Xbox One, Kinect and Wireless Controller
Microsoft has provided more information on the Xbox One cloud, the SmartGlass app and Kinect integration.
In a new video, Albert Penello, Xbox’s Director of Planning has outlined some of the new functionality coming to the Xbox One.
The five minute long video runs through how the Xbox One cloud will benefit gamers from launch and in the future.
“Things like dedicated servers, your save games, your identity, the content that you’ve purchased being able to travel with you”, explained Penello. “There are intangible benefits with things like cloud processing and it’s an idea that over time they can start offloading some of the compute to the cloud.”
“Not just your profile, but your pins, your homescreen, your content, your save games, you achievements. Basically any Xbox One anywhere in the world is your Xbox.”
The Kinect has been completely re-engineered for the Xbox One to make it more responsive and provide a wider field of view for smaller spaces.
“The technology behind the new Kinect has advanced and is as big of a leap from the Xbox 360 Kinect as the new console is. We have an IR blaster in Kinect that essentially translates my voice commands into IR commands. The system will function without Kinect. You will be able to play games and watch entertainment with just a controller.”
However, Penello does explain that new features of the Xbox One like Snap On or game capture are easier to use with your voice than the Xbox One Wireless Controller.
“Kinect can actually recognise up to 6 different people and because we have an array microphone, which can actually zoom in on who’s talking and just listen to those commands.”
Similar to the PlayStation App coming for PS4 and PS Vita, tipped to be called “PS4 Link”, SmartGlass will enable Xbox One gamers to browse the dashboard, view their DVR clips, chat to their Live pals and discover new content.
Also, game developers like Cytek for Ryse: Son of Rome and Capcom for Dead Rising 3 are using SmartGlass to enhance the gameplay experience.
“Being built for the future is one of the principals that we had when we built the Xbox One platform,” added Penello. “The way we’ve built the platform was specifically designed to think about a future state and being the most powerful platform to enable these types of new experiences.”
Next read our Xbox One vs PS4 comparison.
