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Some of you already have pre-orders in for the Xbox One and it’s simply a matter of waiting until you can find out when it’s actually going to be in stores. You might think you already know enough about Microsoft’s next-gen console but, this morning, the folks in Redmond are showing off what comes with a very special version of the Xbox One.
A new unboxing video on the Xbox One site opens up the cardboard enclosure that the console will be shipping in, offering a look at the bits and pieces you’ll need to assemble in the right order. This isn’t just any old Xbox One that’s being unboxed, though. It’s a limited edition Day One version. Relevant details from the accompanying blog post:
In the video, we are unboxing the Xbox One Day One edition – which includes an Xbox One console, Kinect, a specially branded DAY ONE 2013 controller with chrome D-pad, the Xbox One Chat Headset, a 4K rated HDMI cable, power supply and a code for a Day One digital achievement. This will be available in limited quantities.
The Xbox One console is state of the art – a 500GB hard drive, slot load Blu-ray drive, IR blaster port, HDMI input and output connectors, a S/PDIF interface, new Kinect sensor port, three USB 3.0 Super Speed ports, Wired and Wireless network support and a Kensington Security Slot.
The chat on Xbox One offers 3x the sampling rate of the Xbox 360. The quality of the Xbox One Chat Headset speaker and microphone have been upgraded to take advantage of the much improved audio quality. It’s also super lightweight-only 44g-with a padded earpiece that can be worn on either your left or right ear, and a bendable, rotating mic boom. You can control mute and volume without taking your hands off the controller.
Now, you might remember Microsoft previously stated that the Xbox One’s headset isn’t shipping with the console. But based on the info above, it appears that at least the Day One edition will let you start screaming at other firsters as soon as you hook things up.
Microsoft has released a bunch of new videos in which it focuses on the peripherals of Xbox One.
The first video focuses on the wireless controller, while the second takes a look at the play and charge kit. Finally, the last video focuses on the system’s headset.
As the WCS Europe Round of 16 Group C matches came to a close today, viewers and commentators alike were starting to finally feel a little more comfortable with the players they were seeing. After two days of stunning upsets, today’s competition saw Starcraft II international veterans NaNiwa and MMA moving on to the round of 8. Of course, even with familiar players, the round of 8 is already shaping up to be far different from the competition we saw last year. For one thing, MMA is the only Terran player to be moving on to the next round and is, in fact, the only non-Protoss player to move on so far. Tomorrow’s Group D matches will continue the ‘Toss heavy trend, with TitaN, MC, and MaNa all playing Protoss. Poor VortiX is Zerg’s only chance to move beyond this round. No pressure.
The preferred races of the players aren’t the only changes to be seen in this year’s competitive Starcraft scene. The series have also taken noticeably longer than games in the past. No longer are early attacks the deciding factors in games. Cheese has been nearly non-existent in this competition so far. More and more, we are seeing the deciding moments in games being large scale, battles between supply-maxed armies, rather than the more micro heavy, smaller, earlier plays of previous years. Given how many veteran players we have seen fall to newcomers in this bracket so far, it’s probably worth looking into favoring these new, long term tactics over the more aggressive play of the past.
While not quite as epic as yesterday’s matches, the WCS EU Round Of 16 Group B competition today held some similar surprises. Finnish newcomer Welmu ended up winning the day, knocking out veteran competitors Lucifron and Duckdeok on his way to the round of 8. In the lower bracket, Lucifron knocked out last year’s WCS champion, Stephano in an exciting match, but fell to Korean Duckdeok in the following series. It’s notable that, of the four players who will be moving on the round of 8, three of them are Protoss players. This is a stark contrast to last year’s competition where only one Protoss player made it beyond the round of 16.
Today’s results were especially important as Stephano has announced that this will be his last professional Starcraft II competition, and that he is retiring from eSports. His elimination in this round ends his pro gamer career. Ever the controversial figure, Stephano has been polarizing the eSports community with those who decry his wild partying, outspoken personality, and dismissive demeanor, coming up against those who feel that he added much needed attitude to a sport where players typically have very quiet dispositions. Whether you love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny his impact on eSports as a whole. He was the first non-Korean to gain real recognition in professional eSports, and his offscreen antics brought a lot of attention to a sport that was struggling to get attention. His abilities were impressive to say the least, and today, eSports loses one of it’s original icons.
The full replay of today’s matches can be seen here
Stephano’s final words on his pro gaming career can be seen here
