Followers of our live blog of Microsoft's press conference during E3 may already know this, but it bears repeating: the Xbox One will be appearing sometime in November in 21 major markets across the globe, and will cost $499 at launch. No news about multiple models was announced, nor was there any mention of a subsidized model for the console as many have predicted there would be.
Costing around as much as a new iPad, the Xbox One will have a variety of features, including an updated Kinect that will allow users to live chat with their friends while playing their favorite games. Game DVR will allow users to upload epic matches and moments on to the cloud storage, so everyone on the user's friends list will be able to watch their triumphs or laugh at their failures.
While many games were shown during the roughly 90 minute presentation, some games that were rumored to be shown or announced were not present. This includes Fable 4 or a new Banjo-Kazooie game. However, a new Halo game was announced, as well as gameplay footage of Respawn's TitanFall and new gameplay footage of Battlefield 4.
While $499 is not a terrible price for the console, it is not in the price range that some expected.. The hot rumor for the price of both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 was under $400, based on their manufacturing material costs. Sony has the last press conference of the day, so it will be interesting to see if the PlayStation 4 costs less than $400, if the price is revealed at all.
Microsoft did not reveal exactly when they will be releasing the Xbox One in November, but it will most likely be before Thanksgiving so that they can take advantage of the crazed Black Friday shopping fever that grips people at the time.