Admittedly, this won't just be about the Xbox One, but it will certainly have an impact on it all the same. First, there was a bit of news that called attention to Microsoft's work in revamping the Xbox Music system. This is the big thing that isn't just about the Xbox One, of course, as it's going to work with the Xbox 360 and both the iOS and Android mobile platforms. The addition to Xbox Music includes the apps and a free streaming option for the Web, much in the same way that other companies are offering up streaming capability for Web users. Later on, according to reports, there will also likely be a cloud locker option in much the same way that Amazon or Apple offers one.
Now that's a pretty bang-up start, but it only goes on from there. Recently it was revealed that the Xbox One would offer support for as many as eight controllers at once. That started coming out late last week, but when this is added on to the news about Xbox Music, a picture started to emerge. On the one hand, Microsoft is ratcheting up the Xbox One's musical capabilities. On the other hand, it's bringing out a much more powerful atmosphere for large groups. Take these two together and it fairly well screams “party”, a point that intersects nicely with the idea that Microsoft has been out to take over the living room for some time now.
We all remember the utter catastrophe that was E3, at least as far as Microsoft went. That 22 second video from Sony was a huge kick in the teeth for Microsoft, and recovering from that hit would take months. But there's no denying that Microsoft has been rolling out the extras and benefits in a bid to try and get gamers coming back from any perceived move to Sony. Microsoft also has a bit of work cut out for it in terms of convincing the gaming public that its price tag--$100 higher than the PlayStation 4 at last report—will be worth the expense.
Microsoft is fighting an uphill battle this generation, but from the look of things—from the sheer amount of new features and favors getting rolled out along with it—it is fighting that uphill battle with wild abandon, and may well just pull off a come from behind victory for the ages.
