Ryse remade into Xbox One exclusive

Not much has been heard of Crytek's Roman-themed first-person fighting game Ryse since it was announced for Xbox 360 at E3 2011. But rumors of the Kinect-based game's shift to Microsoft's next-gen console have been confirmed by the company's website.

Read more: 'Son came to Rome' »

Does Xbox One require a persistent online connection? Does it play used games? Microsoft has been so coy that anxious gamers are left with no choice but to assume the worst. Answers to these questions should be clear-cut--a simple "yes" or "no" would suffice, and help us all.

Yet, even Microsoft's so-called "clarifications" do little to ease concern that the next Xbox will be plagued by draconian anti-consumer practices. Major Nelson updated his blog saying "while there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail. Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios."

Okay, that's fine. But here's the kicker: "Should you choose to play your game at your friend's house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile." By mentioning the f-word there, we can only assume that there will be fees to play games in any other scenario.

Read more: A 'worst case scenario' come true? »

Could Xbox One be the end of Xbox Live Arcade? Possibly. But don't worry, smaller games aren't going away from Microsoft's next-gen console. Instead, the XBLA designation may be phased out, in order to make smaller games and AAA titles equally visible, Matt Booty, general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms told us.

Read more: 'Real big win' for developers »

Independent developers cannot self-publish their own games on Xbox Live Arcade. Instead, they must get a publishing deal--either with Microsoft Game Studios or with a third-party partner. Games published on Xbox Live Indie Games are exempt from that policy, but that marketplace isn't necessary seen as viable.

Limitations imposed by Microsoft have prevented a number of games from ever appearing on Xbox 360. And apparently, Xbox One won't change how Microsoft approaches indie games.

Read more: 'Microsoft Studios works with a wide range of partners' »

Remember when Microsoft used to make games for PC? With their Xbox business thriving, the company has long shifted focus away from PC gamers. That attitude will continue in the Xbox One generation, it appears.

At its Xbox One reveal event, the company announced 15 exclusives coming to the console in its first year. When asked if PC gamers could possibly get access to some of that content, Matt Booty, general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms told us that "the Windows 8 gamer is certainly going to participate in some of that content," but not in the way you might expect or want.

Read more: Is Microsoft's PC focus on the lower end? »

The new Kinect bundled with Xbox One won't be exclusive to that platform, Shacknews has learned. According to Kinect program manager Scott Evans, Microsoft plans on bringing the new Kinect to PC. "We will bring this to PC," he told us. "We will have more information soon."

Read more: Current-gen Kinect already available on PC »

Thanks to Xbox One's built-in hard drive and focus on live TV and media, it seems like it should have DVR capabilities. In fact, it will offer "game DVR" and let you share gameplay moments via the cloud. However, it will not offer any built-in TV DVR capabilities, a Microsoft spokesperson told us.

"Xbox One does not provide any built-in DVR capabilities, but on your Xbox One console you will be able to access and use your cable or satellite set-top box DVR service via HDMI pass-through," they explained.

Read more: Live TV requires 'supported receivers' from specific partners »

if you were one of the ones upset that the Xbox 360 capped friends lists at 100, then you should be relieved to know that the Xbox One will increase that number to 1,000. Players will also be able to let friends see their real names as well as gamertags if they choose.

Read more: Pulling friends from all over »

With the Xbox One touting the ability to do so much--surf the internet, watch TV, play games--what does that mean for players who are in-game but don't want to stop to check breaking news? Apparently, the new console has that covered.

Read more: Pause, check scores, resume »

The Xbox 360's Achievements system made a pretty big impact in the industry, so it only makes sense that Microsoft would tweak it for the follow-up console. The company has given a little insight on how the Xbox One will revise the popular system.

Read more: 'Achievements are no longer confined to a single game' »

Ooh, what a fancy new sensor the Xbox One's Kinect has. With a 1080p camera and some nonsense about photons, it's more accurate and more reliable. And it knows when you're afraid. With the big reveal today, Microsoft has demonstrated using Kinect on Xbox One to detect users' heart rate and facial expressions.

Watch: Handy features for workouts and horror alike »

With the next generation of consoles now revealed, EA has announced that Battlefield 4 will, surprise surprise, hit both Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It also confirmed a release date for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 of October 29 but, as neither new system has a launch date yet, merely said it'll be on them this holiday season. The pre-order bonus will be BF4's first multiplayer DLC pack, named 'China Rising.'

Read more: Four "massive" multiplayer maps »

The Xbox One was revealed today on Microsoft's campus. In case you missed the livestream of the event, check out the rerun here. Among the goodies announced: The name and hardware specs, a new entry in the Forza Motorsport series, a new game from Remedy called Quantum Break and much more.

Watch: Rerun of the Xbox One Livestream »

The Xbox One won't play existing Xbox 360 games, according to Xbox Live corporate VP Marc Whitten. The hardware architecture is too different, so you'll have to keep your current system plugged in to play the current generation of games.

Read more: 'Back-compat doesn't really work' »

Update: Microsoft's Xbox Support has disputed the report that used games would require a fee to activate, and says in a system Q&A that it will allow users to resell and trade games. Apparently, Microsoft will have more information on how that will work at a later time.

Original story: In an interview directly following Microsoft's presentation today, Don Mattrick confirmed that the newly announced Xbox One console won't require an always-on Internet connection. However, mandatory game installations tied to Xbox Live accounts are said to serve as the system's DRM.

Read more: Mandatory game installations »