At Microsoft's Xbox One reveal in Redmond, Washington, we got to take a good look at the new console. There was plenty of details to be garnered from the presentation, notably, it was revealed that the console would be launching this year, all around the world. That said, there were several things that weren't discussed.
It was almost the exact opposite of Sony's press conference, where they revealed plenty of technical specifications, introduced a load of games, and had devs taking to the stage to show off their wares. Microsoft's event had a much more corporate feel, although we did get to see the new console up close, and see it in action on the stage.
Don Mattrick opened the show, introduced the new machine (which is a little on the chunky side) and told the world what it is to be called. He was later joined by Yusuf Mehdi, who took to the stage to explain how the Xbox One is going to take care of all our entertainment needs.
Straight away we were introduced to Forza 5, as the game sat on the dashboard during the demonstration (it was later shown in more detail, and you can see the trailer here). We were shown the new "Trending" area on the dashboard, which'll also include familiar areas for games, TV, music and movies.
We saw Mehdi jumping between different channels via the "Snap" mode. He barked at his console and it transported him straight to the TV channel, then to a game he was playing, then to music, and back again.
Skype is going to be upfront and centre, with full HD, 1080p video calls, and split screen function allowing calling and gaming to happen concurrently.
The console itself is to have a Blu-ray disc player, which many will agree is long overdue. But it was the new controller and the new iteration of Kinect that were most interesting.
We're promised 40 technical and design tweaks to the controller, with new impulse triggers to provide "precise haptic fingertip feedback", and a new D-pad (it's about time, the old one is far too clunky). An infrared LED on the controller front syncs up to the Kinect for automatic recognition, similar to the functionality of the PS4's new controller.
The redesigned Kinect will include a 1080p, HD camera that should capture video at an impressive 30 frames per second. Active-infrared capabilities will mean it'll work in a variety of different lighting conditions, and increase precision. Propriety "Time-of-Flight" tech measures individual photons as they bounce off you, and a noise filtering microphone will allow voice recognition "even in crowded rooms".
A huge increase in the number servers (up to 300k) means faster loading times, and larger numbers of gamers able to play together online. Living Games will utilise the cloud, so players can compete against friend's shadows, and Game DVR will allow sharing game footage via Xbox Live and various social networks.
Then there was the games. We got a presentation from EA Sports, who were there to showcase four of their titles (more here), and Remedy's new game Quantum Break was also revealed. In fact, there's to be 15 exclusive games, 8 of which are completely new franchises.
Steven Spielberg appeared on screen to explain details regarding a Halo TV series, as Microsoft continue their push into that space. Indeed, they seem to want to compete with Smart TVs via the new features set to appear on Xbox One. They really are pushing to dominate the living room space with this new console.
The show closed with Call of Duty: Ghosts, which certainly looks the part. You can find out more about that from our preview, which offers in depth analysis of the content that was shown on the stage at Redmond, Washington.
So now the dust has settled, what have we learned? Well, not a lot really. Of course we got some details, the new Kinect sounds good, and the the OS seems intuitive and accessible. But, and it's a big "but", Microsoft didn't reveal anything that would allow us to compare it to Sony's Playstation 4. Anybody hoping to find out how the two consoles match up will have been bitterly disappointed by tonight's show.