Microsoft pulls a 180 (heh) on Xbone DRM (1 Viewer)

[Ruz-El]

I would probably try to buy a slim used. You can upgrade the hardrive to 500gb pretty cheap and easy if you need more room. And the slim is prettier and more home theater friendly I think.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I believe you can also use a USB external HDD for the PS3 but I'd double check that. You can get 1 TB HDDs for less than $70 very often.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

So just for games saves, surely 12GB is plenty? For downloads, it's not much. But my interest is for a few exclusive games, namely Journey and The Last of Us.But with that system out, I'll start looking at CraigsList, since prices should push down.

Games tend to install a fair amount of data on the HDD. 12 GB would only be enough for a handful.I see Sam's point about this being for non-gamers. Interestingly, the reviews on Amazon state that this model actually has only Flash memory, no HDD at all. You can install an HDD, but you have to buy a bracket to hold it in.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I believe you can also use a USB external HDD for the PS3 but I'd double check that. You can get 1 TB HDDs for less than $70 very often.

You can plug in an external HDD and back up data to/ from it, but I think games still need to be on the internal drive.

 

[Sam Posten]

the beta ui is fuuuuugly.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/08/xbox-one-beta-dashboard-video-leak/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

 

[Clinton McClure]

To me, Windows 8 is nowhere close to a sexy UI and the Xbone is no different. I have to admit, I think even the current 360 dashboard was better in its original blade-based form, before it went all Windows-y.

 

[Dave Upton]

As much as I detest it, it seems live tile UI is here to stay.

At least the PS4 UI is a lot cleaner.

 

[Edwin-S]

Beta version. Virtually useless for assessing what the final version is really going to look like. XBone box design is proof that M$ still pines for their lost love: HD-DVD.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Define "final version." The 360 UI changed, what, three times? I think the current Metro interface is the best its been but that the XMB is still way better.

 

[Edwin-S]

Define "final version." The 360 UI changed, what, three times? I think the current Metro interface is the best its been but that the XMB is still way better.

I define "final version" as the one that the box streets with. This being the beta, there is no way to say if the boring layout is what the boxes street version is going.to look like. There could still be plenty of changes from this beta to the final version released with the box.I will agree that the XMB was the best layout in the last gen. It was clean, simple and easy to navigate. These tile based UIs do not impress me. They look cluttered, busy and tedious to navigate.

 

[Sam Posten]

the beta ui is fuuuuugly.http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/08/xbox-one-beta-dashboard-video-leak/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

Sounds like launch UI is not that bad:http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/09/xbox-one-interface-a-clean-slate-inspired-by-windows-8/

 

[Sam Posten]

More looks at em:

 

[Sam Posten]

Meh.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/28/5037506/xbox-one-dashboard-demo-video

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Rumor has it that a lot of post-launch games are having issues with the XBL integration and their certifications are being held up. Also, the XB1 OS is having issues because it was made by non-gaming groups in MS and they're not used to optimizing things for games. In short, the launch could be buggy and messy.
Another rumor is that Watch_Dogs was running into issues with performance and XBL online stuff so Ubisoft pushed its release on ALL platforms back. MS wanted to get release at the same time as competition.

 

[Edwin-S]

Man. I hope the PS4 interface looks better than that. These tile based interfaces aren't doing anything for me. They just look cluttered and clunky.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yup.

 

[Edwin-S]

The other thing that bugs me about them (I suppose it is a small nit) is that a lot of them are intended to be animated or contain some moving image or content. I know the amount of resources to run those things is going to be small, but it still seems like resources that could be used for something better. I don't need to look at giant animated icons. Just give me a picture and a hot spot to click on. That's all I need to start watching a movie or play a game. I don't need to see a chunk of it running in a window.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

MS has devoted part of their processing power to the OS so that it can run the dashboard menu without interrupting gameplay (supposedly). I don't mind animated icons and I can live with the tile system, but my issue is that the exclusives are still weak and the darn thing is overpriced. Sony has said the PS4 Eye can do voice commands and gesture recognition plus it has Move, making the PS4 seem like the best of all worlds. So why pay $500 for One?

 

[Sam Posten]

12 minute demo of the final ui. Better than expected, not exactly snappy but faster than last gen. Lots of kinect use... from the mic.

 

[Sam Posten]

IGN has a longer look at the dash too.http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/11/08/xbox-one-dashboard-walkthrough