Microsoft sells over one million Xbox One in under 24 hours !

The next generation console war has officially begun and by the looks of it, it is off to a great start. After Sony announced last week that they sold over a million PS4 in the first 24 hours of launch, it’s now Microsoft’s turn to brag.

Turns out, the Xbox One also sold over a million units in the first 24 hours of the console going on sale. According to Microsoft, this is the biggest launch in the Xbox history. This is a good show considering the console has had a rough start from the time it was announced because of some of the decisions Microsoft made (most of which were eventually reversed), not to mention the $100 price premium over the PS4 considering it comes bundled with the Kinect sensor.

It remains to be see if the two consoles can maintain their sales momentum from this point onwards. Naturally, the sales in the first couple of months will be dominated by the fans of the consoles, who’d have bought them even if they had launched without any games. But later, it will be your average consumers who will be purchasing them and for them features and a good library of games is what will matter before making a purchase rather than the logo on the box. Both consoles have launched with a rather disappointing collection of launch titles. Hopefully, developers will pick up the slack and release some good games in the coming months that will decide the future of these consoles.

Sony takes on Microsoft, prices new PS4 below Xbox One

Sony Corp on Monday priced its latest PlayStation 4 console $100 lower than the new Xbox One by rival Microsoft Corp as competition for gamer’s pockets intensifies ahead of the year-end holidays and gift-giving season.

Sony said it would sell the latest PlayStation model for $399 late in the year shortly after Microsoft announced a $499 price tag for its first new Xbox in eight years and said it would go on sale in the United States in November.

Sony also drew cheers from the audience at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles when it said the PS4 would run second-handgames and did not require an always-on Internet connection.

Microsoft had earlier elicited groans from gamers when it announced restrictions on used games for the Xbox One and said players had to log onto the Internet for authentication.

“The PlayStation 4 won’t impose any new restrictions on used games,” said Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America as the audience whistled and applauded.

Microsoft and Sony hope the consoles will attract new fans and retain users who are increasingly playing games on smartphones and other mobile devices, gradually diminishing the $66 billion video game business. Both companies are also offering more entertainment options.

The Xbox 360 is currently the best-selling gaming console in the United States, but global sales are almost on par with the PlayStation 3.

The new Xbox and PlayStation are both pricier than the $300 Wii U which Nintendo Co Ltd launched late last year but which has sold poorly, partly due to a dearth of new gaming titles. Nintendo is expected to announce new games for the device at the E3 on Tuesday.

Sony did not give details about original programming content for the PS4 but said new game titles would include Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag by Ubisoft and Kingdom Hearts III by Disney Interactive Studios and Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd.

“It’s a very compelling price… given the entertainment PS4 will provide to gamers,” Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House told the E3 event.

The Xbox One is costlier than the current Xbox 360 and includes a Kinect motion sensor for hands-free game playing. Microsoft also announced several exclusive game titles, including a rendition of ‘Minecraft’ and a new installment in the popular ‘Halo’ franchise, which will be released in 2014.

The device will go on sale in 21 countries, including Britain, before the year-end holidays, the company said. Yusuf Mehdi, an executive at Microsoft’s interactive entertainment unit, did not set any sales targets for the new Xbox.

Xbox One: Microsoft unveils new console that ‘Changes Everything’

Microsoft revealed a new Xbox console on Tuesday that not only integrates TV, internet and gaming, but also will measure your heartbeat and recognize your voice.

The company said the Xbox One will revolutionize its users’ lifestyles by integrating the cloud, voice control and gesture technology into a simple, intuitive machine.

“It changes everything,” Marc Whitten, an Xbox executive, told a packed hall of technology journalists at the company’s campus in Redmond, Washington. “This is rocket-science stuff.”

Analysts who had wondered whether the company could follow up on the success of its Xbox 360, first unveiled in 2005, said its successor offered a complete entertainment system designed for the family, not just gamers.

“The Xbox One really looks to advance the state of video game technology and entertainment in a way that we haven’t seen before,” said Brian Blau, a director of Gartner Research.

“The Xbox One is a real advancement, one that will transform the way we experience TV, games, music, movies and more. From what we can see so far Microsoft has met and far exceeded expectations for the Xbox One. This is Microsoft branching out into the living room to reach more of a family audience rather than a core gaming audience.”

Fred Huet, a managing partner at Greenwich Consulting, said Microsoft had thrown down the gauntlet to Sony’s PlayStation and other rivals. “The Xbox One is set to mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV and entertainment.”

The Xbox One, which will be available from the end of the year, will be powered by 300,000 servers, more than the entire world’s computingpower in 1999, said Whitten.

An improved, ultra-sensitive Kinect sensor will track wrist and shoulder rotations and be able to read users’ heartbeats. “This is human control for a human experience.” Its main camera can record 1080P RGB video at 30 frames per second.

Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi wowed the audience by calling out commands and using minimal hand gestures to manipulate content on the Xbox One. He said “a new set of universal gestures to control your TV” would banish the fumbling confusion many feel with existing remotes.TechCruch called it a “massive, massive upgrade” from the original model.

A “snap mode” similar to Microsoft Windows 8 experience allows users to run two activities – such as watching TV and browsing the internet, or using Skype – simultaneously. It offers a second screen.

The Xbox One has 8GB of Ram, along with a Blu-ray drive, 64-bit architecture and a 500GB onboard hard drive. Microsoft also unveiled a new version of its camera-based Kinect system with better motion and voice detection. It showed how users can watch live sports on TV while getting updates on fantasy leagues on a split screen. In an effort to stay ahead of rivals, Microsoft said new content for the popular Call of Duty game can be downloaded on the Xbox One before any other system.

Microsoft said more games would be shown at next month’s E3 video game conference in Los Angeles.

The previous model, the Xbox 360, was launched eight years ago, and has been the leading games console for the past two years.