After the PS4's reveal in March, Microsoft's next system will be pressed to impress…
I went to bed around 9am this morning and just woke up about an hour ago. One of the first things I did was log on to Xbox.com (which I don't actually do too often) and was greeted with a pleasant surprise:
So we're finally going to get a glimpse at the next-generation Xbox on May 21st at 7am Pacific Standard Time. You'll be able to (officially) watch it in three ways: On Xbox Live, Xbox.com, or Spike TV. Of course if the live stream is available for embedding you'll be able to watch it right here at DouBle B Reviews.
As underwhelming as February's reveal of the PS4 was in terms of the actual games, the sharing features gave it that "woah, that's soooo cooool" first next-gen feature. Microsoft will need to show off something as eye opening for their reveal to have have that same level of success, which I don't doubt they will.
The two main gripes I keep hearing concerning the rumors (which at this point we have to remember they are just that…rumors) around the next-gen Xbox are the Always-on DRM and that Microsoft will be focusing less on games and more on making it an "all-inclusive home entertainment platform". Here are some quick thoughts on both of those:
The Always-on DRM – I really hope they have a good plan to make sure this actually works. For one thing, not everybody has reliable high-speed internet. In fact, no matter what service provider you use…lets just say its rare that there aren't problems from time to time. And thus far the two biggest examples of games that have used it, Diablo III and Sim City, have had major problems due to the DRM. But, as publications like Mobile Magazine put it, there are some major pros to having it.
The "all-inclusive home entertainment platform" conundrum – One of the biggest reasons I love my Xbox 360 is the fact that I have a single hub (outside of my shitty laptop) to use all my streaming services like HBO Go, Netflix, and ESPN. Nowadays I even utilize it to watch what little tv I actually do with the Verizon Fios app. With video games, I generally only play the major titles anyway, but if this rumored new focus impacts the systems' ability to release excellent digitally downloadable arcade titles like Castle Crashers and Shadow Complex, then I might have a problem with it.
