3. The Power Of The Cloud
Many are looking away from the Xbox One and towards the PS4 simply because the latter has more processing power. However, while that maybe true given the fact that the Xbox One's processor doesn't provide as much teraflops as the PS4, it doesn't need to thanks to the cloud. During the Xbox One's unveiling back in May, Microsoft pointed out that the new console will receive cloud support via the company's Windows Azure platform. This feature is designed to enhance the functionalities of the Xbox One in several ways. But many are still oblivious of the kind of impact this feature will have on console gaming. In a nutshell, cloud computing combines all computing resources -- including servers, storage and software -- into one service and delivers them to devices through the Internet. This provides more capabilities than local computers could. In the case of the Xbox One, the cloud support will provide extra processing power for the games played on the console. Games will become synced with the cloud and will become more responsive and realistic thanks to the added push. For example, online multiplayer games will no longer suffer from latency problems. Also, the updates for all games will be delivered seamlessly even during gameplay. Another big advantage is the ability to make in-game worlds more life-like through constant dynamics whereas the environments and events within the games will keep changing even when gamers aren't playing. Hence, the more real the games seem, the more immersing they will be to those playing them. In short, Microsoft's ingenious plan is to push the Xbox One beyond its hardware limitations through cloud computing.