microsoft

Microsoft talks Xbox One naming, privacy and more (Q&A)

REDMOND, Wash. -- Microsoft's got a new Xbox on the way, and according to the company, it's the foundation for the next 10 to 20 years of home gaming and entertainment.

The console, which has not yet been given a price, release date, or live game demos was shown off here on Tuesday and left just about as many questions as it did answers about where Microsoft is taking one of its most popular products.

CNET sat down with Jeff Henshaw, the group program manager for Xbox Incubation, to try to get some of those answers. That includes … Read more

A rerun? Microsoft returns to TV programming with Halo show

REDMOND, Wash. -- When it comes to creating original content, Microsoft has had a hard time making up its mind.

In the 1990s, Microsoft developed online programs for its MSN service, such as the soap opera "475 Madison" and the travel program "Mungo Park." In 2007, Microsoft inked a deal with Reveille to produce a number of Web programs including "Mr. Robinson's Driving School," starring Craig Robinson, who plays Darryl on "The Office" (another Reveille production).

As those efforts sputtered, Microsoft backed away, leaving original programming to the folks in Hollywood.… Read more

Xbox One moves Microsoft closer to living room hub

REDMOND, Wash. -- Perhaps the most telling detail of Microsoft's media event to unveil the new Xbox One was the fact that the company didn't even get around to talking about gaming until halfway through the presentation.

It's hard to overstate the significance of that. Microsoft sees the Xbox One, more than any other version of the Xbox, as a device for everyone, not just hardcore gamers. There's no doubt Microsoft was pushing into that direction, even with the original Xbox that debuted in 2001.

But Microsoft's focus during the Xbox One event demonstrates the … Read more

Six challenges for integrated TV on the Xbox One

The Xbox One may primarily be a gaming console, but one of the major focuses of Microsoft's press event was One Guide: the Xbox One's new interface for navigating your live TV content.

By including an HDMI input, the Xbox One can integrate cable TV content right into the Xbox Dashboard, serving up a prettier grid of channels than what your clunky cable box offers. It's not all that different from Google's major living room initiative -- Google TV -- and the Xbox One faces some of the same challenges if it truly wants to be … Read more

Used games are here to stay with Xbox One but details hazy

Fears of a death spiral for used games with the Xbox One may be a little premature.

A Microsoft spokesman confirmed to CNET that Microsoft will support used games with its new console, though it declined to provide much information at this time.

"We are designing Xbox One to enable customers to trade in and resell games," the spokesman said. "We'll have more details to share later."

What we do know is that users have to install games from a disc onto the console's hard drive to access the information. Users can then play … Read more

Windows' role at the core of Microsoft's Xbox One

Microsoft's Xbox One home-entertainment console has three operating systems at its core, company officials said during the Tuesday unveiling of the device.

Why three? Marc Whitten, Microsoft's chief production officer of its Interactive Entertainment Business, explained during the hour-long reveal event in Redmond, that there'd be an Xbox operating system, the kernel of Windows, and a third operating system designed to handle switching, multitasking and control inside the Xbox One.

Microsoft officials told Wired.com back in April something similar. From the Wired story:

"The Xbox One simultaneously runs three separate operating systems. First comes the … Read more

Xbox 360 games won't work with the Xbox One

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled its newest gaming console, the Xbox One, with a slew of new capabilities. But one thing it won't do is play Xbox 360 games.

Because the new gaming system has a different chip architecture -- Advanced Micro Devices' x86 instead of IBM's PowerPC -- the Xbox One won't have native compatibility with 360 games. It's unclear at this time whether Microsoft will create a solution for that, such as making some of the more popular games compatible through emulation or allowing users to access older titles through a cloud-streaming system. But it … Read more

Five unanswered questions about the Xbox One

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 rollout 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 … Read more

EA announces Ignite engine for next-gen sports games

Over the years, sports games have become more and more realistic, and EA is promising to take that realism to a whole new level in next-generation versions of many of its popular sports franchises. At Microsoft's unveiling of the Xbox One, Andrew Wilson, the head of EA Sports, announced the company's new Ignite Engine and said that FIFA 14, NBA Live, Madden 25, and UFC would be available for the Xbox One within the next 12 months.

Follow the latest news on the EA Ignite engine for Xbox One at our sister site, GameSpot.

Wilson said that with … Read more