Features - QOTW: How would you change the Xbox One?

[HEXUS]

Microsoft has unbundled Kinect in effort to increase sales, but what would you have done?

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[mec1234]

Hmmm, give it a mouse and keyboard and call it a PC.

[Boon72]

make it gaming console and not a TV add on, yes by all means have things to use like the 360 but there is no need to try to convert everyone to use it.

[Saracen]

What would I do?

I really don't know. Based on a couple of those now-reversed decisions, I ruled out XBO just prior to launch, so haven't paid much attention to other features, spec, etc.

One option might be a "light" version. Given that they're apparently doing a Kinect-free version, maybe do one with decent but lower cost spec, and make that the Kinect-free version. And then really trim the price. Because the price point, on top of the Kinect issues, was my major concern. It was a LOT more than I paid for my 360. And, frankly, more than I want to pay for a console.

I'm one of those gamers that's not gaming-mad enough to pay for high-end PC graphics cards. Not least, it's because while graphics may be impressive, a GOOD game is still a good game with graphics setting set on medium on a PC, not necessarily on max. So, maybe target an XBO-Light at my end of the market - no Kinect, more modest spec, and lower price. Trouble is, I've largely already got that, called X360. So maybe an 'upgraded' 360 that runs XBO games. And yes, I'm aware of hardware implications, so the upgraded X360 will have more in common with XBO than 360 - I'm talking about market positioning, not hardware base or software compatibility.

But then, what do I know? As I said, given those early decisions, I ruled out the XBO and pretty much ignored it after that. I'm still more likely to go PS4 than XBO, short of a radical announcement.

[Lee H]

The only thing I can complain about really is the horrible interface found on the netflix application.

It's a pile of the proverbial and its functionality is limited. Other than that the game switching and tile interface works well when I'm playing a few games.

[ExceededGoku]

Just to throw my 2 cents in... I much prefer my XONE compared to my PS4.

It's a much better addition to the livingroom, and since I have both I'm not bothered about graphics or performance. I like the option of saying Xbox On for my TV to come on and choosing channels through Kinect (although I would like if the microphones were a bit better as I really need to shout! Maybe an addon for people with loud Home theater systems or big rooms!).

Only addition I'd make is the ability to access Videos from my network media server (DLNA/Serviio/etc.) for the time being...

[Platinum]

Give it enough horsepower to run 1080p at 30 / 60 fps.

[crossy]

How would I change the XBox One? Easy to answer:
1. Change the case design, that box looks cheap and horrible - looks like it was either made of off-cuts or designed by a committee;
2. Offer some way, any way, to encourage XBox360 owners to switch up. My preferred option would be some kind of emulator that at least allowed you to play your favourite titles on the XBone. But I'd also be content with some kind of porting arrangement for some of the top-drawer titles.
3. Drop the cost a little. I'm content with the idea of paying £399 for the XBone, Kinect and a controller, but any more than that can't be justified (to SWMBO).
4. Get Jezza Clarkson in to brief the design team. From comments here the XBone needs "more powweerrrr" compared to the PS4 - especially if you want to HD game.

I wasn't really that bothered (in hindsight) by the always-on idea, or the game sharing. But the lack of any kind of backwards compatibility (coupled with the way that XBL became more expensive) was a killer in my book.

I've said it once, and here it is again ... if Microsoft expect me to start from "first base" with the XBone then Sony is in with a shout. They may not have the Xbox's nice controller, but the PS4 design is nicer than the XBone's and Sony seem to have handled their launch well. (And Sony sponsors "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." which wins them a plus point or two).

[The Hand]

I would improve the graphics performance by really working on DirectX 12 and making the console itself about 30% smaller probably when the APU is moved to 20nm.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

They should have gone for a better GPU instead of going the SRAM route,which takes up a massive amount of die area. The PS4 significantly outguns the XBox One on the GPU side.

[MrCanzine]

For one I'd say it would have been better to keep the Kinect and lower the price, or increase the value, some other way. Bundling more games may be less of a hit to the bottom line than simply cutting off $100 from the price, but the perceived value may go higher. Maybe give a free year of Gold membership with purchase. That plus a game increases the perceived value but doesn't actually take $100 from MS's pockets, while still retaining the Kinect.

Another option now that they've removed Kinect, may be to at least include the option to plug in a microphone or something to continue using the "Xbox On", "Xbox Record That" kind of stuff. I'm assuming you can still do that with the headset attachments, but I'm not an owner so I don't know how it actually works.

Also would be good if they included backward compatibility via software emulation, I'm sure they must be capable, and allow the old Kinect to be used in place of the new Kinect for certain things(Again, I'm sure someone would be willing to spend the $399 on the Xbox One and use their old Kinect for the voice features and Skype).

In all, I would say they should have worked on increasing the perceived value to the consumer until the cost of manufacture allows them an actual price reduction without a big financial hit, rather than removing hardware to lower the actual price, since now they've removed some of the perceived value along with the price.

[Ksyruz]

Make it much slimmer, seeing as the internal hardware is just £300 laptop tech in this machine's. I would get the designers at Lamborghini to create the case. Then replace the gpu to the 270x or 260x.

[flufflogic]

Having seen the innards? A lot of wasted space. TONS. It needs a case shrink. There's no point in releasing a new one with an upgradeable HDD - it supports external storage, when the patch comes out - so I'd be working on shrinking the hardware and getting the software sorted. There's a lot of promises MS has made they've yet to deliver on, a lot of features that were frankly done better on the 360, and then there's the currently poor development tools.

Basically, they weren't ready when they released, and they need to prioritise getting caught up on all that, as well as redesigning the hardware to be a little bit more efficiently packaged.

[Percy1983]

Personally I would say more power, but that goes for the PS4 too.

[Dareos]

I'm pretty happy with mine, yes its big, but its fairly quiet and the games are starting to flow. I would change the controller though. The 360 controller is the best I have ever used, i want to be able to continue to use that. Still hoping someone brings one out.

[Saracen]

For one I'd say it would have been better to keep the Kinect and lower the price, or increase the value, some other way. Bundling more games may be less of a hit to the bottom line than simply cutting off $100 from the price, but the perceived value may go higher. Maybe give a free year of Gold membership with purchase. That plus a game increases the perceived value but doesn't actually take $100 from MS's pockets, while still retaining the Kinect.

Another option now that they've removed Kinect, may be to at least include the option to plug in a microphone or something to continue using the "Xbox On", "Xbox Record That" kind of stuff. I'm assuming you can still do that with the headset attachments, but I'm not an owner so I don't know how it actually works.

Also would be good if they included backward compatibility via software emulation, I'm sure they must be capable, and allow the old Kinect to be used in place of the new Kinect for certain things(Again, I'm sure someone would be willing to spend the $399 on the Xbox One and use their old Kinect for the voice features and Skype).

In all, I would say they should have worked on increasing the perceived value to the consumer until the cost of manufacture allows them an actual price reduction without a big financial hit, rather than removing hardware to lower the actual price, since now they've removed some of the perceived value along with the price.

But, at least for a good number of people that have so far refused to buy into XBO, Kinect is the problem, or at least a large part of it.

If MS gave me the XBO free of charge, with a Kinect I couldn't disconnect, I wouldn't use it. At the most, I'd use Kinect when and only when I eas playing a game that required it and was good enough to justify it. It is not acceptable to me, the rest of the time, to have Kinect plugged in and on. It is not acceptable to have a camera and microphone in my living room which I cannot be SURE is not active, and recording/uploading stuff I don't want it to.

I know what MS privacy policy says. That can be changed, pretty much at whim. Or ignored. MS say you can turn it off, but it turns out that means it doesn't (or they say it doesn't) do anything except listen for "Xbox on". Well, MS, if it's listening for that, it's listening, so it's not flaming well off, is it? The audio stream MYST still be there, and the mic active and working, or it couldn't listen even for that. It's just not reacting to anything else .... that we know of. MS say even that (the Xbox on bit) can be turned off. But does that mean it's totally, absolutely off, or just that it now doesn't react to "Xbox on" as well, but is still listening?

And ditto for camera streams.

Also, what's to say that something that can be turned off in system settings cannot be turned back on, perhaps by remote? It is certainly possible for phone apps to remote access hardware and change system settings. We know, for example, that phone GPS can be remote-activated, even if you've got it turned off.

And it isn't necessarily MS that might be activating it. Personal data is big business, and very valuable. We have net search companies tracking us, advertising companies tracking us, and hackers trying to get as much oersonal info as they can.

Then, there's governments, but they'd never indulge in mass spying on their citizens, would they? Oh wait, wasn't there a PRISM-something? I seem to remember a little in the news about that (read 'little' as polite code for humongous worldwide international public and diplomatic poop-storm of unprecdented proportion).

Or, of course, the media would never snoop to, erm, hacking phones? So imagine the fun they'd have if they could activate cameras and audio feeds direct into our living rooms, or wherever you put the XBox.

Nah, it's not just the cost that puts some people off. It's the mere presence of an unremovable Kinect.

If I cannot physically disconnect it, I'm not having Kinect in the house. And that's that.
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