If you’ve got an Xbox One on pre-order then we’d strongly suggest ensuring you have a good internet connection. The reason? Microsoft has a 500MB patch for you to download on release day and if you don’t download it, you’ll not be playing games on your shiny new console.
US retailer Target appears to have let slip a few pre-order Xbox Ones early and as you might expect, one gamer has uploaded a bunch of screenshots, videos and information of their first experiences with Microsoft’s new games box. The gamer took to Twitter, confirming that a 500MB update comes through as part of the setup.
Further to the update, Twitter user @Moonlightswami revealed that many games come with a hefty download attached – NBA 2K14 in particular is a 43GB download whilst Forza 5 is 31GB and Call of Duty: Ghosts will take up 39GB on the hard drive. On the plus side, once a game has downloaded 50% you can dive right in and start playing whilst the rest of the download finishes. The source also confirmed that Microsoft will offer unique game challenges for the games you have installed, rotating these intermittently to keep things spiced up.
In addition to the pain of waiting for a half-a-gig update to download before you can get gaming, Microsoft has recently confirmed to CNET that although the Xbox One touts Blu-ray playback, it won’t offer 3D Blu-ray playback at launch. A Microsoft rep told CNET that the console will not support the playback of 3D Blu-rays, despite the console featuring a Blu-ray drive and a 4K-compatible HDMI output. The company hasn’t however ruled out the possibility of adding this feature in later on via a software update. On the other side of the coin, Sony will offer 3D Blu-ray playback out of the box with its PS4 which launches in the UK on November 29th.
Unfortunately for the gamer fortunate enough to get an Xbox One early and kind enough to share his first experiences with the internet, Microsoft got wind of the whole thing and dropped the banhammer on his console. Perhaps this will be a temporary ban until the official launch date, but if not then we thank @Moonlightswami for his selfless actions!