ mistake they made last gen...
it's as simple as that.
I use to hate it but it's grown on me. in honesty it's not that much bigger then the original 360, it just looks a lot bulkier because of it's straight edges.
I have my xb1, ps4 and old 360 right next to each other so it's easy to compare.
it really does remind me of an old vcr though, lol.
the funny thing is when I do pick them up for whatever reason it's the ps4 that feels a bit strange in my hands mostly because it's more square then rectangle and because of the sloping edges.
it is nothing short of amazing that sony managed to put all that power into such a confined space.... with NO power brick.
I just don't understand why MS don't have some Japanese guys design their xbox... unless it's because they already all work for sony lol
When I first saw the console, I thought the design looked kind of odd based on the fact the 360 wasn't bulky at all, and it looks to be that Microsoft isn't good when it comes to good looking hardware with less failure rate, so probably they went back to the way of the original XBox, because it was very reliable despte it's size and desig but I must saw the XBox One when you look at it in person, it's a heck of a good looking console, maybe not having a striking design like the PS4, but for a square-based console design, it looks very good, if their intention might have being for reliability reasons, I can't blame them, so, bulky or not, still one good looking machine.
To me the Xbox One has a finish that make it look rather costly compared to the Xbox 360 and PS4 cheap plastic look. It is similar to the PS3 in that respect.
It is slightly bulky, and the power supply adds to the bulk. However, other than the first time setup, and the benefit of swapping out the power supply from 110V to 220V (something I cannot do with my PS4, but was included in the PS3), I never really think about it.
It sits on my shelf, sticks out a little at an angle and works like a wonder. The big bulk just makes the Xbox One super silent and I expect it to last 10-years of daily use due to being so well cooled.
With X1 they were going for an aesthetic that fits in with your media setup, so it's dimensions match up with that of an amp or blu-ray player.
Personally, I like that it fits in with all of my equipment but I like the PS4 just as much for how nice it is as an object.
I have both and the X1 is considerably quieter than the PS4. That's an advantage of the size. I do think that Sony could have got away with making the PS4 a tiny bit bigger to make it run a little cooler and quieter.
We Americans love our things to be big...suv, houses, food portion, and yes..videogame consoles. Sony, a Japanese company, like it small and compact like their cars, houses, food portion, and yes..videogame consoles. The exception being the phat PS3..it literally looks like a George Foreman lean mean grilling machine at times. LOL
What, are you carrying it around? It sits on a shelf... "it feels clunky" Smh. Yeah, I'm so frustrated with the design, it keeps me up at night. My gaming experience is ruined.
I have a black glass entertainment center, the size and design may bother some, but it looks fantastic in my living room.
Well I set my gaming console on my lap while I play. It a gets kinda annoying when you try and juggle it like a clown way to bulky!
Replies(3)
Excuse for Microsoft to Milk Multiple SKU slim Models. With the Kinect Built-in etc...
AMD is known to be shrinking the die for both consoles. I wouldn't expect slims for at least a year. Smaller die means less heat (fan, etc.) which means smaller console.
No, it's big because the Xbox brand couldn't survive another RROD fiasco, so cooling was a prime concern.
Last gen it cost them billions, if there was a repeat not only would it cost them billions again, it would likely put them out of the console business as they would have lost so much consumer confidence.
PS3,slim,super slim.
360,slim.
Wii.
We all know who the milking machine is.Also Look how many models of the PSP Sony have milked.
The joystick matters, not the box.
It's big but it's only a problem if you have little shelf room and/ or a habbit of picking it up and swinging it around/taking it to a friend's house.
Ps4 wannabe's b#tch away,,............., BC yea 2" is so much bulkier, right ladies?.
Its why the Xbox One Never overheats.
it's bulk is a direct response to RROD fiasco of last gen. now there is an ample amount of room for heat dissipation. comparing its size to the ps4, it seems they may have overcompensated, but i guess they'd rather be safe than sorry.
"they spent three years building the Xbox One into a machine that blends into the background and gets forgotten." This seriously must be a joke! I read this and laughed my Ace off. Oh you mean that giant black behemoth under my television? No that's not a VCR grandma, that's my Video game machine, I'm surprised you even noticed it sitting there.
"...blends into the background and gets forgotten"
The first part is true - if you live in a retro electronics museum. They might have got the second part right though, we'll have to wait and see...
@G20WLY
Well, it goes perfectly with my Onkyo AV Receiver and region-free Blu-Ray player. My PS4 doesn't blend at all and so it's kept on the opposite side of my media cabinet with my Wii U. So, on that basis, it blends in perfectly with home cinema equipment.
If you have a proper media setup then the dimensions of the X1 fit into that. A bit like the PSX did a few years back. The design of the PS4 and Wii U comes from the traditional console angle and are meant to stand out in your setup as interesting objects, they do that rather well.
Like I said before it even came out, it looks like a big old VHS player! Or an old PC tower laying down. Very uncool looking compared to, PS4, Wii U, PS3, 360 or Wii.
Kind of like the original Xbox controller. Lol.
It is a bit like a VHS player, back before it's release, I saw some Photoshopped images of an Xbox One as a microwave. Or something like that. Made me chuckle a bit. But hey, there are some great games out for it.
I remember a photoshopped original PS3 making it look like a George Forman grill :)
PS4 is right behind the XOne for fugliest console.
That razor blade design is completely wack.
Nah, it looks like an eraser..... That erases it's competition.....jk all gaming stuff is cool
I disagree with LaChance but completely agree with sckipt that i looks like an eraser.
it's called Ergonomic.
for disk's SAKE.. cause.. -We Saved Them-
#NoDRM.
your welcome.
well that's like your opinion dude.
It's between the slim razor sleek vs the retro VCR box.
Yeah one of the newer VCRs. PS4 looks really awesome in person, just wish I could change the led color instead of it being white while it is on.
i actually like the look of it, it sits under my tv and blends right in to my entertainment setup.
and its whisper quiet all the time and never gets hot, which to me is the most important thing
Lol you got downvoted because you like how it does not over heat lmao these Sony children are hilarious. At least it doesn't Wobble or look like an eraser.
It is quieter than the PS4. I always thought the 4" Fan in the X1 could easily increase it's rpm's for a future CPU/GPU Overclocks and still be much quieter than the 360, especially considering the PS4 runs Hotter by a few degrees and consumes more electricity than the X1.
Ooops, I don't think that will be accepted on here ;/
I completely agree. Sometimes my PS4 sounds like a vacuum when i first run any games on it especially Dragon Age Inquisition. I dont know what triggers the fan to go on full blast and then slowly goes back down. It's weird since nothing has been loaded on the screen yet.
ps4 consumes more electricity than xbox 1 by a small margin.
A beautiful Big Black Bulky Box.
If the bulk meant having a whisper quiet console with a very low failure rate, then I'll take that over the original 360 which sounded like a Jet Engine.
you can't please everyone. I'm happy with everything about it.
Exactly, maybe i'm alone but usually my focus is on the TV than looking at the box under it anyway.
I agree that the Xbox One could have looked better like the concept design found on the late Xbox magazine.
http://www.youngmanblog.com...
But I placed it in my TV center, underneath my TV mounted on the wall and I haven't even noticed it after that.
Anyways, that's what slims are for.
Those rounded corners...better watch out for getting sued by apple.:)
Anyhow, anyone that wouldn't buy a console because of how it looks shouldn't be gaming anyways.
It's OK to absolutely hate the appearance of a console, but still enjoy playing games on it. I didn't like the X1 at first, but it's fine when I saw it in person. 360 didn't really do it for me, nor the slim PS3, or even the original PS2 for that matter.
Craig Chapple writes :
"Designer Carl Ledbetter tells Develop how Microsoft considered building the motion sensor into the console itself, and why he’s not sad to see it unbundled
The Kinect has long been a part controversial, yet also innovative and defining inclusion to the Xbox One.
Microsoft was once committed to the motion sensing peripheral, even willing to charge £80 more than Sony’s PS4, such was its faith in the tech.
As the man who designed the hardware, Carl Ledbetter, tells Develop, early on Microsoft even toyed with the idea of building the Kinect into the Xbox One itself. A permanent, non-removable feature. And one of the key reasons it decided against it were based on looks."
So you want he premium version of the Xbox One?
Get the kinect. It works great for me.
I haven't hooked my kinect as of yet, not sure if I want the man peering into my living room, haha!
well get rid of you cellphone,computers,tablets,an d anything that has a camera or internet to features. if someone wants to spy in on you, they can and an xbox one or ps4 camera will be the least of your worries, so just have fun and stop the conspiracy nonsense.
Carl Ledbetter, the man who designed the Kinect for the Xbox One, says he isn't bothered by the decision to unbundle the Kinect with the Xbox One console. Despite all the hard work he put into it, he agrees that choices for the consumer are what's best. At some point in time, there was talking about building the Kinect into the console itself so that it wasn't removable.
He was excited to stand in line and purchase it because he knew he created an awesome machine
Carl Ledbetter sounds like some old blues guitar guru.