Support NeoGAF

[pitchfork]

Good article on the Design and engineering of the Xbox One X with some additional insights into the Xbox division In general

On the table in front of us, a row of Xbox One X prototypes shows the evolution of Microsoft’s latest console, each showing a subtle refinement or compromise on the last. “We had this idea of a floating monolith,” says senior industrial designer Bryan Sparks, who’s worked on the Xbox team for five years. He was inspired by the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Microsoft is confident 4K is a safe bet. But betting on a new technology that few can afford carries inherent risks. That’s why Microsoft has the Dream Killer. “It’s where we break designers’ hearts,” says principal design manager John Snavely, one of the leads on the redesign of the Xbox software interface. Hidden away in a side room, the Dream Killer is a reminder to all engineers and designers that many gamers don’t have the latest technology, even if they’re happy to shell out on a new console. “It’s a TV we should’ve thrown away a long time ago. It’s awful. We put a lot of time into making sure our content looks good on the Dream Killer,”

When Microsoft revealed the original Xbox One in May 2013, it was positioned as an all-encompassing set-top box rather than a games console. But Microsoft’s desire to own the living room failed and it’s been playing catch-up ever since. “I totally understand what you’re talking about in terms of the launch of Xbox One and that TV stuff, and Kinect. It was a vision that was different,” says Phil Spencer, who became head of Xbox in March 2014. Normally erudite, Spencer stops and starts before settling on a carefully worded answer. “I understood the vision that the prior team had. Hopefully, our last three years shows that a focus on the gaming customer is critically important to us.” The One X – and its less powerful sibling the One S – are an attempt to pick up where the Xbox 360 left off. Spencer attributes the change in attitude to decisions made at the top of Microsoft: “It’s been nice to see what Satya Nadella talks about now. The support we have for being in the games industry and not being something else is incredibly high.”

Lots more in the link

 

[paragonpro]

Good to hear they get the shortcomings on the xbox one, this seems like a substantial improvement, now i just really want them to work on getting some major and more diverse. first party games out. Otherwise theyve been killing it since spencer took on a larger role

 

[Ushay]

There's been a slew of these articles today it seems. Verge had one too not too long ago.

Fascinating how much painstaking attnetion goes into the design process. Would be great to see one for Nintendo and Sony.

 

[LordOfLore]

This article goes places.

Microsoft has created the world's most powerful console. Could this next-generation machine lead to the rise of games as high art?

As Jason Schreier put it on twitter:

This article about the Xbox One X is really something

It feels like both the reporter and the Xbox execs are living in a different reality

 

[cackhyena]

Right in the feels. I'm good.

 

[Captain Zyrain]

Simpsons DID IT!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1441694

 

[Cert.in.Death]

“Aisha Tyler crying after a game demo presentation at Ubisoft’s E3 presser” levels of unusual.

But ok, rev up the sales engine.

 

[jelly]

Jason Schreier put it on twitter[/URL]:

Also available on Xbox One S

That's some delusional hype.

The team did make something really nice though.

 

[HStallion]

The only problem with the Xbox 1 X is that it's almost too good.

 

[Blam]

Animation smoothness has me. I can't read any more of this.

 

[jbug617]

could it be that the people who work at Xbox are proud of their new product? I mean it must of been a shitty time to have people shit on Xbox One before it came out and throughout the years.

 

[cackhyena]

The dick sucking is gross but I still want an X.

 

[Yearsoflurking]

Also available on Xbox One S

That's some delusional hype.

The team did make something really nice though.

Not in 4k or higher assets 🙃

 

[Kaako]

This shit was painful to even skim through, let alone read the entire article.

 

[pitchfork]

There's been a slew of these articles today it seems. Verge had one too not too long ago.

Fascinating how much painstaking attnetion goes into the design process. Would be great to see one for Nintendo and Sony.

Love the idea of the Black monolith for inspiration : )

 

[WadeitOut]

I'm about to preorder a second one just over the amount of salty hilarity this article will induce.

 

[Waldo Lydecker]

The only problem with the Xbox 1 X is that it's almost too good.

That remark about GOW2 and becoming a meme still gives me good laugh.

 

[cakely]

I did not anticipate that emotional impact,

 

[Jolkien]

The emotional impact, I wished I could be that touched while playing a video game. Console release is drawing closer, PR machine is full steam ahead.

Too costly for my 4th platform of choice, but I can't wait to see what that machine can do. Head to head on Digital Foundry will be a blood bath.

 

[bananafactory]

Who put David Cage on the Microsoft PR team?

4k emotions

 

[Elandyll]

...

I don't remember this kind of mix review/ PR shine bordering on Beatification last year for the Pro... Which was offering 4K (pr) at just $399 and was also quite literally "the most powerful console in the world ever (for now)" tbh.

Oh there was PR and Marketing, sure. But the articles and communication around the X seem to be on a completely different level... And not in a good way imo.

Am I remembering wrong? It's possible.

#shrug

 

[jelly]

What's a Jaguar to do?

I'll float while you flop.

 

[Fredrik]

Lol this is the most hype I've ever seen outside the gaming boards. Everything is cranked up to 11.

Still, can't wait to get this beast! 5 weeks to go!

 

[Samurai G0SU]

...

I don't remember this kind of mix review/ PR shine bordering on Beatification last year for the Pro... Which was offering 4K (pr) at just $399 and was also quite literally "the most powerful console in the world ever (for now)" tbh.

Oh there was PR and Marketing, sure. But the articles and communication around the X seem to be on a completely different level... And not in a good way imo.

Am I remembering wrong? It's possible.

#shrug

elaborate why they do not seem to be good in a way? so far, everything i see look positive. the hardware offers a lot (of course not perfect, nothing is) and developers are chiming in on the potential; which have been positive so far too.

i'd like to see the negative articles you speak of so i can get a glimpse of the other side of the coin.

 

[sense]

Microsoft has cringeworthy marketing locked down.

 

[Uzzy]

It's high art now because of more teraflops? Are we saying that Caravaggio, Chopin and Chaucer just don't have the teraflops to compete with high art like Crackdown?

 

[shoreu]

I'm so tired on hearing about the Nüburing or however you spell it.

 

[CreatureX3]

Lucid dreams...

 

[VincentMatts]

I got the feels just reading that

 

[Fredrik]

...

I don't remember this kind of mix review/ PR shine bordering on Beatification last year for the Pro... Which was offering 4K (pr) at just $399 and was also quite literally "the most powerful console in the world ever (for now)" tbh.

Oh there was PR and Marketing, sure. But the articles and communication around the X seem to be on a completely different level... And not in a good way imo.

Am I remembering wrong? It's possible.

#shrug

It's because Xbox One X had already been shown in the E3 teaser. It's just like when Xbox 360 launched a year before PS3. The hype for the upcoming better hardware completely killed the hype.

 

[otakukidd]

There's been a slew of these articles today it seems. Verge had one too not too long ago.

Fascinating how much painstaking attnetion goes into the design process. Would be great to see one for Nintendo and Sony.

Am I crazy in thinking the thing looks like a ps2?

 

[SPDIF]

...

I don't remember this kind of mix review/ PR shine bordering on Beatification last year for the Pro... Which was offering 4K (pr) at just $399 and was also quite literally "the most powerful console in the world ever (for now)" tbh.

You can blame Sony for that.

Oh there was PR and Marketing, sure. But the articles and communication around the X seem to be on a completely different level...

From the 10s, maybe 100s of articles that have been written about the X, do you have about 10+ examples of this 'different level'?

And not in a good way imo.

Why?

 

[Youth Crew]

Reminds me of the pre-release hype for Titanfall.

 

[LordRaptor]

 

[mcdomination]

They should have send a poet.

 

[Elandyll]

elaborate why they do not seem to be good in a way? so far, everything i see look positive. the hardware offers a lot (of course not perfect, nothing is) and developers are chiming in on the potential; which have been positive so far too.

i'd like to see the negative articles you speak of so i can get a glimpse of the other side of the coin.

Negative articles?

Quite the contrary. It's so glowing mixed with PR spin that it nearly goes in the meme-like "it's almost too good" territory.

Maybe the articles & marketing around the Pro were the same, but I seem to remember reviews being a lot more critical and grounded, many attacking the very idea of mid gen refresh which I'm not seeing much here...

Again, I might be wrong.

 

[watership]

Come on, most of that article is completely fine guys. The last paragraph is a little loopy, which is what Jason is calling out, and the "high art" title is an editor thing. 99.99 percent of writers don't get to title their pieces. Otherwise it's a good read.

 

[WestEgg]

It's going to be an interesting Holiday season to watch hardware. All three players have things going for them. Microsoft is releasing a system that is bound to entice the performance enthusiasts, and I do believe that it is a bit underestimated here on GAF. The Nintendo Switch has already taken the world by storm, and is about to drop it's biggest trump card yet. And the PS4 is in a borderline unassailable position in both marketshare and mindshare compared to the other two.

Spoiler

SNES Classic is the darkhorse victor

 

[pitchfork]

Am I crazy in thinking the thing looks like a ps2?

 

[Theorry]

Last part of the article. Cant hold it.

 

[Dabanton]

For such an actually interesting article, it's a shame that's all the OP has pulled certain parts knowing exactly the type of thread that creates.

EDIT:Seems someone with the power has thought the same thing and merged this thread with a sensible one.


Stuff that caught my eye from reading the whole thing

”New hardware doesn't have to invalidate the software work we've done," Spencer says. ”In past console generations, there's been manipulation to stop compatibility so that everybody has to buy things new, sometimes even the same versions of things they already own. Content should be the thing that drives our industry. I want that content to be front and centre for as long as possible."

For Phil Spencer, the focus on backwards compatibility is also an opportunity to recognise gaming's true potential. ”I see games as an art form. Console games can get lost when hardware generations go away. It can become more challenging to play the games of our past," he says. Spencer was hired as a Microsoft intern in 1988. He was soon leading the Encarta team before moving to Microsoft's gaming business in 2007. ”There's something to be learned from experiencing what I played as a kid. There's good business there for the content owners, but as players, it's nice to be able to understand how our artform has progressed."

For me any console manfactirer who somehow can't get all that content we buy digitally to work on their next system won't have my buiness. It's good that

 

[Crayon]

Loly shit.

 

[tombo85]

What's a Jaguar to do?

I'll float while you flop.

Damn

 

[Nameless]

#True4K is the Shakespeare of 2017

 

[shandy706]

Article is mostly fine?

4k is nice

 

[El_Chino]

For such an actually interesting article, it's a shame that's all the OP has pulled out knowing exactly the type of thread that creates.

You know why.

 

[Neverwinter27]

What Kool aid flavor is this?

 

[OdysseusVA]

It allows us to use all the animated pixels

ALL THE ANIMATED PIXELS

 

[Fisty]

FEEL

EVERY

PIXEL

EDIT: well that thread merge just took away the context of my joke

 

[sirap]

This is the opposite of Verge's latest video on the One X lol.

Microsoft has created the world's most powerful console. Could this next-generation machine lead to the rise of games as high art?

Hahaha