If Microsoft has it their way, Xbox One may be their ticket out of the graphics race. A recent statement by a developer indicated that the Xbox One would not be released with the intention of competing with other consoles’ graphics.
Greg Williams, GM of silicon development, went on record with the following statement:
“We purposefully did not target the highest-end graphics. We targeted more as a broad entertainment play and did it in an intelligent way. The people who are here have clearly done them before and we’ve done them within Microsoft before. But this is one of the more strategic plays and in terms of the overall product, that is a clear differentiator, and the [hardware IP] that we’ve developed here is truly unique.”
Williams’ statement seems to contradict the known specifications for Xbox One, which most notably include a custom Microsoft eight-core CPU. This suggests that either the console is designed to use a limited amount of processing power, or that Microsoft is downplaying the details as part of a larger marketing strategy.
That being said, the company does seem intent on Xbox One being an “all-around entertainment solution,” so perhaps this decision is genuine. Either way, it’s too soon to tell and as we keep hearing, more will be revealed about the console at E3.
