Xbox One Launch Date Set for Nov 22, Comes with a Second CPU Power Boost
posted Wednesday Sep 4, 2013 by Nicholas DiMeo
After Microsoft's initial reveal that was followed up by the company's E3 announcement, a lot of changes and updates were made to the console. However, through all of the announcements and focus shifts, we were still waiting on a release date. This week, Microsoft came through and delivered just that.
On November 22nd, one week before Black Friday, the Xbox One will hit store shelves in 13 markets. Lucky for us, we're included in those 13 markets, along with Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and the UK. The date also marks the eight-year anniversary of the release of the Xbox 360, so it is a momentous and fitting occasion in that regard as well.
Now, this launch date announcement is also important because we learned that Microsoft will be upping the power inside the Xbox One. The processor has been increased from 1.6GHZ to 1.75GHZ, which is about a ten percent boost in performance. When you add this to the six percent increase that was announced earlier in the summer, this means that gamers on the Xbox One platform will experience a broader and more powerful range of games and services on the console, as it opens up the ability for developers to get more raw power from their projects.
Plus, corporate VP Yusuf Mehdi, took to the Xbox Wire to drive home some of the key features that really set the Xbox One apart from the other console that will be showing up during the holiday season. This is important because many gamers might have forgotten about these aspects during the whole Internet rage thing that happened.
We're going to keep bringing more value to the Xbox One as we head towards launch building on some of the advancements we have already shared such as the 40 plus improvements to the Xbox One controller, advancements to help you find the perfect opponent and make the most of our online community, to the power of the cloud.
And I have to mention the games - Xbox One is proving to be the best place for games, with our exclusive games winning over 100 awards at E3, driving pre-order increases of 200% in European markets after gamers first played our blockbuster line-up at gamescom, and blowing away thousands of fans at PAX PRIME this week-end. Only on Xbox One will you find exclusive blockbusters like "Halo," "Dead Rising 3," "Ryse: Son of Rome" and "Forza Motorsport 5"; new digital content from titles like coming "Call of Duty: Ghosts" and "Battlefield 4" coming to Xbox One first; and the "FIFA 14" Ultimate Team experience you won't find anywhere else.
So, now that we have a date, the CPU increase and a newly-spread rumor that US Xbox One buyers might get a free game, too, does this change or further strengthen your decision to buy or steer away from the Xbox One? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
