Articles about Xbox One

It was big news last year when Microsoft announced that it would officially start selling the Xbox One in China. The original September launch date came and went ("Despite strong and steady progress, we are going to need a bit more time to deliver the best experiences possible for our fans in China"), but eventually the next gen console made it on sale.

Although China gave the green-light for the sale of 5 million Xbox units, actual sales have been way, way below that. Launch numbers (including pre-orders) were just 100,000 units, and the company responsible for Xbox One sales in China has posted huge losses.

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Over the holiday buying season, Microsoft managed to sell more Xbox One consoles in the US and UK than Sony sold PlayStation 4s, but globally Sony's console retains a healthy lead. Both companies like to lump together the current and previous generations of console, which makes comparing the Xbox One and PS4's sales tricky, but provides us with a general overview. During the holiday season, Microsoft sold 6.6 million Xbox consoles (360 and One) worldwide, while Sony sold 7.5 million PlayStations (PS4 and PS3). In 2014, Sony was the clear leader, having sold 18.8 million PlayStations, while Microsoft managed just 12.1 million Xboxes.

Obviously there’s still a long way to go, and a lot to play for in the latest round of the console wars and anything could happen in the next four or five years. Windows 10 could give the Xbox One a huge boost, and a run of great Xbox exclusive games could make a big difference too. However, the latest forecast from Strategy Analytics doesn’t see things improving for Microsoft in the coming years -- quite the opposite in fact.

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Taking a screenshot of your gaming prowess on your Xbox One will soon be as simple as screenshotting your desktop on your computer. It's a feature that has been requested for a long time, and promised for almost as long. Now head of Xbox Phil Spencer reveals that work is well under way and the ability to take screenshots should be coming to gamers soon.

The ability to record in-game video is nothing new, but the simple option to grab a screenshot is something that Xbox One owners are still waiting for -- although PS4 owners have enjoed this abilty for a while. With access to development software, Phil Spencer tweeted, er, a screenshot, of the screenshot feature in action.

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The technology world is still recovering from the epic Windows 10 event. Yes, Microsoft not only hit a home run, but a grand slam with its announcement. The excitement usually reserved for the likes of Google and Apple nowadays, was thrust upon Microsoft; deservingly so. New operating system, Office, HoloLens, Surface Hub -- holy cow, it was one great thing after another.

With that said, gamers were far more excited about the announced Xbox app for Windows. Yes, you can do the things that you'd expect, such as manage your profile and view activity feeds, but there are even more exciting features too.

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Cyber crime investigators have arrested an 18-year-old man in the UK for the attacks of the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network that took place over Christmas. This is something that Lizard Squad has claimed responsibility for, but at the moment it is not clear whether the man who has been arrested is associated with the group.

South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) worked in conjunction with the FBI and the UK's National Cyber Crime Unit to home in on the unnamed man believed to have been involved in the DDoS attacks. Thousands of gamers had their Christmases spoiled after the gaming networks were rendered inaccessible, leading Sony to offer compensation to those affected.

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I'm a Ford man through and through -- I only buy cars from that manufacturer. Why? I like the quality of its vehicles and the history behind the brand. Most importantly, however, I love American-made cars. Don't get me wrong, I buy other products made in foreign countries, but automobiles are woven into the fabric of United States culture. It makes me feel good to know that my car is manufactured here, by a company headquartered here. Heck, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I will buy a nice F-150; not some fancy-pants Mercedes or Audi.

Speaking of fancy cars though, today, Ford debuted a beauty at the North American International Auto Show -- the Ford GT. It's about the sexiest car I've ever seen, and the blue Ford oval on the front makes me very proud. With that said, the car is making a jump to the virtual world, as Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios announce that the GT is coming to Forza Motorsport 6 -- an Xbox One exclusive. In fact, the car will be featured prominently on the game box cover art.

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Sling Box and Xbox may have similar names, but they are rather different technologies. However, that doesn't mean the two products can't get together to improve the entertainment in your living room. That's exactly what is now happening as Microsoft announces Sling TV (a bit different from Sling Box) for its gaming and entertainment console.

Sling TV which will be coming to the Xbox One, adding even more entertainment options. The service will carry many channels, including live sports, news, internet video and more. The new partnership has been announced by Xbox Live chief Larry Hryb, or Major Nelson as he is more commonly known.

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Gamers were disappointed this Christmas as both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live suffered massive outages following DDoS attacks. It wasn't long before hacking group Lizard Squad claimed responsibility, but anyone who found an Xbox One or PS4 under their Christmas tree quickly discovered that getting an online gaming fix was impossible.

This is not the first time that Lizard Squad has targeted Sony. At the beginning of December, the group knocked the PlayStation Network and Store offline, but this time Microsoft gamers also suffered. The attack started on Christmas Eve, and continued throughout Christmas Day. Then an unlikely hero saved the day -- Mega's Kim Dotcom.

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The Halo series has been a massive success for Microsoft on Xbox, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection was an eagerly anticipated launch. But when the remastered game collection hit Xbox One, it didn't take long for gamers to discover a raft of problems with multiplayer games, and a range of glitches that impacted on performance.

Now Microsoft and games studio 343 Industries have apologized for the issues in a way that the companies are hoping will be well-received -- by giving away a batch of free stuff. That's not to say that an accompanying, contemporaneous apology has been issued; instead the freebies are a thank you for gamers' "support and understanding as we worked through issues impacting" the game.

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Pandora is one of the grandfathers of streaming music services, and remains among the most affordable and well known sources around. It's available on phones and even set-top boxes, not to mention, right on your computer. There are also apps for smart TVs and Blu-ray players. In other words, it is almost ubiquitous.

Now the music service is launching on your Xbox One. The new app was built specifically with the gaming console in mind, with an interface designed to look good on your TV. It will not only be pretty, but provide music while you play your game, and even adds a couple of new features.

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Since Microsoft and Sony’s next generation consoles launched in late 2013, PlayStation 4 has been outselling the Xbox One very, very comfortably. In fact, just a month ago I reported that the PS4 had sold double that of its rival in the first year.

However, in November Microsoft’s console finally managed to claim the top spot, helped in no small part by a price cut and some decent software launches coming into the holiday season.

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Ralph Baer, the man credited with helping develop the world's first commercial video games console, died this weekend at the age of 92. He may not have been exactly a household name, but without Baer, video gaming as we know it might have taken a very different turn. Without him, the Xbox One and PS4 might not yet exist.

The German-born electronic fanatic and inventor's work led to the creation of the Odyssey console. The games unit was launched by Magnavox in 1972, managing to pre-date Pong, and Baer went on to invent the first light gun for games as well.

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The Street Fighter franchise is one that has been quiet for a while now, but Street Fighter V is on the way. Capcom has confirmed that work is currently underway on the latest instalment of the game, bringing an end to months of speculation and rumor. But that is not the end of the news.

It has been revealed that Street Fighter will appear exclusively on PS4 and PC. Owners of Microsoft's Xbox One console will miss out this time around, but there's an interesting feature for anyone who does buy the game on the two supported platforms -- cross-platform play.

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It’s the time of year when attention turns to buying gifts. Black Friday is now out of the way, but there's still Cyber Monday for you to stock up on low-cost presents for yourself and others. There are plenty of electronic devices vying for attention as companies try to tempt you into parting with your cash, but if you're the indecisive type, there's always the trusty fall-back of the gift card.

Keen to give you as many ways as possible to throw your money in its direction, Microsoft has launched Digital Gift Cards for Windows Phone. This is an app that does very much what you would expect, making it possible to buy and share gift cards from the comfort of your Windows Phone. But Microsoft isn’t stupid. The gift cards themselves are not limited to Windows Phone purchases -- they can be used to buy apps, games, movies and music from Xbox and Windows stores.

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It must be coming up to Christmas; Alienware, the game-focused arm of Dell, is beginning to ship its new gaming console. The Alienware Alpha is described as the world's first PC gaming console, and it has been designed to blend the power of a gaming rig with the ease of use of a console. With prices starting at $549, gamers have the ability to customize their hardware to suit their needs. The Alpha runs Windows 8.1, and it includes either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, as well as a USB adapted Xbox 360 controller.

The price of the console is bumped up for anyone opting to increase the size of the hard drive or speed of the processor, but the aim here is to blow the Xbox One and PS4 out of the water with raw power.

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