When Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 eight years ago, it was "just" a game console that could also connect to the Internet to play online and download smaller games along with DLC packs. Oh, and it could also play DVDs (or HD DVD discs if you bought the short lived add-on hardware). That was pretty much all we expected from a game console back in 2005.
It's now 2013, and things have changed enormously in terms of what we want out of a game console. Thanks to both software updates and additional hardware add-ons, the Xbox 360 can now stream videos from Netflix, Hulu and a ton of other content providers; cable companies can use it to let consumers watch regular television channels through the console. More so, independent developers can publish their own games on the console directly. There are Xbox Live avatars that people can outfit with special clothes and items for a price. Gamers can even use their hand and arm movements to control games via the first generation Kinect add-on.
Yes, the era of just being able to sit on the couch and play games on a "game console" is truly over. While purists might not care for these changes, Microsoft clearly sees the newly released Xbox One as their next step in that evolution that will offer not just games but a ton of other entertainment options, including plans for original television programming made by Microsoft itself. But the question remains: should you get an Xbox One or wait until even more features are added?
Read the full review at Neowin.
Other Xbox One reads: Xbox One Review | Xbox One vs. PS4: How they stack up today
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