Microsoft has today announced the Xbox One, its new entry in the home videogames console market.
The device is supposedly intended to answer a question that Microsoft asked itself for the project: "Can we improve a living room that's become too complex and fragmented?"
The console will therefore combine gaming, television and other media entertainment into "the one system for a new generation", according to Microsoft's president of interactive entertainment, Don Mattrick.
Featuring an eight-core x86-based 64-bit microprocessor and eight gigabytes of RAM, the machine seems to match up to the specs of Sony's PlayStation 4, which was revealed in February.
However, the machine also sports an updated version of Microsoft's Kinect motion sensing hardware, which promises to capture human movement at 1080p and register subtle shoulder twists, transfer of weight from one foot to the other, and even heart rate.
At the same time, Microsoft showed the console instantly flicking from television to games footage via a set of "three operating systems" the company is dubbing "Instant Switching".
The television aspect also confirms rumours that Microsoft is working with various broadcast companies to provide standard television footage.
However, more ‘interactive' forms of television are also planned, as a live action version of the popular Halo gaming franchise was announced, in association with big-name director Steven Spielberg.
The Xbox One's operating system will also allow it to open other ‘windows' on top of games or television footage, meaning that users can browse the web while watching television.
Microsoft also confirmed that the Smart Glass app, which launched late last year for Apple iOS and Android platforms, will be further utilised for ‘second screen' footage in various media forms, as well as operating as a controller for various console functions.
Microsoft concluded by promising that the Xbox One hardware will be available in 2013 - but did not set an exact date.
Instant analysis - will Microsoft takeover the living room?
Computing has been taking a keen interest in Microsoft's plans for Xbox One for some time, imagining that the console could make a strong entry in the on-going ‘battle for the living room'.
However, no direct announcements were today made linking the 64-bit machine with the company's wider Windows 8 ecosystem.
At the same time - although Microsoft promised further news at the E3 entertainment show in June - there seemed a distinct lack of gaming focus compared to Sony's PS4 offering, which could conceivably place the Xbox One behind the curve as a traditional interactive entertainment device.
Moreover, no mention of a rumoured ‘subscription service' for on-demand content, a surprisingly limited utilisation of Smart Glass, and no mention of Microsoft's immersive IllumiRoom technology was anomalous.
It seems to mark the Xbox One out, at this early stage, as a machine that may be hedging too many bets as "the one system" for the living room, or the computing hub of the home.
However, the emerging "battle for the living room" is hotting up with a slew of new entrants.
Videogames developer-publisher Valve is on the cusp of revealing further details of its own custom high-end PC, called the Steam Box. It will be Linux-based, but still facilitate Windows should a user require it.
Furthermore, many Android-based options are beginning to roll off the Kickstarter production line.
Therefore, there seem to be plenty of potentially interesting home entertainment, home hub and networked productivity devices on the horizon that may challenge the surprisingly conservative features offered by Microsoft with the Xbox One
The stock market's response to the announcement of the Xbox One was a nine per cent surge in Sony's stock price - no doubt fuelled by relief that Microsoft may have missed a golden opportunity.
