Xbox One gets unboxed by Major Nelson (video)

8 Aug 2013

Microsoft has produced a video of the unboxing of the Xbox One by none other than director of programming for the Microsoft Game Network Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson), including such goodies as a 4K HDMI cable and a 1080p high definition Kinect perfect for Skype calls.

The eagerly awaited Xbox One is coming this October and should raise the bar in gaming experiences not to mention in-home entertainment.

First unveiled in may, the Xbox One – named for Microsoft’s focus on the all-in-one experience – comes with an eight-core x86 processor, 5bn transistors, 8GB RAM, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi direct and a Blu-ray drive.

The unboxing by Major Nelson today gave a better insight into the dimensions of the console and of course its capabilities.

What’s in the Xbox One box?

 

The first thing out of the box is the Kinect sensor, which looks slightly boxier and bigger than the original sensor. It has improved gesture and voice control, an 1080p colour HD camera ideal for Skyping and a greater field of view, along with four microphones and IR blasting capabilites.

Next out of the box is the new Xbox One Chat headset, which weighs only 44g and a padded earpiece that can be worn on either your left or right ear and with a rotating mic boom,,

After that comes the controller, which boasts over 40 design improvements, including a redesigned D-pad for accuracy, redesigned thumb sticks for better grip and new menu and view buttons as well as impulse triggers for haptic feedback.

Next comes the 4K HDMI cable, which is a Category 2 HDMI cable rated for 1080p, 3D and 4K, according to the HDMI 1.4 spec.

After the manual, a sticker and a mysterious “day one code for a digital exclusive” Major Nelson produced the power chord and the power brick.

The main event of course is the console itself, decked out in what he describes as “Liquid Black” which looks about the same size as the existing Xbox 360 console but the way Nelson handled it, it seemed quite light in his hands.

The console has a 500GB hard drive, a slot load Blu-ray drive, IR plaster port, HDMI input and output connectors, a S/PDIF interface, a new Kinect sensor port, three USB 3.0 Super Speed ports, wired and wireless network support and a Kensington security slot.

Nelson featured at new features that will come with the on/off switch but said that all will be revealed at GamesCon.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com