The Xbox One is due out in November, and Microsoft is constantly releasing information about the next-gen console. Now, Microsoft has revealed how many controllers the Xbox One will support, and announced that the console will not support external storage devices at launch.
In the latest of his podcasts, Major Nelson revealed that the Xbox One, which was previously reported to support external memory through the USB 3.0 port, will not be able to support external storage at the beginning of the console's release. Nelson discussed the external storage situation around the 37 minute mark, explaining that at some point the Xbox One will be able to provide the service, but when is unclear:
"The future plan is for definitely to support external storage much like we do on the Xbox 360. My understanding is that feature will not be there at launch because the team is working on some other things, but it definitely is on the list. I don't know when it will come in though."
It should be noted that the Xbox One will have 500GB of non removable internal memory, so it will be a while before most users fill up the device's memory, making this news not be as troubling as it might initially appear.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has updated the official support page for the Xbox One's controller to show how many controllers can be synced up and used on the Xbox One at once. Eight controllers can be used at once; meaning gamers can host some serious local multiplayer parties if they feel like dropping hundreds of dollars on controllers. Of course, most developers are probably not going to use that many controllers at once during a local multiplayer game and few games previously have taken advantage of having more than four players use one console simultaneously.
The Xbox One will be launched in November, but Microsoft has yet to reveal the exact date the console will be released to those who preordered. The console's biggest competition, the PlayStation 4, will be released on Nov. 15, so Microsoft will most likely try to avoid that date. Previous leaks concerning the release date, which now have been disproven, said the console would be released in late November and Nov. 8.