The Xbox One, in combination with Kinect 2, is designed to be a centric hub for the living room with integrated gaming, TV, internet and movie services all in one place

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Kinect 2


The Xbox One, unlike the Xbox 360, requires Kinect to function. This makes it likely that the console will ship with Kinect 2 as standard.

Kinect seems to be deeply integrated into the systems of the Xbox One, and allows users to browse using voice and gesture commands through the Xbox One User Interface.

Examples of the Kinect 2 in action include saying 'Xbox: On' to activate the system. The console will then remember what the user was doing previously and return them immediately to that screen.

Harvey Eagle, Microsoft's UK Marketing Director, was quizzed about the Kinect 2 integration by IGN.

"Kinect does require to be connected to Xbox One in all cases, yes," he said. Asked whether the Xbox One will accommodate people who perhaps play in their bedroom rather than their living room, Eagle replied: "Yes, absolutely. We use the living room almost as a moniker - that's where we assume the best screen is in the house. But if you like to play in any other room in the house, the Xbox one will deliver the same quality of experience whatever the environment."

Kinect 2 will feature an integrated 1080p camera, 30FPS colour, Time of Flight (TOF) technology and microphone arrays. It is said to be able to detect even the slightest of movements, such as the rotation of a wrist or shoulder.


Gamerscore Porting

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Achievement hunters rejoice! Microsoft has confirmed that users will be able to port across their Gamertag, Gamerscore and your Avatar will port from the Xbox 360 directly to the Xbox One.

Harvey Eagle, head of Microsoft's UK Marketing division, said:

"Your hard-earned Gamerscore will port over, so yes you'll take that with you.

"You'll also take your Gamertag, your identity, with you. Whilst we're making a much bigger bet on natural identity with the camera, Avatars will also feature as well. All of the gaming identity that you have on Xbox 360 will be there on Xbox One as well."


Backward Compatibility

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Unfortunately the Xbox One will not be able to play Xbox 360 games, including Xbox Live purchases.

It is rumoured to charge a fee for users to play used games on the system, although clarification on this remains to be given.


Evolving Achievements

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Since Xbox One will be cloud-powered, Microsoft has stated that it gives developers the potential to modify both the game experience and the way in which achievements work 'over time.'

They cited the highly popular 'Arrow to the Knee' meme from Skyrim as an example - if this technology was in the Xbox 360, Skyrim's game developers could have went back in and changed the achievements or game to reflect this joke.