XBox One Launches Latest Console War

It's got loftier ambitions, price tag than PlayStation 4
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2013 8:06 AM CST
XBox One Launches Latest Console War
Nikolai Vacca, left, explains the newest XBox One accessories to customers at a Best Buy store on Friday, Nov. 22, 2013, in Evanston, Ill.   (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

The XBox One launched at midnight, and with it, the latest generation of the eternal console war. Around the country, XBox devotees are lining up for the new system, which, like its rival, the PlayStation 4, is expected to be in extremely short supply, USA Today reports. Microsoft says it's shipping twice as many Ones as it shipped 360s when that console launched, but most have still already been spoken for by pre-orders. "Customer demand has been incredible," says Best Buy's VP of gaming. Sony says it sold more than one million PS4s in 24 hours when it launched last Friday, and XBox is expected to rival that.

Analysts say Sony's console, which costs just $399 to XBox's $499, is the favorite to dominate the cycle. But XBox One has the more ambitious strategy of being a living room-dominating media hub. "The concept of running your television programming through your XBox One is an exciting feature," says one analyst. Microsoft also dampened buzz with early plans to ban used games, and force users to be online at all times; it's backed off both, though you will need to go online for a "day one" firmware update, Gamespot reports. But despite all the hype, the MIT Technology Review wonders if this will be the last big console war, noting the "historical downward trend in console sales." And Wired says it's fine to wait if you're not sold on either console yet; both launch with 22 titles, but "there's just nothing to really get excited about" in either slate. (More XBox One stories.)

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