Hopefully the Kinect commands will get more flexible. Imagine having a robust game library and having to know how each one is properly supposed to be said. Then you got apps like Redbox having you do a plug in for Verizon.But Kinect doesn’t always work. It’s simply not reliable or flexible enough. Often, I felt like I spent more time screaming at the Kinect to follow my commands than it would have taken to just pick up the controller. I begged, I pleaded with the device to do what I wanted in the most commanding yet humble tone I could muster, and on many occasions it indeed felt like I had the robotic butler of my dreams. Most of the time, though, it felt like my butler was a little hard of hearing.
There are two distinct ways the Kinect fails, and the first feels inexcusable. Many of the voice commands are extremely rigid, to the point where you need to memorize a list of exact phrases to be able to use them reliably. If you want to go to an app, for instance, you need to start by saying "Xbox go to." But if you want to go to Bing, that structure doesn't work. The correct command is "Xbox Bing," because Microsoft expects you to unquestionably understand and accept that "Bing" should be a verb. If "Xbox on" turns on the console, why doesn't "Xbox off" turn it off? Because "Xbox turn off" is the proper command, and you’ll need to memorize it. If you’re a Redbox Instant subscriber, get used to calling it "Redbox Instant by Verizon," because the Kinect won’t accept anything less. You can't say "Xbox play Forza," you have to say "play Forza Motorsport 5." There are dozens more examples like these.
But while the ideas are great, the execution just isn’t there. For starters, passing my TiVo through the Xbox One darkened the picture and stripped the signal of its Dolby Digital audio encoding, taking away surround sound. There’s a beta option to transcode Dolby into DTS or PCM audio, but it didn’t seem to work for me, and Microsoft says it might cause additional video distortion with some cable boxes until it’s out of beta. If you have a home theater system, this is an immediate deal breaker; I wouldn’t let the Xbox One near your cable box until it can pass the signal unmolested.
Only thing I would find concerning about The Verge review is this...and I know one of their employees experienced this when he had a MS rep show him the ropes of Kinect.
Hopefully the Kinect commands will get more flexible. Imagine having a robust game library and having to know how each one is properly supposed to be said. Then you got apps like Redbox having you do a plug in for Verizon.
Also, hopefully this can get fixed soon.
Overall, I'm now rather curious to see how the "average Joe" will take to this learning curve. I feel like it may possibly get frustrating at times and they might give up on these functionalities. People purchase consoles so they don't have to deal with the complexities of PC gaming. The Xbox One seems to be flirting a fine line with all these new features they are throwing in.
Overall I think MS did a good job considering they had to make so many huge, last minute adjustments. The majority of reviews I've seen for it have been very positive, with sites giving it the same or better review that they gave to the PS4. It'll be interesting to see how both consoles develop as MS and Sony push out updates.
Anyone find anything odd about these reviews?
For all the media BS leading up to the launches - PS4 being more powerful, Xbox being just a box of gimmicks - Its surprised me that both consoles received similar scores across the board. Its like they've built up the hype for months then when it comes down to it made both consoles pretty much equal with there own positives and negatives - its like everyone has had enough of the console wars come day one of the releases - A lot of the reviews say don't buy at launch for both consoles and not one has come out and said PS4 is miles better or Xbox one features puts the PS4 to shame.
Im kinda disappointed...
I think XBox One is awesome but it seems that it depends on how the room is and how the acoustics are , this video was too frustrating to watch but I really want to know if this is the case with all XB1s
Xbox One Uncut Demo - YouTube